Need ideas on cheapest 5 disk unraid server that could be built.

A friend is looking to build or get a NAS what is the cheapest 5 disk Unraid server I can build? I know some people like to make part lists just wonder if someone has ideas on a build like this? A case that allows future expand-ability would be great.

Does your friend have a old case that will hold 5 drives by chance? I am using my old Zalman HD160 for building my attempt at a UNRAID NAS.

I got an old case I could give him. But would welcome ideas for a cheap new one as well.

Not really a fan of "cheapest" ... but since you asked ...

(1)  Case ($40 - holds 8 3.5" drives):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146083

(2)  Power Supply ($25):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

Slap in your motherboard of choice (with 6 SATA ports or more) and you're in business.  I prefer Intel, so I'd use something like this:

($63 - 8 SATA ports):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157356

with this:  ($60):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116888

and this:  ($37):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178599

So a total of $225 plus shipping for a system that will support 8 drives.

Plus, of course, the drives and an UnRAID license 

Thanks that's a great launching point.

These boards could also be good options if he's looking for something really low powered and quiet. CPU is about 33% more powerful than a similarly spec'd Atom based board. They only have 4 onboard SATA ports so a cheap $10 two port SATA card would be required to bring you up to the 5 drive requirement.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B4M33WA

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B9810U6

...adding an AMD Variant.

What you'll get from it, compared to that intel build above, is:

- less horsepower with higher power figures on idle (but still good for a basic NAS; use an X2 if you want more)

- only 6x SATA ports on board

+ but on the good side is ECC Memory support.!

+ save another $16 

mobo: $55 -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131795

CPU: $39 -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103888

RAM: $50 -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239136

...of course you are not technically required to use ECC...use the same memory from the intel build and save another $13 which makes that AMD build a total of $196

These boards could also be good options if he's looking for something really low powered and quiet. CPU is about 33% more powerful than a similarly spec'd Atom based board. They only have 4 onboard SATA ports so a cheap $10 two port SATA card would be required to bring you up to the 5 drive requirement.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B4M33WA

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B9810U6

+1

These are great for a starter build with the unregistered version of unRAID.

Here's a thread from the forum: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=27265.0

I am using the MSI C847MS-E33 (for another purpose) but can confirm that it is more powerful than an Atom with same or even better power consumption figures.

If you can find an HP Proliant Microserver on sale or with rebate you can get a prebuilt system. The N54L I got was around $240 after rebate. It has a dual core cpu and 2GB of memory. Four removable hard drive bays and you can add a fith one. Plus it has an eSATA port and if you intsall the modified BIOS you can attach a port multiplier enclosure to be able to expand the system by four more drives. And you can expand it farther by opening up the case and adding a card to the system. In mine that gives me the capacity for sixteen more drives in addition to the four from the eSATA port and the five internal.

  If you really want cheapest...  Go with all old/recycled parts...  part cost should be ZERO that way... or very, very close to it.  Then the only expense would be a license for unRAID.  If he is unsure unRAID is what he wants, he can even just go for the free version of unRAID too, and just use 2 data drives with parity for now, to see how he likes it!  I am thinking about starting a new thread... something titled like "GARBAGE/LANDFILL CHEAP BUILDS..."  hardware that without unRAID might very well just end up in a landfill.  :-(

  There are very functional builds that can be built still using P4 era hardware...  They WILL use more power than many current builds, at least compared to the capability of the system.  But they are a great way to see if unRAID will work for a given user, or not...

  It is also a great way to build a protected array cheap, that may only be powered on for purposes of making additional back-ups of data, and such...

One problem with older Pentium-era systems is they likely only have IDE drive interfaces, so won't work with modern high-capacity drives (which are only available with SATA interfaces).

You can, of course, pop in a cheap PCI SATA card ... but these will be very bandwidth-limited with modern drives and the PCI bus.

However ... it is indeed a good way to "try" UnRAID => the hardware can be nearly free; and if you use 3 old IDE drives you can certainly get a good "feel" for how UnRAID works.

A few negatives:  (a)  old 100Mb NICs will be limited to ~ 11MB/s data transfer rates;  (b) IDE drives mean you're essentially limited to 500GB drives (there are a few 750GB units, but these are very hard to find);  © you MAY have a problem booting from a USB flash drive -- a problem that can be overcome, but not without a bit of "fiddling".

