I’ll be honest, I don’t know why I didn’t just start looking here. When I was setting up my first Unraid box and finally got an HBA (and enough drives to require it), I was lost. I actually saw someone else link to this article on Discord out of sheer luck. Saved me A LOT of time and headache trying to flash the card to IT mode. That is basically my entire tenure here. Knowledgeable and gracious people sharing their experience, so that I don’t have to slam my head in a doorway repeatedly.
This one definitely inspired me to start down the path of building my own NAS to replace a current Synology box - although I think I’ve completely diverged in terms of hardware at this point. It was still a great way to help me think about what I’d need!
(preference for package 1, if I’m lucky)
Dont usually do write-ups but this was a bit interesting to have to do a step-by-step. Should probably clean it up and make it legible with a final recommendation at the bottom.
here’s the link, the Anniversary 2.0 SNAFU guide
I kept referring back to it A LOT when digging through listings for motherboards and cases for my build. with vast patience I was able to find a poorly labelled local listing and got my 2011-3 motherboard for $35!
prize wise, I would only benefit from the HP 290 in package 1. If I somehow won package 2, feel free to pass me up for the next in line. thanks!
The good: I learned the correct NIC’s to buy. Also why my pfsense VMs never worked right.
The bad: I had already bought 2 PRO/1000 PT’s for pfsense builds. I can confirm they are temperamental, they are in a Dell sandy bridge era optiplex 990 for double the gremlins.
The hopeful: If I win I will have a good quad NIC and a lower power pfsense box. Mine has a 65w i7 2600 non k CPU which is super overkill.
preference: package 1. But honestly it would be fun to catch the audiophile disease too.
edit:quoting post correctly is apparently hard for me
Favorite post: all about hardware transcoding. I know it was posted before, but its the best!
This post, when there was no website and only the discord and the subreddit I think, was my entry to building NAS servers. It was really fun to build with my brother, we only wanted a place to save our media and in the end it turned out to be a lot more than that, Plex/Jellyfin media server, lot of dockers, it’s even an NVR for some cams we bought. Sadly we had to tear it down because of the high cost of electricity here, now we have a lower power AMD based system we built from spare parts.
We would like to win the HP 290 (CARE Package 1), our AMD based build can’t transcode and it has been a pain we thought we would not care about lol.
This is the post that started me on the right path towards a dyi NAS. Were it not for this, I would’ve ended up dumping money into something I didn’t need. Now I’m up and running on 24Tb with UnRaid and package 1 would be the perfect addition to round things out.
It also helps to broaden your search parameters, ex. I scored a bare Wyse 5070 motherboard (without pcie) that I was going to use for pfSense (m.2 > pcie adapter) for $15 on eBay, before I got all the parts however, the pfSense post about 1u cases led me to find a Citrix cb-504 (6x1gbe) I put an offer in for ~$65 I think? It’s been great as is(other than only being able to get it to boot from the 16gb usb dom). Either way I just suggest you keep looking around at what others have done and keep searching for deals and I’m sure you’ll find something as good or better than the t730!
ENTRY
I have to say that the pfSense 1u guide that helped me find an awesome appliance for my firewall was my favorite. I keep looking back for other deals that I may be able to repurpose for other things too!
I was wanting a new computer for general use since the power supply in my old one gave out. I don’t game so wasn’t needing anything fancy and this deal fit.
I’d prefer prize #1 since I’m looking to upgrade my network at home (currently running with just an ASUS RT-AC66U) and think it’d be a great pfSense box.
[Guide] Hardware Transcoding: The JDM way! QuickSync and NVENC
I really enjoyed reading this article on transcoding. I have a few clients that are outside of my network that need transcoding. I had a basic understanding of how it worked but the guide really cleared it up for me. A while ago I wanted to purchase a p2000 for hardware transcoding but since my funds were limited I never did. Then when reading this article I realized the same goal could be accomplished with the quicksync method. I heard of people talking about it on reddit and other forums but never really understood what it is. I havent gotten around do getting a quicksync box, just because other things in life have come up. But when I’m ready to go that route I will use this guide to set it up! Thanks JDM!
Also in general your builds are what inspired me to go with unraid. In te past I used freenas but it was very complicated and confusing, at least for a linux noob like myself. So, just a general shoutout to you and your builds that enabled me to make a home nas and also a plex server that streams to family and friends. Without you none of it would be possible.
Also, I would prefer package 1, as I dont yet have a quicksync box.
Thanks again for putting on this giveaway and for everything in general JDM!
Ever since I watched Linus Tech Tips video on 7 gamers 1 cpu I remember thinking "well thats awesome but i could never afford to do something like that, but then i found the JDM_WAAT reddit and my whole view on enterprise server hardware changed.
Watching this build come together gives me hope for the future when I’ll be able to do a similar build.
Thank you for all you do JDM.
I would prefer Prize #1 as I plan to build a nas in the next month or so.
I used the guide word for word to get my transcoding for PLEX going per the JDM way. Works great and PLEX runs smooth. Never would have been able to figure it out without this guide. Thanks for the great guides, resources, and insights on all things server or tech. Have purchased many things at a discount thanks to this great community.
(preference is package #1)
I got this for my sister, and she’s absolutely loved every moment of using it- proud to have introduced someone else to the glorious PCMR.
Supermicro 45 bay DAS - SAS2, w/ caddys
I ended up buying this, and have begun the process of filling it up with drives. Lots of expansion!!
Got everything set up, which spurred me to drop freenas and just use ubuntu with docker containers for running everything, and my system is as stable as its ever been.
I’ve been a long time lurker of the NAS Killer builds, but the timing hasn’t been right yet for me to pull the trigger on building one. I have an old 2-bay Synology that is nearly full and I’m concerned about the disks failing if I attempt a storage expansion. I was considering a purchase of another Synology until I came across this forum via Reddit. Thanks for the great content and giving me a path forward!
ive read this post over and over again. each time, i read a little tidbit of information to help with my build. the biggest a-ha moment was that you can get a 1U chenbro and stick it into a case. i dont have any racks or any plans for racks, but have a case sitting in the corner or closet is perfect especially with the noise levels.
Undeniably the thing that attracted me to the forums and one that continues to hold my interest is the HP 290-p0043w Owner’s Thread. JDM_WAAAT has a following and for good reason. He continues to attract like minded individuals to share and learn from. I’ve been amazed with my first HP 290 build and how it does exactly what I need for Plex while being low powered and a transcoding powerhouse. Merry Christmas everyone. I appreciate each of your posts and help you have provided me as I enjoy this hobby.
Package #1 Preference
This thread is what brought me to the serverbuilds.net forum. I have gained a ton of knowledge here. I purchased a HP 290 to tinker with and would love to get another one.
My prize preference is for package #1.