[My711] 24 HDD system/ESXi. Finalized and ordered!

 

Update 30.07.2012 *** I re-ordered all my three posts, with the latest as the recent.

 

First of all, thanks to all whom have helped me through this.

 

I want a 24 HDD system, maybe previously I was saying 20 HDD, but actually since my chassis can support 24, I want 24 HDD system.  I understand the unRAID doesn't support more than 21, but for the future use I assume.

 

Seriously, creating a system is not an easy task, a lot of changes in the parts, swapping, adding again, oh no, this is better, oh its not supported...etc.

 

Here is a second revision.  Even after speding days in preparing this, I still feel I'm missing something. Hopefully I can finalize this in the next 2 days, and start ordering.

 

Note: All prices in USD.

 

Required Components

 

CPU

Intel Xeon E3-1240 V2 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 69W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80637E31240V2

Price: $270 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117285

My Remarks: None.

 

Motherboard

Supermicro X9SCM-IIF-O LGA1155/ Intel C204/ DDR3/ SATA3/ V&2GbE/ Micro ATX Server Motherboard

Price: $190 | Qty: 1

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9SMII

My Remarks: As recommended by Johnm and Beta, It's better to go with this, since it has dual built-in NICs and support bypassing to VMs.  Also, V2, so I don't need to worry about BIOS update.

 

Chassis

NORCO RPC-4224 4U Rackmount Server Case with 24 Hot-Swappable SATA/SAS Drive Bays

Price: $399 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219038

My Remarks: At first, I didn't wanna go for this for now, since it's rackmounted, but after looking at various tower cases with cages, and financially, it's actually cheaper to buy the Norco 4224.  Great feedback from owners of this case, and it's good since I'm looking for the maximum capacity and drive counts.

 

Memory

Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G

Price: $60 | Qty: 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139262

My Remarks: Total of 16 GB, it's unbuffered which is suppose to be better than buffered.  Also, I would actually wanna go for a 32GB, but the price will double or more. The 32GB will cost me now around $350, so it's kind of expensive for now.

 

Memory

Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1333 Server Memory Server Hynix M Model KVR13E9/8HM

Price: $80 | Qty: 2 4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239135

My Remarks: Updated as recommended by Johnm, i hate tossing out working parts when upgrade.  So yeah, 2 of these, and I'll have two additional slots available for adding more memory in the future to scale it up to 32GB.

 

SATA Controller

IBM ServeRAID M1015 / LSI SAS9220-8i

Price: $150 | Qty: 1

Looking for a recommendation on where to buy from, not available on NewEgg.

My Remarks: As suggested by Johnm, a combo of this with the expander below, cheaper and faster parity checks.

 

SATA Expander

Intel RAID Twenty-four port Expander Card RES2SV240

Price: $278 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816117207

My Remarks: same as above.

 

HDD (Parity)

Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Price: $135 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844

My Remarks: None.

 

HDD (Data)

Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Price: $135 | Qty: 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844

My Remarks: I want maximum capacity, so I need a 3TB HDDs, and I found this, at affordable price, that is also 7200rpm, which will lead to good performance as well.

 

HDD (ESXi Datastore)

Corsair Performance Pro Series CSSD-P256GBP-BK 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Price: $330 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233227

My Remarks: Based on reviews I read online, It seems this drive is a beast in terms of performance, and that's what I want for my VMs.

 

HDD (Cache)

Corsair Performance Pro Series CSSD-P256GBP-BK 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Price: $330 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233227

My Remarks: I'm planning to have a cache drive. I'll just buy the same SSD.

 

PSU

SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Price: $160 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

My Remarks: This is one of the best PSUs, and I actually own one in my existing home PC.  The price is kind of high, I've seen other great PSUs in other builds.  Anything out there that's worth picking instead of this, that can save me good amount of dollars?

 

USB Flash Drive

Patriot Xporter XT Boost 8GB Flash Drive (USB 2.0 Portable) Model PEF8GUSB

Price: $12 | Qty: 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220252

My Remarks: I'm picking 2 of these, one for unRAID and another for ESXi.

