Check My MicroATX Build

[CraigChrist8239]

First off let me say Hello, first time posting here...

I do have a few questions but I'll start off with my parts list:
Memory:
Oringally it was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231734 but I was reading about how it must be ECC so I changed to this... (Is ECC really required? Why is something like that not required for typical systems?)
4 x Crucial DDR3 1600Mhz ECC
2 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148770
$339.98

Processor:
AMD Trinity Quad-Core 3.8Ghz FM2 Socket
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280
$99.99

Motherboard:
ASUS A88XM-A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132045
I chose this for the following reasons; it supports my processor; up 64GB on 4 memory slots as low as 1333Mhz; at least 4 SATA3; gigabit ethernet; integrated graphics; expansion slots. My plan if I even run out of hard drive space is to add eSATA through expansion slots, then run eSATA from HDD cages with 4 drives in RAID5 to them.
$68.88

Case:
APEX MicroATX Mid Tower with 300w Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154079
I chose this because it's cheap, comes with a 300w power supply which should be efficient, and it has 4 HDD spaces for an initial 4 drives for RAID5.
$39.99

Hard Drives:
Been trying to save money up to this point cause this is going to be the big one. Price up to this point (system with no HDDs) is $548.84.
4 x 6TB WD Red drives
4 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236737
$1,079.96

This brings the grand total to $1,628.80 with a total of 18TB in RAID5 storage (as opposed to my current 4TB JBOD setup). The obvious questions I have are things like is this going to cut it? Can I cut corners anywhere else other than the HDDs? Do you foresee any problems?

I am also wondering, I like to use MakeMKV to copy my Blu-Rays and then use Handbrake to compress them before putting on my NAS. It would be great if I could do this all with the same system. If I buy a BluRay drive for my NAS, would FreeNAS be able to run MakeMKV and Handbrake to do this? Also I assume that FreeNAS does DLNA? Keep in mind that is mostly what my current Stora does, stream movies/music to various devices throughout my home, and act as a basic backup for my games archives.

Thanks so much for looking!

 

[enemy85]

Your hw choice doesn't seem to be wise: you understand you need ecc ram, but i'm not sure that mobo is ecc capable (for making ECC really works, u need all cpu + mobo + ram support ecc, not just the ram). Furthermore, that mobo has a realtek ethernet chipset that doesn't work so good eith freenas. I'll suggest u to look for raccomended hw

 

[Ericloewe]

First off let me say Hello, first time posting here...

I do have a few questions but I'll start off with my parts list:
Memory:
Oringally it was http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231734 but I was reading about how it must be ECC so I changed to this... (Is ECC really required? Why is something like that not required for typical systems?)
4 x Crucial DDR3 1600Mhz ECC
2 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148770
$339.98

There's a long thread on ECC RAM in the hardware section.

Processor:
AMD Trinity Quad-Core 3.8Ghz FM2 Socket
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280
$99.99

Motherboard:
ASUS A88XM-A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132045
I chose this for the following reasons; it supports my processor; up 64GB on 4 memory slots as low as 1333Mhz; at least 4 SATA3; gigabit ethernet; integrated graphics; expansion slots. My plan if I even run out of hard drive space is to add eSATA through expansion slots, then run eSATA from HDD cages with 4 drives in RAID5 to them.
$68.88

Bad idea. Rule of thumb: No sub-100 motherboard is a good choice, ever.

Add in the typical AMD problems people have had and the the very concrete lack of a usable NIC (Realtek NICs have been described as "the worst ethernet controllers ever made"). And I seriously doubt it'll support ECC.

Replace these with a Supermicro X10SLL-F and an Intel Core i3 41xx or 43xx of your choosing and you'll be fine.

The "HDD cages with 4 drives in RAID5" are also a horrible idea that will cause data loss.

Case:
APEX MicroATX Mid Tower with 300w Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154079
I chose this because it's cheap, comes with a 300w power supply which should be efficient, and it has 4 HDD spaces for an initial 4 drives for RAID5.
$39.99

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever buy one of those combinations. No PSU that comes with a case (server cases excluded) is even remotely safe to use. The case also looks very crummy.

