# Phenoms Dell Transformation Project



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

As many have seen in my "File Server over Network" thread. I have decided to rebuild one of my Dell Dimension Desktops from like 8-10 years ago into a Storage/VMHost Server to play with VMs and have back up storage locally over the network to store all my 1GB+ GoPro videos I make from Snowboarding, Mountain biking, and Motocross in. I spend over 5 hours on the videos when I edit them.

The whole reason im doing this, and some have already told me its a waste of time and you can just get a cloud storage thing, but I am specifically doing this because ever since I got into computer building about 5 years ago when I was 14 I have wanted to rebuild a system in one of these cases. I also want a place to store my videos, since my main rig is changing all the time, and it would be shitty to lose all the work in my videos. And last reason is because I want to learn how to do things over network, and play with VMs to expand my knowledge on those too. 

Anyways so on to the things you all care about. The Hardware and pictures. I tried to make this build the cheapest possible (and most power efficient/performance) with spending just $250 on main parts like the PSU, memory, CPU, and motherboard, and some cooling fans for the case. Hard drives have not been purchased yet, waiting for next pay day.

Hardware Specs of Server:

Intel Pentium G630 2.7GHZ
Asrock H77M H77 Board(to do Hardware Raid 1)
PNY 8GB 1600mhz ram
Corsair CX430M Modular Edition PSU 
My Vertex 2 90GB SSD for OS
2x Western Digital 2TB Reds in RAID 1 Array
Windows 8 Pro (For Hyper V)


Anyways Pictures will be up in a bit.

**Updated Specs**


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Okay, Sorry for the very blurry pictures. I tend to get some tremors when I build systems. I really need a tri-pod for my camera haha.








Old Dell parts thrown out of the case. Want any of it? Let me know. P4 Socket 478 platform.





Installed the PSU and Rear 92mm Gelid 1500rpm fan.





I love Gigabyte motherboards. They are my go to board for most systems.





The little beast.





Most of it all installed. Waiting on the drives now.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

I'm interested to see how you handle the front panel connectors, since most of the Dells I see use special connectors for the buttons/LEDs and audio connections.  Unless you got lucky and they used the standard connectors.



MxPhenom 216 said:


> Explanation on the WD Reds: People seem to have a misconception about the WD Red drives(Not naming names, but they are from TPU Forums) where they are specifically meant for NAS system because of their firmware. However I have been researching these drives the last week or so, and the Western Digital website says the Red drives have code in the firmware to make the COMPADIBLE with NAS storage system, nothing about them not working with normal Windows systems. I also work with guys at Microsoft that have massive file servers at home and use Red drives with zero issues on a Windows or WIndows Server OS. The thing with the Red drives is that they have special parts in them for improved durability, which is what you want in a NAS system, and this also applies to normal computers as well.



While I agree with most of that, I don't believe they have any special parts in them to make them any more durable.  AFAIK, the Red drives are nothing more than WD-Green drives with special firmware that allows them to be more compatible with RAID configurations.

Though according to WD, their standard desktop drives support 2 disk RAID arrays, while their Red and RE drives are for arrays with 3 disks or more.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> I'm interested to see how you handle the front panel connectors, since most of the Dells I see use special connectors for the buttons/LEDs and audio connections.  Unless you got lucky and they used the standard connectors.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Either way the point im trying to make about them, is that they work fine with Windows in Raid configs, and if your making a storage server then they really are a no brainer since they have better capabilities when it comes to raid arrays.

I wont be using anything on the front panel other then maybe the USB. The front power won't work which is why I bought a new power cable/button thing from Apevia for temperary use. I want to get a full power switch like one of these at some point. 

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23261


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 18, 2013)

You are giving me some ideals of what to use the old dell system I have in the closet for.


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## Frick (Jan 18, 2013)

Yes I want the old hardware. 

Which Dimension is that?


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Either way the point im trying to make about them, is that they work fine with Windows in Raid configs, and if your making a storage server then they really are a no brainer since they have better capabilities when it comes to raid arrays.
> 
> I wont be using anything on the front panel other then maybe the USB. The front power won't work which is why I bought a new power cable/button thing from Apevia for temperary use. I want to get a full power switch like one of these at some point.
> 
> http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23261



I definitely get your point, I'm just saying they aren't really any more durable.  I've used them a lot in normal computers, they definitely aren't just for NAS use.  I've been using the WD Red or Seagate SV35 drives when I've built RAID arrays.  Generally I pick whichever is cheapest, but the SV35 drives are slightly faster since they are 7200RPM drives.

Oh yeah, this is that build.  I just made the connection. I recommended you the Aprevia power button.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Frick said:


> Yes I want the old hardware.
> 
> Which Dimension is that?



Dimension 3000


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Explanation on the WD Reds: People seem to have a misconception about the WD Red drives(Not naming names, but they are from TPU Forums) where they are specifically meant for NAS system because of their firmware. However I have been researching these drives the last week or so, and the Western Digital website says the Red drives have code in the firmware to make the COMPADIBLE with NAS storage system, nothing about them not working with normal Windows systems. I also work with guys at Microsoft that have massive file servers at home and use Red drives with zero issues on a Windows or WIndows Server OS. The thing with the Red drives is that they have special parts in them for improved durability, which is what you want in a NAS system, and this also applies to normal computers as well.



First, you can say it was me, no problem.

Second..the firmware lowers error correction on the drive, and leaves it up to the controller(for RAID mode, prevents both the drive and controller fighting about who does the correction).

Also, the drive head doesn't park, so if jostled, damage is easier. The drive uses a varied spin rate instead. Around 5100-5900 RPM.

Secondly, that error correction feature(or lack thereof) is intended for use with RAID controllers, and you bought a board without RAID control, hence my recommendation for green drives.

Yes, that board, and any H61 controller...does not do RAID.


It is also just SATA 3 Gb/s, not SATA 6 Gb/s.



I make recommendations based on deployment. Your deployment is flawed.

Here's the board's product page. Don't worry, next time I won't offer you any help. I guess you won't be doing RAID like you planned either.