Personally, I think the system I outlined for $225 would be a much better choice for "trying" UnRAID.  ... but it IS possible to do it for a lot less if you're willing to accept those limitations.

  true, true...  I think if you are going to need to buy hard drives also for testing, it would be a bad idea to go for IDE drives at all.  But, free is free, and if you find newer FREE hardware, that may also have a drive or two, and has SATA ports... I would definitely if it a go for seeing what unRAID will do for you.

  Then if you desired, you could still buy a newer SATA drive for use in the test machine, that could be moved to a newer nicer unRAID build later after you have decided it is a great way to go...

  Got to love unRAID, with how easy it is to move your drives from one machine to another without loosing your array!  :-)

  If you really want cheapest...  Go with all old/recycled parts...  part cost should be ZERO that way... or very, very close to it.  Then the only expense would be a license for unRAID.  If he is unsure unRAID is what he wants, he can even just go for the free version of unRAID too, and just use 2 data drives with parity for now, to see how he likes it!  I am thinking about starting a new thread... something titled like "GARBAGE/LANDFILL CHEAP BUILDS..."  hardware that without unRAID might very well just end up in a landfill.  :-(

 

  There are very functional builds that can be built still using P4 era hardware...  They WILL use more power than many current builds, at least compared to the capability of the system.  But they are a great way to see if unRAID will work for a given user, or not...

 

  It is also a great way to build a protected array cheap, that may only be powered on for purposes of making additional back-ups of data, and such...

Keep in mind though that most P4 era hardware is not 64-bit compatible and Tom has stated version 5.0 final is likely to be the last 32-but version of the software. If don't want to miss out on new versions and features the server is going to be out of date almost as soon as its built.

 

  If you really want cheapest...  Go with all old/recycled parts...  part cost should be ZERO that way... or very, very close to it.  Then the only expense would be a license for unRAID.  If he is unsure unRAID is what he wants, he can even just go for the free version of unRAID too, and just use 2 data drives with parity for now, to see how he likes it!  I am thinking about starting a new thread... something titled like "GARBAGE/LANDFILL CHEAP BUILDS..."  hardware that without unRAID might very well just end up in a landfill.  :-(

 

  There are very functional builds that can be built still using P4 era hardware...  They WILL use more power than many current builds, at least compared to the capability of the system.  But they are a great way to see if unRAID will work for a given user, or not...

 

  It is also a great way to build a protected array cheap, that may only be powered on for purposes of making additional back-ups of data, and such...

 

 

Keep in mind though that most P4 era hardware is not 64-bit compatible and Tom has stated version 5.0 final is likely to be the last 32-but version of the software. If don't want to miss out on new versions and features the server is going to be out of date almost as soon as its built.

Can the Atom support 64bit?

Can the Atom support 64bit?

Yes.

  Not all ATOMs are 64-bit.  Most of the early ones are 32-bit.  But of the motherboards currently available in the supply chain, MOST are 64-bit.  If looking at an ATOM, I would strongly suggest going with the D2560, if looking for a solution that is less likely to be obsoleted as soon, as it also supports,  Intel VT-x for virtualization.  :-)

  The D2560 is a dual-core, quad-threaded(dual core with hyper-threading = 4 threads) x86 CPU with VT-x that runs under 10W.  Not bad, and a very tempting pick!  The D2560 processor is the same price to the OEM as the less capable D2550, and is the only one, (that I can seem to find at least), in the ATOM line-up to support hardware virtualization.

  BUT... While there are a boards currently in production with the D2560, they do not seem to have trickeled down the supply chain yet for us poor little consumers to buy... :-(  That is to say I do not see any at Newegg, etc...

  All the currently stocked ATOM based motherboards at Newegg (2013 Jul 07) ARE 64-bit however, and you would need to search for an older 32-bit varient.

  If looking at for an ATOM, I would wait till I could get the D2560, and use something else to get by with for cheap till then.

...  Not all ATOMs are 64-bit.

True ... but virtually any current one is.    And certainly the Atom supplied in LimeTech's server does; as well as virtually ANY Atom that's likely to be in a board that would be purchased for an UnRAID server.