Regarding the case, look around for nice cases from the big brands (Corsair, Antec, Fractal Design, Cooler Master - but avoid the low-end Cooler Masters, ...) and pick one you like.
Regarding the PSU, get a Seasonic G-360.

Hard Drives:
Been trying to save money up to this point cause this is going to be the big one. Price up to this point (system with no HDDs) is $548.84.
4 x 6TB WD Red drives
4 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236737
$1,079.96

This brings the grand total to $1,628.80 with a total of 18TB in RAID5 storage (as opposed to my current 4TB JBOD setup). The obvious questions I have are things like is this going to cut it? Can I cut corners anywhere else other than the HDDs? Do you foresee any problems?

I am also wondering, I like to use MakeMKV to copy my Blu-Rays and then use Handbrake to compress them before putting on my NAS. It would be great if I could do this all with the same system. If I buy a BluRay drive for my NAS, would FreeNAS be able to run MakeMKV and Handbrake to do this? Also I assume that FreeNAS does DLNA? Keep in mind that is mostly what my current Stora does, stream movies/music to various devices throughout my home, and act as a basic backup for my games archives.

Thanks so much for looking!

Drives are fine.

It's doubtful you'll be able to get MakeMKV and Handbrake to run a jail. FreeNAS does not do DLNA, but the Plex plugin does.

 

[marbus90]

1. The board doesn't support ECC RAM
2. If you really want 64GB RAM, pick a Xeon E5 system since these take Registered DIMMs - unbuffered/unregistered 16GB DIMMs have to be paid with unicorn blood.
3. http://www.freenas.org/whats-new/20...design-part-i-purpose-and-best-practices.html here's a well-written 4-part documentation. read all of this, it explains nearly all of the gotchas of a system optimized for ZFS.

my mATX build would be:
Fractal Design Arc Mini or Define Mini
Seasonig G-360 PSU
Supermicro X10SLL-F/SLL+-F/SLM-F/SLM+-F
Core i3-4130 (or anything Haswell Refresh, but you maybe need to flash the BIOS for these to work)
DIMMs either listed on supermicros compatible memory list or Crucials

 

[CraigChrist8239]

Well seeing as I have to spend over $1,000 on just hard drives I was trying to keep the actual system costs below $600 (closer to $500), but I guess with FreeNAS that's impossible? You will have to bear with me as I've never built a NAS/server before, only desktops. I'm considering going to 4TB Red drives because while I'd lose 6TB, it'd be about half the cost (4TB drives are on sale). Keep in mind that I don't NEED a uATX system, I just thought it would be cool and on a system focused on HDDs the actual system should take up as little space as possible. I also like having the ability to upgrade later on in case I need more storage space. I'll do revised parts list, then respond:
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SLL-F-O
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819

PSU: SeaSonic SSR-450RM 450W Modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151124

Processor: Intel i3-4160 3.6Ghz Dual-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117447

Memory: Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239807

Case: RAIDMAX Hyperion
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156320
Total system cost before HDDs now is $605.94.

There's a long thread on ECC RAM in the hardware section.



Bad idea. Rule of thumb: No sub-100 motherboard is a good choice, ever.

Add in the typical AMD problems people have had and the the very concrete lack of a usable NIC (Realtek NICs have been described as "the worst ethernet controllers ever made"). And I seriously doubt it'll support ECC.

Replace these with a Supermicro X10SLL-F and an Intel Core i3 41xx or 43xx of your choosing and you'll be fine.

The "HDD cages with 4 drives in RAID5" are also a horrible idea that will cause data loss.



Never, ever, ever, ever, ever buy one of those combinations. No PSU that comes with a case (server cases excluded) is even remotely safe to use. The case also looks very crummy.

Regarding the case, look around for nice cases from the big brands (Corsair, Antec, Fractal Design, Cooler Master - but avoid the low-end Cooler Masters, ...) and pick one you like.
Regarding the PSU, get a Seasonic G-360.



