[eskro]

Cheapest 10 HDD's Capable unRAID Server Build Money can buy!!

If you feel like thanking me for my work, you can do so Here




(USA Pricing)

*** Max Expansion: 10 HDD's (18TB Storage + 2TB Parity) ***


[CASE] ANTEC Three Hundred Illusion Micro-ATX ($70 + $0)
[MOBO+iGPU] ASROCK 880GM-LE AM3 HD4250 Micro-ATX ($55 + $5)
[CPU] SEMPRON 145 SDX145HBGMBOX 2.8GHz Single-Core AM3 45W ($43 + $0)
[PSU] CORSAIR CMPSU-430CX 430W 80Plus certified ATX12V ($45 + $0)
[RAM] Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (1x1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1066Mhz CL7 ($9 + $0)
TOTAL: $227


Motherboard Slots & Ports:
----------------------------
PCI Express 2.0 x16: 1
PCI Express x1: 1
PCI: 2
SATA-II Ports: 6 (note that 2 SATA-II Cables are included in the box)


Case Expansion Bays:
----------------------
External 5.25" Drive Bays: 3
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays: 6


Case Fans:
-----------
Front: 2 x 120mm
Rear: 1 x 120mm
Top: 1 x 140mm


Power Supply Connectors:
----------------------------
SATA: 4
MOLEX: 3


Ok, were ready!! let's roll!!


the first 3 HDD's will require an additional SATA-II cable ($2,50) Volume Discounts
also needed to plug the Case Fans, a Molex To 3-Molex Power Connector Cables ($3,25)


the next 3 HDD's will require 3 SATA-II cables ($2,50 ea.) Volume Discounts
also needed, a Molex To 2-Molex Power Connector Cables ($1,50)
also needed, a Molex To 4-SATA Power Connector cables ($8)


the next 2 HDD's will require a 4-in-3 Drive Cage ($25)
also needed, a 2 Port PCI-Express x1 Sata-II Card ($15)
also needed, 2 SATA-II cables ($2,50) Volume Discounts


the last 2 HDD's will require a 2 Port PCI Sata Card ($15)
also needed, 2 SATA-II cables ($2,50) Volume Discounts
also needed, a Molex To 2-SATA Power Connector cables ($4,50)


So, to sum it up, the different levels look like this:

03 HDD's = ($227) + ($3.25 x 1) + ($2.50 x 1) = $232,75
06 HDD's = ($227) + ($3.25 x 1) + ($2.50 x 3) + ($1.50 x 1) + ($8 x 1) = $247,25
08 HDD's = ($227) + ($3.25 x 1) + ($2.50 x 6) + ($1.50 x 1) + ($8 x 1) + ($15 x 1) + ($25 x 1) = $294,75
10 HDD's = ($227) + ($3.25 x 1) + ($2.50 x 8) + ($1.50 x 1) + ($8 x 1) + ($15 x 1) + ($25 x 1) + ($15 x 1) + ($4,50 x 1) = $319,25

(So going from the 3 HDD's Level to the 10 HDD's Level requires an extra $86,50. HDD's not included)


Now, what's left to know?
----------------------------
* USB Fash Drive ($9) to run the unRAID software is not included
* unRAID Registration Keys aren't included (Basic: Free) (Plus: $69) (Pro: $119)
* Hard Disk Drives ($80) aren't included
* MySQL Database/SABnzbd/CouchPotato/Sick Beard users, Upgrade CPU & RAM accordingly
* PoofyHairGuy approved!!


thanks

[Spyderturbo007]

- PoofyHairGuy approved

That's the most important part of the build, isn't it.

Quick question about the case. I think that one is a little ugly, and was looking to substitute this one in it's place.

The Cooler Master will hold the same number of drives as the one you have above, correct? I see yours has 3 x 5.25" bays and 7 x 3.5" bays. The one I linked to has 4 x 5.25 bays and 6 x 3.5" bays.

