[Mufasa]

So here is my proposed build for my UNRaid server. Comments appreciated.
This is based on eskro's 16 drive build with changes due to out of inventory stuff.
I've also assumed that I'll be running the latest beta version (to get support for the on board NIC).
I'm also going to be running mysql (at a minimum, and probably other add ons, so that's why I bumped up some of the specs). Did I bump them too high?

[MB + iGPU] ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Based on the 20 drive build, and then bumped up to support more memory slots,
I'm also considering this:
[MB + iGPU]: ASUS M5A88-M Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
since it has 6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports. Do we think we may start to see drives in this category, and are the newer drives backwards compatible? (Can I plug a 6Gb drive into a 3Gb slot?

[CPU] AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core
CPU choice: I just went with what other people bought.

[MEMORY] CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
Memory choice (size & quantity). I really like Corsair memory, had great luck with them in the past, and good replacements via RMA. I am going with 4 sticks (for a total of 8G) so that in case one stick should fail, I can send back the pair, and still have operational memory.

[PSU] Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS
Mentioned in the thread this is a beefier PS.

[CASE] ANTEC Twelve Hundred V3 Micro-ATX
Original from eskro's build.

[SATA MOD]: I think what I might do is skip
a 2 Port PCI-Express x1 Sata-II Card ($15)
and get two of these:
a 8 Port PCI-Express x4 Sata Card ($100)
to be able to bump up the drive count to 21 using the internal drive bays.

I appreciate the feedback (please don't assume anything).
Last time I built a computer was a barebones shuttle, so I'm a little bit out of the MB, CPU, Mem marriage department.

Thank you for taking the time to read and offer your comments.

This build is based on eskro's work (and his comments)
If you feel like thanking him for his work, you can do so Here

[eskro]

powerful hardware for a server

uhm, how will you put 2 x 8 Port PCI-Express x4 Sata Cards
in the ASUS M5A88-M Micro ATX AMD Motherboard??
i see only 1 spot for the card,
and its in the only PCIe 2.0 x16 slot...

[Mufasa]

Hi eskro,

Thanks for the response. Your recipes rock!

Yeah, a bit beefier, but I'm trying to get something that I can run into the ground (last for a long time) should it be needed. I also don't want to get stuck wanting to run an add-on, and not having the horse power to do it.

Yep, you are right, only one PCI card slot, so I'll stick with your original design. (I thought I saw some MBs that had two, so I may have had some mental memory garbage collection to do!)

Thanks so much for the review. So then, I have the eskro stamp of approval?

(P.S. I can't wait to get my HW as day by day my ReadyNAS is getting less reliable. That's why I'm looking for good hardware that is in stock to ship ASAP. Sigh)

[eskro]

yep

[bigdog66]

def looks to be a little over the top but i understand why

I have the Antec 1200 case and love it....I caught mine during what i would think was a pricing mistake....you don't want to know how much i got it for lol

Good luck on the build!

[Mufasa]

Any thoughts on this board (that I thought you might have posted?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813130591

MSI 870A-G46 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

[eskro]

thanks you for the Donation Mufasa!

that MSI board has perfect unRAID specs,
i removed it becuz of the somewhat bad reviews on newegg...

[Mufasa]

Happy to do so, you've been most helpful!
I think I also got a chance to see your day job. That's pretty incredible.

Anyway, wow, yeah, after looking at the reviews, it seems a bad batch was created. I went looking to see if it was just "didn't like the way BIOS was laid out" but wow, it was DOA boards all over the place.

Well, I'll wait a few more days, and then order the stuff. If you happen to find a better board (that one did have some sweet specs) I'd be interested to see it.

Thanks again for the recipes!

Mufasa (My kid was watching Lion King when I happened to register for this board, so I needed some kind of name!)

[Mufasa]

def looks to be a little over the top but i understand why

I have the Antec 1200 case and love it....I caught mine during what i would think was a pricing mistake....you don't want to know how much i got it for lol

Good luck on the build!

Now you are just begging me to ask you.... so... how much?

[eskro]

well, that ASUS M5A88-M Micro ATX AMD Motherboard seems good enough.

[Mufasa]

Well allll right!

I'll start finding some new egg coupons then!

Thanks for the assist!

[eskro]

this $89 ASUS M4A87T ATX motherboard can be good too.

[Mufasa]

Oh, I like the specs on that Asus!
It's got the faster 6Gbs SATA ports on it (when I finally do get faster drives), and an extra PCI slot to add that secondary SATA card in if needed.

Nice.

Would you still go with the CPU that I originally spec'd out in this board?

If $100 was your cap for a MB, which would you choose?

[eskro]

AMD Phenom II X4 975 is a huge OverKiLL for unRAID...
even if u plan on using heavy addons...
i'd go for these

$89 ASUS M4A87T + $80 AMD Athlon II X3 455

[Mufasa]

That is so helpful.

Thanks!