Building 2nd Unraid server but smaller one.

[nmotion96]

I'm currently piecing together a 2nd unraid server but something smaller.  My other unraid server was build with parts similar to the MD-1510/LI sold here.  It now has 16 hard drives and I would like something smaller that I can keep on all the time.

 

This is what I came up with so far.

 

Case: LIAN LI PC-V354B Black Aluminum MicroATX Mini Tower.  Fans in front and top so cooling looks good and looks like it can handle 8 3.5 drives and 2 2.5 drives.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112300

 

Motherboard/cpu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182234

 

Gonna put 3 2TB hard drives in to start.  But gonna wait for some good prices on them and good pricing on a power supply.

 

Would the low power Atom CPU have any effect on the performance of the server?  Also I have 1gb of ram that I'm gonna throw in there.  Is 1gb good enough or should I get another stick?

 

[kenoka]

There have been a lot of good deals on the Corsair CX430 of late, which is perfect for your build.

 

The Atom is fine for unRAID duty, as long as you're not running any seriously CPU intensive add ons. 1GB of RAM is fine with the same caveat.

 

That seems like an awfully large amount to spend to save a few watts. Have you worked out how long it will take for you to make up the difference? I'm talking about your Atom build with server board vs. a Celeron or Sempron build.

[nmotion96]

There have been a lot of good deals on the Corsair CX430 of late, which is perfect for your build.

 

The Atom is fine for unRAID duty, as long as you're not running any seriously CPU intensive add ons. 1GB of RAM is fine with the same caveat.

 

That seems like an awfully large amount to spend to save a few watts. Have you worked out how long it will take for you to make up the difference? I'm talking about your Atom build with server board vs. a Celeron or Sempron build.

 

Yeah I saw the deal on the corsair cx430 but was late on getting on it.

 

I'm not running any add ons on the large unraid server and it has a 2.8ghz core 2 dual with 4gb of memory.  So I dont plan on running any one this build either.

 

I just searched supermicron boards cause it was used in the other server and seem to work really well.  How much would a celeron setup cost and would the board fit that case?  I'm not sure how much power would be saved but I was thinking it would lower heat output also.

[coldflame]

From what I read people say Atom is OK for WHS and Unraid. I personally however am not happy with Atom performance in either my WHS or my Unraid. It is not a whole lot slower but just a bit. Given that energy savings are minimal going from something like a 45w Sempron to the Atom I myself seriously doubt it's worth it though.

[mbryanr]

How about this?

 

BIOSTAR TA880GB+

AMD Athlon II Regor -just to be different than a Sempron 140 or 145

 

Also...you can try "Raj's designs", although I notice a few of the components are already discontinued.

 

 

 

[nmotion96]

There have been a lot of good deals on the Corsair CX430 of late, which is perfect for your build.

 

The Atom is fine for unRAID duty, as long as you're not running any seriously CPU intensive add ons. 1GB of RAM is fine with the same caveat.

 

That seems like an awfully large amount to spend to save a few watts. Have you worked out how long it will take for you to make up the difference? I'm talking about your Atom build with server board vs. a Celeron or Sempron build.

 

Yeah I saw the deal on the corsair cx430 but was late on getting on it.

 

I'm not running any add ons on the large unraid server and it has a 2.8ghz core 2 dual with 4gb of memory.  So I dont plan on running any one this build either.

 

I just searched supermicron boards cause it was used in the other server and seem to work really well.  How much would a celeron setup cost and would the board fit that case?  I'm not sure how much power would be saved but I was thinking it would lower heat output also.

 

I have the hp whs one with the celeron cpu and the console is so slow that i can't use it too.  Its ok at first after you install the os but over time it slows down for some reason and i'm not using any addons.  Using it for storage is ok but if one of the drives dies you can't do much without access to the console.

[nmotion96]

How about this?

 

BIOSTAR TA880GB+

AMD Athlon II Regor -just to be different than a Sempron 140 or 145

 

Also...you can try "Raj's designs", although I notice a few of the components are already discontinued.

 

 

 

 

Yeah i saw some or Raj's designs.  How is the biostar quality vs supermicron.  I figured that the cpu and board is about $100 plus i'll need to get come ram and a fan since it is an oem cpu.  That will bring it up to about $140-150.

[mbryanr]

Hopefully others will answer you regarding the biostar v. supermicro.  

 

How about this build in the attached screenshot

  
Motherboard:   $44.99
CPU:           $36.99
Memory:        $38.99
PSU:           $34.99
Case:          $149.99

Prices include MIR.  Subtract $8 for the CPU/Memory Combo

 

Total:  $297.95.

 

 

Also, if you were willing to sacrifice the micro-ATX case...you could save some more.

Lian-Li PC-K7B

 

[Rajahal]

I've had no quality issues with the 6 or so Biostar boards that have passed through my hands.  My order of preference is Biostar, SuperMicro, Asus (based on personal experiences and price).

 

However, the best deal for a tiny yet capable motherboard that I've found is the ZOTAC GF6100-E-E.  This board can support up to 6 drives with a PCIe x1 SATA card.  Notice that I use it for nearly all of my 3 - 6 drive builds.

[nmotion96]

I was going to start off with 3 2TB drives for about 4tb of space, but since the blackfriday special i decided that for the same price of 3 drives i can get 5.  Then a mixed up in ordering and since newegg is so fast.  When I tried to cancel it said it was getting packed and ready for shipping.  So in the end I'm gonna end up with 7 2TB drives now.  Just need to find a deal on a powersupply.