Hello everyone!
So I thought it would be a good idea to start a build log thread to help me keep track of everything and to receive the great input from everyone. So far I’ve learned a lot from browsing the forums, discord, and on youtube. I’m trying to be as low budgeted as possible but it already feels like I’ve spent more money than I had hoped for lol. Thank you to everyone that has helped out!
Basic needs from server:
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Plex. I won’t be watching it outside of the house, and don’t expect to have any transcoding done. I’ll minimize it by doing any converting if needed. I only expect Plex to be used by 1-4 devices. I have a mix of 720p, 1080p, and 4K remux movies.
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Backup of random data which range from documents, photos, and home videos.
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Automatically backup cell phones and tablets daily. I’m mainly looking to backup photos and videos. I’ve read this might be possible but I’ll have to look into this more.
A few questions though:
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At first I was going to get the E3-1260L but then I read the iGPU doesn’t play well with the Supermicro mobo. I’m thinking about just getting the E3-1270 v2. I’m sure I don’t actually need the processing power but if I’m just going to do this build I figured I’d get the highest rated passmark on the recommended list. Is this a good idea as far as what my needs are for the server?
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I have 2x4GB 2Rx8 PC3L-10600R sticks that came with the chassis. After some quick Googling it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to use RDIMM, correct? Is 8GB good enough or should I just go for 16GB? 4x4GB vs 2x8GB? Possibly leave room for expansion to 32GB? For servers does the PC rating matter as much?
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Should I just buy a new PSU or will either of the two that I currently have will work?
| Part | Item | Seller | USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | Supermicro X9SCM-F LGA 1155 DDR3 Motherboard w/ I/O Shield | eBay | $55.34* |
| CPU | E3-1270 V2 | eBay | $59.61* |
| RAM | 16GB Kingston KVR16E11S8/4 4x4GB PC3-12800E | eBay | $40.69* |
| Chassis | Rosewill RSV-R4000-4U Rackmount Chassis | OfferUp | $100.00* |
| PSU | Rosewill DR-8500BTX 500W (came with 4U) | OfferUp | |
| Corsair CX600 80+ Bronze Certified, Non-Modular Power Supply | Own | ||
| Parity #1 | HGST 3TB Ultrastar 7K3000 | eBay | $21.68* |
| Data #1 | HGST 3TB Ultrastar 7K3000 | eBay | $21.68* |
| Data #2 | HGST 3TB Ultrastar 7K3000 | eBay | $21.68* |
| Data #3 | HGST 3TB Ultrastar 7K3000 | eBay | $21.68* |
| Data #4 | HGST 3TB Ultrastar 7K3000 | eBay | $21.68* |
| Data #5 | HGST 3TB Ultrastar 7K3000 | eBay | $21.68* |
| Cache SSD | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB | Amazon | $123.09* |
| Boot USB | SanDisk 32GB Cruzer Fit USB Flash Drive | Amazon | $6.99 |
| CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-U14S - Premium CPU Cooler with NF-A15 140mm Fan | Amazon | $39.04 |
| Thermal Compound | GELID GC-Extreme 3.5g | Amazon | $14.99 |
| SAS Controller | LSI Internal SATA/SAS 9211-8i 6Gb/s PCI-Express 2.0 RAID Controller Card | eBay | $21.68* |
| SAS Breakout Cables | CableCreation Mini SAS 36Pin (SFF-8087) | Amazon | $13.99 |
| 80mm Fan | Arctic F8 PWM PST Value Pack (5 Units) | Amazon | $23.95 |
| 120mm Fan | Arctic P12 PWM PST Value Pack (5 Units) | Amazon | $24.35* |
| OS | Unraid Tier ? | Unraid | |
| TOTAL | $659.50 |
Background story of why I’m here (warning - more info than necessary lol):
I bought a new TV for Christmas (Sony 75" X950G). I had a Vizio 5.1.2 soundbar previously and it wasn’t working properly with the new TV. I decided to return it (thank goodness for Costco), and just hunt for a budget setup. Let’s be real though I always knew jumping into home theater hobby is never cheap lol. However, I found a local sale through Facebook for a Pioneer VSX-LX102, Sony Core towers and center channel for $450. The AVR is ok (waiting for the Denon x3600h or higher to drop in price) and the Sony Core speakers are recommended to be a nice budget speaker setup.
Anyway, I have a several external hard drives with A LOT of unorganized data. I have some ripped movies in random drives and thought I’d watch them directly through the TV’s USB port. However, after some reading (not sure if it holds true with the TV or in general) but playing movies through the USB port has some limitations like not being able to play TrueHD or DTS-HD. I’ll be purchasing the rear surround speakers and speakers for in/on wall Atmos in the next month or two, so I definitely needed a proper media player. I’m thinking of getting the Nvidia Shield Pro as this is still regarded as the top media player. I was just going to connect an external hard drive to the Shield and call it a day.
After a few hours of thinking about this setup I decided to look into Plex and a server. I stumbled onto JDM’s sub-reddit after someone linked it on the /r/homeserver. From there I’ve been gone down the rabbit hole I told myself I wouldn’t do lol.