First I want to say hello I'm looking forward to building my unraid box and getting it running. This is going to be my first build ever. I don't have any experience with Linux, scripting, or building computers, so I'm excited yet nervous at the same time. I am building the box to house my movie collection, other media, backup files(I know you still need to backup your backups), and access them from outside the house.

 

I'm planning on building the 20 Drive Beast, but instead building it as a 15 drive capacity server in the Centurion 590 Case. I plan to use the SuperMicro CSE-M35T-1B hot-swap cages with 2TB WD EARS Green Drives(with the jumper installed). However, I do have two 1TB SATA drives (a Hitachi 7200 rpm and a WD EVDS) containing some of my media that I would like to install after the media has been transferred. I'm sorry if my questions are posted somewhere else. I have been doing a lot of reading on the forums and sometimes it can be hard to find exactly what your looking for. So here are some of my questions in regards to thinking out this build:

 

1) Since I am using the CM 590 with the SuperMicro 5 bay enclosures and not the Norco case, will I have any clearance issues with the motherboard and ram installed?. I am guessing I will be OK since the 590 is used in a lot of builds, but I have read that the fan sometimes interferes in mid-tower cases.

 

2) How easy are the SuperMicro hot-swap bays to accidentally open? I share a small 410 sq. ft apartment with my girlfriend so the server won't be hidden away. If someone brushes the buttons by accident how likely is it to open the hard drive bays?

 

3) I have read the reviews on the SuperMicro hot-swap enclosure and lots of people seem to complain that the fan is too loud. I don't have any reference to what “loud” is since I have only used my laptop with a 2.0GHz Dothan processor for the past 7 years. I don't know the size of the CPU fan in the laptop, but runs all the time and I can hear across the apartment (approximately 20 ft). I wouldn't claim it's loud since I have nothing to compare it to. Can anyone give me an idea what “loud” actually is for the hot-swap enclosure? (Yes I know I can change the fan if I need to)

 

4) I have been reading about whether or not I need a cache drive. I haven't decided if I'll use one or not yet, but I do like the idea of at least have the warm spare ready. Anyways, I was reading that you can configure the cache drive in a raid 1 array, my question is, can you have two of the five drives in a hot-swap enclosures to run in a  raid 1 array and still have the other 3 run normally? Sorry if this is dumb question, but I don't have experience with hot-swap drives and raid.

 

Thanks for all the help. Hopefully I worded things clearly enough.

 

  First I want to say hello I'm looking forward to building my unraid box and getting it running.

Hello and welcome!

 

This is going to be my first build ever. I don't have any experience with Linux, scripting, or building computers, so I'm excited yet nervous at the same time. I am building the box to house my movie collection, other media, backup files(I know you still need to backup your backups), and access them from outside the house.

First pc build?  Very cool!  Before I started with unRAID I had ZERO experience with Linux, like many others on here.  You're in good company. 

 

1) Since I am using the CM 590 with the SuperMicro 5 bay enclosures and not the Norco case, will I have any clearance issues with the motherboard and ram installed?

Clearance issues usually come from positioning of the CPU on the motherboard in relation to the drive bays in the front.  The further forward on the board the CPU is (farther from the backplane), the more you need to worry.  You didn't indicate which motherboard you are considering, but if it's one of the common ones used in other 590 builds you should be fine.

 

2) How easy are the SuperMicro hot-swap bays to accidentally open? I share a small 410 sq. ft apartment with my girlfriend so the server won't be hidden away. If someone brushes the buttons by accident how likely is it to open the hard drive bays?

Supermicro makes some of the sturdiest equipment around.  Someone would have to deliberately press the release and pull the handle to disengage the drive.

 

3) I have read the reviews on the SuperMicro hot-swap enclosure and lots of people seem to complain that the fan is too loud. I don't have any reference to what “loud” is since I have only used my laptop with a 2.0GHz Dothan processor for the past 7 years. I don't know the size of the CPU fan in the laptop, but runs all the time and I can hear across the apartment (approximately 20 ft). I wouldn't claim it's loud since I have nothing to compare it to. Can anyone give me an idea what “loud” actually is for the hot-swap enclosure? (Yes I know I can change the fan if I need to)

Fan noise is rated in decibels as db.  A good reference chart can be found here that will help you understand how that noise relates to the number.  According to this site, the FAN-0057L4 fan on that cage is a 32 dba fan, but I don't know how accurate that is.

