Review my Unraid/NAS/Handbrake/etc. Build

Builds [LGA1151,LGA1200] NAS Killer 6.0, Plex QSV Builds
1

This is my third try at putting together a new server build. I’m planning to use Unraid. Use cases:

  • NAS for Plex media storage (I run my Plex server on a different machine)
  • Onsite backups from personal machines
  • Handbrake encoder
  • NZO unpacker
  • Probably a few light-weight self-hosted apps
  • A little room to grow as I work on my Linux and self-hosting skills

Parts:

  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
  • CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine 12 CPU Cooler ($10.99 @ Amazon)
  • Motherboard: ASRock B365M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($87.99 @ Amazon)
  • Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($139.99 @ Amazon)
  • Storage: Crucial P2 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Adorama)
  • Case: Fractal Design Node 804 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($116.98 @ Newegg)
  • Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 500 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($79.90 @ B&H)
  • Custom: Unraid ($60.00)
    Total: $800.83

I already have three 8 TB drives for storage. I’m upgrading from a 4TB Synology NAS, so 16GB storage (plus a parity drive) will be a luxury and the case and mobo give me room to grow.

EDITED to add more details

1 Like
2

This all looks fine, if a little overkill. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Have you looked at this guide yet?

It’s probably worth implementing, in your case.

3

Thanks for the feedback! I will definitely be scouring this site when it comes time to build and configure. I’ve got a few small HDDs I can incorporate for cache.

Are there any CPUs and/or mobos you would recommend for balancing reasonable performance with cost savings? This is where I’m really struggling to find the balance.

4

I’d get a better CPU cooler. Handbrake encoding will make that cooler go full throttle. And depending on how much encoding you are doing I’d recommend go back a step to a i7-8700k (or i7-9700k if budget allows) as there is a decent encoding performance improvement from i5 to i7 with handbrake.

That said some extra thoughts: I use Handbrake on both my Unraid and main PC. I tend to use the main PC even when it was realistically on par with the Unraid box (former win box i7-6700k/1060 6gb vs dual e5-2670vs Xeons). Now that the main win is a AMD/3070 combo I only use the Unraid for a lot of 480/720 jobs (OTA TS files as needed). 1080/4k encoding is done with the 3070 in NVENC. That though still hits the CPU to max.

1 Like