[Sklz711]

Short informational: I was going to build Intel, but with their decision to build DRM into their future chipsets, I'm voting with my limited money and switching to AMD for the first time in like 10 years, so my knowledge is somewhat limited in some areas.

1. I'm going to be running a FlexRaid/FlexView set up to mimic the Drive Extender functionality from WHS without the Advanced Format issues. It's a software Raid, so what kind of processor should I be looking at from an AMD stand point? I'll also be using this server as an automated ripper as well, speed isn't a huge issue but I'd rather it be timed in hours and not days and have streaming not be impacted by the process.

2. I'm probably just going to go with Windows 7, but may hold off and end up going with Windows 7 Home Server that's Server 2008 based. Will this have any impact on the proc/memory requirements?

3. I've found a microATX board that has 8 SATA ports onboard, is there a reason not to use a microATX board on a Media Server/NAS if it has the required SATA ports for it? It also has two 1x PCI-E and 1 PCI-E 2.0 16x for future expandability, but I've never built something to be used as a server before so is there a reason an ATX format board would be better?

4. I used to use WD drives for everything, but I've read nothing but horror stories about them since starting my research. What drives does everyone recommend? WD despite their supposed issues in server setups? Samsung Spinpoints? Any other suggestions?

---

Onto HTPC

1. Looking at a MicroATX board here too, it has onboard 4250, is that good enough for playback of 1080p video? What about Netflix/Hulu/otherandomFLV?

2. I'll be running XBMC for Windows, what kind of processor/amount of memory should I be running here? I've heard the Aeon skins and such can be really hard on the system.

3. Controlling this thing? I've heard good things about the Harmony remotes, but never seen one used in action with an HTPC, I've also seen the dinovo mini used first hand and it seemed pretty good, but again I'm not sure how well it'd work with XBMC. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[eskro]

NAS + HTPC questions = 2 separate box's?

Or all under the same roof?

[Sklz711]

I have a nice aluminum full tower and good power supply already for the NAS/Media Server

Haven't bought anything for the HTPC.

[eskro]

ok so your gonna use 2 separate Rigs then?

1 for NAS & 1 for HTPC?

[Sklz711]

Two seperate rigs.

[eskro]

then, why going with FlexRAID?

usually,
Users that go for FlexRAID its because they can install it on top of their OS
which means 1 Rig acts as NAS+HTPC.

[Sklz711]

then, why going with FlexRAID?

usually,
Users that go for FlexRAID its because they can install it on top of their OS
which means 1 Rig acts as NAS+HTPC.

I briefly mentioned it above, but I'll also be using the NAS/Media Server as a automated Ripper and Web Streamer, and in a perfect world would be putting Windows 7 Home Server on it for automated back ups of the other pc on the network. I'm simply not comfortable enough with unix to accomplish what I want to do on it.

Also, FlexRaid/FlexView lets me do drive pooling which I really want to do, and since I'll be adding storage 2TB at a time it's also very incremental build friendly.

[rbrohman]

3. I've found a microATX board that has 8 SATA ports onboard, is there a reason not to use a microATX board on a Media Server/NAS if it has the required SATA ports for it? It also has two 1x PCI-E and 1 PCI-E 2.0 16x for future expandability, but I've never built something to be used as a server before so is there a reason an ATX format board would be better?

What mobo do you have your eye on there? I'm about to start sourcing a similar build, and this one sounds like a winner.

then, why going with FlexRAID?

usually,
Users that go for FlexRAID its because they can install it on top of their OS
which means 1 Rig acts as NAS+HTPC.

FlexRAID appeals to me too for a separately housed server. The main reason is that I'd like to run uTorrent, SAB, sickbeard, couchpotato, ember MM, a PBX and some home automation software without having to have yet another "always on" box. With FlexRAID running on a windows box, you get your file server plus your content acquistion/management on a single machine.

[Sklz711]

What mobo do you have your eye on there? I'm about to start sourcing a similar build, and this one sounds like a winner.



FlexRAID appeals to me too for a separately housed server. The main reason is that I'd like to run uTorrent, SAB, sickbeard, couchpotato, ember MM, a PBX and some home automation software without having to have yet another "always on" box. With FlexRAID running on a windows box, you get your file server plus your content acquistion/management on a single machine.

This is the one I'm looking at...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813130308

Doesn't have a ton of reviews yet, because as far as I can tell it's a fairly new board. The one "bad" review was a DOA board, that was either damaged or just someone who had no idea what he was doing. I went and took a look at the manual at the MSI website, and at pics of the board and it does have two fan controllers in addition to the cpu fan controller.

It seems to have everything I'm looking for in a board though, Gigabit Ethernet, 8 on board SATA, two or three PCI-E for future expandability(considering you'll probably be using the onboard 4250 for the limited head unit needs you can just use the x16 as another expansion opportunity) the aforementioned on board video is nice, the on board sound is useless really, but I'm not one to complain.

99$ isn't the cheapest board ever, but honestly it's basically the cheapest an 8 SATA board gets, there is a Gigabyte board the same price, but without the on board video, and some others that are about 40$ more for more of the SATA ports to be SATAIII, but with all of that said, I've never built a server before, so I'm not real sure if the board being microATX is an issue or not.

---

Also, you summed up my desire for FlexRaid on either Windows 7 or Windows 7 Home Server once released. Have you put any thought into what kind of processor you're going to use for your set up?

