Build’s Name: Newb Build
Operating System/ Storage Platform: Windows Server 2019
CPU:2x Xeon E5520 2x Xeon x5680
Motherboard:SuperMicro X8DTI-F SuperMicro X8DTH-6F
Chassis: Thermaltake Core x9
Drives: 2x Micron S630DC 800GB, 2x WD 10TB, 1x Seagate 5TB, 2x 3TB, 1x 2TB
RAM:48GB Hynix 96GB Hynix PC3-10600 DDR3-1333MHz ECC Registered
Add-in Cards: Intel RS3DC040 (LSI 3108) RAID Controller 12 Gb/s SAS/SATA PCIe x8 Gen3
Lenovo (Avago) 530-81 (LSI SAS3408) RAID Controller 12 Gb/s in IT mode
Power Supply: Seasonic Prime Ultra Titanium 750w
Other Bits: 2x Deepcool Gammaxx 400 CPU coolers w/ 120mm fans (added 2x of the Arctic F12 fans for a push/pull config)
2x Arctic P12 PWM PST 120mm pressure fans (intake)
4x Arctic F12 PWM PST 120mm airflow fans (exhaust)
2x Arctic P14 PWM PST 140mm pressure fans (intake)
2x Thermaltake Pure 20 200mm airflow fans (intake)
Usage Profile: Plex, VMs, Oracle/Apex, ???
Other information… I just discovered this site about a week ago and have been reading a lot. I'm not an IT professional, just a computer geek since I got my Commodore 16. So please be gentle, I'm definitely a newb to the server world and trying to learn!
I have been running a Plex Media Server for quite some time. I decided to build a dedicated computer for it and install Windows Server just for fun and to learn. I used old parts I had laying around to include an AMD A10 and 8GB of RAM. Hard drives installed are 1x 5TB, 2x 3TB, and 1x 2TB. I had quite a bit to learn and a lot of trial and error with WS. I also set it up to backup all of the other computers in the house, created a shared drive, and ran some VM's.
While that system has been good, it's not great. I also do not have any redundancy or backups of anything. So I've decided to build a "real" server for my home use. Mostly just because I want to try it and tinker with it and, again, see what I can learn. I've started to piece it together and I've already pulled the trigger on the main components. Then I found this site and thought I could get some advice before I go any further. I was going to do it as cheap as I could but knew I wouldn't be completely happy with that. Which means I'll probably end up spreading the purchases over the course of a month or two.
I purchased the motherboard, RAM, and processors with heatsinks together. I think I'm probably going to swap out the E5520's for two X5690's if/when I can find a good deal on them. The heatsinks are SuperMicro passive and I'm looking for a solution to add fans. Maybe just screw some 60mm's on them? I might go nuts too and add another 48GB of RAM. UPDATE: Decided to go with x5680's, the difference in performance between 5690's and 5680's wasn't enough to justify the $100 price difference. Found a deal on CPU coolers, 4 heatpipe with 120mm PWM fans and a provided clip to add another 120 for push/pull. Added another 48GB of RAM.
At first, I was going to stick with the 6x SATA II ports on the board and the built-in RAID but changed my mind. I looked at 3.5" SAS HDD's and realized they weren't any more expensive than the SATA drives and decided I wanted to try SAS. I looked at both 6GB and 12GB controller cards and ended up buying a new Intel RS3DC040 with LSI 3108 chip. I did a lot of research but honestly, don't know if that was a good choice. Hopefully it was! Guess I'll need cables and a battery yet. UPDATE: Got in late on the deal for Micron SSDs but picked up two of the 800GB SAS drives. Looking at getting a 3008 based HBA and selling the 3108 RAID card. Picked up an Amphenol cable.
As far as a case, I might use the Fractal Design Define XL R2 that I currently have my main system in (i7-5820k, 16GB, GTX 970, 1x 512GB 850 Pro NVMe, 3x SSD's, AIO water cooling) or I have been looking at the Thermaltake Core X9. Both are able to fit the 12" x 13" motherboard. UPDATE: Got the Thermaltake Core X9 after the price dropped $20. It's a massive and highly modular case.
Power supply, I haven't even begun to look at. UPDATE: Chose a Seasonic Titanium 750w fully modular PSU.
Drives, I'm not sure. I was looking at 4x 6TB Seagate Enterprise 12GB SAS drives (ST6000NM0034) or the 256mb equivalent. I know in that case I would be running RAID 1 and not a RAID 5 though. But that would give me 12TB of backed up data. (Assuming that is possible with the controller card; I have to learn how to use it and build arrays). Maybe throw my current drives in as well but I'm not sure if that would just end up slowing things down overall. Possibly an SSD boot drive? UPDATE: Picked up the two aforementioned 800GB Micron SSDs and then bought and shucked two WD 10TB Easystores.
So other than a Plex server, I'm really not quite sure what I'll be using this system for. I know it is overkill, but I'm ok with that. Probably set it up to do backups again. I ran some VM's on my current "server" (one at a time) which were pretty slow with the A10 and 8GB to play with Linux distros. I need the ability to run Windows programs on it, but I've just discovered Unraid. However, since I bought the controller card, I don't think I'll be going that route! Also interested in multiseat configuration which I just started reading about. UPDATE: Still unsure about this. Leaning towards Windows Server 2019, Snapraid, and VMs. Maybe play with Oracle and Apex, of course Plex, and client backups.