Cables

NORCO C-SFF8087-4S Discrete to SFF-8087 (Reverse breakout) Cable - OEM

Price: $15 | Qty: 5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133033

My Remarks: I'm honestly till now don't know how all connections will be.  But based on my readings and understanding, I'll need 5 connections from the Norco 4224 to my RAID expander.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Cables

NORCO C-P1T7 4 Pin Molex 1 Male to 7 Female Power Extension Splitter Cable - OEM

Price: $10 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133040

My Remarks: As above.

 

Cables

1M SFF-8087 to SFF-8087  from Monoprice

Price: $10 | Qty: 6 1

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10254&cs_id=1025410&p_id=8189&seq=1&format=2

My Remarks: I updated the cables part, after understanding the correct requirement.  It seems that the M1015 connects to the Intel Expander by this cable, and then all the backplane of the Norco 4224 case connects to the expander, that is a total of 6 packplanes, so 6 cables, then 1 to connect the M1015 to expander, so total requirement is 7 cables.  I'm ordering only 6 (since one of these cables comes with the expander), but they are 1 meter in length, as suggested by Johnm in his Atlas built. Is this now correct?

Buying only 1 cable, the 5 cables coming with the expander is long enough.

 

Optional Components

 

USB Header

StarTech USBMBADAPT2 2 Port USB Motherboard Header Adapter

Price: $13 | Qty: 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200474

My Remarks: I want to not have a USB stick attached to the outside of my case, want to avoid removing it by mistake.  I'l buying two, so I'll use one for unRAID another for ESXi.  Each one has two USB 2.0 ports, is it possible to use both unRAID & ESXi on one, or seperating it is better?

 

Chassis Accessories

120mm fan wall bracket for RPC-4224, RPC-4220, RPC-4216, RPC-4116, RPC-4020, RPC-4164

Price: $11 | Qty: 1

http://www.ipcdirect.net/servlet/Detail?no=258

My Remarks: For better airflow and quietness, I'll replace the fan wall, and buy three 120mm fans.

 

Chassis Fans

Unknown

Price: Unknown | Qty: 3

no reference for now

My Remarks: I need a recommendation for the best fans please.

 

SSD Bays

StarTech S25SLOTR 2.5in SATA Removable Hard Drive Bay for PC Expansion Slot

Price: $24 | Qty: 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817998052

My Remarks: I'm using 2x 2.5 SDDs for ESXi and cache, and I dont want to utilize any of the bays of my chassis, so I'll use this.  Any comments, or experience?

 

Additional NIC

Intel EXPI9301CTBLK Network Adapter 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express 1 x RJ45

Price: $30 | Qty: 1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106033

My Remarks: Even though the motherboard has dual gig NICs, I'll through in this NIC as well, as I might need it.  I'm actually thinking to use this for unRAID, and the dual built on the motherboard for ESXi.

 

3.5'' HDD Bay

Tray for the parity 3.5'' HDD

Price: | Qty: 1

no link

My Remarks: For my parity drive, which is the 3.5'' 3TB SATA, I want to avoid using any of the drive bays on my chassis.  Is there a solution or a workaround for it?  Even in terms of performance, If i'm not mistaken, it's better to connect it one of the direct SATA ports on the motherboard. No?

 

Thanks!

 

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Updated Post 20.07.2012

Above is my original proposed build, called "My711".  After taking John's comments, I decided he was right, for a little more investment in this build, I can have my ultimate system which I was talking about in my original post above.

 

Therefore, I did the changes, and here is my updated parts.  I renamed my build to "My711rev.1.0"

 

"My711rev.1.0" Parts

 

CPU - Intel Xeon E3-1240 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80623E31240

Motherboard - SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O LGA 1155 Intel C204 Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard

Case - Norco 4224 4U (24 HDD)

Memory - Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G

SATA Controller - IBM ServeRAID M1015 / LSI SAS9220-8i

SATA Expander - Intel RAID Twenty-four port Expander Card RES2SV240

NIC - Intel EXPI9301CTBLK Network Adapter 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express 1 x RJ45

HDD (Parity) - Seagate ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM

HDD (Data) - Seagate ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM

HDD (ESXi Datastore) - Corsair Performance Pro Series CSSD-P256GBP-BK 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

HDD (Cache) - Corsair Performance Pro Series CSSD-P256GBP-BK 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

SSD Bay - StarTech S25SLOTR 2.5in SATA Removable Hard Drive Bay for PC Expansion Slot

PSU - SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

USB Flash Drive - Patriot Xporter XT Boost 8GB Flash Drive (USB 2.0 Portable) Model PEF8GUSB

HDD Trays - Tray for additional HDD (non Data)

USB Header - Koutech IO-UU230 USB 3.0 20-Pin ICC to Dual Type-A Adapter

Cables - NORCO C-SFF8087-4S Discrete to SFF-8087 (Reverse breakout) Cable - OEM

Cables - NORCO C-P1T7 4 Pin Molex 1 Male to 7 Female Power Extension Splitter Cable - OEM

 

attached is again an updated snapshot of my parts list with the pricing.