Drives are fine.

It's doubtful you'll be able to get MakeMKV and Handbrake to run a jail. FreeNAS does not do DLNA, but the Plex plugin does.

Took your advice on the motherboard and processor. Can you explain why adding 4 more drives in a RAID5 block is a bad idea? I like having the option to upgrade and while it will take me awhile to fill 12-18TB, I'd like to be able to double/triple that storage capacity. I also don't want to have to buy a whole new case when I do that either. Should I go with a rack mounted setup? I like the almost modular design of the racks and I could add a storage unit under/above the main unit fairly easily if I need more room.

As far as your case/psu recommendations, I took your advice for the PSU except that my choice is the exact same in a modular design (and upped power because they do not offer a modular 360w). It has been my experience that modular PSUs are much easier to work with both in installation and in cable management, especially in small situations such as this. Not only that but the price isn't that far off. I realize that Raidmax is not a big brand case maker but I like uATX cube design as seen here much more than a tower. I wasn't able to find a fairly inexpensive case made by a big name brand that wasn't a tower and had at least 4 3.5" drive spaces.

Thanks for your help though!

1. The board doesn't support ECC RAM
2. If you really want 64GB RAM, pick a Xeon E5 system since these take Registered DIMMs - unbuffered/unregistered 16GB DIMMs have to be paid with unicorn blood.
3. http://www.freenas.org/whats-new/20...design-part-i-purpose-and-best-practices.html here's a well-written 4-part documentation. read all of this, it explains nearly all of the gotchas of a system optimized for ZFS.

my mATX build would be:
Fractal Design Arc Mini or Define Mini
Seasonig G-360 PSU
Supermicro X10SLL-F/SLL+-F/SLM-F/SLM+-F
Core i3-4130 (or anything Haswell Refresh, but you maybe need to flash the BIOS for these to work)
DIMMs either listed on supermicros compatible memory list or Crucials

1. K
2. I don't want 64GB RAM? I did go with registered RAM though, thank you. As stated above I like to keep the option to upgrade in the future but for now my system will only have 12-18TB of storage space and according to the guide in 3, 8GB should get me up to 24TB. This is why I ordered 2 Kingston 8GB sticks, as I figure that should be more than enough for now, while keeping 2 slots open for future upgrades.
3. Thank you for that, very informative especially on the ECC RAM issue.

As far as your build goes, I have now switched to a similar PSU, mobo and CPU. The case goes back up to above where I said that I think the worst choice in case for a NAS is a tower. Sorry, just not my style. Cube or rackmount plz. The RAM I did pick is not Crucial and I could not find any memory compatibility list for my motherboard, but Kingston is fairly reputable so I couldn't imagine having an issue? Thanks though.

 

[nick779]

Well seeing as I have to spend over $1,000 on just hard drives I was trying to keep the actual system costs below $600 (closer to $500), but I guess with FreeNAS that's impossible? You will have to bear with me as I've never built a NAS/server before, only desktops. I'm considering going to 4TB Red drives because while I'd lose 6TB, it'd be about half the cost (4TB drives are on sale). Keep in mind that I don't NEED a uATX system, I just thought it would be cool and on a system focused on HDDs the actual system should take up as little space as possible. I also like having the ability to upgrade later on in case I need more storage space. I'll do revised parts list, then respond:
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SLL-F-O
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182819

PSU: SeaSonic SSR-450RM 450W Modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151124

Processor: Intel i3-4160 3.6Ghz Dual-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117447

Memory: Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239807

Case: RAIDMAX Hyperion
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156320
Total system cost before HDDs now is $605.94.

Took your advice on the motherboard and processor. Can you explain why adding 4 more drives in a RAID5 block is a bad idea? I like having the option to upgrade and while it will take me awhile to fill 12-18TB, I'd like to be able to double/triple that storage capacity. I also don't want to have to buy a whole new case when I do that either. Should I go with a rack mounted setup? I like the almost modular design of the racks and I could add a storage unit under/above the main unit fairly easily if I need more room.

