Unraid server low power

[bram]

Hi, trying to build a low power unraid server with these components.

 

Intel Core i5-9400 Boxed
Fujitsu D3644-B
1x Samsung 970 EVO 1TB (have it already)
2x Crucial CT16G4WFD8266 16GB have them already
Leicke ULL Power Supply 120 W
Mini-box picoPSU PicoPSU-160-XT

4x wd red nas 3tb (have them already)

 

it is mostly gonna be used with docker, sabnzb,radarr,sonarr and plex.

i dont need transcoding.

 

I need some input on this, is it possible to get lower on power consumption.

And can this handle what i want to do with it.

 

any tips, suggestions?

 

Regards,

 

Bram

[Decto]

Hi,

 

I've only been on unraid a couple of years but have had home servers I've tried to keep efficient for the last 15 years.

 

Most Intel cpus are very efficient at idle so little to choose between them unless going for atom class parts, just spec what you think will last. 6C 6T should be good for many years (though 2C 4T would probably use a little less power at idle) and if you do want to use transcoding the IGPU takes the load once configured that way.

 

Motherboards are a personal choice, my old WHS ran for 10 years on a consumer grade MSI board. The board is still fine now, repurosed for flashing cards, drives etc on the bench.  Server boards may prove more reliable though without any remote access features you're paying a premium for a base spec. I'd either pay less for a consumer board, or more for a board with remote features.

 

PSU is where I'd differ. I far prefer a conventional PSU for multiple spinning drives and you never know when you may want to expand to add extra contreller cards etc. 3.5" disks can pull up to 2A during spin up, when your array of 4 drives starts to spin up, thats a lot of surge for a 12V inline adapter to handle along with CPU demand with little space for smothing capacitors etc. This can be for a parity check or any other purpose.

 

You'll get a good brand 300-500W gold supply in the same budget. 300W is likely to be more efficient at low wattage.

When I did some testing a few years back with an I5 2400s in a mini ITX board and using a good 12V adapter, the Pico 120 idled around 22W while a Huntkey Gold 300W PSU idled around 4W higher. Note the Huntkey wasn't what I would call a quality brand but it was never under any stress so is still fine now. 

 

In my view, the Pico's and similar are great for many small build purposes, but when it comes to mutiple spinning drives, I'd much rather have a purpose build PSU with some reserve especially when the power consuption difference can be minimal.