[eskro]

you just have to figure out how much TB of data u need,,,

Like is 18TB enough? or you would prefer 26TB?

because that changes alot on the mobo choice...

[Sklz711]

you just have to figure out how much TB of data u need,,,

Like is 18TB enough? or you would prefer 26TB?

because that changes alot on the mobo choice...

Just back of the envelope.

1SATA/2TB for the Parity Drive
1SATA/60GB SSD for the OS drive

6 SATA/12TB on stock SATA

2 cheap 2x SATA PCI-E cards = 8 more TB
1 less cheap 4x Sata PCI-E 4x card = 8 more TB

So theoretically I should be able to hit 28TB without hitting the USB 3.0 ports, I can't see needing more than that any time soon, and I'm guessing by that point I'd be looking at a complete rebuild anyway.

[eskro]

what about these parts for NAS?

(Extends up to 10 Hard Disk Drives)
[CPU] Athlon X2 3.0GHz AM3 65W ($60 + $0)
[RAM] Kingston HyperX 2 x 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 1333 CL7 ($62 + $0 - $25 MIR)
[MOBO] Foxconn M61PMP-K AM3 MicroATX ($47 + $0)
[PSU] CORSAIR CX430 430W ATX12V ($45 + $4 - $20 MIR)
[CASE] Antec VSK-2000 ($45 + $0)
TOTAL: $218 After Mail-in-Rebates

[Sklz711]

what about these parts for NAS?

(Extends up to 10 Hard Disk Drives)
[CPU] Athlon X2 3.0GHz AM3 65W ($60 + $0)
[RAM] Kingston HyperX 2 x 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 1333 CL7 ($62 + $0 - $25 MIR)
[MOBO] Foxconn M61PMP-K AM3 MicroATX ($47 + $0)
[PSU] CORSAIR CX430 430W ATX12V ($45 + $4 - $20 MIR)
[CASE] Antec VSK-2000 ($45 + $0)
TOTAL: $218 After Mail-in-Rebates

I'm taking it from this list of parts you think MicroATX is fine for NAS/Server builds?

I've already overkilled a couple of the required parts, mainly because I got incredibly good deals.

Parts I have

[CASE]ABS Tigas Aluminum 10x Hot Swappable Full Tower
[PSU]Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W

This is where I start to stumble though, as I have no idea what I really need as far as processors go.

Low voltage sounds great, but then I wonder if a dual core is going to give me the performance I want when it comes to things like simultaneous streaming/ripping and the software raid that is running over an OS.

I keep going back and forth between the budget model you suggested

and

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 95W

and

AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W

and

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W


So basically it's budget dual core vs budget quad core, but 95W vs 95W quad core with L3 Cache, vs 125w but equal core speeds.

I'm just not entirely sure what's needed, nor how well the power saving technology works in the chips, or how much L3 cache would help with performance while ripping or streaming multiples.

RAM sounds good, that's about what I was thinking.

As far as MOBO goes, I really want one with 8 SATA on board, otherwise I feel like I'm hamstringing myself with future upgrade ability.

#1 option so far
MSI 880GMA-E53 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0

Other options

ASRock 890FX DELUXE3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: All 6GB SATA
Two 1x PCI-E and Three capable of 4x or better meaning they could run 4x SATA cards instead of 2x.

Cons: No On Board Video, and yeah it's a server but that's going to make setup a pain since I don't have a spare video card. Also, to use the video card would require a PCI-E slot reducing the total number of PCI-E over the current #1 option to one additional.
Costs 55$ more than the first option

Another option

GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: Also has on board video
Six of the SATA ports are 6GB
Has 3 PCI-E 1x ports, and 2 PCI-E 8x ports to be used for further expansion

Cons: About 35$ extra
50 1-2 egg reviews all generally expressing the same issues, random blue screens, and dead boards after a couple of weeks/months. This would probably be the #1 otherwise, but there seems to be a lot of consistent problems with it.
There is a slightly more reliable version, but it's about 50$ over and above this one, and the board placement is bad on a lot of the components, like one of the 1x slots being unusable due to heat pipes.

So yeah, 8SATA ports on board are a lot rarely than I'd like. I'd probably just pony up for the ASROCK, but the lack of on board video really kills my desire to spend the extra cash.

[eskro]

Parts I have
[CASE]ABS Tigas Aluminum 10x Hot Swappable Full Tower
[PSU]Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W

you already bought those?
and that case is pricey!

im not sure how much your willing to spend here...

is using FlexRAID the only way for you?
Like unRAID doesn't interest you at all?

[Sklz711]

you already bought those?
and that case is pricey!

im not sure how much your willing to spend here...

is using FlexRAID the only way for you?
Like unRAID doesn't interest you at all?

Ja, both of those are already purchased. And yeah, FlexRaid is pretty much the only option at the moment. Greyhole/Amahi is theoretically possible, but Amahi just isn't ready for primetime imo, and I don't have any other way to functionally use Greyhole.

I got a very good deal on the case

Here is what I'm thinking for the rest of the build as far as core components go.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Public...r=22283008

So basically about 400-500$.

The HTPC portion is probably going to look something like this...

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Public...r=22283808

Although, I'm still not sure if the on board video is good enough, and haven't really heard any opinions one way or another.

I also have no idea on the case/power supply.