I was wondering if that made a difference or not when moving past the 6 drive mark in the case I'm look to purchase.

Oh, and thanks a bunch for taking all the time to put this together for everyone. I know I'm appreciative!

[eskro]

No problem,
im here to help to the best of my capabilities!

Now Personnaly,
I don't care if my Server has an ugly case!
I prefer to going for Value rather then Looks!

that being said, yes,
you can change the Case to another one...
if the Cooler Master HAF 912 has 4 x 5.25" bays and 6 x 3.5" bays,
means it'll hold a max total of 12HDD's too!

Also here's the thing....
We suggested a case that we know will keep the Hard Drives cool!
Example, if you wanted to start off with only 6HDD's,
since your Cooler Master HAF 912 has 6 x 3.5" bays,
your good to go but,
suggestion is that those 6HDD's be cooled by 2 Front 120mm Fans...

I know the ANTEC VSK-2000 Can use 2 Front 120mm Fans...
So the first 6HDD's will be cooled correctly!
One 120mm Fan will cooL 3HDD's!

Im not saying your case wont cool them correctly too...
im just saying, be careful with each part of the process...
make sure you have Front Fans to cooL your drives...

~hope this helps~

[Spyderturbo007]

I saw this and figured it would mean that you could add 2 x 120mm fans to cool the HDD's for a total of 3 front fans.

The Cooler Master HAF 912 features one front and one rear 120mm fans and support another front 120mm (two front fans can be swapped for one 200 mm fan), one side 120/140mm and two top 120mm ( or one top 200mm ) fans for peerless air cooling performance.

One other question if you don't mind. I don't see that motherboard on their "compatible hardware" list and wanted to know if you knew of anyone personally using it with success? I'm only asking because I was reading about people just starting to have issues with the Realtek 8111E NIC.

[eskro]

Realtek is the most used NIC for unRAID....
I wouldn't worry at all...

[Spyderturbo007]

Well eskro, you talked me into building an unRAID server. If my wife flips, I'll be sure to blame it all on you.

Here is what I bought. It's pretty much what you had outlined, but just a little different.

• COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ($59.99 + Free)
  
• ASUS M5A78L-M LX AM3+ AMD 760G ($64.99 + $7.56)
  
• CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 ($39.99 + Free)
  
• AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz ($37.99 + Free)
  
• Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 ($19.99 + Free)
  
• HITACHI Deskstar 5K3000 2TB HDD ($69.99 + Free)
  

With shipping the total comes to $260.27 after the $40.00 in rebates. I figured I would add a 2TB HDD in the mix to go with the 2 x 3TB drives I'm using in my NAS right now.

That leaves me with my original 2 x 1TB drives to go back in the NAS when I migrate to the unRAID.

I guess I'll go with the pro version of unRAID?

[seand]

Maybe just because I thought they look cool when you slide out the HD's, for my build I used the recommended Norco 5-in-3 drive racks but it inflated the cost. I do like how the racks have incorporated fans however and so far seem to be doing OK even in an un-air conditioned room here in the muggy mid-Atlantic. The 5-in-3's do seem to help to simplify cable management a little too, FWIW, but nothing you couldn't work around.

I used the recommended Azza Helios case from Raj's 5-drive expandable to 15-drive template. It also added some expense but I wanted to play it safe in terms of cooling on a known build and honestly I think these sort of look cool when fully loaded with 3 x the 5-in-3 racks. Currently I have 5 drives in the first rack and a cache drive in the built in 4-in-3 rack on the bottom.

It was my first experience assembling a box from scratch so it seemed wise to go with a known entity.

[seand]

Shopping for mobo's for these is weird because you want to find a board that was relatively high-end when it came out - built in video, lots of support for SATA drives and at least one 16x PCI slot for RAID cards - but now is dated (so you confirm its worked with someone else's unRaid) and cheap. Its an odd mixed set of criteria to shop for.

