Planned build - advice?

[Lynxphp]

Hi!

I'm new to unraid, but after watching several YouTube videos about it, I really want to try it out and would appreciate some advice.  

I currently run two wd reds 3Tb in raid in a QNAP TS251 nas. I mainly use it for plex, storage and jdownloader. This setup manages 1 stream transcoding up to 720p, but can't handle 1080p or multiple streams.

 

I now need more power and storage. I want my future setup to be able to handle 2 transcoding streams in 1080, to run jdownloader and protect my data. 

I did quiet a bit of research and here are the parts I came up with:

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($59.63 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK PALLAS Red 56.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($32.99 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Motherboard: ASRock C236 WSI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($195.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB ECC (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($76.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($108.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($108.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($108.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $877.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-15 16:29 EDT-0400

 

The node 304 would fit perfectly in my ikea shelf. I chose the c236 wsi mobo, because it is the only mini ITX one I found from a decent brand with enough sata ports and that supports ECC memory. It doesn't officially support kaby lake yet, but I found a BIOS in beta from Asrock support somewhere on a forum which enables kaby lake support.

I went with the g4560 because of its price performance ratio. With a pass mark of about 5300 I think it should be enough for my transcoding needs.

About the RAM, will the build suffer from the lack of dual channel? I want to leave one free slot in case I need to double the ram in the future. Is ECC of any use in unraid? 

I plan to add two SSDs in raid 1 as cache,  for the plex server and maybe a VM in the coming months. Can you recommend a specific 250gb drive for nas operation? Should I just save and go for the cheapest (from a respectable brand) or for an 850 evo? 

A question about the case: does anyone with experience with the case knows if it can fit 6 3.5 HDDs and 2 2.5 SSDs with some creative handicraft (I know it officially supports 6 drives) ? 

For the PSU I was first thinking of the corsair Rm550x, but then I watched a few YouTube videos, where people complained about the lack of space in the node 304. Therefore I may go with the sf450. 

Is it realistic of me to hope at some point in the future to add a dedicated gpu (something like a small form factor gtx 1050ti) and have a VM with steam running on it for some light gaming? Or will the cpu be too much of a bottleneck? 

 

I would appreciate your comments and suggestions! 

Thanks and happy easter! 

 

Edited April 15, 2017 by Lynxphp

[tdallen]

I think you have a good looking build.  I don't have hands on experience with the 304, so I'm not sure if you can get 6+2 drives in there - but search this board, I'm sure someone has tried it.

 

ECC is not strictly needed but well advised in unRAID (and frankly, in any always-on server) and while there will be a very modest penalty associated with only being in a single channel configuration I don't think you will notice it.  I'd definitely recommend an SFX power supply.

 

On your CPU choice...  The G4560 is a great new chip, essentially equivalent to a Haswell i3.  It will be great for basic NAS duites, Dockers, and some light duty transcoding.  That said, you're talking about transcoding, multiple streams, VMs, gaming...  and while the G4560 could handle some of that eventually you're going to run out of horsepower if you try to do it all.  This is a can of worms, though.  The i3 is only a little faster, the i5 is only 4 cores non-hyperthreaded and doesn't support ECC, so pretty soon you're talking yourself into an i7 or Xeon... So my recommendation is to either be realistic regarding what the G4560 will be able to do, or clearly lay out what you want to do and size up.

 

In any event, looks like fun :).

[Jorgen]

On 16/04/2017 at 6:28 AM, Lynxphp said:

A question about the case: does anyone with experience with the case knows if it can fit 6 3.5 HDDs and 2 2.5 SSDs with some creative handicraft (I know it officially supports 6 drives) ? 

 

You can fit at least one SSD behind the front panel. And if you go with sfx psu (highly recommended) and mount it on the case floor, you should be able to add at least one more on top of the psu.

You can also mount a ssd on the outside of the drive brackets closest to the case sides. (So that's 2 extra drives)

If you haven't come across it yet, OC has a great owners thread on this case, lots of info for cabling and configuration options: http://www.overclock.net/t/1266342/official-fractal-design-node-304-owners-club

 

Have fun!

Edited April 17, 2017 by Jorgen
Clarification

[Lynxphp]

Thank you both for your comments and advice!

 

 

 

On 16/04/2017 at 8:12 PM, tdallen said:

On your CPU choice...  The G4560 is a great new chip, essentially equivalent to a Haswell i3.  It will be great for basic NAS duites, Dockers, and some light duty transcoding.  That said, you're talking about transcoding, multiple streams, VMs, gaming...  and while the G4560 could handle some of that eventually you're going to run out of horsepower if you try to do it all.  This is a can of worms, though.  The i3 is only a little faster, the i5 is only 4 cores non-hyperthreaded and doesn't support ECC, so pretty soon you're talking yourself into an i7 or Xeon... So my recommendation is to either be realistic regarding what the G4560 will be able to do, or clearly lay out what you want to do and size up.

 

Ok thanks. For now, i will keep the goal to run two concurrent streams for the build and nothing more. At some point in the future i can upgrade to a Xeon, add some RAM and a GPU, and only then will it be properly able to run games.

 

9 hours ago, Jorgen said:

 

You can fit at least one SSD behind the front panel. And if you go with sfx psu (highly recommended) and mount it on the case floor, you should be able to add at least one more on top of the psu.

You can also mount a ssd on the outside of the drive brackets closest to the case sides. (So that's 2 extra drives)

If you haven't come across it yet, OC has a great owners thread on this case, lots of info for cabling and configuration options: http://www.overclock.net/t/1266342/official-fractal-design-node-304-owners-club

 

Have fun!

Thanks for the info, it's noted.

 

About the SSD, any go to brand ? I am now thinking to get an 850 pro 256GB and add a second one later. However they're somewhat expensive (+50% where I live) in comparison to other brands like Sandisk's Ultra II. Is the extra cost worth it? Or do you have any other recommandation?

Edited April 17, 2017 by Lynxphp

[Lynxphp]

Here's a link to my build, which is now almost finished!

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/edit/?userbuild=KV7WGX

 

I installed unraid, and am soon finished preclearing my first drive. In one hour, I can start copying my data from my old NAS to the new box :).