First Timer: Feedback requested!

[johnny2678]

Been researching for a couple of weeks now trying to figure this all out.  Looking to replace/consolidate the following aging systems:

Home PC (4770K): Blue Iris, Dockers, VMs, Plex

Synology DS1812: 27 TBs storage (family photos, etc), additional dockers, web server, etc

 

Here's what I've come up with.  Addl comments below.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-10900K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($529.99 @ Best Buy) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($109.99 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z490-E GAMING ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($283.99 @ Best Buy) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($219.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: 2x Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($112.00 @ Amazon) 
Storage: 4x Western Digital Red 10 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($269.98 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB TUF Gaming OC Video Card  ($169.99 @ B&H) 
Case Fan: 3x Noctua NF-A8 PWM 32.66 CFM 80 mm Fan  ($15.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1743.78 (+extra drive costs)
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-02 21:15 EDT-0400

 

Additional purchases:

 

Case:

I've got a rack in an vented AV closet but my rack is only 19" deep so I was limited on case options.

 

I went with the Chenbro Rackmount 4U Server Chassis RM42300-F

I'm going to replace the 5.25 bays (right) and fan (left) with 2 Rosewill 4x3.5 cages.  2nd case bracket is shipping now. Also adding 2 Icy Dock Express Cages for SSDs for VMs

Space will be tight, but I think I can slip the motherboard under the fan at the back of the cages and tuck the power cord under.

 

SATA card:

would appreciate feedback on the SAS9211-8I 8PORT Int 6GB Sata+SAS Pcie 2.0 card.  Will this work to expand from 6 SATA to 14 SATA ports? 

 

Haven't used one of these before.  I know there are cheaper options on eBay but looks like a lot of overseas sellers and scams too.

 

NVMe:

I'll be adding a couple of these too.  Need to read up on exactly how to use them but sounds like they would be cache drive.

 

Mobo/CPU:

Went back and forth on AMD vs Intel, LGA1200 vs LGA1151, etc.  I know this will take a lot of tinkering, but if i do it right I'm hoping this beast can just sit in the closet and run for 8-10 years so buying current gen.  Happy to be talked out of it if that doesn't make sense.  Only downside I can see is price and no ECC. 

 

Fans:

Not sure how efficient the Rosewill 120mm cage fans will be but I guess I can swap them out if needed.  Are the 3 Noctua 80mm fans and the Noctua CPU cooler good choices?  

 

That's about it.  I still have lots to figure out about how to migrate and will likely keep all three systems running until I've ported everything over.

 

Other than the case/cages, I'm not really tied to anything here so don't be shy about suggesting alternatives.  Don't have a ton of time for trial and error so any feedback is appreciated. thx!

Edited August 3, 2020 by johnny2678
added pics / links

[Energen]

Everything looks good.. you picked out what you wanted so as long as you're happy with it.

 

The 9211-8I card will work if it's flashed to IT mode.  You can probably get one pre-flashed from eBay, or you can look for one that works with Unraid out of the box.  This list is old(er) but it's a good starting point. https://wiki.unraid.net/Hardware_Compatibility#PCI_SATA_Controllers

 

Then you just need some cables like this https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-SFF-8087-Female-Controller-Backplane/dp/B013G4EMH8/

 

I don't see a power supply listed, so I assume you've chosen one that's just not on your list.... otherwise you'll have everything plugged it but no power

 

 

Now to throw the obligatory wrench into things.. since you mentioned you were happy to be talked out of it ........ what made you settle on Intel rather than AMD?  Comparatively speaking a Ryzen 9 3900X will offer you 2 more cores, less power consumption/TDP, $100 cheaper, and probably get you an option for ECC RAM if you wanted that (you'd need that $100 savings to make up for the extra cost of ECC), and maybe even better performance on some levels.

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/AMD-Ryzen-9-3900X-vs-Intel-i9-10900K/3493vs3730

 

 

[johnny2678]

Thanks for the response

3 minutes ago, Energen said:

Then you just need some cables like this https://www.amazon.com/CableCreation-SFF-8087-Female-Controller-Backplane/dp/B013G4EMH8/

Thanks for the link.  Saved me a future post

 

4 minutes ago, Energen said:

I don't see a power supply listed

Odd, I must have copied the pcpartspicker list before adding.  Haven't bought one yet so not tied to this but this it what I have on the list now:

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($134.99 @ Best Buy) 

8 minutes ago, Energen said:

what made you settle on Intel rather than AMD?

Great question!

• Keep reading that AMD may not be fully supported by UNRAID?  Not sure if I'm just looking at older threads
• Planning on running a Win10 vm for Blue Iris
  • Blue Iris can utilize quicksync from the embedded 630 HD
    • Never ran BI with AMD but forum users say it will work fine
  • If I ran AMD, wouldn't I need to buy 2 graphics cards then? Which would offset the savings of the chip/mobo combo over intel?
    • Guess I was concerned about case space
    • any recommendations that are only ~8" in length?

I'll probably start an AMD build on parts picker with your recommendations just to see what it might look like.

[Energen]

From what I've seen people posting, no problems with AMD and Unraid.. not to say that there may not be an issue here or there, just seems like nobody is having major problems.

 

Never used Blue Iris so can't comment, but if you need some GPU ability for it then you might want to stick with what you know will work.  Otherwise then yeah you might need more than one GPU if it needs a dedicated card and then you want GPU somewhere else also... that seems like it could get pretty messy.

[johnny2678]

yea, it's kinda annoying that BI is Windows only

 

Can I ask an elementary UNRAID question?  Can you use use UNRAID as a daily driver (web browsing, docs, etc) or do you want a VM for that?

 

edit: just stumbled across @SpaceInvaderOne's youtube channel.  I've got some videos to watch!

Edited August 3, 2020 by johnny2678
clarifications

[hardwaresupport]

Hey,

Does the NH-D15 Cooler actually fit inside that case?