First Build - Will this work with 3TB drives


tboggie

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Hello,

 

I am planning an unRAID build which will be used mainly as a Media storage but i am also thinking about SB & CP. I currently have all my 10TB Media (Movies / TV Shows / Music ) stored on different external HDDs attached to my PC and i think its time to go down the UnRAID path. I initially wanted to buy a built unRAID server but i thought it will be good to try it out myself and from all the research in the past few days, it is looking positive.

 

So during this build my plan is to use only 3TB but before i begin ordering the components, i will like to find out if it is possible to use the 3TBs with the following components:

 

Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium Case    £78.83

http://www.ebuyer.com/252434-fractal-design-define-r3-titanium-case-fd-ca-def-r3-ti

 

MotherBoard,CPU & RAM Bundle    £75.99

Asus Motherboard - M5A78L-M LX V2

AMD Processor - AMD Sempron 145 OEM Processor

Cooler - Processor Cooler for AMD Sempron

RAM- Patriot Signature 4GB DDR3 PSD34G13332 Memory

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/342571-amd-bundle-with-amd-sempron-145-oem-processor-and-cooler-patriot-signature-145oem-4gb-m5a78lmlx

 

Power Supply Corsair CMPSU-430CXV2UK  £37

http://www.ebuyer.com/271798-corsair-430w-v2-cx-series-psu-cmpsu-430cxv2uk

 

3TB Sata x 6  

Seagate 3TB Barracuda Hard Drive - 3.5" SATA-III - 7200RPM 64MB Cache

http://www.ebuyer.com/319640-barracuda-3tb-sata-3-5in-7200rpm-64mb-6gb-s-in-st3000dm001

 

SATA Data Cables X 6 £4

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/43cm-scan-serial-ata-cable-sata-ii-iii-6gbps-certified-%28cdl-404%29

 

I will really appreciate if i can get a response to this :)

 

Thanks

 

 

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From this review it looks like it will: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-728&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=3tb&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

 

Pros: I got this board for use in an unRAID system I built as a media server. I chose this specific board for it's expandability and on-board SATA connections. The motherboard features 6 on-board SATA connections each at 3Gb/s. It also features 2 x PCI express slots for the use of a SATA expansion card. So this board, if needed, will allow the use of ~14 Hard Drives. This gives me plenty of room to grow my media library, which has already filled 5TB of HDD space.

 

Cons: None.

 

Other Thoughts: ASUS M5A78L-M LX AM3+ 760G Micro ATX Motherboard

AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz CPU

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM

CORSAIR CX430 V2 430W Power Supply

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case

HITACHI Deskstar 5K3000 HDD

2 x HITACHI Deskstar 3TB HDD

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Thanks very much for the reply, got another question please.

 

The main reason i went for this case is because it has got 8 Pre-fitted HDD-trays, so 6 will be connected straight to the 6 on-board SATA connectors, with 2 slots left in the case i am now contemplating filling the remaining 2 slots so looks like i will need a sata controller card and 2 sata cables. I found one but before i go ahead with it, i will appreciate if anyone could please let me know if it is compatible with the MB

 

Startech 2 Port SATA 2 RAID Storage Controller £18.99

http://www.ebuyer.com/152107-startech-storage-controller-raid-sata-300-300-mbps-raid-0-1-jbod-pci-pexsata22i?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products

 

Xenta SATA 2 Cable to right angle SATA 7-pin Red 46cm / 18"  x 2

http://www.ebuyer.com/151963-xenta-sata-2-0-to-right-angle-sata-7-pin-cable-red-46cm-sp-sc-rs-r46

 

 

Thanks  :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

MotherBoard,CPU & RAM Bundle    £75.99

Asus Motherboard - M5A78L-M LX V2

AMD Processor - AMD Sempron 145 OEM Processor

Cooler - Processor Cooler for AMD Sempron

RAM- Patriot Signature 4GB DDR3 PSD34G13332 Memory

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/342571-amd-bundle-with-amd-sempron-145-oem-processor-and-cooler-patriot-signature-145oem-4gb-m5a78lmlx

 

Sorry, I can't help answer your question, but I'm also looking at this bundle. It looks like it only comes with 1 4GB memory stick. Is this right? I thought memory sticks were supposed to go in pairs?