> 2x Western Digital 2TB Reds in RAID 1 Array




+




> 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices




= you FAILED.





http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4065#sp

WD REDs in RAID? You bet. As a SINGLE DRIVE? Not that great of an idea...you'll have near zero error correction. mkay?





From this point forth you shall be my example of someone asking for help, doing the opposite, and then running into problems. This is bloody great!  Subb'd!!!  You should have got the AMD rig, and avoided all of these problems, since that platform is much better featured.


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## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216....... :shadedshu

I mean really, you just threw good money after bad. Why didnt you just get a damn NAS as EVERYONE told you.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> MxPhenom 216....... :shadedshu
> 
> I mean really, you just threw good money after bad. Why didnt you just get a damn NAS as EVERYONE told you.



No one told me to get a NAS lol. I don't know where you have been, but they haven't.


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## Bo$$ (Jan 18, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> I guess you won't be doing RAID like you planned either.



you can't do soft raid on these machines?


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

Bo$$ said:


> you can't do soft raid on these machines?



Of course. 

But...

Not with proper error correction, and  you'll be taking a performance hit, negating the benefits of the RED drives.

If RED drives were good for all situations, they'd have simply replaced the green drives.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

How does an Intel board, regardless of controller, not have RAID abilities. I was under the assumption that any board can do it these days?


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## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> No one told me to get a NAS lol. I don't know where you have been, but they haven't.



I was on TS when you talked about starting the project. TWO PEOPLE told you to get a NAS. I even agreed with them saying "I need to get one to back up my wife's laptop automatically so I can stop using an external all the time." Then one guy said it was over kill and he built his own and you were all like "That's what I wanna do!". 

And so the stone of fail rolled on.



MxPhenom 216 said:


> How does an Intel board, regardless of controller, not have RAID abilities. I was under the assumption that any board can do it these days?



You assumed.


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> How does an Intel board, regardless of controller, not have RAID abilities. I was under the assumption that any board can do it these days?



Dude..I asked you why you choose that combo...then right after, told you not to get RED drives. FOR THIS EXACT REASON. Then I told you to go research why. Because clearly you weren't listening.

You were pretty confident, so I wasn't gonna burst your bubble. I mean really.. why do I care what you buy? It's not for me.. it's for you. I was just trying to prevent you from some heartache, even, when I recommended the AMD rig in the first place. FM2 platform boards have 6 or 8 drive ports, and support RAID no problem.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I was on TS when you talked about starting the project. TWO PEOPLE told you to get a NAS. I even agreed with them saying "I need to get one to back up my wife's laptop automatically so I can stop using an external all the time." Then one guy said it was over kill and he built his own and you were all like "That's what I wanna do!".
> 
> And so the stone of fail rolled on.
> 
> ...



No one said get a NAS, everyone just said thats a stupid idea, and not worth it. "You just need more storage, not a server."



cadaveca said:


> Dude..I asked you why you choose that combo...then right after, told you not to get RED drives. FOR THIS EXACT REASON. Then I told you to go research why. Because clearly you weren't listening.
> 
> You were pretty confident, so I wasn't gonna burst your bubble. I mean really.. why do I care what you buy? It's not for me.. it's for you. I was just trying to prevent you from some heartache, even, when I recommended the AMD rig in the first place. FM2 platform boards have 6 or 8 drive ports, and support RAID no problem.



Right you asked me, why, and then you never said anything about the board not supporting RAID. You never specified the reason why to not get the board, and why not to get the Reds.


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> No one said get a NAS, everyone just said thats a stupid idea, and not worth it. "You just need more storage, not a server."



I told you to get a NAS. you said you wanted to run VMs, so I shut my mouth.




Again, a singular voice out there..and you listened to the masses.



Lesson learned.

And to those reading that think I'm being a bit hard on Phenom here(someone loves you, phenom!), he and I spend on average about 4 hours a day talking to each other, and I kinda consider us having a good friendship, so I'm just being honest here.



MxPhenom 216 said:


> Right you asked me, why, and then you never said anything about the board not supporting RAID. You never specified the reason why to not get the board, and why not to get the Reds.



Nah, I told you to research. No big deal. Word for word.. I told you "look it says this on the website...go and check it out". You clearly only heard what you wanted to hear.


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## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> No one said get a NAS, everyone just said thats a stupid idea, and not worth it. "You just need more storage, not a server."



Dave said to get a NAS man.

Edit: beat me to it.

You know I love ya Phenom. But this conversation I remember man. I took note because I need to get a NAS and was listening carefully.


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Dave said to get a NAS man.
> 
> Edit: beat me to it.
> 
> You know I love ya Phenom. But this conversation I remember man. I took note because I need to get a NAS and was listening carefully.



Truly though, for the cost, a decent NAS is going to cost what that hardware did, so no big deal. He said he wanted to play with VMs and remoting in...and then I told him he's not going to have as easy of a time as he thinks...and he sluffed it off.

Meh.


You'll be fine, but you are going to have to re-work your idea of what you're doing a little bit..or not...Just run software RAID.

FYI, other than what I mentioned, I don't actually think RED drives are any different physically than Green drives. Just no parking, and no error correction. They get their faster speeds from the lack of parking. It'll be interesting to see some performance form those RED drives on SATA 3 Gb/s, too. They'll do 120 MB/sec in SATA 6 Gb/s, but so do the green drives, in my testing. Green drops to 102 in SATA 3 Gb/s..which I thought was weird.


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## MT Alex (Jan 18, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> From this point forth you shall be my example of someone asking for help, doing the opposite, and then running into problems.



I'm pretty sure that honorable distinction should remain with Ducky


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## Frick (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> How does an Intel board, regardless of controller, not have RAID abilities. I was under the assumption that any board can do it these days?


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

I have a AMD system I would trade you for that Intel, It supports hardware raid and is mATX. Just a thought.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Of course.
> 
> But...
> 
> ...



