abi Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I've been thinking about building my first unraid server -- but I have very little experience with this sort of thing and have been dithering about spending a few hundred dollars. My plan would be to put 3+1 drives in it for now, but have some wiggle room for a bit of future expansion. I'm tempted by today's newegg deal (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.590795&cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-590795-_-01252011). Seems pretty good. Would this make sense as an unraid server, mainly to hold videos and music for our HTPC, plus home movie and photo backups? $254.99 + shipping + drive cages + drives = CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Motherboard: ASUS AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX Motherboard RAM: Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Case: RAIDMAX APEX Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Power Supply: 450W Power Supply (Model:ATX-802BP) (seems to come with above case) SATA Expansion Card(s): 6 Cables: don't know Fans: 120mm rear fan Total Drive Capacity: six 3.5” drive bays (two external and four internal) Primary Use: NAS for HTPC Thanks for your input! Link to comment
kal Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Just a few thoughts The no name powersupply is of concern, though probably fine for a small build. Actually, you can zoom in on the power supply label in the case picture, and it looks like its a single 21A +12V rail. Model number is Rx-450k, with ky-550atx in brackets beside it Buying extra things in that deal, that would be of no use in an unraid box? (dvd burner, card reader) So while you're saving $56, once you take away the cost of the extraneous bits, the savings only $22. Though you may have those earmarked for elsewhere? Personally, I'd prefer a 45W CPU over the 65W one. Heat and power consumption really (though this cpu may be undervolted to achieve same?) Motherboards chipset seems fine - other folks reporting 785G ok in http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=Hardware_Compatibility Link to comment
prostuff1 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Not the greatest of cases but I think It should work quite nicely. The no-name PSU looks to be OK for this use... can probably get 8 green drives on it without a problem. Everything else should work with no or very little trouble. Link to comment
abi Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Excellent advice, thanks! I might hold off and put together something that more closely resembles the prototype designs. I really appreciate your taking the time to comment. Link to comment
prostuff1 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Most of those core parts should be transferable to a new case. The only thing I would replace in that setup later would be the case and PSU. You should be able to get 16 drives on the motherboard without seeing much slowdown in parity check speed. Link to comment
Rajahal Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 A few warnings about that motherboard - I used to recommend it, but now I no longer do. It has a lot of problems reliably booting from certain flash drive, and I also had the good fortune of finding two defective models in a row. I think there may be some issues with running a SASLP card in the board's PCIe x16 slot if you ever feel you might expand to that level. In my testing all the onboard SATA ports worked fine, so for your small scale it should be OK. Just search the forums and try to find a flash drive that is known to work with that board. Link to comment
rich.bingham Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 FYI, Lexar FireFly drives work with that board. Link to comment
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