The D2560 is a dual-core, quad-threaded(dual core with hyper-threading = 4 threads) x86 CPU with VT-x that runs under 10W.  Not bad, and a very tempting pick!

I agree the D2560 has excellent specs ... but the performance isn't appreciably better than the current D525 (PassMark 755 vs. 694 for the D525).    VT is definitely a nice addition; but I doubt many will be using Atoms to run hypervisors 

The D2560 processor is ... the only one, (that I can seem to find at least), in the ATOM line-up to support hardware virtualization.

Actually there are 20 Atom models that support hardware virtualization !!    ... but the D2560 is the only one that also supports 64 bits      [Most of the others are early E or Z series Atoms that were used in mobile applications]

Bottom line:  If looking for a very low-powered Atom to run an UnRAID server today, I'd go with the D525.    But I certainly agree that if you're planning for a future Atom build, look for a board using the D2560, which I'm sure will be available sometime this fall.

Sent from my SGH-T879 using Tapatalk 2

I have the 525 Atom... Supermodel mb.

 

 

Sent from my SGH-T879 using Tapatalk 2

 

I have the 525 Atom... Supermodel mb.

I had actually assumed you had either a D510 or D525 when you asked the question r.e. 64-bit, since those are the Atoms SuperMicro has used in their recent products (and the D525 is the one Tom selected for his latest server offering).

As I noted above, it's an excellent choice ... dual core, hyperthreaded, and very power-efficient.  It's also what I use in my 2nd server.

This setup really appeals to me especially with the mobo having 8 SATA ports and the lower price point!! I've already picked up the CX430 PSU. Other than not looking as neat as a Mini-ITX build - any issues/concerns with the mobo/CPU to keep in mind? I'll just be running PMS on this build and using it as a file server and looks like the Celeron G1620 has plenty of horsepower for that. No other plugins planned!

Also amazon has the G1620 for even cheaper - 54 bucks out the door.

Not really a fan of "cheapest" ... but since you asked ...

 

(1)  Case ($40 - holds 8 3.5" drives):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146083

 

(2)  Power Supply ($25):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

 

Slap in your motherboard of choice (with 6 SATA ports or more) and you're in business.  I prefer Intel, so I'd use something like this:

 

($63 - 8 SATA ports):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157356

 

with this:  ($60):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116888

 

and this:  ($37):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178599

 

So a total of $225 plus shipping for a system that will support 8 drives.

 

Plus, of course, the drives and an UnRAID license 

I don't see any issues to be concerned about.  The G1620 has plenty of "horsepower" for Plex, which is the only CPU-intensive plugin you'll be running.    ... and you've even managed to shave a few bucks off the cost 

Thx Garycase!

I just pulled the trigger on the CPU and Case from amazon.com - The case is a little more expensive on amazon compared to Newegg but considering the 18$ shipping cost for Newegg - amazon works out cheaper with free shipping.

Concerning the motherboard - I see that amazon has the B75 PRO3-M version of the motherboard for 69.99 - Is this worth considering compared to the B75M R2.0 on Newegg - or is this an incompatible motherboard? It's based on the same LGA 1155 socket and Intel B75 chipset - so I presume it should be compatible.

http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-B75-CrossFireX-Motherboard-PRO3-M/dp/B007RQ0HSA/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1373574225&sr=1-3&keywords=ASRock+B75M

Will wait for a here reply before ordering it. Works out at the same cost from amazon as the other suggested board + shipping from Newegg!!

Either motherboard is fine.  The only obvious difference is that the Pro has 4 memory slots, whereas the one on Newegg only has 2 => but with unbuffered RAM I don't recommend installing more than 2 modules anyway, so functionally that's irrelevant.    Nevertheless, if you can get the "Pro" for essentially the same price, it certainly won't hurt.

Last question I promise! 

For memory: I see this on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/PNY-MD4096KD3-1333-Channel-PC3-10666-Desktop/dp/B0026ZPTR6/ref=sr_1_2?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1373575869&sr=1-2

Compared to this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178599

The only difference I see is that the one on amazon has Heat Spreaders (I'm assuming that's what the NHS on newegg's model # specifies - No Heat Spreader)

Again - any issues using the memory module from amazon?

The memory on Amazon is fine