 

Did I include all necessary parts?

 

I need feedback on the HDDs.

 

thanks

 

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My Original Post

Why Build this system?

 

Original Title: My Build "My711", first time, open to your suggestions and reviews...

 

Hello unRAIDers!

 

Like many of you guys, I started with a small NAS (Synology 407), and it crashed my system of 4TB of data.  Then, I decided to buy a more reliable storage, and I got the Qnap TS

 

809 Pro, with 8x2TB (RAID & hot spare), I was left with around 11 TB usage, and have used it all.

 

Apps/Addons

 

Now, with such tools like SickBeard, CouchPotato and SABNZBD, i started downloading more stuff.

 

Therefore, I started looking for a solution that will fulfill my requirement, which is capacity (a lot of HDDs).  Found unRAID, and started digging into it, and yet I find it

 

the solution to my problem.  I've done extensive readings, and a lot of research in the forums, and learned a lot the past few months.  Well, I’m still doing.  I decided to

 

build my unRAID system.

 

Attached you will find a word document (*.doc) with my parts list, and here is a quick snapshot of it.

 

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

Ultimate system for later

 

With some great systems built such as Atlas's ESXi, I initially wanted to build such a system.  But due to the cost, and since I’m in the process of building a home, I decided

 

to keep this ultimate system for later on (in 2 years probably). Therefore, I selected to buy an affordable system for now, with performance for various add-ons which i use. 90%

 

will be used to store media (movies, TV shows), and 10% usage of backups of my various systems (home pc, laptop...etc.)

 

My Media Players

 

Currently, my media players are Popcornhour C-200 and Boxee, even though I primarily use C-200, Boxee rarely used.  Again, at a later time, I'll be building a dedicated system

 

(maybe Mac Mini) to be my media player with Plex.

 

My Build "My711"

 

I call this built "My711", picking a name is not easy dude!

 

This built is basically Raj's "20 Drive Beast (tower)", but I slightly modified few parts.

 

Questions & Concerns

 

Here are some questions that will determine which path/hardware I’ll look for:

 

- Does this build look ok? I mean, will all the parts work together?

- 3 users at the same time will be reading from this unRAID system.  Will it be possible without any streaming issues?

- This system will be sitting in my living room, along with my home pc, storage…etc.  Therefore, i prefer a silent/near silence system.  Will this system be noisy?

- Any hardware compatibility issues with unRAID?

- I will downloading 24x7, various shows, movies...etc.  Any performance issues with this built?

- I don't want to waste any slots for cache and parity drives.  Any suggestion on this?  Maybe a small HDD kit that can attach to the inner of the case?

- This is an important requirement from my side.  I always replicate my NAS to my cousin's NAS.  I want to do the same, as I'll build another system (unRAID) for him as well. 

 

Are there any specific things I should consider for this requirement?

 

Possible to Bump it to an ESXi system?

 

- As I decided to build a full blown unRAID system in few years, that I'll be able to run ESXi as well.  However, with this build, can I run ESXi? If not, what minimal

 

components can I add/upgrade in order to make it ESXi compatible?

 

NewEgg.com

 

I'm planning to order all my parts from newegg, except the case and HDDs, I'll buy them locally (to avoid extra shipping charges, as I live outside the USA).

 

Waiting for your feedback

 

I would appreciate ANY comments or feedback on this built.  This is NOT my final parts list, since it's my first time, so I would like feedback from you guys, and then if I

 

think some parts need replacement, I will do so.

 

Ok, this is it I guess.

 

Thanks

 

HiSoC8Y

My711-unRAID-parts-list.doc

Build looks like overkill for baremetal unRAID.