Where are you getting that the Red drives don't have any error correction?  That is simply not true.  The Red drives have TLER enabled, a feature that used to be on pretty much all desktop drives.  The drive can still handle error correction on its own, however TLER limits the amount of time it will leave the controller waiting for a response.  Drives without TLER will not send a response to a command until after the error recovery is completed, if the RAID controller has to wait too long it will mark the drive as bad and drop it from the array.  TLER forces the time that the drive waits to send a response to a much shorter time, so the drive will respond to the RAID controller informing it that there was an error.  The controller can then issue the drive a command on how to handle the error correction, but if no command is issued the drive will handle the error correction(remap the bad sector) on its own.  There is no lack of error correction on a drive with TLER enabled, TLER was a standard feature in desktop drives for years until WD got greeding and disabled it(and eventually removed it entirely) on their desktop drives to stop people from buying the cheaper drives for RAID arrays.



MxPhenom 216 said:


> How does an Intel board, regardless of controller, not have RAID abilities. I was under the assumption that any board can do it these days?



Unfortunately, no.  Though you can pick up a cheap stand-alone RAID controller to set up a hardware RAID if you want.

Something like this: HighPoint RocketRAID 620 PCI-Express 2.0 x1 SATA I...

Mind you, the SATA 6.0Gb/s ports aren't really important since the mechanical drives won't even come close to using the bandwidth SATA 3.0Gb/s provides, but the card is so cheap it is a nice bonus to have SATA 6.0Gb/s ports.



cadaveca said:


> It'll be interesting to see some performance form those RED drives on SATA 3 Gb/s, too. They'll do 120 MB/sec in SATA 6 Gb/s, but so do the green drives, in my testing. Green drops to 102 in SATA 3 Gb/s..which I thought was weird.



120MB/s isn't even enough to saturate a SATA 1.5Gb/s connection...


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> Where are you getting that the Red drives don't have any error correction?  That is simply not true.  The Red drives have TLER enabled, a feature that used to be on pretty much all desktop drives.  The drive can still handle error correction on its own, however TLER limits the amount of time it will leave the controller waiting for a response.  Drives without TLER will not send a response to a command until after the error recovery is completed, if the RAID controller has to wait too long it will mark the drive as bad and drop it from the array.  TLER forces the time that the drive waits to send a response to a much shorter time, so the drive will respond to the RAID controller informing it that there was an error.  The controller can then issue the drive a command on how to handle the error correction, but if no command is issued the drive will handle the error correction(remap the bad sector) on its own.  There is no lack of error correction on a drive with TLER enabled, TLER was a standard feature in desktop drives for years until WD got greeding and disabled it(and eventually removed it entirely) on their desktop drives to stop people from buying the cheaper drives for RAID array.



That's not what WD told me, but it seems your are quite correct. Poor phone support.  Anandtech has a good review.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6157/...eview-are-nasoptimized-hdds-worth-the-premium



> • Less aggressive head parking (no IntelliPark feature)
> • Configurable Time Limited Error Recovery (TLER), with a default of 7 seconds
> • IntelliPower disk rotation speeds (comparable to Green drives)
> • Vibration reduction mechanism in hardware
> • 3-Yr. warranty and 24x7 phone support


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> That's not what WD told me, but it seems your are quite correct. Poor phone support.  Anandtech has a good review.
> 
> http://www.anandtech.com/show/6157/...eview-are-nasoptimized-hdds-worth-the-premium



WD phone support, just like most phone support these days, are idiots.  The only thing their good for is getting paid return labels when WD ships me back fault drives from RMA.

I like the no head parking, it does make the drive a little quicker when coming back from idle(another thing that RAID controllers freak out about).  But even still, in a desktop computer you don't really have to worry about the drive banging around enough to cause a head crash, and the higher performance drives don't park the head that much either, so it is no big deal.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

In all honesty, I think his main downfall of this rig is the motherboard chosen. If he can, he should RMA through the retailer and opt for another motherboard.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Well fack! So basically only issue with this build is the board. Frankly I only got it because it was in an combo deal with the CPU haha. I can send it back, and get a H67 though. That should cure all problems.

And then for doing remoting into it, I was told by one of the guys I work with to be able to remote into it, I just have to assign it a static IP, and then TS into it by the IP. Obviously have it TS enabled too.

I probalby should Have researched this stuff a little bit more, but i got to excited to build a computer haha.

Sorry for puttin yall on blast.


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 18, 2013)

I'm here just to see what you do with the case, mod wise as I have a old fully working dell system in my closet and wanted to do something with it. I am going to pull it out and see what I can do with it AMD mobo wise. Also the big dell logo on the case side looks to be a good place to pop a hole and put in a side fan.


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> WD phone support, just like most phone support these days, are idiots.  The only thing their good for is getting paid return labels when WD ships me back fault drives from RMA.



At least they had the rest right.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Well fack! So basically only issue with this build is the board. Frankly I only got it because it was in an combo deal with the CPU haha. I can send it back, and get a H67 though. That should cure all problems.
> 
> And then for doing remoting into it, I was told by one of the guys I work with to be able to remote into it, *I just have to assign it a static IP, and then TS into it by the IP*. Obviously have it TS enabled too.
> 
> ...



This is false. The PC can have any IP it wants as long as its on the same subnet, You can enter the hostname in teamviewer and it will connect. Make sure you have teamviewer set to accept LAN connections.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Well fack! So basically only issue with this build is the board. Frankly I only got it because it was in an combo deal with the CPU haha. I can send it back, and get a H67 though. That should cure all problems.
> 
> And then for doing remoting into it, I was told by one of the guys I work with to be able to remote into it, I just have to assign it a static IP, and then TS into it by the IP. Obviously have it TS enabled too.
> 
> ...



Yeah, the board is definitely the weak point.  You can either return it, or save yourself the hassle and get a dedicated RAID card like I posted.

Personally, I prefer a dedicated RAID card to onboard anyway, that is what I have all my RAID arrays set up with.  The main advantage of the dedicated RAID card is if the machine dies for some reason, you can take the card out with the drives and put it in any other PC and have access to the data in minutes.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> This is false. The PC can have any IP it wants as long as its on the same subnet, You can enter the hostname in teamviewer and it will connect. Make sure you have teamviewer set to accept LAN connections.



Won't it have the same subnet if its connected to the same local network?


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Won't it have the same subnet if its connected to the same local network?



Yes.

Are you using Teamviewer or Remote Desktop?


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Won't it have the same subnet if its connected to the same local network?



