I have a spare unRAID license kicking about so i thought i would build a cheap 13 disk system.

 

My focus was to choose parts that are residential grade but from good manufacturers, cheap, HDMI, mATX with at least 6 native SATA ports  but most of all easily available globally with relatively little effort.

 

I believe I have managed to do this with the one exception of the SATA card.

 

The approximate cost of this kit in the EU converted to dollars is $560. In the USA this will probably be less due to exchange rates.

 

 

I am curious of people opinions on the following components:

 

Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E

AMD Sempron 140 2.7GHz Socket AM3 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor

Kingston 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Hyperx Memory Non-ECC Cl5(5-5-5-15) Unbuffered

ASUS M4A78L-M AMD760G Socket AM2+ Gigabit Ethernet DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard

X-Case RM 413 4u Rackmount for 13 x 3.5 +5.25+LCD+Locking front door..

Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8, 8-Port SAS/SATA Card

 

HDDs not included in this price but WD15EARS will be used

 

I have a spare unRAID license kicking about so i thought i would build a cheap 13 disk system.

 

My focus was to choose parts that are residential grade but from good manufacturers, cheap, HDMI, mATX with at least 6 native SATA ports  but most of all easily available globally with relatively little effort.

 

I believe I have managed to do this with the one exception of the SATA card.

 

The approximate cost of this kit in the EU converted to dollars is $560. In the USA this will probably be less due to exchange rates.

 

 

I am curious of people opinions on the following components:

 

Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E

AMD Sempron 140 2.7GHz Socket AM3 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor

Kingston 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Hyperx Memory Non-ECC Cl5(5-5-5-15) Unbuffered

ASUS M4A78L-M AMD760G Socket AM2+ Gigabit Ethernet DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard

X-Case RM 413 4u Rackmount for 13 x 3.5 +5.25+LCD+Locking front door..

Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8, 8-Port SAS/SATA Card

 

HDDs not included in this price but WD15EARS will be used

 

 

Looks good to me!  I was going to do something similar tonight when i got home so i could get the opinions of hero members.  In another thread there was mention of "unRAID techs" that would be build systems for new users.  The only thing i have any real trouble finding here in the states is the X-Case rackmount.

Yeah that's a UK brand name so it is re-badgaed

 

http://www.xcase.co.uk/X-Case-RM-413-4u-Rackmount-p/case-xcase-rm413-lcd.htm

 

 

For the cost its a nice simple case. The Norco is too expensive now.

Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E - Love it

AMD Sempron 140 2.7GHz Socket AM3 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor - Love it

Kingston 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Hyperx Memory Non-ECC Cl5(5-5-5-15) Unbuffered - Fine, but DDR2 800 might be cheaper

ASUS M4A78L-M AMD760G Socket AM2+ Gigabit Ethernet DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard - Looks nice, but otherwise I have no comment

X-Case RM 413 4u Rackmount for 13 x 3.5 +5.25+LCD+Locking front door.. - Also can't find this in the US, so I would probably go for the Norco 4220 or a Chenbro

Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8, 8-Port SAS/SATA Card - Heard good things 

The Norco here add $380 to this build  (thats on top of the price of the case listed above) on so thats a no no

 

FYI the Norco isnt called Norco here as well. Thats the thing with these global re brands you can never find anything but I am certain its out there. This case isnt made in the EU so we just need to find a couple of its aliases.

 

Will see what cost difference DDR2 800 makes.

I didn't mean for you to change the case, I just meant that the US version would probably have to use a different case.

Will see what cost difference DDR2 800 makes.

 

I believe Kingston 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Hyperx are rated with 2.2V so keep this in mind.

 

Since you are buying an Asus motherboard and they do support ECC memories I probably will buy a nice ECC DDR2-800 stick or two instead (believe or not a single 2GB is US$35 with free shipping if you know how to search)

Here is a semi alternative case...

 

Compucase - S506B

http://www.servercase.co.uk/products.asp?ShopByBrand=Compucase

 

9 x 5.25" rack/tower configuration.

For us people in the US we can probably find a case that would work from this site.  Most of those cases are not quite what we need but a couple of these would probably work to fill the case.

 

This case along with the above 3in5, and using the 2 internal 3.5 bays would allow for 11 drives.  It is not the cleanest setup imaginable but the price comes to around $125.

 

This case may be a better choice though.  With the 3in5 along with the 7 internal 3.5 bays we can get 12 drives for about $140.  There is still a 3.5 available that is "visible" so we could have 13 drives, or use that for an LCD, fan controller, or something else.

As per the recommendations in this an a couple of other threads I have downgraded the memory and upgraded the PSU.

 

I chose the coolermaster over the Corsair PSU as it is cheaper, modular, single rail, quiet and a big brand. It also has 9 SATA power connections natively which saved a few $ in hidden splitter costs.

 

The memory may acually in the end be CL6 rather than CL5 due to stock issues.

 

The overall effect of these changes is an increase of approx $20 which for a 50% increase in PSU capacity is worth it IMHO.

 

As always I value opinions.

 

Yet to find the name of this case outside the EU. I am convinced it exists though and is a relative bargain compared to the now very expensive Norco.

 

CoolerMaster 600W Silent Pro Modular PSU - 50A Single Rail 9x SATA 2x PCI-E

AMD Sempron 140 2.7GHz Socket AM3 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor

Corsair 2GB DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory CL5 1.8V

ASUS M4A78L-M AMD760G Socket AM2+ Gigabit Ethernet DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard

X-Case RM 413 4u Rackmount for 13 x 3.5 +5.25+LCD+Locking front door..

Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8, 8-Port SAS/SATA Card

 

Just for reference i got one of these cases.

 

very impressed. strong well laid out.

 

Downside (dont let this take away from all the up sides)

 

buy 6*80mm quiet fans for it.The ones supplied are as loud as a hair dryer.

there is one hole missing for mATX MB. all others line up

 

I would highly recommend this as a base for a 13 disk array with superb clean airflow it is trivial to keep the HDDs quiet and the system can be made super silent.

CoolerMaster 600W Silent Pro Modular PSU - 50A Single Rail 9x SATA 2x PCI-E

 

Just a comment, I remember reading a review on a CoolerMaster PSU where they added 65W to the power supply's actual output wattage. Aside from the false rating, the power supply was pretty good otherwise. I can't recall which line it was exactly but keep in mind that not all CoolerMaster power supplies adhere to stringent standards. Corsair, on the other hand, even underrates their PSU's sometimes.

Good to know.

 

So far it seems a really good PSU and the independent reviews i read seemed to back that up. Time will tell