 

You mention ESXi. As far as I can tell, ESXi with VT-d on Z77 boards is really hit or miss right now. This board is a miss. it does not support VT-d according to Asus forums. Also that board has lots of bells and whistle you just dont need and could cause issues/conflicts. I am also seeing a lot of people bitching on newegg about this board failing.. I did not read the complaints though.

 

You also compared the price to Atlas. For what you are spending, you are at about the same price right now to build an updated Atlas clone.. or at least in the same ballpark.

 

If you are seriously considering ESXi, I would suggest you do some research ahead of time and build with that in mind. if you have to swap out something expensive later like a CPU and/or a motherboard, the cost may be be probative at that time.

 

EDIT:

PS if you named it after the 24 hour convenience store, that's kind of... cute..

 

 

Build looks like overkill for baremetal unRAID.

 

You mention ESXi. As far as I can tell, ESXi with VT-d on Z77 boards is really hit or miss right now. This board is a miss. it does not support VT-d according to Asus forums. Also that board has lots of bells and whistle you just dont need and could cause issues/conflicts. I am also seeing a lot of people bitching on newegg about this board failing.. I did not read the complaints though.

 

You also compared the price to Atlas. For what you are spending, you are at about the same price right now to build an updated Atlas clone.. or at least in the same ballpark.

 

If you are seriously considering ESXi, I would suggest you do some research ahead of time and build with that in mind. if you have to swap out something expensive later like a CPU and/or a motherboard, the cost may be be probative at that time.

 

EDIT:

PS if you named it after the 24 hour convenience store, that's kind of... cute..

 

Thank you John for the great feedback.

 

For the name, yes, named after that, as well as my apartment number lol

 

For the motherboard, i didn't look for alternative, but I will for sure now. 

 

For the overall build, i knew it's an overkill, but my concern is I don't want to face any difficulties along the way in terms of performance.  This system will be doing lots of unpacking, parity fixes, moving...etc.

 

About Atlas, I would prefer to build a clone of Atlas over this build, but i did a study earlier, the cost was somewhere in the range of 6-7k....I'll check it again.

 

For the ESXi, I did the study, and I understand that it needs specific components for it to work.

 

Anyways, I'll go over and checkout Atlas again, if I can manage to get the price within that range, I'll change my build to that.

 

Thanks John, appreciate it

my first post is updated.

Ok so based on your update, I'd be looking at the following:

 

7 into 1 power adapter - as Johnm mentioned elsewhere, they are poor quality.  Your Seasonic PSU should come with one of the modular cables with 3x Molex on it, and as you don't initially intend to fill your drive slots, that's probably enough.  What I will end up doing (when I go beyond 12 drives) is using another 3x Molex Seasonic cable from another build I did a while back for the remaining 3 drives.  These cables are much better quality.

 

Forward/reverse breakout cables - you don't need them with the build you described.  The two SSD's, you run straight off the Sata 3 motherboard ports.  All you need is SAS to SAS (SFF-8087 to SFF-8087) to connect things up from your M1015 and SAS expander.  I *think* the Intel expander comes with plenty of these?  Best to ask Johnm as I don't use one.

 

Motherboard - consider the X9SCM-IIF, as it has 2x 82574L's on board and you won't have any worries about the BIOS being the correct version to support your v2 Xeon.  As the 82574's work perfectly with ESXi, you can likely drop the NIC you have in your build list.  Superbiiz.com are doing a good price on the X9SCM-IIF at the moment.

 

Other than that, I think it's looking pretty good.

 

Thank you for the great feedback BetaQuasi 

7 into 1 power adapter - as Johnm mentioned elsewhere, they are poor quality.  Your Seasonic PSU should come with one of the modular cables with 3x Molex on it, and as you don't initially intend to fill your drive slots, that's probably enough.  What I will end up doing (when I go beyond 12 drives) is using another 3x Molex Seasonic cable from another build I did a while back for the remaining 3 drives.  These cables are much better quality.

I'm starting with 6 new 3TB HDDs, then after I migrate my existing data to these new drives, I'll free my existing 8x 2TB drives, where I can use them.  In addition, I have 3x1TB drives laying around, which I'll use.  So I'll be starting big basically, a total of 17 drives.

 

Forward/reverse breakout cables - you don't need them with the build you described.  The two SSD's, you run straight off the Sata 3 motherboard ports.  All you need is SAS to SAS (SFF-8087 to SFF-8087) to connect things up from your M1015 and SAS expander.  I *think* the Intel expander comes with plenty of these?  Best to ask Johnm as I don't use one.

