M.2 NVMe SSD Cache pool recommendation


thil3000

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Hello everyone,

 

A while ago, i built my unraid personal (here read personal usage, not a lot of user connect to it) server here is the configuration right now:

 

unRaid 6.5

i7 6700k

Asus z170-A motherboard

4x 4TB HDD (3 are NAS drive)

1x 2TB HDD (non-NAS drive)

1x M.2 NVMe SSD (intel 600p)

 

So I've got my data on the array (every hdd is in array, one for parity) and my vm (docker + vm file + few games) on the cache (M.2 NVMe). but i'd like to upgrade my cache a little bit since it's not protected by the parity. My intentions are to buy a new motherboard compatible with my current processor, and buy an additional M.2 NVMe SSD. I found the board i'd like to buy, a Z270H since it has two M.2 slots.

 

My question is : since the 600p from intel is now discontinued, should i buy it anyway from elsewhere (ebay, amazon, ...) or would it be better off to buy another make/model? Keeping in mind that they will both be combined in the cache pool. Also if less expensive then buying a second 600p it would maybe be better to go with 2 new M.2 NVMe of the same brand?

 

Thanks for the time, if you need anymore info I'll provide em.

 

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Well i went to newegg and amazon and they were 300$ (CAD) each for 256gb while the 760p are at about half the price for the same capacity... also a computer store told me they were not able to stock em anymore.. so yeah pretty much discontinued imo :/. maybe not discontinued, but not purchasable for a reasonable price.

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Two reasons mainly : 

1. i'd still need to change motherboard, since I dont have any pcie slot available (vm needs). only slot left is a pcie 1x wich these would not work on..

 

and 2. considering 1. (changing board) it would still be more expensive then buying two new m.2 so for cost reason buying two new 960 evo would cost less then 1 900p

 

maybe there is pcie 1x device that exist, I didn't tought of it before tbh, but i'd rather go with a 4x (minimum) anyway. if there's a cheaper pcie ssd that would be a great solution tho !

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Exactly, its a pretty useful board, but i got too many drive to use the included sata port so i have a sata controller, 2 usb controller plus a 2 slot gpu in there x) 

 

to explain a bit, since I use a m.2 ssd, two of the sata port are blocked leaving me with four sata for 5 drive, and also since the third pcie slot is used for the sata controler, i have set it so it is faster using a 4x pcie, and thus disabling two more sata (in bios i've got the choice of either a 4x pcie and disabling sata5-6 or 1x and having both sata). 

 

With that in mind, I could remove my 2tb drive, remove the sata controller and use onboard ones, but then the 900p would still run at 1x

 

I've only think about this now but instead of going with dual m.2, I could use my last sata port to go with a normal ssd instead ? i dont know if it would cause speed issues, or compatibility issue with the m.2 for the cache pool

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