[seand]

With shipping the total comes to $260.27 after the $40.00 in rebates. I figured I would add a 2TB HDD in the mix to go with the 2 x 3TB drives I'm using in my NAS right now.

Be careful with the 3TB drives because AFAIK it only really supports 2TB drives currently. I believe if you format them with the current non-beta unRAID version reserifs you only get 2.3T out of a 3T drive or something. A change may be in the works but they are slow to support new hardware over in UnRAID land it seems.

[eskro]

Does unRAID support 3TB and larger drives?

Well eskro, you talked me into building an unRAID server. If my wife flips, I'll be sure to blame it all on you.

o.O

[seand]

Not a hardware issue but for me of the various guides and threads I actually found the wiki to be the most straightforward and up to date set of instructions for installing unRAID with SABnzbd, Sickbeard, Couch Potato. Compared to everything else it was dead easy and I managed to dodge entirely any issues with files having user permissions that keep me from moving them around, which apparently can be an issue depending on how you set up the user permission for these apps.

You will want to change the wget URL for SAB to the most recent stable version, of course.

[Zedd]

Maybe just because I thought they look cool when you slide out the HD's, for my build I used the recommended Norco 5-in-3 drive racks but it inflated the cost. I do like how the racks have incorporated fans however and so far seem to be doing OK even in an un-air conditioned room here in the muggy mid-Atlantic. The 5-in-3's do seem to help to simplify cable management a little too, FWIW, but nothing you couldn't work around.

I used the recommended Azza Helios case from Raj's 5-drive expandable to 15-drive template. It also added some expense but I wanted to play it safe in terms of cooling on a known build and honestly I think these sort of look cool when fully loaded with 3 x the 5-in-3 racks. Currently I have 5 drives in the first rack and a cache drive in the built in 4-in-3 rack on the bottom.

It was my first experience assembling a box from scratch so it seemed wise to go with a known entity.

I'm using that case too, although I didn't plug in that ENORMOUS side panel fan. Don't be put off by the blue led lights either, one snip and they are out forever.

To those that want to avoid the much higher expense of hot swap bays but still have good cooling get these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...4%20in%203

There have been complaints about the stock fans on those coolermaster units being too loud but they are easily changed, took me about 10 mins to change the fan.

[eskro]

To those that want to avoid the much higher expense of hot swap bays but still have good cooling get these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...4%20in%203
.

+1, those 4-in-3 Modules are the best Money Can Buy!!

They'll be in our next unRAID Server Build, hopefully, soon

[wsume99]

I would never use one of those Cooler Master 4-in-3 drive cages. Why you ask? Because in order to install/remove a HDD from the unit you have to completely remove the entire drive cage from the case. It's a major PITA, but if you are on a budget it is one of the cheapest options. I would rather pay the extra money for a 5-in-3 hot swap enclosure. You'll get an extra slot and also have the convenience of the hot swap capability.

[poofyhairguy]

I would never use one of those Cooler Master 4-in-3 drive cages. Why you ask? Because in order to install/remove a HDD from the unit you have to completely remove the entire drive cage from the case. It's a major PITA, but if you are on a budget it is one of the cheapest options. I would rather pay the extra money for a 5-in-3 hot swap enclosure. You'll get an extra slot and also have the convenience of the hot swap capability.

I think the Cooler Masters are a great value at half the price (at worst) of the cheapest 5 in 3 hot swap backplates. The provide a quiet 120mm fan, a filter, vibration protection, and better storage density than traditional 1 to 1s.

For storage density nothing beats a 5 in 3 backplate though, and if you are willing to pay they are the only way to maximize storage density in tower cases.

With that said, Unraid does not support hot swap and hopefully you will not be swapping HDs often once they are in the array so its basically a trade-off between the small amounts of PITA when you put in a HD every time (I can do it in 5 minutes) vs. the huge PITA the one night you have to break off all the little tabs in a case for the backplate to fit. Unless you buy one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811219033

And then, well....