As far as your case/psu recommendations, I took your advice for the PSU except that my choice is the exact same in a modular design (and upped power because they do not offer a modular 360w). It has been my experience that modular PSUs are much easier to work with both in installation and in cable management, especially in small situations such as this. Not only that but the price isn't that far off. I realize that Raidmax is not a big brand case maker but I like uATX cube design as seen here much more than a tower. I wasn't able to find a fairly inexpensive case made by a big name brand that wasn't a tower and had at least 4 3.5" drive spaces.

Thanks for your help though!

1. K
2. I don't want 64GB RAM? I did go with registered RAM though, thank you. As stated above I like to keep the option to upgrade in the future but for now my system will only have 12-18TB of storage space and according to the guide in 3, 8GB should get me up to 24TB. This is why I ordered 2 Kingston 8GB sticks, as I figure that should be more than enough for now, while keeping 2 slots open for future upgrades.
3. Thank you for that, very informative especially on the ECC RAM issue.

As far as your build goes, I have now switched to a similar PSU, mobo and CPU. The case goes back up to above where I said that I think the worst choice in case for a NAS is a tower. Sorry, just not my style. Cube or rackmount plz. The RAM I did pick is not Crucial and I could not find any memory compatibility list for my motherboard, but Kingston is fairly reputable so I couldn't imagine having an issue? Thanks though.

Theres a fairly large thread dedicated to Kingston's Sketchy practices regarding RAM and SSDs.

As for RAID5/Z1 The consensus is that with drives getting bigger, theres exponentially greater chances of finding another corrupt block while reslivering a drive. When that happens the rebuild will generally throw up, fail, and then you lose the pool.

I have a Fractal design Node 804, and its an awesome cube case. Even has 2 zones to keep mobo heat from the drives. You may want to check out the 304 as well.

With the amount of RAM/storage your installing I hope you dont intend on running plugins.

 

[CraigChrist8239]

Theres a fairly large thread dedicated to Kingston's Sketchy practices regarding RAM and SSDs.

As for RAID5/Z1 The consensus is that with drives getting bigger, theres exponentially greater chances of finding another corrupt block while reslivering a drive. When that happens the rebuild will generally throw up, fail, and then you lose the pool.

I have a Fractal design Node 804, and its an awesome cube case. Even has 2 zones to keep mobo heat from the drives. You may want to check out the 304 as well.

With the amount of RAM/storage your installing I hope you dont intend on running plugins.

I looked at that thread. Directly above where it says do not buy Kingston it says do not buy registered, which other users have specifically told me to use? It also says that the issue with the Kingston RAM is that it does not work in a combination of 4 to produce 32GB, however I am clearly only using 2. (It also says no 16GB DIMMs... Is that something I need to follow?) Nonetheless, I do like to have the option to upgrade as previously stated so I will switch, here is your precious Crucial...
Memory: 2 x Crucial 8GB 1600Mhz ECC Registered
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820191583

So what am I to do then? I was thinking RAID5 would provide more storage space to drive count (18TB of storage on 24TB of drives) as opposed to RAID1 (12TB of storage on 24TB of drives) while still being reliable enough to recover from? I am DEFINITELY gunna need to be able to recover from a bad drive so JBOD/RAID0 are out of the question?

And that is more expensive than the current case, however it also has support for up to 8x drives and as I said I want to deal with 4x HDDs in RAID5 blocks so I could eventually store 2 in that one case so good idea.
Case: Fractal Design Node 804
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ractal_Design_Node_804-_-11-352-047-_-Product

The only plugin I hope on having is Plex for DLNA as that is the only thing I really need (other than just basic file transfers, I take it no plugins needed for that?). As I said, the guide stated 8GB for up to 24TB... is the guide too old or something?

With these 2 additions the cost (before drives) is up to $656.95. As I said with over $1,000 in hard drives this is a little more than my target but not completely undo-able. Do you see anywhere else that money may be saved?

