Building Plex Media Server - Help With Final Parts

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ak28

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Apr 21, 2014
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Intel Core i7 3770 3.4GHz Socket 1155 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor - £200

OS Installed ---> Kingston 120GB HyperX 3K 2.5inch SSD - £65

Data, RAID 1 configured ---> 2x WD RED 3TB 3.5" SATA 6GB/s 64MB Hard Drive - £185


This is what I have so far, I need help with the following parts below:

1) Case - keeps it cool / hopefully has 4x SATA bays and room for the SSD
2) PSU - NO IDEA
3) Motherboard - NO IDEA (besides 1155 socket)
4) RAM - does it matter which make or type I choose? (Looking for 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM)

I appreciate any help provided. Seeing as I've spent a lot on the main parts of the server already, I'm looking to try and be cheap on the rest of the parts, but I want it to be sustainable and not wreck the expensive parts. I've done my best to research and read about servers but this is far as I could get.

Thanks in advance!
 
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My file server is using a repurposed Pheonom II X4 cpu, so I have an amd board that is a ASUS M5A97.

I dont know where you are are from and what vendors you have but I will look for some good boards for you.
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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Case comes down to user preference, I use a Fractial Design R4 case with 2 more fans and I love it for my build. It has a spot for SSD behing the mobo tray, only bad thing is you have to remove mobo to be able to remove ssd. Other then that minor issue I love that case, and it holds up to 8 3.5" drives.

Ram: Go with Gskill or Corsair serries ram, not much of a difference between them for ddr 3 1600.

PSU: how many drives do you see you having in the future, and are you going to run a graphics card in the future?

Mobo: this depends on if you are going to use integrated or dedicated graphics and any other features you want. If you are just going to use it as a file server the B series chipset boards often come with more sata ports then the H and Z serries do.
 
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ak28

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Apr 21, 2014
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Thanks for the quick reply.

Case ---> It's £59.99 and looks like the one you pointed out. Correct me if I'm wrong!
http://www.ebuyer.com/394668-fractal-design-define-r4-white-pearl-case-fa-ca-def-r4-wh

RAM ---> Corsair 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Vengeance Memory - £57

PSU: Looking to have maximum of 4x3TB in total and they would be RAID1 configured.
(Would I need a raid controller?)

Mobo: I will be using it to transcode videos for plex receivers 95% of the time. I imagine I'd avoid paying for extra graphics cards unless necessary. I had a look on ebuyer and still struggled to sift through. Anything I should be looking for besides B-series and 1155 socket?
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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Yes that one is the case I was talking about. The Define R4 case comes in white, gray, and black with and without side window.

For Raid 1 or 0 you can just use the motherboards integrated raid controller and you will be just fine. For Raid 5 or 6 you should do a dedicated card, or can use a software raid solution as well.

Mobo, go for ASUS, Gigabyte or AsRock. Try to get a full height ATX board with several pci-e slots for expandability

For PSU I would go for a 600 watt psu from Seasonic, XFX, Antec, Corsair (not the cx serries) or Rosewill (Hive or Capstone Series) that is 80 plus bronze rated or better. This will give you plenty of juice and wil even be able to power multiple drives and a medium level graphics card if it becomes necessary
 
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ak28

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Apr 21, 2014
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Perfect! Now, everything is good to go apart from the mobo. Still struggling :(

I've looked at almost 25+ mobo's and none of them state that they are 1155, support 4xSata / 1xSSD and are below £100. Will I just have to bite the bullet. How much was your own mobo? (If you don't mind me asking)
 
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ak28

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Apr 21, 2014
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Ah, my mistake. Premature joy. I'll keep looking. I'm in the UK btw
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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That ASrock board is good choice, it has 4 SATA3 ports and 4 SATA2 ports

2 of the Sata3 are managed by ASMEDIA ontroller, I would hook your SSD and your CD drive up to to these ports. Make sure to put those ports in AHCII mode for the SSD.

The 4 SATA2 ports and the other 2 SATA3 ports are on a INTEL controller. Hook your HDDs up to the 4 SATA2 ports.
 
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