Most private networks use a 192.168.1.x or 192.168.0.x and more than likely this is the case. Just let the machine get an IP from the DHCP server then all you will need to access it on the network is the machines hostname.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> Yes.
> 
> Are you using Teamviewer or Remote Desktop?



Id like Remote Desktop because it looks normal, and I know how to use it since I use it here at work on the daily.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Id like Remote Desktop because it looks normal, and I know how to use it since I use it here at work on the daily.



Its very easy to setup and works very well with VMWARE. This is how most of our servers we install here at work are setup.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Id like Remote Desktop because it looks normal, and I know how to use it since I use it here at work on the daily.



Yeah, you don't need a static IP(though with a server I'd set one anyway as I hate using hostnames).  If possible set the staticIP through your router, not on the PC itself.

If you plan to remote into the server from the outside world then you definitely want a static IP, and forward the RDP port to the server as well.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> Yeah, you don't need a static IP(though with a server I'd set one anyway as I hate using hostnames).  If possible set the staticIP through your router, not just on the PC itself.



Yes DHCP reservations are good to setup if you like using one IP or you have software that only see the server by IP. Most routers have this capability but its is the task of finding it and setting it.

This bind's the PC's MAC address with a IP address you assign.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> Yes DHCP reservations are good to setup if you like using one IP or you have software that only see the server by IP. Most routers have this capability but its is the task of finding it and setting it.
> 
> This bind's the PC's MAC address with a IP address you assign.



Yep, this is better because that way the router doesn't try to hand out the IP address that you are using on the server.   Plus if you take the server someplace(ie a LAN Party) then you won't have to worry about the server not getting an IP address from the new LAN's DHCP or not getting a LAN connection.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

Also Phenon since we are dishing out some networking tips for you. Below is a good way to find your share folders on the network.

//Hostname/
//IPaddress/

MAP your new drives to a letter

NET USE [devicename | *] [\\computername\sharename[\volume] [password | *]]
        [/USER:[domainname\]username]
        [/USER:[dotted domain name\]username]
        [/USER:[username@dotted domain name]
        [[/DELETE] | [/PERSISTENT:{YES | NO}]]

NET USE {devicename | *} [password | *] /HOME

NET USE [/PERSISTENT:{YES | NO}]

To map to the next driver letter use

net use * \\Ip\Sharename


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Alright thanks guys. Ill have to think more about either swapping boards, or get a dedicated Raid card.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Alright thanks guys. Ill have to think more about either swapping boards, or get a dedicated Raid card.



Bad things about dedicated raid is that they can be picky with some boards and are limited (The low end cards) to 2 slots. In all honesty, I would RMA the board for a different one.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> Bad things about dedicated raid is that they can be picky with some boards and are limited (The low end cards) to 2 slots. In all honesty, I would RMA the board for a different one.



That is why I recommended the Highpoint, I've never really had any issues with them.  Being limitted to 2 ports does kind of suck though.

I guess it all comes down to how much he's saving with the Board/CPU combo and if he ever plans to use more than 2 drives in RAID.  They might even make him send back the CPU as well since they were bought as a combo, or at the very least take off the combo discount from the amount RMA'd, they might even hit him with a 15% restocking fee since there is nothing wrong with the board.

You figure the board is normally $65, minus $10 for restocking fee, minus $10 for the combo discount, minus anouther $10 to ship it back, he'd only be getting $35 back for the board.  At that rate, if I was him and was going to get a new board, I'd just keep the H61 or throw it up on ebay, and just buy a new board outright.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> That is why I recommended the Highpoint, I've never really had any issues with them.  Being limitted to 2 ports does kind of suck though.
> 
> I guess it all comes down to how much he's saving with the Board/CPU combo and if he ever plans to use more than 2 drives in RAID.  They might even make him send back the CPU as well since they were bought as a combo, or at the very least take off the combo discount from the amount RMA'd, they might even hit him with a 15% restocking fee since there is nothing wrong with the board.
> 
> You figure the board is normally $65, minus $10 for restocking fee, minus $10 for the combo discount, minus anouther $10 to ship it back, he'd only be getting $35 back for the board.  At that rate, if I was him and was going to get a new board, I'd just keep the H61 or throw it up on ebay, and just buy a new board outright.



That is what I might do. Im looking at this board to replace though.

GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA ...

Actually more this one.

Can't tell if it does hard raid though.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> That is what I might do. Im looking at this board to replace though.
> 
> GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA ...



Raid is not supported on that board.

I recommend this

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB...

Its cheaper and has a better power structure.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> Raid is not supported on that board.
> 
> I recommend this
> 
> ...



I was going to suggest this:

ASRock H77 Pro4-M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb...

It is $20 more, but I can't stand to buy a board with only 2 memory slots.  I always want to leave room for expansion.


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> I was going to suggest this:
> 
> ASRock H77 Pro4-M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb...
> 
> It is $20 more, but I can't stand to buy a board with only 2 memory slots.  I always want to leave room for expansion.



Yea that is a good board as well. Only real difference I see is the extra two slots for memory.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H77 Pro4-M/?cat=Specifications
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H77M/?cat=Specifications


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Damn all the gigabyte boards are expensive, and I wanted to stay with gigabyte too.


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Damn all the gigabyte boards are expensive, and I wanted to stay with gigabyte too.



Why?


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Damn all the gigabyte boards are expensive, and I wanted to stay with gigabyte too.



You're not going to OC. Don't worry about brand to much. Find what has the features you need. Pay attention to SATA type, too, many boards are 5x 3Gb/s, and 1x 6Gb/s, when it comes to entry boards. Meant to be SATA 6 Gb/s SSD + SATA 3 Gb/s HDD in that SSD boost crap, plus 4x additional storage, by (Intel) design.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> Why?



I don't know. They are just my go to board for most situation. peace of mind thing that they just work everytime i use them.


----------



## AlienIsGOD (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> They are just my go to board for most situation. peace of mind thing that they just work everytime i use them.



Thats how I feel about AsRock.  I have peace of mind when using their boards.


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

AlienIsGOD said:


> Thats how I feel about AsRock.  I have peace of mind when using their boards.