 

4) I have been reading about whether or not I need a cache drive. I haven't decided if I'll use one or not yet, but I do like the idea of at least have the warm spare ready. Anyways, I was reading that you can configure the cache drive in a raid 1 array, my question is, can you have two of the five drives in a hot-swap enclosures to run in a  raid 1 array and still have the other 3 run normally? Sorry if this is dumb question, but I don't have experience with hot-swap drives and raid.

Don't you think you should walk before you run?    I would worry about your cache drive later.  Quite frankly, you may find that you don't need it, especially if your primary role is a media server.  The cache drive helps when you have a lot of writing to do, but in a media server you generally only write a movie once to the array.

 

I would mention to you that for $299 you can get a 15 hot swap drive Supermicro server case that has triple redundant power supplies (3 power supplies).  Several people on here have ordered from this person and were impressed.  It's a cheaper solution than buying a 590, 3 cages, and a power supply.  It's also less than half what that case usually goes for.  Just giving you options.  You should know that a rackmount server case is usually 26" deep and 17" wide, so it isn't small.

 

One of the great features of unraid is that you can start small and easily add drives as your storage demands increase. I just built a basic system using the $20 c2see mobo and a 590 case.  I started with 3 drives and plan to pick up extras here and there taking advantage of sales. Instead of sitting empty in my server, I'm letting the extra drives sit empty on a store shelf. I'm sure I'll pick up a couple during black friday sales.

 

Unless you need massive amounts of storage immediately, I would start small while giving yourself room to grow. Whatever you decide, good luck on your build.

First pc build?  Very cool!  Before I started with unRAID I had ZERO experience with Linux, like many others on here.  You're in good company. 

That is good to know because some of the stuff takes a bit to understand, but I'm up to the challenge. Always good to keep learning.

 

Clearance issues usually come from positioning of the CPU on the motherboard in relation to the drive bays in the front.  The further forward on the board the CPU is (farther from the backplane), the more you need to worry.  You didn't indicate which motherboard you are considering, but if it's one of the common ones used in other 590 builds you should be fine.

I was going to use the SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O motherboard for the core i3 540. It's suggested in the 20 Drive Beast build here: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=Hardware_Compatibility#20_Drive_Beast

The Norco case is suggested in that build hence why I was curious about the fit in the 590. I know the 540 is more processor than I need now, but I would like to room to expand my capability in the future.

 

Supermicro makes some of the sturdiest equipment around.  Someone would have to deliberately press the release and pull the handle to disengage the drive.

That is good to know, it's just hard to judge when reading newegg since everyone has different expectations. So when someone says they open easily it's hard to know what "easily" really is.

 

Fan noise is rated in decibels as db.  A good reference chart can be found here that will help you understand how that noise relates to the number.  According to this site, the FAN-0057L4 fan on that cage is a 32 dba fan, but I don't know how accurate that is.

Thanks for the reference, doesn't seem too bad, but I guess I'll judge once I pick one up.

 

Don't you think you should walk before you run?    I would worry about your cache drive later.  Quite frankly, you may find that you don't need it, especially if your primary role is a media server.  The cache drive helps when you have a lot of writing to do, but in a media server you generally only write a movie once to the array.

I agree, it wasn't something I would try until further down the line and comfortable with unraid, but I like to have an idea of what I would like further down the line so I can plan from the ground up accordingly. That said sometimes I do get carried away. 

 

I would mention to you that for $299 you can get a 15 hot swap drive Supermicro server case that has triple redundant power supplies (3 power supplies).  Several people on here have ordered from this person and were impressed.  It's a cheaper solution than buying a 590, 3 cages, and a power supply.  It's also less than half what that case usually goes for.  Just giving you options.  You should know that a rackmount server case is usually 26" deep and 17" wide, so it isn't small.

Thanks for the info. I thought about a rack mount case, but I just don't have room for it that is why I'm going with the tower. Plus I just purchased the 590 case and seeing if I can find some good sales during the holidays.

 

One of the great features of unraid is that you can start small and easily add drives as your storage demands increase. I just built a basic system using the $20 c2see mobo and a 590 case.  I started with 3 drives and plan to pick up extras here and there taking advantage of sales. Instead of sitting empty in my server, I'm letting the extra drives sit empty on a store shelf. I'm sure I'll pick up a couple during black friday sales.

 

Unless you need massive amounts of storage immediately, I would start small while giving yourself room to grow. Whatever you decide, good luck on your build.

Congrats on your build. Thanks for the advice. I plan to start small and work my way up, but I am also trying to minimize extra costs by planning up front. Even though I know stuff usually comes up. 

