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Was searching for a new gaming headset and your video review and Tech Deal post helped me snag a super solid headset at a good deal. Love them! Thanks JDM_WAAT, ServerBuilds admins, and ServerBuilds community!
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The NAS Killer 4.0 build guide got me started down the path to learning more than I ever thought I would about SAS drives, LSI boards, Passmark scores, Plex and Unraid. I now have a franken-machine that serves as a Plex box and NAS, thanks to everyone here in the ServerBuilds community.
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The CPU compendium in that post helped me discover a cheap LGA 1150 processor that I could use to turn an old PC into a IDS/IPS server. Thank you!
I would prefer package 1. There are a number of projects Iād like to tackle, and this could definitely help!
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This thread convinced me to pick one these up.
I was intending to use it as a docker host to run various containers, but currently it is being used as a Windows desktop for my kids. It works great for them to play around on.
I would love to win package 1 to set up a dedicated low power docker host.
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Both the original post by JDM_WAAAT and the followup posts by the community members were especially helpful! I pretty much followed the guide to a T. I donāt participate much, but I still actively read each post daily. Iām in awe of everyoneās ability to keep with up the changes and canāt wait to see what the next few years bring!
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My favorite thread is the one that brought me here:
I love guides like these, they give a great starting point for users to jump in at. Also, knowing the performance at each cost point is pretty good to know.
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This led me to understand that my big beefy server with dual XEONs didnāt have Quicksync and Iām now considering a new build with all the corrections from mistakes I and other people have made. I have a large Plex server and want to be able to serve more people than I currently have.
Preference would be package 1.
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While I will only make 1 link, there is much more and this community that I have utilized to get my first ever server build up and running (pics and a post to come, cleaning some things up tomorrow) and now Iām officially hooked! The NAS Killer 4.0 and OTiS guides were so important for me. I used these and a few discord questions and lots of reading on discord of other questions to design, part pick and build my first server that will be used for files, plex, VMās, a lab and minecraft server. I also used the bitdeals array starter kit package to load up on 4TB HDDS!!! Iām so proud of my build, and this learning experience. while Iāve built PCās in the past Iāve never done anything like this and it was sooo far out of my comfort zone, but I did it! So thank you!!! I also want to thank Discord user Stuffwhy [US] he has answered a couple questions for me and has been super helpful.
I want package 1 as I really want to set up a pfsense router now and pi hole add blocker, but I think my system will be running too much to do all that.
Thanks for running this and happy holidays.
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I guess Iām bad at forums as it auto linked OTiS 
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Link:
ThreadRunner
The most impactful build for me has to be the Threadrunner build that I found about 3 years ago. I was looking for alternatives to expensive consumer CPUs when I stumbled on to Threadrunner build on reddit. That post pushed me to the enterprise hardware and opened up possibilities that I was unaware of and for cheap. In the 3 years since I have learned about UNRAID, SSI-EEB Boards, LSI cards and a lot more server hardware in the process. I have helped friends with piecing together builds, and started moving my career path more towards a system admin position. I still canāt believe how much that single post changed my life. I canāt thank you enough for all that youād done for the community and your efforts you put in to make it better.
Prize Preference: Package 1
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In my first year with this great community I used a lot of guides and helpful posts, but there were two that stood out and helped me achieve my build and take me to the next level. The first was JDMās
Hardware Transcoding Guide. So much information in here, I must have went over it at least 10 times. In depth analysis of the CPUs and quicksync was awesome. The hardware configuration recommendations are excellent. Installation instructions on ubuntu were invaluable since I had never used that OS before. The second guide was the NAS Killer 4.0. I used this and the information inside to acquire great parts at excellent prices and learn about what hardware/software I would need to stand up my own NAS. Itās been a great year and I canāt be happier with how my build turned out. Thanks a bunch!!
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This guide was the one I used for my first server build using server hardware and Unraid, I am 95% of the way done with the build as of right now.
I started using a home āserverā back in 2014 with a laptop running sonarr, transmission, and plex; Before moving onto a mac mini for the past 5 years. Very happy to finally be running Unraid, just waiting on 3 more SAS cables to be delivered to finish it up.
Iād really like to get an HP 290 next to do hardware transcoding for Plex; Iāll probably end up with multiple and doing PfSense too! So, heres to hoping package 1 is in my future!
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This guide was the reason I joined the forum, trying to expand the viewership capabilities of my plex server. Stuck on mergerfs + nfs issues, but Iām hopeful Iāll get there soon.
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I was hitting a wall trying to get my Plex server to automount my Unraid NAS shares with fstab and just could not get it to work no matter what. This guide was a huge sanity-saver since it provided another way to get the mounting to work.
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Followed this guide to setup a gaming VM on my unraid server. I had struggled through a different guide a week before this was posted. Following this enabled almost everything to work perfectly. For some reason, the audio would not come through the HDMI output and the monitor. 6 months later (just a couples ago now), I realized the monitor has no audio ;). Greatly appreciate this guide, I also referred it to someone on Reddit and it helped them also. This entire community has been a blessing in getting a lot of things setup here at my house: from unraid servers, to unraid gaming to general technology assistance.
Appreciate all the work JDM, happy new year!
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https://www.serverbuilds.net/anniversary
This was where i got started here, still love the server 2 years later. I have talked 2 of my friends into buying 290ās and have bought a dozen drives from deals listed in #techdeals.
Techdeals is how i justify to my boss having discord open on one of my monitors at work all day. Thanks for the deals and the help troubleshooting.
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I am still very new to personal servers of any kind and was introduced to this forum and discord server. I like to read these posts and guides so that I can find more out about building and maintaining servers and home networks.
If I were to choose a prize I would choose package A since I already have a decent daily setup but still no personal server.
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This got me into setting up a killer NAS and then a plex server, then a 1u pfsense router.
Prefer package 1
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I learned a ton about transcoding over the course of 2020 - out of necessity. This post and the help on discord has helped a ton as well.
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Hardware Transcoding: The JDM way! QuickSync
This is my very first post that I read on accomplishing my end goal of no longer paying for seedboxes and hosting my own Plex Server. I have joined the Discord, asked so many questions that I am more confident in building that I have just completed building my first DAS. This forum has not only transformed my thought process but has given me and my son something to build together. Thank you
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