Hi All,

 

Well like many other topics on here, I was hoping that some more knowledgeable persons than me could take a look at my current UnRAID plans and let me know if you think this can work or not.  Here are the components I already have:

 

Alienware full tower case

Thermaltake Silent Purepower Series 680APD PSU

(Here is a link to an old review I found of the PSU http://www.legitreviews.com/article/176/1/)

 

Now for the components that I am going to buy:

 

 

The Revo is obviously not for the UnRAID setup, I am going to be using that for my xbmc machine in my bedroom.

 

I also have a number of other hard drives both internal and external ranging in sizes from 250GB (thinking cache drive) to 2tb.

 

I saw the ASRock mobo in another thread and saw that it would a good alternative mobo for eventually expanding this array to a 20 drive beast. 

 

What I am most concerned with is the PSU.  I am not very well versed in the PSU jargon, and I was hoping to confirm that it will work ok with this setup.  I think it has enough power for my current setup, as well as if I decide to one day expand the array to 20 +drives, but I just want to make sure everything is compatible, and that I am not missing anything.

 

Thanks for your help :-)

For unRAID, it's really better to have a power supply that has a single rail for the 12V line. That PSU has 3, which supply 15, 15, and 8 amps. If you're not really careful on how you distribute power to your hard drives, you could overload any one of those rails. By contrast, the Corsair 65 0TX has a single 12V rail with 52 amps of current available. In my opinion it is a superior PSU, especially for this application.

 

Everything else looks fine to me.

That PSU has 3, which supply 15, 15, and 8 amps. If you're not really careful on how you distribute power to your hard drives, you could overload any one of those rails.

Your problem here is going to be how to determine which connectors are on what rail.

 

By contrast, the Corsair 65 0TX has a single 12V rail with 52 amps of current available. In my opinion it is a superior PSU, especially for this application.

I would seriously consider getting this power supply.  It will handle anything you can throw at it.  At a minimum I would get one with a single 12v rail. 

 

 

fwiw, I would get a motherboard that has IPMI...

IPMI is just the coolest feature ever...

 

of course some may say IPMI is not really needed, and they are probably correct... but still I think I am in love with IPMI:)

 

and why an alienware case? isn't that a bit of a strange case choice? the NORCO's are kinda nice...

 

Here are the components I already have:

 

Alienware full tower case

He already has the case.  Why spend $250+ for a case to house 3 drives if you've got something that will do the job right now?  You may need to upgrade in the future, but I don't see the need right now.

oh, I got that, and I am not saying he is wrong...

I just think Alienware cases are strange in general, and strange for unraid too...

oh, I got that, and I am not saying he is wrong...

I just think Alienware cases are strange in general, and strange for unraid too...

 

like the previous poster said, i have the alienware case from a previous computer that i built.  It was given to me for free by my brother in law.  For now there really isn't a reason for me to buy a case when I only have 4 drives, and the alienware fits 9 comfortably.

 

I would definitely upgrade the case however in the future.

 

Thanks for the information on the PSU, i figured I would run into that sort of problem.

You are supposed to force a firmware upgrade on those Seagate drives, which is a real PITA.  I prefer using WD Green EARS and installing a jumper, which takes 2 seconds.