 

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MotherBoard,CPU & RAM Bundle    £75.99

Asus Motherboard - M5A78L-M LX V2

AMD Processor - AMD Sempron 145 OEM Processor

Cooler - Processor Cooler for AMD Sempron

RAM- Patriot Signature 4GB DDR3 PSD34G13332 Memory

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/342571-amd-bundle-with-amd-sempron-145-oem-processor-and-cooler-patriot-signature-145oem-4gb-m5a78lmlx

Sorry, I can't help answer your question, but I'm also looking at this bundle. It looks like it only comes with 1 4GB memory stick. Is this right? I thought memory sticks were supposed to go in pairs?

 

 

Hey Isolgrac ,

 

Yes it did come with one 4GB memory stick. Depends on you MB, you can either install a pair or only use one slot. If needed i can add another 4gb to the 2nd slot but that is not needed for now

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Yes it did come with one 4GB memory stick. Depends on you MB, you can either install a pair or only use one slot. If needed i can add another 4gb to the 2nd slot but that is not needed for now

 

Thanks tboggie,

 

The 'cooler' that comes in the bundle - is that just a heatsink or does it have a fan too? (This is the first time I've attempted a system build and I'm unsure on some of the basics.) I was comparing this bundle to buying them seperately (see this thread) and wasn't sure if the cooler was part of the bundle or came as standard with the CPU.

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  • 1 month later...

Now you've had your build for a few weeks do you have any thoughts about it?

 

I'm thinking of jumping in with my first unRAID build and am looking to do something similar to this (or ideally a bit cheaper still). I'm also based in the UK so its really interesting to see your uk parts list.

 

I've currently got 5 SATA drives each in sizes 1, 1.5 and 2tb and this case looks ideal to hold those drives plus a new 3tb as parity upgrading the smaller ones to 3gb as needed. Is there anything that you'd have done/bought different if you were to do it all again?

 

I'd be interested in running torrents on my server but don't think I'd be doing any transcoding.

 

BTW: what does SB and CP stand for? I'm sure I'll realise momentarially, but I can't think for now.

 

Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello,

 

I am planning an unRAID build which will be used mainly as a Media storage but i am also thinking about SB & CP. I currently have all my 10TB Media (Movies / TV Shows / Music ) stored on different external HDDs attached to my PC and i think its time to go down the UnRAID path. I initially wanted to buy a built unRAID server but i thought it will be good to try it out myself and from all the research in the past few days, it is looking positive.

 

So during this build my plan is to use only 3TB but before i begin ordering the components, i will like to find out if it is possible to use the 3TBs with the following components:

 

Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium Case    £78.83

http://www.ebuyer.com/252434-fractal-design-define-r3-titanium-case-fd-ca-def-r3-ti

 

MotherBoard,CPU & RAM Bundle    £75.99

Asus Motherboard - M5A78L-M LX V2

AMD Processor - AMD Sempron 145 OEM Processor

Cooler - Processor Cooler for AMD Sempron

RAM- Patriot Signature 4GB DDR3 PSD34G13332 Memory

 

http://www.ebuyer.com/342571-amd-bundle-with-amd-sempron-145-oem-processor-and-cooler-patriot-signature-145oem-4gb-m5a78lmlx

 

Power Supply Corsair CMPSU-430CXV2UK  £37

http://www.ebuyer.com/271798-corsair-430w-v2-cx-series-psu-cmpsu-430cxv2uk

 

3TB Sata x 6  

Seagate 3TB Barracuda Hard Drive - 3.5" SATA-III - 7200RPM 64MB Cache

http://www.ebuyer.com/319640-barracuda-3tb-sata-3-5in-7200rpm-64mb-6gb-s-in-st3000dm001

 

SATA Data Cables X 6 £4

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/43cm-scan-serial-ata-cable-sata-ii-iii-6gbps-certified-%28cdl-404%29

 

I will really appreciate if i can get a response to this :)

 

Thanks

 

hello there, im also thinking about purchasing this motherboard and a 3TB hdd. Did it work for you. what did you have to do to make it work?