Sorry for the long read. Questions, comments, advice are welcome!
Operating System/ Storage Platform: Windows Server 2019
CPU:
Motherboard:
Chassis: Thermaltake Core x9
Drives: 2x Micron S630DC 800GB, 2x WD 10TB, 1x Seagate 5TB, 2x 3TB, 1x 2TB
RAM:
Add-in Cards: Intel RS3DC040 (LSI 3108) RAID Controller 12 Gb/s SAS/SATA PCIe x8 Gen3
Lenovo (Avago) 530-81 (LSI SAS3408) RAID Controller 12 Gb/s in IT mode
Power Supply: Seasonic Prime Ultra Titanium 750w
Other Bits: 2x Deepcool Gammaxx 400 CPU coolers w/ 120mm fans (added 2x of the Arctic F12 fans for a push/pull config)
2x Arctic P12 PWM PST 120mm pressure fans (intake)
4x Arctic F12 PWM PST 120mm airflow fans (exhaust)
2x Arctic P14 PWM PST 140mm pressure fans (intake)
2x Thermaltake Pure 20 200mm airflow fans (intake)
Usage Profile: Plex, VMs, Oracle/Apex, ???
Other information… I just discovered this site about a week ago and have been reading a lot. I'm not an IT professional, just a computer geek since I got my Commodore 16. So please be gentle, I'm definitely a newb to the server world and trying to learn!
I have been running a Plex Media Server for quite some time. I decided to build a dedicated computer for it and install Windows Server just for fun and to learn. I used old parts I had laying around to include an AMD A10 and 8GB of RAM. Hard drives installed are 1x 5TB, 2x 3TB, and 1x 2TB. I had quite a bit to learn and a lot of trial and error with WS. I also set it up to backup all of the other computers in the house, created a shared drive, and ran some VM's.
While that system has been good, it's not great. I also do not have any redundancy or backups of anything. So I've decided to build a "real" server for my home use. Mostly just because I want to try it and tinker with it and, again, see what I can learn. I've started to piece it together and I've already pulled the trigger on the main components. Then I found this site and thought I could get some advice before I go any further. I was going to do it as cheap as I could but knew I wouldn't be completely happy with that. Which means I'll probably end up spreading the purchases over the course of a month or two.
I purchased the motherboard, RAM, and processors with heatsinks together. I think I'm probably going to swap out the E5520's for two X5690's if/when I can find a good deal on them. The heatsinks are SuperMicro passive and I'm looking for a solution to add fans. Maybe just screw some 60mm's on them? I might go nuts too and add another 48GB of RAM. UPDATE: Decided to go with x5680's, the difference in performance between 5690's and 5680's wasn't enough to justify the $100 price difference. Found a deal on CPU coolers, 4 heatpipe with 120mm PWM fans and a provided clip to add another 120 for push/pull. Added another 48GB of RAM.
At first, I was going to stick with the 6x SATA II ports on the board and the built-in RAID but changed my mind. I looked at 3.5" SAS HDD's and realized they weren't any more expensive than the SATA drives and decided I wanted to try SAS. I looked at both 6GB and 12GB controller cards and ended up buying a new Intel RS3DC040 with LSI 3108 chip. I did a lot of research but honestly, don't know if that was a good choice. Hopefully it was! Guess I'll need cables and a battery yet. UPDATE: Got in late on the deal for Micron SSDs but picked up two of the 800GB SAS drives. Looking at getting a 3008 based HBA and selling the 3108 RAID card. Picked up an Amphenol cable.
As far as a case, I might use the Fractal Design Define XL R2 that I currently have my main system in (i7-5820k, 16GB, GTX 970, 1x 512GB 850 Pro NVMe, 3x SSD's, AIO water cooling) or I have been looking at the Thermaltake Core X9. Both are able to fit the 12" x 13" motherboard. UPDATE: Got the Thermaltake Core X9 after the price dropped $20. It's a massive and highly modular case.
Power supply, I haven't even begun to look at. UPDATE: Chose a Seasonic Titanium 750w fully modular PSU.
Drives, I'm not sure. I was looking at 4x 6TB Seagate Enterprise 12GB SAS drives (ST6000NM0034) or the 256mb equivalent. I know in that case I would be running RAID 1 and not a RAID 5 though. But that would give me 12TB of backed up data. (Assuming that is possible with the controller card; I have to learn how to use it and build arrays). Maybe throw my current drives in as well but I'm not sure if that would just end up slowing things down overall. Possibly an SSD boot drive? UPDATE: Picked up the two aforementioned 800GB Micron SSDs and then bought and shucked two WD 10TB Easystores.
So other than a Plex server, I'm really not quite sure what I'll be using this system for. I know it is overkill, but I'm ok with that. Probably set it up to do backups again. I ran some VM's on my current "server" (one at a time) which were pretty slow with the A10 and 8GB to play with Linux distros. I need the ability to run Windows programs on it, but I've just discovered Unraid. However, since I bought the controller card, I don't think I'll be going that route! Also interested in multiseat configuration which I just started reading about. UPDATE: Still unsure about this. Leaning towards Windows Server 2019, Snapraid, and VMs. Maybe play with Oracle and Apex, of course Plex, and client backups.
Sorry for the long read. Questions, comments, advice are welcome!
Last edited: