NORCO RPC-4220 w/20 drive bay + Free mobo - $360

[Senjo]

From Newegg:

"NORCO RPC-4220 4U Rackmount Server Chassis w/ 20 Hot-Swappable SATA/SAS Drive Bays - OEM

Free ASUS motherboard w/ purchase, limited offer" $349.99 + $9.99 shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219033

 

This is the motherboard, and gets added to your cart when you add the Chassis, valued at $174.99. ASUS P5BV-M LGA 775 Intel 3200 Micro ATX Intel Xeon Server Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131257

[prostuff1]

The board has a Broadcom base NIC, would be interesting to see if it would work with unRAID.

[Msan]

Thats a great deal.. and shipping is cheap too (that thing is HEAVY)

[Rajahal]

Too bad this is expired, I would have jumped on that deal.

[prostuff1]

Too bad this is expired, I would have jumped on that deal.

 

If I was not in the process of buying a house i would have been all over this also.  Damn priorities...

[smeehrrr]

Doesn't look expired to me.  At least I just put it in my cart, I haven't actually checked out yet.

[Rajahal]

Doesn't look expired to me.  At least I just put it in my cart, I haven't actually checked out yet.

 

Oh snap, you are right!  I was looking in the combo deal part at the bottom instead of the large red text at the top.

 

OK, before I snag this, a few questions about the mobo, since I'm not that familiar with intel boards:

 

1) The CPU socket type is the standard LGA 775, but the compatible CPU types listed are all Xeons, which are definitely overpowered for unRAID.  Can I plug a lower powered, cheaper, desktop-grade CPU into that board?  Something like the Celeron 430, perhaps?

 

2) Anyone know if this board can handle two Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8's in the dual PCIe x8 slots?  If so, then this board could be the basis of a 20 drive server without using the PCI bus at all.

 

I'll probably still grab this deal, but I'm considering just selling the included mobo to offset the cost of the case, since I'm not sure the mobo is too great for unRAID.  Even if I only get $100 for the mobo, that's a significant discount on the case.

[prostuff1]

Doesn't look expired to me.  At least I just put it in my cart, I haven't actually checked out yet.

 

Oh snap, you are right!  I was looking in the combo deal part at the bottom instead of the large red text at the top.

 

OK, before I snag this, a few questions about the mobo, since I'm not that familiar with intel boards:

 

1) The CPU socket type is the standard LGA 775, but the compatible CPU types listed are all Xeons, which are definitely overpowered for unRAID.  Can I plug a lower powered, cheaper, desktop-grade CPU into that board?  Something like the Celeron 430, perhaps?

 

2) Anyone know if this board can handle two Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8's in the dual PCIe x8 slots?  If so, then this board could be the basis of a 20 drive server without using the PCI bus at all.

 

I'll probably still grab this deal, but I'm considering just selling the included mobo to offset the cost of the case, since I'm not sure the mobo is too great for unRAID.  Even if I only get $100 for the mobo, that's a significant discount on the case.

 

The only way to know if the CPU will work is by trying it.  I am going to assume that 2 Supermicro cards would work with this board.  Server class boards tend to be a little less picky about thing like this.  Controller cards in x16 graphics cards slots tend to be the big problem.

 

I am a little more concerned about the NIC chipset in this board, but it will be interesting to see if it works or not.

[Rajahal]

Thanks prostuff.  I'll take my chances with the CPU, as I can't see any reason why it won't work.  If it doesn't, I can always just return it or resell it.

 

One last question before I pull the trigger on this:

 

What type of SAS cables should I use to go from the Supermicro cards directly to the Norco backplane?  I think it would be pretty neat to have a 20 drive server that uses only 8 cables (4 SAS for 16 drives, plus 4 SATA for the last 4).

[smeehrrr]

Oh why not, I'm in for one.  We'll see how it goes.

[Rajahal]

Yep, me too.  Last time I thought about it too long, I missed the deal.  I threw in a Celeron 430 and the total came out right around $400.  All my other components should work (RAM, PSU, HDDs).  The only things I'm missing are the Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8s and the SAS cables.

[boof]

Being in Europe and missing out on these deals makes me sad

 

Norco cases are twice the price here.

[Senjo]

That Celeron should be fine in it. Here's a list of the processors that should work in it according to ASUS:

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5BV-M&product=5&os=29

 

Even if the Broadcom integrated NIC isn't supported in unraid, could you use an Intel based gigabit addon card in one of the PCI slots?

[prostuff1]

Even if the Broadcom integrated NIC isn't supported in unraid, could you use an Intel based gigabit addon card in one of the PCI slots?

 

Yup, disable the onboard one in BIOS and use the PCI one for your needs.

[klipsch]

What power supply would you guys recommend (best bang for buck)?

 

550w good enough (not planning to use more 10 to 12 drives at first)?

[Rajahal]

I'm going to start out with a Corsair 450W VX that I already own.  Theoretically (according to PSU calculators) it should support up to 20 drives, even if they aren't green drives.  However, I haven't been able to test that in practice yet, and I probably won't for a while since I don't expect to have 20 drives for at least another few months.

 

If you want to be absolutely sure that you won't have any problems and you don't mind the $30 difference, get the Corsair 550W VX.

[klipsch]

Thanks 

 

I actually had this one in my cart already ... glad to have it confirmed!

 

So the

Corsair 550 PS

430 Celeron

Norco Case

Free Asus P5BV-M LGA

1 PROMISE SATA300 TX4 PCI SATA II 4-Port Adapter

2 GB Kingston RAM

 

This will be my first time with unRAID ... and I am new to the forums ...

Am I missing anything (besides the HDs and flash drive)?

[jouyang]

Yes, you probably need a couple of the SAS->SATA cables. Sorry, I forgot the model #. Maybe other will remember.

[klipsch]

I added these?

NORCO C-SFF8087-4S Discrete to SFF-8087 Reverse breakout to go to MOBO correct?

[Rajahal]

Don't buy yet...give me some time and I'll post something helpful...gotta take a conference call right now.

[grimm2000]

MWAVE has this same case without the motherboard ofcourse for $299.98.  I have been contimplating purchasing the NEWEGG deal with the motherboard, but I really don't need another motherboard at the moment.  I will probably pull the trigger from one of these two places by the end of the day.

 

With shipping and tax it comes t0 344.36 @ MWave..

[klipsch]

Thanks Rajahal!

 

I'm off to a meeting myself ...

[Rajahal]

MWAVE has this same case without the motherboard ofcourse for $299.98.  I have been contimplating purchasing the NEWEGG deal with the motherboard, but I really don't need another motherboard at the moment.  I will probably pull the trigger from one of these two places by the end of the day.

 

Just buy the Newegg bundle then resell the motherboard if you don't want it.  That's my backup plan in case the mobo turns out not to be compatible with unRAID.  Getting a $180 mobo for $50 sounds like a good deal to me.  If you could resell the mobo for even $100, that would mean you got the Norco 4220 for $250, which would be a helluva deal.

 

klipsch: the cable you linked above looks like the correct one to connect the Norco 4220's back planes to standard SATA slots.  I bought this one instead (found an open box deal for $8.99 + shipping, about $15 total), but they look like the same cable from different companies.  The Norco one is a few dollars cheaper (sans the open box deal) and actually lists the Norco 4220 on the tech specs page, so that's a good sign.  Go for it, but only buy one.  Use it to connect one of the backplanes to your motherboard's onboard SATA ports.

 

However, I would not recommend buying the Promise TX4 card for use in a Norco 4220.  While it is a workhorse of a PCI card, it is just that - a PCI card.  That means that your parity check speeds will be significantly bottlenecked.  With a 20 drive server, I could easily see a parity check taking over 24 hours with this bottleneck.

 

For only a little bit more (~$30 per card), you can get the SuperMicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 (Newegg currently doesn't carry them, unfortunately).  Each card supports up to 8 drives, not just 4.  The appropriate SAS to SAS cables are roughly the same price as well (note that you will need two cables per card, for a total of 4 cables).

 

My plan for my Norco 4220 is to populate it with the free Asus mobo (assuming it works with unRAID), then eventually add in two of the above cards.  Therefore, 4 onboard SATA slots plus 8 drive SAS slots on two separate cards totals 20 drives (4 + 8 + .  20 fast drives at that, no PCI bottleneck.  Parity check speeds will be significantly faster with this setup.  

 

It will actually be slightly cheaper too, in the long run.  To get to 20 drives using the Promise TX4 would require 4 separate cards at $70 each (total $280 for cards only) instead of 2 separate SuperMicro cards at about $100 each, plus cables (about $260 total for both cards and cables).

 

Edit: Actually, I just realized that isn't even possible with this board since it has only 2 PCI slots.  Therefore, definitely do not get the Promise TX4.

 

Just yesterday I updated the 20 Drive Beast Recommended Build with information about the 4220 and the cables required.  It may help guide you a bit, or at least reassure you.

[klipsch]

Thanks Rajahal!

 

I am planning to pull the trigger once I get home ...

 

your info is much appreciated ...

[Rajahal]

It is alive!

 

Good god, the Norco 4220 is the LOUDEST case I have ever heard.  Seriously, very, very loud.  I'll be switching out the fans ASAP, because this is just ridiculous.  It sounds like a jet engine.

 

The included Asus motherboard seems to boot from unRAID just fine!  I build a simple test array using unRAID 4.5.1 basic, and it seems to be working just fine!  Clearing and formatting the drives now.  I create a more detailed post with a syslog in the Motherboards forum.