 

[nick779]

I looked at that thread. Directly above where it says do not buy Kingston it says do not buy registered, which other users have specifically told me to use? It also says that the issue with the Kingston RAM is that it does not work in a combination of 4 to produce 32GB, however I am clearly only using 2. (It also says no 16GB DIMMs... Is that something I need to follow?) Nonetheless, I do like to have the option to upgrade as previously stated so I will switch, here is your precious Crucial...
Memory: 2 x Crucial 8GB 1600Mhz ECC Registered
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820191583

So what am I to do then? I was thinking RAID5 would provide more storage space to drive count (18TB of storage on 24TB of drives) as opposed to RAID1 (12TB of storage on 24TB of drives) while still being reliable enough to recover from? I am DEFINITELY gunna need to be able to recover from a bad drive so JBOD/RAID0 are out of the question?

And that is more expensive than the current case, however it also has support for up to 8x drives and as I said I want to deal with 4x HDDs in RAID5 blocks so I could eventually store 2 in that one case so good idea.
Case: Fractal Design Node 804
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ractal_Design_Node_804-_-11-352-047-_-Product

The only plugin I hope on having is Plex for DLNA as that is the only thing I really need (other than just basic file transfers, I take it no plugins needed for that?). As I said, the guide stated 8GB for up to 24TB... is the guide too old or something?

With these 2 additions the cost (before drives) is up to $656.95. As I said with over $1,000 in hard drives this is a little more than my target but not completely undo-able. Do you see anywhere else that money may be saved?

With 6 drives and 5TB of space I even had a noticeable improvement when going to 16GB of RAM when running Plex.

 

[CraigChrist8239]

With 6 drives and 5TB of space I even had a noticeable improvement when going to 16GB of RAM when running Plex.

Yes well adding 2 more sticks of RAM will put my costs over $800 which means I'm going to be looking at a system that is almost $2,000 when I was originally shooting for the $1,600 range..... 16GB should get me running and if I absolutely need another 16GB, I can order it. Besides, while I will have LOTS more hard drive space, it will only be across 4 drives...

Can you explain why adding RAID5 blocks as previously stated is a "horrible idea that will cause data loss"?
EDIT: I see some complaining about the 1 parity check on RAID5 and they are using RAID-Z2 instead. This just sounds like RAID6? I see RAID6 minimum drive count is only 4, should I do that? This would only give me a 50% storage ratio though and this is no better than RAID1, so should I do 5-drive blocks of RAID6 (as opposed to 4-drive blocks of RAID5)? Keep in mind that I'm the only one who will be writing to this so I almost feel as though 2 parity blocks would be overkill...

Also my question with the RAM guide was never answered. It was suggested here to use registered RAM but that specifically says not to? It also says 16GB DIMMs are unsupported, is that still true? Is it just too old? I also notice one user saying that my motherboard will require a BIOS update for an i3. I'm used to the automatic BIOS update and flash found in desktop mobos (at least the ones I use), so how complicated would it be to flash a new BIOS? As I said, I'm not computer illiterate, just server illiterate.

 

[nick779]

Can you explain why adding RAID5 blocks as previously stated is a "horrible idea that will cause data loss"?

I told you in post 5.

It wont directly cause data loss, but when youre reslivering 6TB of data theres a pretty substantial chance that youll get a corrupt block.

 

[CraigChrist8239]

I told you in post 5.

It wont directly cause data loss, but when youre reslivering 6TB of data theres a pretty substantial chance that youll get a corrupt block.

So basically, 2 drives have to fail within 4-7 days of each other? Just wondering as I've used WD drives roughly all my life and the only one I've ever had fail was an old external WD Green drive... I just feel as though 2 parity would be overkill and wouldn't be much better than a RAID1 configuration as far as storage:drive ratio unless I do 5-drive blocks in which case I can go with a 304 case as even the 804 wouldn't support 2 blocks...

