Curious what the power consumption, both idle and under load, might be for the Sample ATX Tower build using the combos from eBay. The Xeon processors seem to be real power hogs (TDPs of around 80 Watts).
I got this one: [Chenbro NR12000 1U 1x 8m QUAD CORE E3-1230v2 3.3GHz 32GB RAM NO HDD]
Came with a 1270v2 instead of the 1230. My UPS reports 40 watts most of the time when idle. I do have a few other things plugged in (router, switch, wireless AP, HDHomeRun).
I started up an encode in handbrake and it’s showing me 108 watts.
FWIW the TDP on that xeon is 69 W
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I had the same issues. Here is what I found:
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the server does not deal well with a vga->HDMI adapter. Get a cheap vga monitor (I got one for $27 on eBay) and you will be able to see everything perfectly. The HDMI will never work for you.
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I had the same alarm. Many people suggested many different solutions on my reddit thread. But what was causing my long, never ending beep, was (a) that I had a ssd plugged into one of the sata3 ports but hadn’t set that port in the BIOS as a SSD drive, and (b) that I had sata cables plugged into the motherboard that were not yet plugged into hard drives with working power connections. Fixing both of those problems has led to 0 beeps any more.
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Totally neubi here! trying to build a NASsystem and got some questions.
Trying to get a Chenbro combo and set it up with a fan and a case… have some questions:
- How loud these units are? I have to set it up close to my living room (by the TV) and can’t handle much noise at all
- is the case and the CPU fan all I need?
- Ican go with FreeNAS or Unraid, but can I switch later (if I don’t want to pay for Unraid right now)
- is there any other “silent” cheap system I can put together (NAS 4 system needs an update as all HW are really hard to find now)
Thanks a bunch
Thank you for the guide.
I have a Chenbro NR12000 1U 1x 8m QUAD CORE E3-1230v2 3.3GHz 32GB RAM NO HDD on the way.
Looking to get a few 3TB SAS drives.
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Can you post a new link to the cables I’ll need to set them up? Since the above links are no longer available on Amazon.
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Do I need to worry about putting the SAS controller in IT mode or the drives? Sorry, a little confused here.
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Looking to setup UNRAID 6 on the server, Do I get a SSD or 2 to install the OS and cache? Mainly will be using it as a PLEX server.
Thanks- Yes getting an old school cheap VGA display worked for me.
This is Combo 4 listed above in NAS Killer 4.1 on eBay—
American Megatrends v 2.15.1231
BIOS date: 11/16/2018 v 4.6.5.3
TYAN S5512 V8-B14
INTEL XEON E3-1270v2 3.5 GHz
Intel Boot v 1.3.38
Error message: PXE-E61: media test failure, check cable.
Pressed DEL to get into BIOS, now unsure where to disable the fan alarm. Also seems the media check failed, whatever that might mean. I have connected my HDD to the SAS ports and there currently is no SSD or any drives attached to any SATA ports on the motherboard.
I feel I’m almost there… help Obi Wan Kenobi
I never found a fan alarm to disable, despite what others said (all I found was chassis intrusion, which was off when I received mine, and BMC alarm, which was also off)
One person had luck flashing the BIOS back to one of the ones on Tyan’s website (the BIOS flashed on these is 5 years newer and not listed anywhere on the website)
Also try plugging your hdd into the SATA ports not into the SAS port to start and see if that fixes the alarm. You could even try plugging it into the very first SATA3 (blue) port, which is by default set to hdd not sdd (if it is a hdd that is)
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Very loud. You won’t be able to keep it in the current chassis in your living room. Get a cheap atx case with power supply and a quiet fan or two and you will be fine.
Thanks - your advice was reassuring!
Yes I am using the Cooler Master Elite 350 (CMP350) and while it is a tight fit I think I am able to get (11) 3.5” HDD in there. Right now I have (2) 12TB and (2) 8TB all purchased when on sale.
The Arctic Freezer 12 is a bit loud but I suppose it’s only doing its job.
I stopped the fan alarm 
by going into BIOS and disabling BMC Alert Beep.
All my HDD are recognized after plugging them all into the SATA 1-5 ports, while I left the SATA 0 port open for an SSD which will arrive later. The SAS ports - how do I use these and plug in SATA HDD? I may have mistakenly assumed I could plug a normal HDD into the SAS port.
Fortunately, I did not have to flash the BIOS. RAM was NOT the issue and all 16GB are recognized. About to install UNRAID Plus (up to 12 drives). Fingers crossed 
Thanks for the response.
another question is if I want to use this for NAS (I do have a P290 for Plex), should I build from NK4.0 or one of these servers. Again so concerned about noise and power consumption level.
Guys I bought all the parts recommended including the 32GB combo (chenbro) along with cooler master 350, i2, sata cable. I am a complete newbie here. What are the next steps after I assemble the system to install unraid on it? I have a 8TB red WD and couple of ssds. Do I need to do this ([Guide] Updating your LSI SAS Controller with a UEFI Motherboard) once I assemble before I install unraid? What are the next steps. I did go through the forum posts but no luck as I am not that NAS savvy.
Yes, you should update flash the onboard LSI to IT mode.
You don’t need more than one HDD with unraid technically, but you should really have more than one if you want parity protection.
Keep an eye on these prices so you can add more HDDs for cheap:
Updated a link - Motherboard is now available for $50 instead of $75
So even with Tyan 5512 which has SAS controller and SAS ports on the board do I still need the SAS to SATA cables to hook them up?
No, you need SATA cables. The SAS controller is built in (it just controls the drives) but the drives are connected to the board with sata cables.
Unless you want to use SAS drives, then you have to use the linked SATA->SAS cables.
I made a NAS out of old computer parts (A8-5500 processor, 8gb ram) I had and it has served me well. I’m currently using OMV to serve media around the house and have a couple reverse proxies set up to access my stuff on the go. I’m toying with the idea of upgrading my NAS and doing some more advanced stuff like trying to use zfs, mess around with virtualization, etc.
The guide (and everything on these forums) is incredibly helpful, but I had a quick question about the combos listed in the op. Would something like this be a good option? It’s roughly in the same price range as the options listed, but seems to have a lot more computing power. Am I missing something that would make that a bad choice?
Where would you be putting the hard drives… ?
I knew I was overlooking something, thanks for saving me from feeling like a moron! 
Thanks for clarifying, so there is no such a thing as SAS ports on a motherboard at least ? only SATA(?)
I’m planning on getting used SAS drives from ebay, I think in your NK 4.0 guide you had mentioned SAS drives are the way to go(since they are significantly cheaper). does this recommendation still hold true?
And since the link you have pinned at beginning of the page regarding the cables are no longer available, would the following(s) product serve the same purpose?