2011-04-08, 00:32
ZestyChicken Wrote:Yeah that was my other concern with the software RAID. My alternative (more expensive) build involved building an AMD Phenom based server, again running Ubuntu c mdadm c 4 2 TB drives in a RAID 5. The MDI board I am looking at even has 2 gigabyte ethernet ports which is quite nice for the extra bandwidth. It's got plenty of PCIe slots of expansion should I choose. Kind of goes against the minimalist approach and is power hungry but would give me more flexibility...
I have a d525 in my UNRAID build. I've streamed 1080p to xbmc, and two sd streams to a Wii and Xbox 360 simultaneously, all while sabnzbd was completing par checks on a few downloaded TV shows. I encountered no problems. I think you'll be extremely happy in the end, if you go the UNRAID route. It is very easy to set up and I have encountered little, if any problems.
You can even run a few VMs with UNRAID and an i3 or phenom CPU. Once again, I highly recommend it. Two months ago I was faced with the same decision and I was going to build a combined NAS/HTPC. I was talked out of it, opted for the UNRAID build (and to continue the use of my Aspire Revo) and I haven't been happier. The simplicity makes it worth it.