 

thank you for your time and patience

 

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hello there, im also thinking about purchasing this motherboard and a 3TB hdd. Did it work for you. what did you have to do to make it work?

thank you for your time and patience

Hey jonesie85 ,

 

Yes it is working and i have been running it for months now. My parity drive is a WD 3TB Caviar Green Hard Drive WD30EZRX http://www.ebuyer.com/260668-wd-3tb-caviar-green-hard-drive-wd30ezrx

 

The data drives are all Seagate 3TB Barracuda Hard Drive ST3000DM001

http://www.ebuyer.com/319640-seagate-3tb-barracuda-hard-drive-st3000dm001

 

The build is very simple once you read the motherboard instructions.

Have fun with your build  :)

 

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Now you've had your build for a few weeks do you have any thoughts about it?

 

I'm thinking of jumping in with my first unRAID build and am looking to do something similar to this (or ideally a bit cheaper still). I'm also based in the UK so its really interesting to see your uk parts list.

 

I've currently got 5 SATA drives each in sizes 1, 1.5 and 2tb and this case looks ideal to hold those drives plus a new 3tb as parity upgrading the smaller ones to 3gb as needed. Is there anything that you'd have done/bought different if you were to do it all again?

 

I'd be interested in running torrents on my server but don't think I'd be doing any transcoding.

 

BTW: what does SB and CP stand for? I'm sure I'll realise momentarially, but I can't think for now.

 

Thanks

 

Hey Jeff,

 

Sorry, i have not been able to reply earlier. The bundle deal from ebuyer was a good choice because i knew all the components (MotherBoard,CPU & RAM ) will be compatible.

The set up is very simple once you follow the instructions as i have written above. You will need to get a 3TB drive for your parity and set-up all your 5 SATA drives as your data drives.  The case was also a good choice because it is very well designed,lots of space, looks good, great cooling system and it is extremely quiet

 

 

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Hi,

I've the exact same setup, with the exception that the array (5TB) is made up of a WD 2TB and 3 Hitachi 1TB drives.I've just installed a WD 3TB Caviar Green Hard Drive WD30EZRX as a parity drive and as above all is working fine.

 

What i will say though, is if you want to use the S3 sleep functions of Simple Features and WOL then you'll have to get a Intel network card as the onboard lan doesn't work once the server goes to sleep (driver problem apparently) have a look at this thread http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=20230.0....but once Intel network card was installed WOL works without any probs.

 

I've had the server up and running for about six weeks now without any probs and allows me to stream HD video to my various media players around the house.

 

Have fun with your build  :)

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Thanks very much for these replies - I've also had a lot on so only just checked in :) The good news is that I'm close to buying the parts for my build.

 

I've been looking at unraid addons/plugins and I think the only thing I'd want to be running is a torrent client. Is this build as currently specified powerful enough for that? I'd want to be seeding a lot of torrents - 1000-2000 most of the time, so I'm guessing RAM might be a concern.

 

I'll have a close look at the issues surrounding the SOL problems - that seems like a feature it would be a shame to be without, so could it be worth looking for an alterntive MB rather than buying a seperate lan card.

 

Many thanks!

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That's good to know - £7 makes it a bit of a non-issue I guess.

 

I'm not experiencing a little "spec creep". From what I've gathered from reading - the processor specified in the OP will not be powerful enough for transcoding video. Although I'll likely be using an XBMC box next to my TV - I'm quite tempted to get a transcoding solution setup for future flexibility - my girlfriend has ios devices and I might have access to a free apple tv 2 - all of which (as I understand) would require transcoding of most media formats.

 

Ideally I'd like to keep my downloads in rar files - I know XBMC plays from rar without problem and I'm guessing there is a transcoding solution that will deal with rar files as well. So I don't need to worry about processor power for "unraring"? If I'm going to be running say 3000 torrents at a time, do I need to worry about processor power for that? Or is RAM the main consideration?

 

There is also the added issue of the above linked bundle being out of stock. So if I'm going to be piecing together the components (from uk suppliers) then I guess I have a little more flexibility. I suppose my questions are:

 

Is the specified build powerful enough (ram+cpu) for XBMC and the running of 3000 torrents at a time?

If I'm going to build a slightly higher spec machine to transcode as well - would you advise sticking to the same MB and just upping the CPU (to what)? Or look at something completely different?

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