Most can be said of any board maker right now. ECS and Biostar, for stock daily use...offer a whole lot, for little cost. It's only when you wanna OC to the moon and such crap that brand matters. The rest is just marketing.

So much so that doing board reviews, at this point, is almost redundant. There is very little to separate one from another.


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> I don't know. They are just my go to board for most situation. peace of mind thing that they just work everytime i use them.



As dave mentioned, you are not OCing so the board really doesn't matter as long as its dependable at stock and has all your options you need.

I had a Biostar H61 for 30$ that I crunched with for a while and it was a damn trooper!


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

I guess ill go with this one then.

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB...


----------



## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> I had a Biostar H61 for 30$ that I crunched with for a while and it was a damn trooper!


No you're a trooper.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Actually glad im switching boards. From the looks of it this new asrock actually has fan headers for the case fan I have, the current board I have apparently has 1 other then the CPU fan and Ive yet to find it lol.


----------



## Aquinus (Jan 18, 2013)

As an alternative there is always this: MSI H77MA-G43 LGA 1155 Intel H77 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3....

It's 15 USD more but it gives you two PCI-E 1x slots instead of PCI slots. It offers 4 dimm slots instead of 2 as well. Not that you will be expanding a lot but if this will be a NAS the PCI-E 1x slots makes more sense if you want to add a cheap eSATA card for backups or another NIC in the future or something that could potentially use and utilize the PCI-E 1x slots as opposed to PCI slots. I also like the SATA placement on the MSI board better.


----------



## _Zod_ (Jan 18, 2013)

Does that CPU support VT-x? If not you really should have gone AMD. Should have gone AMD anyway at that price point.


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

_Zod_ said:


> Does that CPU support VT-x? If not you really should have gone AMD. Should have gone AMD anyway at that price point.



That's what I said.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Yes it supports Virtualization.


----------



## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> That's what I said.



I just get this picture of a puppy getting its nose rubbed in its own "mess" next to the front door with some one saying "Bad Sparky, BAD!".


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I just get this picture of a puppy getting its nose rubbed in its own "mess" next to the front door with some one saying "Bad Sparky, BAD!".



Hmmm...doesn't translate to Canadian.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

Newegg says it supports VT-X, but intels website says it does not support VT-d. Assuming VT-X and VT-d are different.


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Newegg says it supports VT-X, but intels website says it does not support VT-d. Assuming VT-X and VT-d are different.



 vt-d is NOT the same as vt-x. Both are forms of Hardware Virtualization.

vt-x is far more common and is probably unlikely that you need hardware with vt-d capability. 

vt-d is the Intel Device Virtualization feature that is present on some of their processors. It responsible for providing control over input and output when used with software that provides remote access through virtualization techniques. 

It provides the same functions as AMD's "AMD I/O Virtualization Technology"


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> vt-d is NOT the same as vt-x. Both are forms of Hardware Virtualization.
> 
> vt-x is far more common and is probably unlikely that you need hardware with vt-d capability.
> 
> ...



Okay, then it is just the board that is the downfall on this rig,


and for jumping on you know who about the red drives, and how I wasn't taking his help seriously.



SORRY DAVE!


----------



## AlienIsGOD (Jan 18, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> So much so that doing board reviews, at this point, is almost redundant. There is very little to separate one from another.



review an EVGA board  im sure you can run into problems there


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

What are you going to be using the VMwares for?


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> What are you going to be using the VMwares for?



Just to mess around, try out Linux, for Ducky's sake.


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Okay, then it is just the board that is the downfall on this rig,
> 
> 
> and for jumping on you know who about the red drives, and how I wasn't taking his help seriously.
> ...



You know I'm laughing right.  I really do not care what you do, but I will poke fun at you when I can.



MxPhenom 216 said:


> Just to mess around, try out Linux, for Ducky's sake.



Yeah...that's a GREAT idear...


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> You know I'm laughing right.  I really do not care what you do, but I will poke fun at you when I can.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah...that's a GREAT idear...



You probably are, but still.

I will think its a great idea till i try linux, and then rage about how shitty is 

(*Hopes Ducky is reading this*)


----------



## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> You probably are, but still.
> 
> I will think its a great idea till i try linux, and then rage about how shitty is
> 
> (*Hopes Ducky is reading this*)



Linux now? Just hit your nuts with a hammer instead.


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Just to mess around, try out Linux, for Ducky's sake.



Then VT-x or VT-d should be the least of your worries. Get the ASROCK board and create this damn server for mailman's sake!


----------



## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

brandonwh64 said:


> Then VT-x or VT-d should be the least of your worries. Get the ASROCK board and create this damn server for mailman's sake!



For my sake? I would have just bought a NAS.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> For my sake? I would have just bought a NAS.



Thats not as fun.


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Thats not as fun.



Could go all out and order a PCI dual gigabit nic card and run IPfire (custom router linux distro) on Virtual Box and have a Router/Firewall/Fileserver/VM machine all at the same time!


----------



## TheMailMan78 (Jan 18, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Thats not as fun.



I can see where buying the wrong board and having to send it back and spend even more money out of pocket would so so much more fun than just having something that works.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 18, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I can see where buying the wrong board and having to send it back and spend even more money out of pocket would so so much more fun than just having something that works.



Stop being so Emo.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 19, 2013)

Alright well, There are 2 guys at work are interested in the board so im going to sell it to one of them. Hopefully make about the same amount of money I spent on it, since its a brand new board. Never even powered on the system. So we will see how that goes, then ill get that Asrock board.

So as I was pulling the motherboard out and packing it away, I noticed something with the power buttom/LED assembly on this Dell, and that is you can literally slide out the LEDs and power switch and put in new ones in the little green holder. So I put in my new Apevia power switch, and will look at buying new LEDs to work with todays standard motherboard front panel connections. Ill have pictures posted up later tonight.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jan 19, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> For my sake? I would have just bought a NAS.



I wouldn't have, I can't stand NAS devices.  The inexpensive ones are slow as shit, and the expensive ones cost just as much as building an actual server or more and offer less functionality.



MxPhenom 216 said:


> So as I was pulling the motherboard out and packing it away, I noticed something with the power buttom/LED assembly on this Dell, and that is you can literally slide out the LEDs and power switch and put in new ones in the little green holder. So I put in my new Apevia power switch, and will look at buying new LEDs to work with todays standard motherboard front panel connections. Ill have pictures posted up later tonight.



StarTech BEZELWRKIT Replacement Power Reset LED Wi...


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 19, 2013)

About to order some modders mesh and LEDs to replace the dell ones for the power and HDD activity LED. This is turning into a case mod project too haha.



newtekie1 said:


> I wouldn't have, I can't stand NAS devices.  The inexpensive ones are slow as shit, and the expensive ones cost just as much as building an actual server or more and offer less functionality.



I think people are forgetting this is a learning experience too. Main reason why Im building the server, I want to learn how to do things over network and get a bit more accustom to VMs.

Edit:

Possibly thinking about making a 92mm hole at the bottom of this dell case to have a bottom intake. Then get some case feet to raise it up a bit. Just a thought. Let me know what you guys think.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 19, 2013)

With Apevia Power switch in.






Apevia power switch taking the dells power switch and LED assemblies place. New Blue LEDs have been ordered.





Thinking about spray painting the little green plastic thing to a black or something. The green is just lame and bright. I have black paint and shit so no extra cash spent.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 19, 2013)

Well I'm bored today and going to spray paint the green thing black. Ill post picture when Im done. should be quick.






Done


----------



## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 20, 2013)

Can't wait to see what else you do to the case. Anything inperticular you have in mind for it? That big round dell logo on the side would make a nice fan hole. LOL


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 20, 2013)

ThE_MaD_ShOt said:


> Can't wait to see what else you do to the case. Anything inperticular you have in mind for it? That big round dell logo on the side would make a nice fan hole. LOL



I was wanting to drill out a 92mm hole at the bottom of the case and get custom case feet to give the case more airflow, but i dont know yet.

I did just buy $35 worth of some modders mesh, front panel LEDs for power and HDD activity and cable management stuff.


----------



## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 20, 2013)

Cool man. I have a very simliar if not identical system in my closet and wondered what I would ever do with it. You have gave me some great ideals. I have to gut it first which is a bummer considering it is a fully functioning system. Oh well.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 20, 2013)

ThE_MaD_ShOt said:


> Cool man. I have a very simliar if not identical system in my closet and wondered what I would ever do with it. You have gave me some great ideals. I have to gut it first which is a bummer considering it is a fully functioning system. Oh well.



The P4 system that was in it before is fully functional too, but horribly slow, and ive wanted to upgrade it for a long time just for the hell of it.


----------



## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 20, 2013)

I have a matx s939 board with a x2 proc so I may be able to build a media server out of it.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 20, 2013)

I want to see how good of cable management I can get out of this case and the stuff that I have coming. I very obsessive when it comes to cable management. If theres anything in computer building that I am a perfectionist about its the cabling.


----------



## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 20, 2013)

I am also curious of how this is going to turn out for you. I will be keeping an eye on the thread.


----------



## t_ski (Jan 20, 2013)

What was the video card in the original Dell system?


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 20, 2013)

t_ski said:


> what was the video card in the original dell system?



HIS pci hd5450


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 21, 2013)

Ordered the new board:

Asrock H77M.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 22, 2013)

Got the mesh, LEDs, and some other things. The LEDs are junk. Back to just using the power button. The Mesh is a little bit different then I anticipated but itll work. For some reason Frozencpu sent me a thing of Blood Red Coolant from EK. The hell?


----------



## TheMailMan78 (Jan 22, 2013)

LED's now?

Unsub.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 22, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> LED's now?
> 
> Unsub.



Its the LEDs for the power button and HDD activity lol! :shadedshu But they dont fit. the 3mm and 5 mm. So Screw it.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 23, 2013)

*Update!*

So new goodies today, and some things put in place in preperation for the new board to come. enjoy






Modders Mesh to cover up 5.25" slots since I will not be using DVD drives.





Modders mesh to cover the opening for the front USB and panel audio. System is so old that the USB and panel connections are not standard to current motherboards. Thus having it there is useless.





Overall look. Pretty happy about it. 





Update again friday night. This one will be much bigger.


----------



## t_ski (Jan 23, 2013)

Is the floppy drive cover removable?


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 23, 2013)

I hope you plan to use stock cooler with that ASRock board..the heat-sink-less analogue VRM needs airflow.

XFast Ram software might be quite useful for your intent on playing with VMs though.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 23, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> I hope you plan to use stock cooler with that ASRock board..the heat-sink-less analogue VRM needs airflow.
> 
> XFast Ram software might be quite useful for your intent on playing with VMs though.



Yes, going to use stock cooler. I may in the future if I want to have some fun hacking up the case. Making a side window, with a 120mm side hole for side intake.



t_ski said:


> Is the floppy drive cover removable?



Yes, and I was thinking about removing the whole grey part because you can, and then getting 3M Carbon Fiber Vinyl. 




So I got one of the LEDs i got to go into the holder, the 5mm one. The 3mm is still to small to go into the other whole for the hard drive activity LED. I guess Dell might have used a 4mm LED for that, and I cannot find and LED that size for this.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 24, 2013)

Somewhat large updating coming later today since the board is coming today. So Ill rebuild it. Still don't have the drives, missed the sale yesterday the 2TB reds were going for $99 on newegg but went out of stock in minutes.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 25, 2013)

*Update*

System is built minus the drives. This case is interesting to try and get good cable management, had to do some creative things to get it to look how it does, which I think is probably the cleanest a dell will ever see.

CPU, Memory with new Motherboard.






Motherboard. H77 chipset to run Hardware RAID. The XFast Lan may come in handy for file transfers over network.





Showing off the cabling I did for the rear fan. Wrapped it around till it was the perfect length to connect to the motherboard.





Tight front panel cabling. With new power switch and blue power LED, and spray painted black plastic little holder.





Some power cabling. WIsh Asrock boards were matte black like Gigabytes higher end. Dont like the chocolate looking color when in light.















Cabling will probably get a lot more messy when I get the drives put in. Installing those will be interesting too because this case is only designed for for 1 drive, but I have some ideas.

