First build, can someone review? Fractal Node 804

[littlebluebro]

Hey there,

 

This is my first NAS build and I've poked around on the forums and followed some general advice from Brian on https://blog.brianmoses.net/2016/02/diy-nas-2016-edition.html. My primary use case is backup for multiple machines and also media and other project storage. I might expand that to do some light media hosting for Plex or something down the road but at the moment it's mostly just backup.

 

MB/Embedded CPU: ASRock J3455M Intel Quad-Core Processor J3455

PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G2 Series

Case: Fractal Node 804

RAM: G.Skill Sniper Series DDR3 1866 8GB x2

Controller: SuperMicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 PCI-Express 2.0 x8 SATA / SAS 8-Port Controller Card

Cache Drives: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB x2

HDDs: WD Red 4TB 5400 RPM x4

 

Anything I'm missing? I went with embedded CPU because it seemed simple for my needs and can be passively cooled. The power supply is single rail [email protected] 650W do you think that's enough or too much for this setup? Any other general feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

 

[art-informa.pl]

Hi,

 

As I am also new here, please take my "advise" with a proper "distance".

I may be wrong...

 

If you are not going for VM's, then 16GB of ram is an overkill as the system utilizes in most cases... not more than 1GB (unless you will use VM's)

Two cache drivers may also be unnecessary since you are using the unRaid mostly for backup. Before the time the proces to copy data from the cache drive to the array starts, your data is unprotected -> may be a good idea to skip putting cache drives in a backup-targeted setup.

Why not scrap one of the EVO's, lower the RAM by half and go for 3xWD Red 8TB instead of 4x4TB (in the same more or less price).

This would give you an usable space of 16TB instead of 12TB as in your setup.

 

Your CPU takes 10W, count 60-80W for the drives, add 100W for mobo + memory + some cooling... 650W may be also overkill regarding the PSU.

For the same price you could have Seasonic Platinum-460FL2 Fanless P-460FL2 (SS-460FL2 F3) 80Plus Platinum 460W which is FANLESS (it depends where this server will be sitting -> may be important, or may not)

 

 Personally, i have bad luck with G.SKILL on my asus maximus mainboard. Since 6 years, half of my memory was replaced by RMA's due to memory errors (i have 8x8GB in my config for gaming / workstation)

 

Of course I may be wrong.

 

Cheers.

Chris.

 

 

[JonathanM]

3 minutes ago, art-informa.pl said:

If you are not going for VM's, then 16GB of ram is an overkill as the system utilizes in most cases... not more than 1GB

I agree 16 is overkill, but I wouldn't go below 4. I think the base system may complain about 1GB, since the OS runs in and saves logs to RAM.

5 minutes ago, art-informa.pl said:

go for 3xWD Red 8TB instead of 4x4TB

This is great advice. I would never advise setting up a new system with multiple smaller drives if fewer larger drives are available for similar prices.

[littlebluebro]

1 hour ago, art-informa.pl said:

Hi,

 

As I am also new here, please take my "advise" with a proper "distance".

I may be wrong...

 

If you are not going for VM's, then 16GB of ram is an overkill as the system utilizes in most cases... not more than 1GB (unless you will use VM's)

Two cache drivers may also be unnecessary since you are using the unRaid mostly for backup. Before the time the proces to copy data from the cache drive to the array starts, your data is unprotected -> may be a good idea to skip putting cache drives in a backup-targeted setup.

Why not scrap one of the EVO's, lower the RAM by half and go for 3xWD Red 8TB instead of 4x4TB (in the same more or less price).

This would give you an usable space of 16TB instead of 12TB as in your setup.

 

First of all thanks for the feedback, Chris and Jonathan, I will look at possibly a 4GB or 8GB config. I wanted to leave the extra headroom incase I want to try running any VMs later and I had read on other places that it was generally recommended one GB of RAM for every TB of raw storage. As for the hard drives recommendation, the price of 8TB WD Red on Newegg is $284 USD while 4TB is $140, so it works out being a lot cheaper (~$300) for the 4x 4TB vs 3x 8TB unless there's a cheaper place you might know of. Thanks again!

 

 

[JonathanM]

18 minutes ago, littlebluebro said:

I had read on other places that it was generally recommended one GB of RAM for every TB of raw storage.

I believe that applies to one of the other NAS solutions, definitely doesn't apply to unraid.

20 minutes ago, littlebluebro said:

As for the hard drives recommendation, the price of 8TB WD Red on Newegg is $284 USD while 4TB is $140, so it works out being a lot cheaper (~$300) for the 4x 4TB vs 3x 8TB unless there's a cheaper place you might know of.

https://amzn.com/B01HAPGEIE

Others on here have had good luck removing these drives and using them internally.

Search around the forum for 8TB and see if it's worth it to you.

[bman]

Hard drives are low power devices these days and you could run 20 of them easily with the power supply you have. (Been there, done that.)  I second that two SSDs for cache are overkill unless you're going to be transferring more than 500GB per day to your array.  I get the prep for future, but suggest 250GB for VMs and 250 left over is probably good, though I don't know your intended load.

 

8GB RAM is a nice starting point for unRAID with a couple VMs or dockers, but if you know you're going to want a Windows VM someday, you might as well fill both RAM slots.

 

The board is really inexpensive and hopefully will provide good value to you for a few years, but without trying to be negative about it, I'd be expecting to replace it a lot sooner than the roughly ten years I get out of the server boards I usually go for.  That's not a problem for unRAID, of course. You can transplant a whole new computer right underneath your array and your data will be intact and ready when you boot up.

 

Enjoy your build and your new server.

[tdallen]

11 hours ago, littlebluebro said:

I wanted to leave the extra headroom incase I want to try running any VMs later

Hi -

Unfortunately that's probably not realistic.  The board/cpu you've selected is suitable for basic NAS duties with perhaps a couple of lightweight Dockers.  I wouldn't bother to put 16GB on that board, you're going to wind up replacing it if you go beyond basic NAS functions.  I think unRAID will work well for you, but I'd either save money now (less RAM) or spend more money now (better MB/CPU) depending on your priorities.

[HellDiverUK]

The J3455 is pretty pokey, I have a J1900 in an unRAID box and it's just about fast enough for normal NAS use.  It'll do one Plex remux, just.  

 

You'd be better off with a 'real' motherboard and a Pentium G4560 or similar.