Hello all - cannot believe I stumbled upon this forum after looking for people who may be experts in what I'm trying to accomplish
Per my username, I live in a tiny studio apartment. I have outgrown a 5-bay enclosure and would like to build a QuickSync capable server in the tiniest possible chassis to fit in my TV stand for my apartment, which is where the U-NAS NSC 810A comes into play. So I've embarked on building a system that suits my needs and I've pasted the basic parts list below. I had a few questions specifically for anyone who has built or is familiar with this case after reading some of the threads here:
Per my username, I live in a tiny studio apartment. I have outgrown a 5-bay enclosure and would like to build a QuickSync capable server in the tiniest possible chassis to fit in my TV stand for my apartment, which is where the U-NAS NSC 810A comes into play. So I've embarked on building a system that suits my needs and I've pasted the basic parts list below. I had a few questions specifically for anyone who has built or is familiar with this case after reading some of the threads here:
- I have been trying to decide going back and forth between the Enhance ENP 7660B 600W, FSP Flex Guru 500W and the Seasonic SS-350M1U. I realized that the Seasonic isn't really "modular" per se (i.e. can't remove excess unused SATA cables or floppy disk cable), so why not go with the shorter 150mm FSP Flex Guru that has more power or go all out with the 7660B.
- Am I correct to assume that the only cables from my PSU I'll need right now are: (1) 24pin to motherboard (2) 8 pin for CPU and (3) convert two molex from PSU into 4 molex using a splitter to wire the 4 total molex ports on the chassis backpane?
- Is there any issues I should be thinking of with the non-modular nest of cables that come with the FSP? It is a 4cm shorter PSU so I thought that may help with the unused cables in that set which seem like a lot (1x 8 pin / 2x 6+2 / 2x daisy SATAs / 1x floppy won't be used I think)
- Is there any bracket issues by using a "Flex" PSU that is 150mm vs. the recommended 190mm Seasonic SS-350M1U which is billed as "1U"? I was reading a few reviews on a similar 300W PSU on Newegg that seemed to imply there is a difference in bracketing between "Flex" and "1U" PSUs
- I want a mobo that supports at least 8 SATA connections, ECC RAM and Intel QuickSync (IPMI and 10GBe are a bonus). That left me with deciding between the Gigabyte W480M Vision W and the AsRock Rack W480D4U
- My BIG concern with the Gigabyte W480M is that the 8 SATA ports are right on the edge of the mobo and I want to make sure there is some sort of clearance to actually plug in SATA cables (whether L-shaped or straight). Any help here would be greatly appreciated before I waste $200 on a useless mobo. See below picture of what I'm trying to solve for (bottom two pictures is someone else's build)
- Since this will be in my studio, running quiet is almost as important as size to me. Are there any specific upgrades or parts you'd focus on to maintain a really quiet server? I was thinking of upgrading the stock fans to Noctua NF12s and getting the 7660B with Noctua A4 20mm, not sure if there's anything else to do to make it silent proof
- Does my below build accommodate 2 PCI expansion cards later in the future? I was thinking a GPU and a 10GBe card (not sure what else people use their server PCI slots for, any creativity / ideas would also be helpful)
- I believe the Seasonic won't allow me to add a GPU so I may strike that off my list for just that reason
- Am I missing any other basic components (cables, extenders etc.) from the below list? I had read negative feedback re: "standard power cables won't reach" and "front panel cables don't reach mobo" so I wasn't sure how exactly to know if my build below has those issues or which specific cables I need if it does have that issue
- Does anyone know exactly how long power cables I would need from my PSU to "reach everything"?
- What are some first time tips you'd give for building in this chassis given the tight space?
Case | UNAS NSC-810A |
Motherboard | Gigabyte W480M Vision W (LGA 1200) |
CPU | Intel Xeon 1.9GHz W1290T (10C/20T) |
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-L9i |
RAM | 16GB DDR4 ECC SDRAM |
GPU | not needed right now with Intel QuickSync |
PSU | Enhance 7660B 600W (Platinum) or FSP Flex GURU 500W (Gold) |
HDDs | 8x 16TB WD Easystore |
M.2 Drive #1 | 1TB NVMe 4.0 M.2 SSD (Samsung 980 Pro) |
M.2 Drive #2 | 1TB NVMe 4.0 M.2 SSD (Sabrent Rocket) |
HBA Card | Not needed with selected mobo |
O/S | Unraid Plus |
Other | Noctua NF-S12A PWM Fans (2x) |
Other | Noctua NF-A4x10 (PSU Fan Replacement) |
Other | PCI-E Riser Cable (10GBe card in future) |
Other | Miscellaneous Cables / Extenders? |
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