My goal was to build a NAS with a Plex Media Server for primarily 4k and 1080p content. I would be using it only for my household with direct play. I recently upgraded from my 4k firestick to NVIDIA TV Shield Pro. I would also like to use docker for sonar, radar, torrent box with an always on VPN. I hope to add some monitoring service as well. I already have a PI 3B+ with pi-hole so no need to add that to this setup.
Case - Cooler Master N400 - $60.00
Mobo - SUPERMICRO X10SLL-F - $76.03
CPU - Intel Xeon E3-1230LV3 - $58.60
RAM - Samsung 16GB 2x8GB PC3-12800E DDR3 ECC Server Memory RAM - $59.74
SAS controller - SAS9207-8i LSI 9207-8I 6Gb/s PCI-E 3.0 SATA/SAS RAID Card -$53.77
PSU - EVGA 600 BR, 80+ Bronze 600W, 3 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100- BR-0600-K1 - $55.39
Cache drive - ADATA SU760 1TB 3D NAND 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD -$92.99
Storage - 4 X 6TB 7.2K 3.5 SAS - $216
parity drive - 12TB SAS -$160
CPU cooler - Thermaltake Gravity i2 95W Intel LGA 1156/1155/1150/1151 92mm CPU Cooler -$11.99
SAS cable connectors - 2X CABLEDECONN Mini SAS - $9.49
USB Flash drive - SAMSUNG BAR Plus 32GB - 200MB/s USB 3.1 Flash Drive - $9.49
UNRAID KEY - Plus - up to 12 attached storage devices -$89
Tax from Amazon - $17.46
Total - $988.44
Everything was purchased as used except for the case, PSU, USB flash drive, SAS cable connectors, and CPU cooler.
Please feel free to provide any recommendations for parts that may require an upgrade etc. Should I add/remove anything from this build?
I have a HP Gen8 with E3-1265L V2 (45w TDP, but more power comparing with your setup). I have 2xWD NAS 4TB CMR drives. Also, 16Gb ECC RAM.
My OS is Proxmox, I have also few VM’s (Win10, Synology, PiHole). Works like a charm, and plenty of power still available. For home usage I don’t think you need a paid solution like Unraid (my 2c).
My points:
for direct play you do not need PLEX at all. Only a Kodi player on a client. Kodi is free and plays everything. You don’t need to install any addon etc. Plain KODI is perfect for direct play. Tested for years and my client is a wireless one (Xiaomi MI player)
I suspect that your CPU is more that perfect, and very low power consumption as well.
My HDD’s are 5400rpm, I really don’t need faster disks. If you can source “normal” NAS CMR HDD’s cheaper than SAS, go for it. Don’t spend more if you don’t need more.
Forgot to mention , I am not a fan of sonar/lidar/etc. When much more simple solution are available. Like showrss.info . Select what you need and import the generated RSS in your Transmission/Deluge/DownloadStation/whatever u use. Same results but no resources used. PS If the link is not allowed, I would like a mod to delete, thanks.
Thanks for the feedback. Plex is also free and I run it on my main computer right now without any problems. How would KODI work for my setup. Would it play 4k content seamlessly? Proxmox seems to be a VM host not really for a NAS unless I am missing something. Please provide some details I would like to learn.
Does Showrss.info perform the same tasks as sonarr and radarr?
I tried both Plex and Kodi. For computers both works pretty well. For small Android devices Kodi is better (at least this is my experience). There is no file that Kodi cannot play without issues. I admit I am a huge fan of Kodi. But again, plain Kodi, without any add-on. I suggest to test both and decide, of course. If you have good experience with Plex and no issues, use it. If your machine can play 4K, Kodi will play 4k no problems. If you need transcode, go for Plex. If you need direct play, go for Kodi.
About showrss.info (this is good ONLY for TV shows, not movies).
Use a dummy email address to make an account. Select the TV Shows you follow, chose for each the resolution and generate the RSS. Import RSS in torrent and u good to go. Setup your torrent app to check RSS every hour or so. Every time a new episode is available, the app will download automatically. Magic.
About Proxmox. Yes, this is a VM host.
I have a Synology VM for file sharing and DownloadStation. That VM use only 2GB RAM and works awesome. Similar functions with FreeNas/UnRaid, etc.
I have a PiHole VM, 256Mb RAM. Awesome.
I have a Win10 machine, works well also.
Main advantages of proxmox is that you can backup a VM into a single file. And you can setup to keep into a folder a number of backups. For example my Win10 machine (critical for my needs) has backups every 2 hours and I keep 12 backups. Bit paranoia but safe.
Plex and UnRaid are paid solutions or ask for money for “premium” features. I would prefer to use open source rock solid alternatives and to buy more RAM or HDD.
Look at my average month consumption (machine with 4t/8c, 16gb ram)
Average RAM usage : 12gb RAM, 4Gb still free.
Average CPU usage : 3%.
In my case, there is no need for SAS, faster disks, etc. I only need to make another machine for backups.
P.S. Fiber 1Gb net connection.
I do not own a TV (no laugh, pls). I got a 1080p VideoProjector and a 13 feet diagonal screen. IMHO, much more better than a 4k smaller screen. Size matter