Let me know what you guys think so far.

Also let me know what you guys think of the idea of putting 3M Carbon Fiber Vinyl over the front panel thats all light grey, and covering up the Dell emblem on the front.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jan 25, 2013)

They do make drive cages that attach to the bottom of that case, you can stack two of the cages together to hold two drives.

You can see what I'm talking about here.  You can stack two of these in that case, you can see the mounting for them on the back of the case and the bottom.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/360376374907?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 25, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> They do make drive cages that attach to the bottom of that case, you can stack two of the cages together to hold two drives.
> 
> You can see what I'm talking about here.  You can stack two of these in that case, you can see the mounting for them on the back of the case and the bottom.
> 
> http://compare.ebay.com/like/360376374907?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar



your right! Just noticed it has sport for another one of those. Nice ill buy one i think.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jan 25, 2013)

Just as a warning, if you put the screw for the second bracket in the bottom of the case you will have to put some case feet on the case.  Otherwise the screw will stick out and tear up whatever you put the computer on.

But of course you can just use the screw to hold the cage in the back of the case and not put one in on the bottom.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 25, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> Just as a warning, if you put the screw for the second bracket in the bottom of the case you will have to put some case feet on the case.  Otherwise the screw will stick out and tear up whatever you put the computer on.
> 
> But of course you can just use the screw to hold the cage in the back of the case and not put one in on the bottom.



which is what ill probably do, and not bother with the bottom screw. The case already has feet though too.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 26, 2013)

*Small update*

The server is running! Minus the hard drives haha. Thought id boot it up and get the bios updated to run Windows 8. 







Updating.........





Sweet blue LED. At first it wasn't turning on, had to switch the connection around.






Systems really quiet too, im surprised the little 92mm fan is as quiet is it is. I also set fan controlls for the CPU when it hits 50c itll go to Level 9 fan speed which is max. Im pretty sure thats what the automatic setting does haha. 

Also I don't have the option in the bios to run at 1600mhz on the memory  stuck at 1066mhz. 

EDIT: Did some research on the board again on the site, and it says if you have an ivy bridge you can take memory to 1600 if you have a sandy bridge chip (Pentium G630) max is 1333. Might be the PNY memory being wierd, max option I have is 1066.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jan 26, 2013)

The options for RAM speed are dependent on the CPU because the memory controller is on the CPU. Most Sandy chips support 1066/1333, but the G630 only supports 1066 which is why that is the only option you have.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 26, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> The options for RAM speed are dependent on the CPU because the memory controller is on the CPU. Most Sandy chips support 1066/1333, but the G630 only supports 1066 which is why that is the only option you have.



okay that makes sense then. Memory speed shouldn't have much of an effect on doing file transfers and stuff though so.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 27, 2013)

Decided to reorientate and organize the area in my desk this thing is going to go in. The shelf used to be down in the middle, so I moved it up, organized my windows, and games and some other stuff. Cleaned up the lower part for the system. I also took the door off. Debating if I will put it back on once the system is done and running.


----------



## MT Alex (Jan 27, 2013)

Is that the headset you use?  If so you should spend your money on some nice cans, instead  You spend too much time on the computer to use those Walkman style junkers.

I'd vote door back on if the temperatures stay decent.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 27, 2013)

MT Alex said:


> Is that the headset you use?  If so you should spend your money on some nice cans, instead  You spend too much time on the computer to use those Walkman style junkers.
> 
> I'd vote door back on if the temperatures stay decent.



yeah they are, but the thing is about the cans, they would be sweet, but I want to be able to have game sounds come out of my speakers, then you guys coming out of the mic, if i get nice cans I cant do that because most are 3.5mm connections and cover both ears

Would be sweet to get some like Sennheiser PC360s or something haha, or not even that. Like Turtle Beach X12s.


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 27, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> I cant do that because most are 3.5mm connections and cover both ears



..uh...what do you think I do every day...many onboard soundcards allow you to separate front panel from rear as devices, so you plug headphones in front panel, speakers in the rear plugs, and TS run on front panel plugs.

You just need to get open-ear cans, not sound isolating ones. Then when you want to play in quiet, push all sound through the cans.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 27, 2013)

What About Discrete Sound Cards?


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 27, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> What About Discrete Sound Cards?



Dependso n the card, but usually the same applies.


If not, then you can usually use digital out and analog together, as I do with my D2X. I use digital out to my amp, then analogue for cans.

lots of options there, just a matter of picking what works best with what ya got.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 27, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Dependso n the card, but usually the same applies.
> 
> 
> If not, then you can usually use digital out and analog together, as I do with my D2X. I use digital out to my amp, then analogue for cans.
> ...



Yeah, I have an HT Omega Striker and I know you can't split front and rear with it. But i have been wanting to upgrade to a PCIe sound card.


----------



## cadaveca (Jan 27, 2013)

Then you can use onboard and the add-in. That's even easier. Just use onboard for TS.



Like I said, many options.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 27, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Then you can use onboard and the add-in. That's even easier. Just use onboard for TS.
> 
> 
> 
> Like I said, many options.



oh, I didn't even think about that!


----------



## TheMailMan78 (Jan 28, 2013)

Mine are split also.......you need a new desk too man. IMHO.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 28, 2013)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Mine are split also.......you need a new desk too man. IMHO.



Oh yeah, ive needed one for a while. But won't be worth it since im moving out to WSU in the fall so.


----------



## MT Alex (Jan 28, 2013)

Go Cougars!  

Huck the Fuskies!


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 28, 2013)

MT Alex said:


> Go Cougars!
> 
> Huck the Fuskies!



Meh, both of them suck when it comes to football. Basically the Apple Cup is just a Game of Suck. "Who can Suck the Least"


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 9, 2013)

Ordered 2 2TB Western Digital Red drives this morning. Went on sale again, and jumped on it. Just need Windows 8 now.


----------



## newtekie1 (Feb 9, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Ordered 2 2TB Western Digital Red drives this morning.



Glad you mentioned that, it made me check the 3TB drives and they were on sale too, so I bought 3!


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 13, 2013)

*Update*

Drives are here an installed. 







