January 24, 201115 yr Hey guys, just looking for opinions on a new build. Have been thinking about a server for a while now, however I have just been introduced to UnRaid this weekend which has convinced me! I am looking to use the server to store my media, files and general backups, automate usenet downloads but with scope for future development. I also am looking for a balance between energy efficiency and access to power when needed. The build I am considering is: Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 Cache Retail Box Processor 185939 126 in stock £89.99 Intel TOM COVE DH55TC H55 Socket 1156 VGA DVI HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard 185943 89 in stock £73.17 Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V 166995 35 in stock £35.00 Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 Socket 775, 1156, 1155, 1366, AM2, AM3 Heatpipe CPU Cooler 176157 737 in stock £14.69 Antec 380W EarthWatts Green PSU - 80plus Bronze Certified 185183 17 in stock £36.78 Antec 300 Three Hundred Case 143854 106 in stock £49.53 Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache 173804 > 5 in stock £44.07 Cart total inc vat: £343.23 I also have another identical Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB and a 2007 Samsung 640gb drive Additoonally I am planning to install either a 640gb drive removed from a Buffalo 2008 external drive (hopefully it is a standard SATA connection) or A 2006 SATA 320gb Maxtor (although I don't really have much trust for Maxtor drives beyond an OS install). Any opinions would be of great help. Thanks Eysteve
January 24, 201115 yr Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 Cache Retail Box Processor 185939 126 in stock £89.99 ...I did regret going with the boxed version for my L3426 XEON which has 45W-TDP....way toooo noisy.
January 24, 201115 yr Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 Cache Retail Box Processor 185939 126 in stock £89.99 Plenty of power when needed and should idle at a pretty low wattage when not in use. Intel TOM COVE DH55TC H55 Socket 1156 VGA DVI HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio MATX Motherboard 185943 89 in stock £73.17 Looks like a decent enough motherboard. Should be able to get to 18 drives if you use a Supermicro SASLP along with some cheap PCIe 1x cards for more SATA ports. Anything more than 18 drives would be pushing it. Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Memory Kit CL9 1.5V 166995 35 in stock £35.00 Check to see if this RAM is on a supported list somewhere. A lot of motherboard manufacturers will give a list of RAM modules that are supported with there boards. Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 Socket 775, 1156, 1155, 1366, AM2, AM3 Heatpipe CPU Cooler 176157 737 in stock £14.69 This is really not needed unless you plan on overclocking the CPU which I DO NOT recommend for unRAID. Just use the stock heatsink and you should be fine. Antec 380W EarthWatts Green PSU - 80plus Bronze Certified 185183 17 in stock £36.78 Not sure how many drives you plan on using but this is not a good choice of power supply. It has multiple +12V rails and you want a power supply with a SINGLE +12v rail (like a corsair) Antec 300 Three Hundred Case 143854 106 in stock £49.53 Not a great case for unRAID and you would max this case out at about 11 drives. Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache 173804 > 5 in stock £44.07 I see these are 1TB drives. I highly suggest getting 2TB drives at this point. You can reduce the number of drives needed to get the same amount of useable space and 2TB drives are in the sweet spot right now. I also have another identical Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB and a 2007 Samsung 640gb drive Feel free to use them in the machine, just realize that if they have data on them you will have to transfer it off first and then add the drive to the unRAID server. Additoonally I am planning to install either a 640gb drive removed from a Buffalo 2008 external drive (hopefully it is a standard SATA connection) or A 2006 SATA 320gb Maxtor (although I don't really have much trust for Maxtor drives beyond an OS install). Either should be fine. Run both through a preclear_disk.sh (or 3) and if they pass the test they should be fine to use in the server. Check out the Hardware Compatibility Page an the builds section for an idea of what parts people are using.
January 24, 201115 yr this PSU is mentioned a lot in build recommendations 430W Corsair CMPSU-430CX Builder Series, 80% Eff', 120mm Fan, Single 12V Rail, ATX, PS/2 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/430w-corsair-cmpsu-430cx-builder-series-80-eff-120mm-fan-single-12v-rail-atx-ps-2 £35.98 Inc VAT review http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=214 see this thread for harddrive recommendations.
January 25, 201115 yr I really dig the i3 in my rig. The idle is pretty darn low, and it's got plenty of power to run multiple add-ons. I haven't tried anything super intensive, like video encoding, however.
January 25, 201115 yr Author Hey all, thanks for all the replies so far. I see alot of people seem to be happy with the performance of the i3 so I am happy that is the way to go. Am looking again at the hard drives, case and power supply to see what I can squeeze from my budget. I'm getting married this year so have stict budget orders from the wife to be. Lol. Looking at a max of £400 (appox $635 usd) at the moment including the Unraid Licence. Cheers Eysteve
January 25, 201115 yr Best wishes for you mariage as mentioned by prostuff1 2 tb drives at this moment seem to be the best drives you can get For example these at £71.54 are only 60% more expensive for 100% the size of the ones you mentioned. You will need less drives and have more room for expansion later on.
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