Will check of Johnm will confirm this.

 

Motherboard - consider the X9SCM-IIF, as it has 2x 82574L's on board and you won't have any worries about the BIOS being the correct version to support your v2 Xeon.  As the 82574's work perfectly with ESXi, you can likely drop the NIC you have in your build list.  Superbiiz.com are doing a good price on the X9SCM-IIF at the moment.

I was initially thinking to consider X95SCM-IIF.  I'll research it again.

 

 

Thank you so much.

 

About the HDDs for the parity and the cache, are they looking good?

 

What about the one for ESXi? 2 with RAID1, a good idea?

 

So everyone, anyone else has comments or feedback?

 

I don't want to start ordering before I get a solid confirmation.

 

BetaQuasi has confirmed already, thanks

Beta is correct.. looks good.

 

thanks guys, almost about to order, but I want to ask.

 

in terms of performance, these HDDs i listed, along with my existing 8x ST32000542AS HDDs.

 

what sort of performance I'm looking at?

 

In terms of multiple users streaming, what will be the maximum number of users, streaming 1080 HD quality movies at the same time?

 

thanks

 

P/S. is it worth it to buy 4TB HDDs instead of the 3 TB? or the price is still expensive for it?

Motherboard - consider the X9SCM-IIF, as it has 2x 82574L's on board and you won't have any worries about the BIOS being the correct version to support your v2 Xeon.  As the 82574's work perfectly with ESXi, you can likely drop the NIC you have in your build list.  Superbiiz.com are doing a good price on the X9SCM-IIF at the moment.

 

Justt to confirm, is it this motherboard?

 

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9SMII

 

One more thing, for the CPU, should i go for the E3-1240 v2 (Ivy Bridge) or E3-1240 (Sandy Bridge)?

now thinking about my build, since i want to do a RAID1 of "Corsair Performance Pro Series CSSD-P256GBP-BK 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)" for the ESXI datastore, don't I need a raid card, or i can use the one that will be used for all the data drives?

 

 

If you really want to raid 1 your data store, yes you will need a esx-supported raid card as the software raid on the motherboard wont work.  To be honest, I wouldn't bother - just back up your VMs to your array or elsewhere.

If you really want to raid 1 your data store, yes you will need a esx-supported raid card as the software raid on the motherboard wont work.  To be honest, I wouldn't bother - just back up your VMs to your array or elsewhere.

 

Thanks.

 

Btw, should I replace the stock fan? if yes, what is recommended?

Motherboard - consider the X9SCM-IIF, as it has 2x 82574L's on board and you won't have any worries about the BIOS being the correct version to support your v2 Xeon.  As the 82574's work perfectly with ESXi, you can likely drop the NIC you have in your build list.  Superbiiz.com are doing a good price on the X9SCM-IIF at the moment.

 

Justt to confirm, is it this motherboard?

 

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9SMII

 

One more thing, for the CPU, should i go for the E3-1240 v2 (Ivy Bridge) or E3-1240 (Sandy Bridge)?

 

Hi,

 

Before placing my order, I'm just trying to avoid any mistakes/wrong parts.

 

For the motherboard, can someone confirm it? http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-X9SMII

 

For the CPU, should i go for the E3-1240 v2 (Ivy Bridge) or E3-1240 (Sandy Bridge)??

 

Thanks

Hello,

 

My first post in this thread is updated, with revision 2.0. awaiting your comments, feedback, approval, review.....

I updated my rev2 build, it's the first post in this thread.

 

the updates: corrected the cables I need, yet I still need power cables, i'm searching for it.

 

Now, for the PSU, I selected 750W seasonic, but it seems that won't be sufficient based on this thread talk about PSUs: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12219.0

 

Since I want to go for 24 HDDs (in the future), even the 850W is not sufficient.  So should i go for something like 1000W?

I haven't read this whole thread, just your latest revision. A few quick comments:

 

- The motherboard has a single USB port built-in, so you will only need one of the USB headers.

- A Corsair 850W PSU will work just as well and may be cheaper, but it is not modular.

- I like to use these 120mm fans, but they may not be powerful enough to cool a full load of 7200 RPM drives.