Also,

Also my question with the RAM guide was never answered. It was suggested here to use registered RAM but that specifically says not to? It also says 16GB DIMMs are unsupported, is that still true? Is it just too old? I also notice one user saying that my motherboard will require a BIOS update for an i3. I'm used to the automatic BIOS update and flash found in desktop mobos (at least the ones I use), so how complicated would it be to flash a new BIOS? As I said, I'm not computer illiterate, just server illiterate.

 

[nick779]

So basically, 2 drives have to fail within 4-7 days of each other? Just wondering as I've used WD drives roughly all my life and the only one I've ever had fail was an old external WD Green drive... I just feel as though 2 parity would be overkill and wouldn't be much better than a RAID1 configuration as far as storage:drive ratio unless I do 5-drive blocks in which case I can go with a 304 case as even the 804 wouldn't support 2 blocks...

Also,

not catastrophically fail, but its not uncommon to find a bad block when reslivering.

Heres a good article that gets passed around regarding raid 5/z1
http://www.zdnet.com/article/why-raid-5-stops-working-in-2009/

 

[Ericloewe]

I told you in post 5.

It wont directly cause data loss, but when youre reslivering 6TB of data theres a pretty substantial chance that youll get a corrupt block.

It will cause data loss, because it's an ultra-crummy bargain bin RAID controller-on-a-chip or a SATA port multiplier. Neither of those options are in any way acceptable. Four drives, individually connected by eSATA would be more acceptable, but cable length must be strictly below 1m. An SAS expander in a separate chassis

RAID5/RAIDZ1 vs RAID6/RAIDZ2 is a different matter, but RAIDZ2 is definitely the best option between the two.

Yes well adding 2 more sticks of RAM will put my costs over $800 which means I'm going to be looking at a system that is almost $2,000 when I was originally shooting for the $1,600 range..... 16GB should get me running and if I absolutely need another 16GB, I can order it. Besides, while I will have LOTS more hard drive space, it will only be across 4 drives...



Also my question with the RAM guide was never answered. It was suggested here to use registered RAM but that specifically says not to? It also says 16GB DIMMs are unsupported, is that still true? Is it just too old? I also notice one user saying that my motherboard will require a BIOS update for an i3. I'm used to the automatic BIOS update and flash found in desktop mobos (at least the ones I use), so how complicated would it be to flash a new BIOS? As I said, I'm not computer illiterate, just server illiterate.

You can start with 16GB and add more later when/if needed.

The Supermicro X10 Guide is up to date and I stand by all the information in it (unless someone brings me proof that something's changed).

Registered RAM allows for greater capacities, but it is not supported on LGA1150 processors. It is only available for Xeon E5 and up.

16GB UDIMMs, as stated in the guide, are not and never will be supported on Haswell processors. If we see Broadwell processors with ECC RAM support, they probably won't support 16GB UDIMMs either. They're also crazy expensive - expensive enough to make a Xeon E5 system cheaper.


Regarding the BIOS update, you need to do it from an OS (like DOS) or acquire a key for the IPMI BIOS flasher from Supermicro. Of course, the board will probably have the latest BIOS by now.
Supermicro doesn't have a nice flashing tool in the BIOS itself, unfortunately.

 

[CraigChrist8239]

It will cause data loss, because it's an ultra-crummy bargain bin RAID controller-on-a-chip or a SATA port multiplier. Neither of those options are in any way acceptable. Four drives, individually connected by eSATA would be more acceptable, but cable length must be strictly below 1m. An SAS expander in a separate chassis

RAID5/RAIDZ1 vs RAID6/RAIDZ2 is a different matter, but RAIDZ2 is definitely the best option between the two.



You can start with 16GB and add more later when/if needed.

The Supermicro X10 Guide is up to date and I stand by all the information in it (unless someone brings me proof that something's changed).

Registered RAM allows for greater capacities, but it is not supported on LGA1150 processors. It is only available for Xeon E5 and up.

