[Spikester44]

Hey forum,

Research into unraid has pointed me toward Greenleaf Technology (they sell pre-made unraid). http://www.greenleaf-technology.com/

I've been real impressed with their prices but just wanted to ask the forum if anyone has had experience with them...

The components of the 6 Drive Pro are as follows:

Motherboard Intel BOXDH67CFB3
CPU Intel Core i3-2100
RAM Kingston 2GB KVR1333D3S8N9/2G
PSU COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600
Case LIAN LI PC-Q08B
Drive Cages SYBA SY-MR-35SOF
2 Port SATA Controller Silicon Image SIL3132 (PCIe)
Flash Drive Verbatim Clip-it 4GB
unRAID License Single unRAID Server Plus Registration key (Limit of 6 drives)

With 6 hard drives of HGST Deskstar 3.5-Inch 2TB 7200RPM SATA III 6 Gbps 64 MB Cache Internal Hard Drive (0F12115) the total comes to ~$1,600

Note that they do the full installation AND preclear and test all drives twice.

Thanks in advance,
-Mike

[Dougie Fresh]

I wonder why they don't use the ASUS P8H77-I which has 6 on-board SATA ports in a mini-itx board already. In my PC-Q08 I have the E35M1-I which has 6 SATA ports on a mini-ITX board with the E-350 processor. I am going to guess it's because of the Realtek LAN whereas the Intel board has the Intel LAN. You could get a 6 SATA board and just get an Intel LAN card.

To me it sounds pretty expensive for what you get. You could build it yourself much cheaper though I don't know the price of unRAID. But, if you don't want to build it, it's a very good spec.

[Spikester44]

Yeah - the price is really you paying for them building and the time
They input into configuring the server how you want. Not to mention how long it would take to preclear 6 of those drives.

You don't have to worry about any components being NFG.

Thanks for your input on the parts list. I appreciate it!

-Mike

[GortWillSaveUs]

$1,600 is,...WOW,..a whole lot of money!!! Too much in my opinion.
The greatest thing about unRaid is that you can build and upgrade as your need (and budget) increase.

An i3 processor is overkill,...as well as the Lian Li case which I find to be overly expensive.

Plus, getting 6 HDDs that all the same make and model is not exactly the wisest thing to do.

[Arkitket]

Plus, getting 6 HDDs that all the same make and model is not exactly the wisest thing to do.

I remember about a decade ago when I was doing RAID for a company I worked for, we always wanted to make sure that the drives were not from the same batch. So if we were to buy a HDD of the same OEM of one we already had it had to be 6 months or longer between purchases (and often they were from different distributors). When you buy drives from the same batch you end up with the very likely problem of them failing at roughly the exact same time.

[spencers]

What exactly will you be doing with this unRAID machine that would necessitate an i3 CPU?

I've been doing fine with a cheapo AMD Sempron 130 setup. However, I'm upgrading to the i3 this week because Plex Media Server needs more power to transcode to iDevices.

[Dougie Fresh]

If it's just straight up sharing files, a G540 would be a better processor for this build.

The 600W PSU is overkill too. You can't add more HDDs so there's no need to have that much overhead. I have 6 x SATA, 1 x SSD, the E35M1-I and 4GB in my PC-Q08 and it hits 90W spinning everything up and spends most of the time cruising along under 40W. I have a 300W PSU in it.

[newoski]

Hey Guys,

I've got a Greenleaf Technologies 15 Drive Unraid Tower and I can't recommend them enough.

While I felt comfortable enough building an HTPC from scratch -- with coaching from Eskro/Assassin -- I was pretty uneasy about building a server.

With guidance from Stephen and Kyle at Greenleaf I was able to select the appropriate unit, plugins, and configuration.

It arrived fully burned in and ready to go!

I connected it into my Router, plugged it into an APC Battery Backup, turned it on, and it showed up on my network!

Doesn't get much easier than that!

Furthermore, the Greenleaf guys are AMAZING when it comes to Customer/Tech Support!

They always deliver the kind of support that makes you think about sending them a Christmas card...

Anytime I have a question for them, they provide a clear and concise answer in language that my grandmother could understand.

If this sounds like a love letter to Greenleaf... they've earned it...

While purchasing a prebuilt server isn't the right choice for everyone, it was for me, and they've lived up to the hype!