 

I'm not sure why you need a SATA expander card, but again I didn't read the whole thread.

i really didnt have much time to look at the updates.. the intel expander will come with 5 of the cables you need.. so you just need one 8088-8088 cable from monoprice. save $50. (unless you get the version with "NC" at the end of the part number [no cables])

 

if you go with 2 or 3 m1015's instead of the expander then you need the cables.

you have to get the m1015 off ebay or the buy-sell area of the forum. try to keep it under $80 if you dont see one. wait it unless you're in a rush.. i still see one for $60 now and then. (serversupply had them for $80 a few weeks ago)

 

I got at least one from this guy http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=20111.0

Re the question about stock fans - there are a few options there. Check Johnm's thread with regards to the Noctua option, or mine for the Arctic Cooling option.  Both of these specific fan models are ideal for this case. Just be careful not to get the wrong type.

Thanks all, please find my replies below:

 

Reply to Rajahal

- The motherboard has a single USB port built-in, so you will only need one of the USB headers.

you are right.

- A Corsair 850W PSU will work just as well and may be cheaper, but it is not modular.

I prefer modular, so I'll stick to the seasonic.  However, what capacity will be enough to be able to run full 24 HDDs that are 7200rpm? 850W, 1000W?

- I like to use these 120mm fans, but they may not be powerful enough to cool a full load of 7200 RPM drives.

I like Noctua fans, so I'll try those. but thanks mate.

 

I'm not sure why you need a SATA expander card, but again I didn't read the whole thread.

I'll need this expander with the IBM M1015, instead of buying 3x SUPERMICRO AOC-SASLP-MV8 to power up all 24 HDDs.  Moreover, i was just reading the specs of this card, and the speed is up to 3 Gbps, while my HDDs are 6 Gbps.  Less complicated inside the case with 2 cards than three.

 

Reply to Johnm

i really didnt have much time to look at the updates.. the intel expander will come with 5 of the cables you need.. so you just need one 8088-8088 cable from monoprice. save $50. (unless you get the version with "NC" at the end of the part number [no cables])

yes, the card will come with 5 cables, but from your post, you suggested to buy longer cables.  Will those cables that come with the card be long enough or should i order 5x 1meter?

 

if you go with 2 or 3 m1015's instead of the expander then you need the cables.

you have to get the m1015 off ebay or the buy-sell area of the forum. try to keep it under $80 if you dont see one. wait it unless you're in a rush.. i still see one for $60 now and then. (serversupply had them for $80 a few weeks ago)

does it make sense to get more m1015s? any advantages over 1 M1015 and 1 expander?

I'm trying to look through ebay now, I'll even buy with bracket if I find at good price, and I'll buy the bracket seperately, i saw a forum member selling the bracket for $10.

 

Reply to BetaQuasi

 

Re the question about stock fans - there are a few options there. Check Johnm's thread with regards to the Noctua option, or mine for the Arctic Cooling option.  Both of these specific fan models are ideal for this case. Just be careful not to get the wrong type.

yah I'll do that, I prefer Noctua...but which model is the correct one?

Check atlas for model I used. They are fine unless your ambient room temp is really high. I actually used the CPU fans for the higher static pressure.

 

The cables that come with the expander is crazy long. They are fine. I think they are 1m.

 

Your build looks very solid and trouble free. You could probably save few bucks here and there. But it's a nice build as is. Very drool factor.

 

Edit: for the RAM. if you are only going to get 8GB for now, consider getting this. then you dont have to toss it out later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239135

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Check atlas for model I used. They are fine unless your ambient room temp is really high. I actually used the CPU fans for the higher static pressure.

 

The cables that come with the expander is crazy long. They are fine. I think they are 1m.

 

Your build looks very solid and trouble free. You could probably save few bucks here and there. But it's a nice build as is. Very drool factor.

 

Edit: for the RAM. if you are only going to get 8GB for now, consider getting this. then you dont have to toss it out later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239135

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks Johnm, i replaced the memory to the one you recommended.

I updated my first post as well.

for a system like this, 750, 850 or 1000W PSU?

 

 

Ok finally ordered my RPC-4224 

hello all,

 

i ordered my the parts to make My711

 

i just increased the RAM to 32GB, and updated my first post.  Can't wait to get it, will keep you posted.