Switching to Unraid


SirAleks

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Hi there!

 

After years of using a Mac mini with Promise Pegasus RAID for Plex, Nextcloud, Teamspeak and some other smaller services I am looking for something new.

The new setup will primarily focus on virtualization (VM & Docker) and the Plex VM will utilize the Quadro P2200 for hardware transcoding.

Also I wanna be able be overall more flexible for random experimental setups and getting more storage if needed.


Currently I plan to run a cache pool (RAID 1) with the two 970 EVO Plus and use it for the VM stuff, while the array is primarily used for the Plex content.

Before I order the parts (everything is new) I would like to get some feedback/inputs from you guys. Am I missing something? Any recommendations?

 

Hardware List

Case: Fractal Define 7

Case Fans: Noctua NF-A14 PWM (x3)

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4

Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master

RAM: Samsung M391A2K43BB1-CTD 16GB DDR4-2666 ECC (x4)

SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB (x2)

HDD: Seagate Ironwolf Pro 10TB (x6)

GPU: PNY Quadro P2200 (x1)

Power: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 650W

USB: Sandisk Cruzer Fit 16GB USB2.0

 

Regards,

SirAleks

 

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I do not see anything wrong with your hardware choices.  I am not sure you will gain a benefit with the ECC ram but I do not believe it will cause any issues either.  My only concern would be the case, it has poor thermal performance but I like everything else about it. 

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Thank you for your input SirReal63.

 

While reading into RAM for Unraid, most posts seem in favor of ECC. While I already built gaming rigs, this will be my first server and considering the different use case I went with it.

On thermals I am aware of the impact because of the front panel (currently using the Define 6 for gaming), but the I really like the simple design and flexibility of it. In case of thermal issues the front door will be removed.

 

Regards,

SirAleks

Edited by SirAleks
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I certainly would not try to persuade you to go in a different direction with some of your hardware choices, everything looks good... albeit some amount of overkill. There is no practical reason to use a $400+ consumer motherboard when you won't actually be utilizing 90% of the features it offers you by using it with Unraid. I mean just quickly off the "oohh ahhh" specs you won't be using any of these:

 

Intel® WiFi 6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT 5

Rear 125dB SNR AMP-UP Audio with ALC1220-VB & ESS SABRE 9118 DAC with WIMA Audio Capacitors

USB TurboCharger for Mobile Device Fast Charge Support

RGB FUSION 2.0 with Multi-Zone Addressable LED Light Show Design, Supports Addressable LED & RGB LED Strips

Front & Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C™ Headers

 

I realize that in relation to the rest of the hardware the cost of that motherboard is a drop in the bucket, but it's just something to consider.

 

I think you are going to enjoy Unraid with this build though, very powerful.

 

And, go with the ECC RAM, just for peace of mind with memory error correction over the long term.

 

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Also thank you for your input Energen.

 

While searching for a motherboard I mainly looked for the amount of SATA and M.2 connectors. Of course the IOMMU support (don't know how common it is) was also very important, so that the GPU could be used. For me personally also the NIC had be a Intel one, because I always had issues with other vendors in my gaming systems (latest being a MSI board with KILLER Network NIC, which "kills" my network connection with their drivers).

 

Considering that, I didn't really paid any attention to those other features. Which motherboard vendor do you usually prefer for Unraid?

Also I am really looking forward on building my first Unraid system. 😄

 

Regards,

SirAleks

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1 hour ago, SirAleks said:

Which motherboard vendor do you usually prefer for Unraid?

It's not so much that I prefer any vendor, I just wanted to build on server hardware with some extra server features.  Totally use-case dependent and user preference here.

 

I have a Supermicro board now and if/when I get around to upgrading it will most likely be another Supermicro board.  Mainly for the IPMI ability....  and the "sever boards are built to last and be reliable" mentality.  Plus it's also sort of nice to not pay for features that will never be used.  Server boards generally don't give you anything amazing with features.

 

But don't get me wrong.... some of the server boards can still cost as much as yours, so what do I really gain? I guess nothing.. maybe I'm doing things wrong. :)  My board was around $200-250 when I got it.. so I guess I didn't really save too much on that.

 

 

Unrelated but I was just able to order an MSI X570 Tomahawk motherboard that I've been waiting for to become available.. got my order in and was almost instantly sold out again... planning on a new daily pc with a 3700X.

 

Except for the extra cores, most reviews seem to suggest that the extra money for the 3900X is not worth it. It's "only" around $150 more for the extra cores and "future proof" and slightly higher benchmarks, but not sure if it's worth it to me.

 

In your case, if you save $150 by using the 3700X and choose a motherboard around $300, you'll be saving $300 to use for something else, virtually pays for one of your hard drives...

Edited by Energen
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