Highly recommend

[Spikester44]

Thanks for the input - appreciate it.

The i3 cpu is needed as I will be running airvideo off the server to idevices and there will be multiple uses throughout the home. Plus I think it will make the system future proof.

I agree that the psu is overkill...

In terms of the drives all being from the same manufacturer...I'm not worried as Greenleaf buys them all at different times and actually tests each drive at least twice before installing them. Plus there's the manufactur warranty I should be okay with. I like the hitachi drives because they're fast...

The service I've recieved thus far has been amazing...and might be worth it the extra cash in the event I do need tech support.

That being said - if I stuck with the i3 cpu and using a 6 drive machine...can anyone reccomend a cheaper build?

[Dougie Fresh]

With all that, and if *I* were building it, I'd only change the power supply to something like this:

Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

or, even this which is perfect for the PC-Q08 (an SFX PSU 80+ bronze with an ATX adapter plate and a single +12V rail)

SILVERSTONE ST45SF 450W SFX12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

I have an SFX PSU in my PC-Q08 and it makes a huge difference on airflow/cooling.

I'd also use 5400RPM "green" drives.

[Arkitket]

You could probably get away with an Ivy Bridge Pentium G2120 instead of the i3-2100, I also second what Dougie said

[Rajahal]

Hey all, hope its kosher for me to post in this thread! About time I registered for these forums (though I've lurked a great deal)...Kyle and I got our start in the unRAID forums, so this feels a bit like home.

First of all, thanks so much to newoski for the glowing endorsement...brings a tear to me eye!

To answer a few of the questions in this thread:

- We use the i3 processor in this model of server because it is designed to be able to handle CPU-intensive processes such as video transcoding while consuming minimum energy. We also offer other less expensive server designs based on single core CPUs.

- I agree that 600W is overkill for this build, but restricted airflow in the compact Lian Li case more-or-less necessitates a modular PSU, and the Cooler Master is the best fit (and lowest wattage) we've found for this particular build

- The ASUS P8H77-I is an interesting new option that wasn't available when we first designed this build. As mentioned, Realtek NICs are notoriously flaky with unRAID, but with careful testing they can be verified to work. I personally have not tested the Realtek 8111F, so I can't comment on it. When choosing a motherboard for unRAID or any server application, it is often better to go with the 'tried and true' option over the 'latest and greatest', as stability, reliability, and thorough testing are generally more important than an extra feature or higher spec that will often not make a lick of difference in real-world applications. That said, a big thanks to Dougie Fresh for suggesting the ASUS P8H77-I as I think it is potentially a decent match for this or a similar build, and I will put it on my short list for boards to test!

You can certainly save money by building a server yourself, and we really don't discourage that. We publish many of our designs in our Prototypes Blog specifically for the DIY crowd, and we're happy to provide exact component lists for our builds such as the list posted by the OP. We try to provide a value-added service by covering the hassle of testing and burning in new hardware, assembling the server, installing and configuring the unRAID software, providing a warranty, and offering free and paid tech support for issues surrounding servers, backup solutions, HTPCs, and general home and small office networking. Our goal is to provide a solid, dependable product with the best support we can offer.

Thanks for your interest!

[Beer40oz]

Hey all, hope its kosher for me to post in this thread! About time I registered for these forums (though I've lurked a great deal)...Kyle and I got our start in the unRAID forums, so this feels a bit like home.

Hi Rajahal... welcome. And thank you for your advise on some questions I had before in the unRAID forums. Nice to see you finally made it here.

[Dougie Fresh]

+1, I agree, welcome. Whether you offer a product, offer advice on how to do one yourself or both it's all serving the community IMHO. Post an advert here is different than taking an active role in the forums and helping out is another -- again product or not.

For the PC-Q08 you guys should take a look at the SFX PSU I posted (or any other SFX single-rail PSU). I've found the SFX PSU do a lot to increase the airflow in the PC-Q08, PC-Q07, etc. and a lot of them come with the ATX adapter bracket now if you get the retail version (though those plates are readily available separately). I use the FSP GHS 300W 80+ Bronze in my server with an adapter plate I bought separately.

[Rajahal]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

For the PC-Q08 you guys should take a look at the SFX PSU...

Thanks for the advice, we'll check it out!