Advice for a new build easy to expand


Recommended Posts

Been a number of years since I have been in a position to start a new IT project - once a hobby - and finally I can start returning to it.

 

This is my first time ever posting on a message board, so sorry if this is in the wrong spot.  I have been reading through the posts of other members and some things I have read seem to contradict others, hence this post.

 

I am chasing advice on a motherboard / CPU / graphics card combination to do the following:

  • consolidate 2 NAS boxes and my main computer, all long in the tooth.
  • allow me to run 1 windows VM - for, nothing taxing, mainly office work, browsing, occasional video.  If I play a game it is strategy based so not graphics intensive (yet anyway).
  • allow me to run a number of dockers, including plex.  (My retiring computer is currently running a plex server.)  Although potentially I could be running 4 concurrent streams, it is rare that I will do more than 1 to 2.  And decoding 4K is not required.
  • do the above with a pcie x8 tied up to accommodate extra drives
  • and I am hoping the suggestions will get me on the Unraid playing ground now, but allow easy component upgrades as money becomes available.

 

My goal is to have Unraid be the replacement NAS, take over Plex server duties, allow me to continue using Windows 10, and with my ability to return to my computer tinkering love/hobby, expand as I gain knowledge and the money to support it.

 

Currently I have a

  • Coolermaster Cosmos II case that can fit most motherboards, is decked out to hold 6+SSDs and 12ish 3.5" hard drives, that I picked up second hand.
  • easily have 10+ platter disks (especially once I pull apart the NAS boxes) plus a spare m.2 drive from a busted laptop and a several SSDs.  So I am going to need aSAS HBA card.
  • GeForce GT 610 out of my old computer.
  • the whole house is wired so I don't need wireless connectivity.

 

I had been leaning towards the Ryzen path, most likely getting an X570 motherboard and either a 2700x or 3600 and upgrade the processor down the track.

But the lost pcie x8 needed by either the Adaptec 71605 or LSI SAS HBA has me wondering if this is an option. 

Can I just have 1 graphics card in a x8 pcie lane and still pass through the graphics card to the VM?

If so, what card(s) are budget friendly and work best?

Will I need an extra graphics card for the Plex docker?

If so what motherboard will allow me 2 graphics cards and the SAS HBA?

 

I had also been looking at a second hand Xeon path for more PCIe lanes but the second hand market is very sparse in Perth and often postage costs from overseas can be very high.

 

Welcoming any suggestions and thanks ahead for your time.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment

Last year i went that path.
I replaced my nas and servers with a hp workstation that i upgraded (z620 with 2xe5 2650v2 128gb ram)
I put a 3in2 sata cage and a 2 sata 1nvme bracket. It can hold 6 3,5’´ hdd, 2 m2 sata ssd. For now i don’t use nvme slot.
I also added an hba (9207 8e).
The tricky part was to find an external jbod case. It to ok me one year but i now have 8 more 3,5’´ slots.
I also put a nvidia p400 which can hold 4 transcodes (plex or tdarr).

Link to comment

There are a number of options.

 

I went for a single E5-2660 V3, these and the E5 2680 / 90 V3 are increasingly affordable.

I then used an ATX format motherboard and ECC DDR4.

As it's a workstation board, I have 4x PCI-E x16 slots which can all do PCI-E x8 electrical + 10 sata. 

 

For Ryzen, Asus Pro WS X570  gives you 3 x16 slots that operate at x8 electrical however it has a limited number of sata ports.

Some of the intel dektop solutions with IGP may allow you to only need 1GPU as the IGP will handle plex transcode.

Really depends on the workload, for a NAS and occasional desktop you don't need high core counts or mutiple processors.

 

I'd also consider how many drives you really need.

It's easy to get caught up in lots of low capacity drives, much better to have a small number or larger drives and avoid the costs of cooling, power, sata ports, space etc.

 

  

 

 

Link to comment

Thanks Decto and Caplam for your responses - I appreciate you taking the time.  I noticed you both with the Xeon path, which I had been considering, but I kept seeing people say they draw too much power.  This much of an issue?

 

I had noticed lots of recommendations for the Ryzen path and was considering it for easy updating of CPU and power draw, but passthrough issues and the potential need for 2 GPU chewing up the PCI-E lanes, especially if I may need the SAS HBA card, didn't have me convinced.  I had read about the Pro WS X570, but the lower SATA count and the price kept me still looking.  

 

Had considered an Intel build with an IGP, and splitting the PCI-E slots between a SAS HBA card and a second graphics card.

 

I have been looking at Xeon builds but I keep finding second hand server parts, especially motherboards and their postage costs to Perth, work out around the same price as a new 2700x or 3600 Ryzen build.  Though the Xeon build has more PCIE slots and, as second hand Xeon CPUs are cheaper, more cores, though at a slower speed.

 

Decto, you are right about the drives, though I may need the larger drive count in the initial shuffle to deactivate my NAS boxes.  My 8TB drives are in my close to full NAS box so I will need to shuffle data off them, before I could use them in Unraid.  Lots of smaller disks in Unraid until they are freed.

It was the ability to add disks, remove disks and upsize disks easily in unraid which finally movitated me to decommission the 2 NAS boxes that I was starting to have to fight with.

 

Both of your builds are in line with my main thought path - to keep an eye out for a deal server motherboard + postage.  Once I find one I can go from there.

Otherwise hope there is a significant price cut on threadrippers during the approaching Black Friday - Cyber Monday sales.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.