SSD Options
Unraid is going to be the most common choice for OS. In that case, it makes sense to have a decent size SSD to store your appdata and to be used as a write cache. This improves file transfer speed to your server immensely. Typically these files will be moved off of the cache drive and onto the array daily (at minimum), so keep that in mind when selecting a size. Smaller SSDs can be used as “unassigned” drives, which are neither part of the array or part of the cache. Unassigned drives can be used as VM data stores, file unpacking drives, or whatever you want really.
I’d recommend picking out a decently sized but cheap SSD for caching, such as the Pioneer 512GB for $44.00. I like to use small 120GB SSDs for VMs (divide it in half and put 2 VMs on each drive). The same thing can be accomplished with the SUN/Oracle F-series drives, since they present as 4 separate drives.
I don’t typically recommend NVMe drives as cache drives because you’ll be limited by your Ethernet upload speed anyway, which a regular SATA SSD is more than fast enough to keep up with. However, I like to use NVMe drives for unassigned appdata, because they are extremely good at handling many small files, for example: Plex metadata.
For the internal SAS HBAs and Warp Drive / Flash Accelerator cards, you may need a full height bracket. Good thing is that they are really cheap ($1), bad thing is that they may take a week or two to arrive.
| Brand | Model (link) | Condition | Capacaity | Form Factor | Interface | Price/TB | Expected Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston | A400 | New | 120GB | 2.5" | SATA | $142/TB | $17.00 |
| Pioneer | APS-SL3 | New | 256GB | 2.5" | SATA | $109/TB | $28.00 |
| Pioneer | APS-SL3 | New | 512GB | 2.5" | SATA | $86/TB | $44.00 |
| Pioneer | APS-SL3 | New | 1024GB | 2.5" | SATA | $78/TB | $80.00 |
| ADATA | SU635 | New | 480GB | 2.5" | SATA | $96/TB | $46.00 |
| ADATA | SU635 | New | 960GB | 2.5" | SATA | $89/TB | $85.00 |
| ADATA | SU800 | New | 512GB | 2.5" | SATA | $107/TB | $55.00 |
| ADATA | SU800 | New | 2048GB | 2.5" | SATA | $92/TB | $188.00 |
| SanDisk | SSD Plus | New | 240GB | 2.5" | SATA | $138/TB | $33.00 |
| SanDisk | SSD Plus | New | 480GB | 2.5" | SATA | $125/TB | $60.00 |
| SanDisk | SSD Plus | New | 960GB | 2.5" | SATA | $102/TB | $98.00 |
| Sabrent | Rocket | New | 256GB | M.2 2280 M-Key | NVMe | $117/TB | $30.00 |
| Sabrent | Rocket | New | 512GB | M.2 2280 M-Key | NVMe | $97/TB | $50.00 |
| Sabrent | Rocket | New | 1024GB | M.2 2280 M-Key | NVMe | $107/TB | $110.00 |
| Sabrent | Rocket | New | 2048GB | M.2 2280 M-Key | NVMe | $107/TB | $220.00 |
| Intel | 660p | New | 512GB | M.2 2280 M-Key | NVMe | $117/TB | $60.00 |
| Intel | 660p | New | 1024GB | M.2 2280 M-Key | NVMe | $93/TB | $95.00 |
| Intel | 660p | New | 2048GB | M.2 2280 M-Key | NVMe | $88/TB | $180.00 |
| SUN/Oracle | F40 | Used | 400GB (4x100GB) | PCI-E 2.0 x8 | eMLC | $88/TB | $35.00 |
| SUN/Oracle | F80 | Used | 800GB (4x200GB) | PCI-E 2.0 x8 | eMLC | $100/TB | $80.00 OBO |
| TCSUNBOW | MSATA SSD | New | 240GB | MSATA | SATA | $154/TB | $37.00 |
| Zheino | MSATA SSD | New | 480GB | MSATA | SATA | $133/TB | $64.00 |
| Dogfish | MSATA SSD | New | 500GB | MSATA | SATA | $140/TB | $70.00 |
| Samsung | 860 EVO MSATA SSD | New | 500GB | MSATA | SATA | $180/TB | $90.00 |
| Samsung | 860 EVO MSATA SSD | New | 1000GB | MSATA | SATA | $160/TB | $160.00 |