June 21, 200719 yr I'm new to the forum and have a couple of questions. Is anyone using the COOLER MASTER CM Stacker STC-T01-UW case? I need to know if I can fit 3 AMS DS-3151SSBK 3.5" SATA Backplane Modules into the case without doing major surgery. Does the CM Stacker have drive rails that would get in the way of these 5 into 3 (5 hard drives into 3 - 5 1/4 bays) cages? The CM Stacker http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119042 The AMS SATA cage http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817332011 I'm trying to put together a list of the additional items I'm going to need to complete a 14 500 GB drive unRaid system. I have the drives already and right now I'm at a little over $600 for the remainder of the system (plus the unRaid software). Here's what it looks like so far: COOLER MASTER CM Stacker STC-T01-UW Black/ Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Full Tower Computer Case - $145.00 MSI NX7100GS-TD128E GeForce 7100GS 512MB(128MB on Board) GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card - $32.99 (2) COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS-430-PMSR/P 430W Power Supply - $59.98 ($29.99 each) AMS DS-3151SSBK 3.5" SATA SATA Backplane Module - $119.99 I have 2 already Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N5K2/1G - $56.99 ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - $81.99 (2) PROMISE SATA300 TX4 PCI SATA II Controller Card - $119.98 ($59.99 each) Kingston DataTraveler I 1GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) Model DTI/1GB - $10.49 Still considering CPUs. Any comments on these components would be appreciated.
June 22, 200719 yr We have those components in-house - I can go see how they fit tomorrow and report back. As for motherboard - I would recommend Asus P5B-VM DO. It has on-board video, 7 on-board internal SATA connectors, plus 1 eSATA connector. Add two Promise SATA300TX4's and you can support up to 15 internal drives + 1 external drive. Hint: next release of unRAID will support 16 drives. The board is not quirk-free: once you get 13 or more hard drives installed, the Flash no longer appears in the boot list ?! Setting bios to make USB mass storage appear as "Forced-FDD" seems to solve problem, at least with all Flash devices we've tested with so far (but which isn't a lot).
June 22, 200719 yr Author Thanks. Much appreciated. I'll take a look at the other Asus board. I have an Asus P5B-Plus with an Intel 4300 - overclocks like a gerbil on speed. I was pleased to see the E version on the list of boards that work with unRaid. As soon as I get a little more info here and from a friend who also has worked with unRaid lately, I'm going to dive in. This looks like the perfect solution for my HD collection. I've read the occasional post on AVS about unRaid, but the value didn't hit me until I lost some content on RAID 0 arrays recently. Also, after the research I've been doing into RAID 5, an entire unRaid system looks like it will cost me less than a good RAID 5 card alone. Exciting stuff! Could you give me the name of one of those flash drives that you know resolves the boot quirk on that board?
June 22, 200719 yr Author I'm going to stay with Asus P5B-E and the separate video card because it has DVI out and will fit in with my multi-computer viewing habits. Unless there's some particular reason I shouldn't? (Total price is about the same.) I substituted a Sandisk Cruzer Micro for the Kingston Datatraveler. Still waiting on the info about the CM Stacker and drive cage. If they work smoothly, I'm ready to buy. All I have to do is hit the button at Newegg and all the hardware I need is on its way.
June 22, 200719 yr Yes, the AMS SATA cage fits perfectly in the Stacker. Theoretically you could get 20 drives in there! Not sure how you get 20 SATA ports though.
June 22, 200719 yr Author 8 SATA ports on the Asus motherboard and 4x3=12 Adaptec PCI SATA ports? I'll start with 14 drives, though, and still have room for a couple more when you revise the software to support 16.
June 22, 200719 yr Author Done! Just ordered at Newegg. I'll be downloading the unRaid software when I get the rest of the gear. Thanks.
June 23, 200719 yr In the past Promise firmware wouldn't support more than 8 drives. Maybe could use a m/b with 8 SATA ports, 2 PCI Promise cards, and 1 4-port PCIe card would get 20 ports. Problem, though is how willing are you to have 1 parity drive for 19 data drives? The wider the array, the greater the chance of 2 disks failing simultaneously, thus resulting in data loss (though not complete data loss thanks to unRAID). Anyway it would be tempting to put it together just to see if everything can handle that many drives (bios, drivers, linux, etc).
June 23, 200719 yr Author Don't know if I want to test that. I'm feeling really good about getting away from the risks of RAID 0. Looking forward to the 16 drive version, though. I already have the extra 2 500 giggers.
October 10, 200718 yr As for motherboard - I would recommend Asus P5B-VM DO. The board is not quirk-free: once you get 13 or more hard drives installed, the Flash no longer appears in the boot list ?! Setting bios to make USB mass storage appear as "Forced-FDD" seems to solve problem, at least with all Flash devices we've tested with so far (but which isn't a lot). Will it work with Corsair Flash Voyager? I already bought a Flash Voyager... and I am on the verge of ordering that specific motherboard. I need to get the stuff so I can put the server together next week, I will have the whole week "wife-and-kids-free" to fiddle with the server.
October 10, 200718 yr I use that board and that USB and it works fine. Just remember to set the USB to forced-FDD in the BIOS. Bill
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