16GB UDIMMs, as stated in the guide, are not and never will be supported on Haswell processors. If we see Broadwell processors with ECC RAM support, they probably won't support 16GB UDIMMs either. They're also crazy expensive - expensive enough to make a Xeon E5 system cheaper.


Regarding the BIOS update, you need to do it from an OS (like DOS) or acquire a key for the IPMI BIOS flasher from Supermicro. Of course, the board will probably have the latest BIOS by now.
Supermicro doesn't have a nice flashing tool in the BIOS itself, unfortunately.

Well that means I will have to find different, more expensive, RAM. This means my cost for the system by itself with 0 hard drives is going to be close to $1,000, easily putting my final costs over $2,000. I'm starting to think this is whole system build is a terrible idea.... The complexity and overall cost is skyrocketing and is quickly becoming not worth it.... I desperately need more storage for my music and movies, and backups for my games collection, but I'm quickly starting to search for alternatives to a custom built FreeNAS system....

Initially FreeNAS seemed to be perfect... but all I need is backed up storage and DLNA streaming, and getting that with large amounts of storage (well over my current 4TBs of data) is proving to be impossible in my cost goal. Thanks for the help anyway guys....

 

[marbus90]

Well, with only 4 disks you can also pick a Lenovo TS140 or TS440, Dell T20 or T110 II, HP Microserver Gen8 or ML310e Gen8. Add an 8GB ECC DIMM (Crucial is fine) to each of these systems and you're good. Maybe you can squeeze in a 5th disk in the TS140.

The TS140 currently goes for 230$ -30$ rebate on newegg and comes with a 4GB ECC DIMM preinstalled.

And I specifically noted the Xeon E5 with registered DIMMs, other platforms do not support these sizes. Only the Avoton gets up to 64GB RAM total with 16GB /unregistered/ DIMMs and these are expensive. Hence the max RAM for run-of-the-mill system is statet as 4x8GB unregistered ECC DIMMs.

 

[Jailer]

The system in my sig (with 16GB of memory) was built for $1385. I already had the case (not listed) and power supply but everything else was purchased new. Your cost would be a little higher since you require more hard drive space but it is doable for your budget. You could get by with 16GB of memory if all you plan on running is Plex and just using the box for storage and add more storage and memory later as funds allow.

I use a XP64 VM in virtualbox to run handbrake to encode my rips since it's much faster than my aging desktop. Once their done I add them to my media folders and use plex to serve them up. It works great for me.

Another thing you could do to save money if you are patient enough to do it is price watch. Hard drive prices fluctuate something crazy and I've seen the motherboard I have go for as little as $199 and as much as $279. The memory I have is currently listed at $169 but I picked up 16GB last week for $153. I've seen it as high as $219. If you catch things at the right price and purchase accordingly and watch shipping costs you can save quite a bit buying your parts right.

 

[Ericloewe]

I could've grabbed the X10SL7-F for 50 bucks more when I bought my X10SLM+-F. But it goes both ways, the C2758 Supermicro, which typically goes for 370ish bucks, has been at 480 for the past week or so, with a (temporary) drop to its lower price yesterday.

 

[CraigChrist8239]

Well, with only 4 disks you can also pick a Lenovo TS140 or TS440, Dell T20 or T110 II, HP Microserver Gen8 or ML310e Gen8. Add an 8GB ECC DIMM (Crucial is fine) to each of these systems and you're good. Maybe you can squeeze in a 5th disk in the TS140.

The TS140 currently goes for 230$ -30$ rebate on newegg and comes with a 4GB ECC DIMM preinstalled.

And I specifically noted the Xeon E5 with registered DIMMs, other platforms do not support these sizes. Only the Avoton gets up to 64GB RAM total with 16GB /unregistered/ DIMMs and these are expensive. Hence the max RAM for run-of-the-mill system is statet as 4x8GB unregistered ECC DIMMs.

