hardware help for my first Unraid server.


BVL1

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Hi guys,

I was looking for a home storage/server solution when i found a clip of Linus tech tips about Unraid. After seeing that i look up some more info and video's about Unraid and decided that Unraid will be the solution i wanna try out. This mainly cuz its looks like it has a lot of features and is easy to use for people like me that are not pc programming experts.

What am i looking to do:
-Store and share movies/music and be able to watch those on my main pc + tv. (For tv i gonna need plex)
-Be able to run a torrent & nzb program
-Use it to backup important files from the pc's/laptops. Files like excel/word document, pictures etc.

Now i was wondering what kind of hardware would be the best for this. I do have some hardware i might be able to use for it if it isnt "overkill" for what i need. Cuz if it would be overkill i could use that hardware for other project like my daughters first game pc.

Spare hardware:
Mobo: Asus x470-f https://www.asus.com/be-nl/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-X470-F-GAMING/
Cpu: AMD 2700x
Sdd: Samsung 970 512 (maybe as cache)
Ram: Nothing
GPU: 980TI  (but don't think we need a gpu right)

Hdd's i have 2x10tb and some smaller drives, but i am looking to buy 2 more 10TB drives, and maybe more in the future when i need them.

My budget for the hardware is 500-750€ (10tb drives/case not included)
Ofcourse if a cheaper system will do what i want it to do, i wont complain :D
 

I hope you guys can give me some advise.


Thanks
Ben.



 

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Hey Ben, welcome to Unraid!

 

Quote

What am i looking to do:
-Store and share movies/music and be able to watch those on my main pc + tv. (For tv i gonna need plex)
-Be able to run a torrent & nzb program
-Use it to backup important files from the pc's/laptops. Files like excel/word document, pictures etc.

First of all, you can definitely do this with Unraid.

 

Secondly, if I compare these requirements to the hardware you're mentioning, it will probably be overkill. It doesn't seem like you're planning on running a lot of Plex streams at once, nor does it look like you will do any other heavy work with the server. That being said, the Ryzen processor doesn't have an integrated GPU. Just keep in mind that if you're going to use the Ryzen and you need to be in the BIOS or something, I believe that you will need to have a GPU connected. (I'm not 100% sure this, so correct me if I'm wrong).

 

My first Unraid build (which I'm currently still using) consisted out of:

- i3 8100

- WD Reds 3x 4TB

- Crucial MX500 500GB SSD

- HyperX Fury 2x8GB RAM

 

So far, so good and didn't have any issues with it yet. I'm running Sonarr, Radarr, Deluge, Sabnzb, Jacket and Medusa for the downloading part. Works like a charm! Not saying this is the best build for you, but just pointing out an example.

 

Good luck!

 

 

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Hey dampoe, thanks for your answer!

I do have some other questions. Since the hardware i have is overkill and could be used to build a pc for my daughter i might be better buying new hardware.
Like you mentioned, the unraid server will be mainly used to download and stream movies/music. It would be max 2 streams at once and even that wont happen often.  Besides that i would also use it to store a duplicate of my most important files from our "work" pc. 

After reading the specs you wrote i was thinking about this setup:
-Cpu: Amd 2200g

-mobo: like a b450 board with enough sata ports
-ram: 8gb or 16gb?
-Psu: 500w should be enough i guess.
And depending of the total price maybe an NVME as cache instead the samsung 970 evo ssd i have.

Whats your opinion? Would this work or would i go for a cpu thats a bit stronger?


Thanks in advance for your help man, its greatly appreciated.

Grtz
Ben.



 

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Personally, I would go for a slightly more powerful CPU to be somewhat more future proof. Let's say, at some point a relative sees your Plex library and is like ' hey, can I also watch that TV show when I'm at home' (reflecting on experience here), then it's probably safer to go with a better one, but this totally depends on you. Also, I'm assuming that by 2 streams you don't mean 2 4k 60z streams.

 

If you're not going to run a VM and 20 docker containers, I think 8GB would be enough. Definitely go for enough SATA ports, my first motherboard only had 4 of these and I outgrew it pretty fast.

 

Regards

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5 minutes ago, BVL1 said:

Thanks for the help dampoe, your info helps a lot.
Gonna watch my local vendors and see if i can find a good deal on a better cpu.

 

Try looking for a used pc with the specs you're looking for it may be cheaper I built my server from my old i7 6700 and its been great for the last 2 years 6-8 streams in PLEX 15 dockers including the ones you listed have fun with it!

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59 minutes ago, Beaker69 said:

Ben 

 

Welcome to the Unraid community. My first system was an old Athlon X4 860k and that run fine. But I soon out grew it and now use an old server board.

 

May I recommend watching the videos by Unraid Guru @SpaceInvaderOne on Youtube, his videos got me 90% of where I am now and the other 10% was with the help on people on this forum.

 

Enjoy😃

Thanks man, i didnt know that channel yet will take a look at it

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys, i'm here once again for some advice.

First of all, i got most hardware now to build the server. (Its gonne be most hardware i already had from  my last gaming rig)

Mobo: asus rog strix x470-f
Cpu: AMD Ryzen 2700x
Ram:  2x 8GB sticks for corsair vengeance ddr4 3200MHz

Now i found and order a case to put it all in:
https://www.inter-tech.de/en/products/ipc/storage-cases/4u-4408
 

The only thing is this case has: "2x Hot-Swap backplanes with one SFF-8087 socket each"
So i need a way to connect those to my motherboard.  On the site they say to buy a SFF-8087 to 4x S-ATA, cross-over cable.

But even if i do, i only have 6 s-ata connections on my motherboard..

Cable:
https://www.inter-tech.de/en/products/cable/data-cable/cable-88885237

So what should i do, buy a card with more s-ata ports and use 2 of those cables? Or is it better to buy a sas card instead.
And are there important things to watch out for when buying a card?


 

Edited by BVL1
typo
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