I posted this over in NAS Killer 5.0 here but it was suggested I post over here as well.
I have been using Plex on a home-built HTPC that served me well for many years and after a freak power outage it died and as much work as I have done to bring it back to life, something has possessed the box and I need to move on to something better. I have toyed with the idea of building a rack setup but have no experience with anything other than windows. After reading many posts and articles at serverbuilds.net (thank you so much for your dedication to helping us JDM_WAAAT) I have decided on a 2-box set up with plenty of room for growth. Could I do this much cheaper with prebuilt options? Sure. Do I want to? No. I’m not completely worried about the price but I will take a deal where I can find one. With that being said, below are the two builds I have planned out. The first is going to be a 2U Plex QSV build with the potential to run other services as I get comfortable with Ubuntu. The second will be a 4U NAS running Unraid.
I would love any insight, recommendations, and warnings with the parts list I provided. (Prices were approximate at the time I was researching parts)
Intel QSV HW Transcoder
| Part | Name | Quantity | Approx. Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Rosewill 2U Server Chassis RSV-Z2600U | 1 | $130.00 |
| Case Fans | Noctua NF-A8 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan | 3 | $16.00 |
| Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 120-GP-0850-X1 | 1 | $175.00 |
| Motherboard | ASROCK B460M Steel Legend | 1 | $142.99 |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-10700 | 1 | $270.00 |
| CPU Cooling | Cryorig C7-47mm Tall, SFF Mini ITX CPU Heatsink | 1 | $68.00 |
| Ram | G.Skill RipJaws V Series 32GB (1 x 32GB) | 1 | $110.00 |
| OS Hard Drive | Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB NVMe PCIe M.2 | 1 | $110.00 |
| $1,053.99 |
Unraid NAS
| Part | Item Name | Number Needed | Approx Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | RSV-L4500 | 1 | $175.00 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Z97 Extreme6 | 1 | $170.00 |
| Processor | Intel Xeon E3-1276 V3 | 1 | $130.00 |
| Ram | Crucial Ballistix 32GB 4x 8GB | 1 | $110.00 |
| Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 120-GP-0850-X1 | 1 | $120.00 |
| CPU Cooling | Noctua NH-L12S | 1 | $54.95 |
| Cache Drives | Samsung Electronics 870 EVO 500GB | 2 | $70.00 |
| unRaid USB | SAMSUNG MUF-32AB/AM FIT Plus 32GB | 1 | $10.00 |
| 9 | $909.95 |
Other Stuff
| Part | Item Name | Number Needed | Approx Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rack | StarTech.com 25U Open Frame Server Rack | 1 | $250.00 |
| Rails | iStarUSA TC-RAIL-26 | 2 | $42.00 |
| Rack Accessories | Lancher 60-Pack M6 x 16mm Screws and Cage Nuts | 1 | $20.00 |
| Rack Accessories | StarTech.com 2U Server Rack Shelf | 2 | $33.00 |
| Rack Accessories | CyberPower CPS1215RMS Basic PDU | 1 | $55.00 |
| Other | Relper-Lineso 6 Pack 18 Inches SATA III | 1 | $9.00 |
| Switch | Already own | ||
| Router | Already own | ||
| 8 | $484.00 |