Thanks so much for the advice. I checked out all the systems you suggested. Since its been suggested I don't use RAID5 (Z1), I'll have to use 5 drives on RAID6 (Z2) at least to get passed RAID1 efficiency levels. I like the Dell T20 both in features and in look, unfortunately it only has 4 SATA ports (despite being listed as a 6 drive capable machine, gotta read the fine print) so I'll have to get some sort of controller on the PCIe slot. Why don't I just post my new parts list..... again......
System: Dell T20, Intel Pentium G3220.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16859155115

Replacement Memory: 2x Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz ECC Unregistered CT102472BA160B
2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820191593

SATA Controller: SYBA SI-PEX40065
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816124065
I took the memory from Jailer's build (thank you) and I prefer to not have different sized DIMMs running together (idk, just personal preference) so I might as well order 2 and get the 4GB out of there all together. The T20 only supports unregistered ECC memory, so that choice was easy. I selected the SATA controller based on 2 factors, price and features. Its fairly inexpensive and it has 2 x SATA ports meaning I can max out the T20's internal storage and it also has 2 x eSATA ports on the outside so I can wire up another 5-drive cluster for another set of RAID-Z2 drives in future. Any problems so far?

As far as the T20 itself goes, am I going to have any problems with it being a Pentium processor? Will that cut it? It also has spots for 6 drives (despite only having 4 connectors) so I could in theory do 6 drives in a RAID-Z2 configuration yes? Just wondering as that would increase drive efficiency by 6.67%. Would this have an adverse effect such as making the drives spin more increasing wear and tear? I get 6 makes it more likely for one or more to fail, but will they be under strain and fail sooner? Another thing is that Newegg limits hard drives to 5 per order (lingering hard drive crisis effects no doubt) so I will only be able to get 5 now anyway. Is it possible to add a 6th drive to 5 drives already set up for RAID-Z2 or do I need to wait to get the 6th drive? Is it difficult?

Last thing is that I've decided to switch to 4TB Red drives. Since they are on sale, they are over $100 cheaper compared to 6TB drives ($269 vs $154). Although this gives me less useable space (12TB for 5 drives, 16TB for 6 drives vs 18TB,24TB), it is still quite a bit of space and I can always add more. I always tend to avoid non power of 2 drives (1.5TB, 3TB) and 6TB is in that group of odd sized drives....

System cost now: $508.96
With hard drives: $1283.91
This is a much much more reasonable and manageable price tag... and it leaves room for memory and hard drive enclosure additions. :)

 

[Bidule0hm]

Just wondering as that would increase drive efficiency by 6.67%. Would this have an adverse effect such as making the drives spin more increasing wear and tear? I get 6 makes it more likely for one or more to fail, but will they be under strain and fail sooner?

What? why having 6 drives makes them spin more than having 5? besides, the paper from google (here) show no link between drive failure rate and drive usage.

Is it possible to add a 6th drive to 5 drives already set up for RAID-Z2 or do I need to wait to get the 6th drive? Is it difficult?

No, you can't add drives to a vdev (but you can add a vdev to a zpool if you want to expand it), see Cyberjock's presentation (here) for the detailed explanation on that subject ;)

 

[Z300M]

I looked at that thread. Directly above where it says do not buy Kingston it says do not buy registered, which other users have specifically told me to use? It also says that the issue with the Kingston RAM is that it does not work in a combination of 4 to produce 32GB, however I am clearly only using 2. (It also says no 16GB DIMMs... Is that something I need to follow?) Nonetheless, I do like to have the option to upgrade as previously stated so I will switch, here is your precious Crucial...
Memory: 2 x Crucial 8GB 1600Mhz ECC Registered
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820191583

The kind of ECC RAM has to be that which the motherboard requires; read the specs for each particular motherboard. I am not certain, but the impression I get is that if a motherboard takes only 8GB memory modules it's going to require UNregistered/UNbuffered RAM and will not work with Registered RAM modules. On the other hand, some motherboards require Registered RAM modules.

Another thing: whether you're going to use 6TB or 4TB drives, compare the feedback ratings at NewEgg for the WD NAS drives and the corresponding HGST ones.