Just an FYI on the fan noise.  I live in a condo and have a Lian Li Armour 50 case.  I also have the 5 in 3 Icy Dock cages.  The fans on those were too loud for me.  Sitting 10ft away I could hear the whir of the fans.  It was definitely annoying.  Much to loud for a bedroom or living room.  I replaced all the fans with Nexus Silent 92mm fans and it made a huge difference.

 

The supermicro are apparently even louder than the Icy Docks.

 

Just an FYI on the fan noise.  I live in a condo and have a Lian Li Armour 50 case.  I also have the 5 in 3 Icy Dock cages.  The fans on those were too loud for me.  Sitting 10ft away I could hear the whir of the fans.  It was definitely annoying.  Much to loud for a bedroom or living room.  I replaced all the fans with Nexus Silent 92mm fans and it made a huge difference.

 

The supermicro are apparently even louder than the Icy Docks.

 

 

Thanks for the info. I couldn't find the airflow cfm numbers for the fan in Icy Dock cage, but the SuperMicro fan is rated at 56.3 cfm. The Nexus Silent 92mm fans says 27 cfm, would that be enough to still cool the hard drives effectively? The Nexus website mentions something about static pressure, but they fail to elaborate on this point. http://www.nexustek.nl/NXS-nexus92mmrealsilentcasefan.htm How have your temps been in your condo with the Nexus fans?

Honestly, 27 cfm is not sufficient to properly cool 5 drives sandwiched together during a parity check.  I would suggest you look at 4 in 3 solutions if sound and cooling are concerns for you, because they allow more spacing between drives and you can find them with 120mm fans.  120mm opens you up to a world of options on airflow and quietness.  Another alternative is to use green drives (5400 rpm or lower), because they put out significantly less heat.  My Samsung is usually 5C lower than my Hitachis.

Well on a parity check with 9 drives, my hard drive temps max out at around 38C...except for one old one that hits 45C.  Keep in mind of the drives only 4 are the WD Green 2TB EARS drive.  I'm slowly moving to all WD Green.  So, in my mind should be ok. Keep in mind for the 92mm fan you need to get a 80 to 92 mm converter than hot glue the convertor to the cage, then hot glue the fan to the converter to seal up any spaces so the pressure is good.  That's what I did anyhow.

I should add I also have one 120mm rear fan and two 140mm top fans, so all the hot air is moved out pretty good.

... my hard drive temps max out at around 38C...except for one old one that hits 45C.

The debate is neverending about what acceptable temps are for hard drives.  In my mind, anything over 35C starts to hurt the drive's longevity.  45C is way too hot.  In my system, with very quiet 120mm fans, my 7200 rpm drives don't go above 30C during a parity check.

 

Keep in mind of the drives only 4 are the WD Green 2TB EARS drive.

That's half your drives.    You're getting a lot of benefit from the lower heat output of the green drives, so your array as a whole is cooler, and the residual heat being passed to the "collective" is lower.

... my hard drive temps max out at around 38C...except for one old one that hits 45C.

The debate is neverending about what acceptable temps are for hard drives.  In my mind, anything over 35C starts to hurt the drive's longevity.  45C is way too hot.  In my system, with very quiet 120mm fans, my 7200 rpm drives don't go above 30C during a parity check.

 

Keep in mind of the drives only 4 are the WD Green 2TB EARS drive.

That's half your drives.    You're getting a lot of benefit from the lower heat output of the green drives, so your array as a whole is cooler, and the residual heat being passed to the "collective" is lower.

 

When my drives aren't spun down they typically run around the 35-37 range.  Running a parity check I can hit 45C.  The thing that hurt s me most though is that my server sits in the same room as my fireplace that i use to heat the whole house.

The thing that hurt s me most though is that my server sits in the same room as my fireplace that i use to heat the whole house.

YIKES! 

The thing that hurt s me most though is that my server sits in the same room as my fireplace that i use to heat the whole house.

YIKES! 

 

Yeah, not the most ideal situation. I am going to be relocating it into my laundry room that is considerably cooler 90% of the time.

Just as long as your laundry room isn't humid...

 

As I replace my older drives I expect my temps to go lower.  I notice my green drives never get hotter than 35C when doing a parity check.

Just as long as your laundry room isn't humid...

 

As I replace my older drives I expect my temps to go lower.  I notice my green drives never get hotter than 35C when doing a parity check.

 

Nope, the dryer is vented outside so that helps a lot.  I also have a dehumidifier in the room ready to plug in when i get everything moved in there.