Applying the 3M double sided foam tape.





Drives installed





Started the cabling. The cable management may actually look good after its all done with the way im going to route the sata cables. Looks lame with the Orange cables though haha, but oh well. I will route the SATA power cables out through the front and back in like I did the others. I am getting Windows 8 Pro tomorrow. Im not going to connect the 2 WD Red drives till after I have the OS installed to the SSD first.





I also might toss this old HD4850 in the rig as i might be using it as a backup rig too, when my main rig is down when im doing a water cooling upgrade and rebuild.


----------



## MT Alex (Feb 13, 2013)

Looking good, Mayonnaise!


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

Machine is up and running now. Ill have pictures later tonight, but im having trouble trying to connect to it via RDP, with the only Admin account on the system. Maybe i need to make another one with admin rights and a password. Will try.


----------



## newtekie1 (Feb 15, 2013)

RDP will not allow connection with an account with no password.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> RDP will not allow connection with an account with no password.



Okay so thats my issue. Ill add a password to the admin account i made and see if that fixes it


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

yep, that fixed it. I can now TS, and I have the 2TB Raid 1 array shared, and mapped on my main rig! Win!


----------



## newtekie1 (Feb 15, 2013)

Lucky you, I added the 3x3TB drives to my server(Rig2) last night the motherboard died. 

Looks like I'll be buying a new board/cpu/memory.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> Lucky you, I added the 3x3TB drives to my server(Rig2) last night the motherboard died.
> 
> Looks like I'll be buying a new board/cpu/memory.



What was it running before?


----------



## Krazy Owl (Feb 15, 2013)

I like this case. This is rock solid. I had one and sometimes I just sit on my case even if I'm 210 pounds. Now it's making happiness of a elementary school girl I gave to.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

Everything is running perfectly, except for a VM issue i still need to look at. Got Remote desktop running solidly, and got my GoPro videos I already have recorded and editted transferred over. Along with all my game saves backed up.


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## Krazy Owl (Feb 15, 2013)

That's nice. Keep going man. I know nothing about virtual lan or servers but I appreciate to see some guys recycling hardware to save on our planet.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

Krazy Owl said:


> That's nice. Keep going man. I know nothing about virtual lan or servers but I appreciate to see some guys recycling hardware to save on our planet.



I didnt recyle anything but the case. All the old parts are sitting here in a box. I may attempt to sell them, or take them to computer recycle place and recycle


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

*Pictures!*

Finished build. Cabling and all















Doing a transfer from GoPro slow SD card to the mapped network drive. Going from my main rig, to the server topped out at about 160mb/s





Now for comparison pictures

Before





After: Much cleaner don't you think? 





Now to figure out how to make my rig automatically connect to the network drive on boot up. I power it off every night, and will leave my server running 24/7 since it barely consumes any watts. I booted back up my main rig this morning, and it failed to connect to the network drive. I read I might have to make a batch file that starts up on boot every time so it reconnects the network drive automatically. Waiting for Newtekie to see if he has information on this.


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## Chryonn (Feb 15, 2013)

Clean, tidy and good-looking build there, nicely done


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## Krazy Owl (Feb 15, 2013)

Yes I seen it but still the case is a big part that often don't finish where it should be. I had almost the same setup before and gave it. You could use the parts put in it Xubuntu and start downloading with torrent.


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## newtekie1 (Feb 15, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> What was it running before?



The specs are still listed for the old hardware.  Celeron E3200@4.0GHz / eVGA 780i A1 / 8GB G.Skill DDR2-800 4-4-4-12

I ordered a A4-5300 / AsRock FM2A75 Pro4 / 8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24.  I also ordered a new NZXT Source 210 case because the old case was a too cramped.



MxPhenom 216 said:


> I booted back up my main rig this morning, and it failed to connect to the network drive. I read I might have to make a batch file that starts up on boot every time so it reconnects the network drive automatically. Waiting for Newtekie to see if he has information on this.



You shouldn't have to do that, when you boot your main rig it should just reconnect the mapped drive.  Though I have seen sometime where when a computer boots it will say it couldn't reconnect all the network drives.  You just go into computer and if the mapped drive has a red X on it you double click it to reconnect, but even that shouldn't be necessary unless for some reason your main computer isn't getting network access right when it boots. If you keep having problems with the mapped drive not reconnecting after a reboot and it annoys you to the point that you really want to automate it you can write a batch file to remap the drive on every boot. The one I use looks like this:


```
ping [B][COLOR="Red"]192.168.1.1[/COLOR][/B] -n 10
net use [B][COLOR="red"]s:[/COLOR][/B] /d
net use [B][COLOR="red"]s:[/COLOR][/B] \\[B][COLOR="red"]server[/COLOR][/B]\[B][COLOR="red"]share[/COLOR][/B] /user:[B][COLOR="red"]newtekie1[/COLOR][/B] [B][COLOR="red"]password[/COLOR][/B] /PERSISTENT:Y
```

The ping command pinging my router at the beginning just adds about a 10 second wait time before the actual mapping command executes to make sure your network connection is established.  And if it isn't established it will actually wait longer, because it the ping command will have to wait for the timeout.

The first net use command delete the shared drive, I do this to make sure the second command complete successfully and doesn't conflict.  Sometimes if you don't don't delete the mapped drive first the command to remap the drive won't work.

And finally the last line maps the share named "share" located on the computer named "server" to drive letter S with my username and password(which isn't really password ).

So everything in red you are basically going to have to change to match your setup.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 15, 2013)

Krazy Owl said:


> Yes I seen it but still the case is a big part that often don't finish where it should be. I had almost the same setup before and gave it. You could use the parts put in it Xubuntu and start downloading with torrent.



I refrain from pirating anything.



newtekie1 said:


> The specs are still listed for the old hardware.  Celeron E3200@4.0GHz / eVGA 780i A1 / 8GB G.Skill DDR2-800 4-4-4-12
> 
> I ordered a A4-5300 / AsRock FM2A75 Pro4 / 8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24.  I also ordered a new NZXT Source 210 case because the old case was a too cramped.
> 
> ...



Thats exactly what windows told me, and I had to do the whole remap process because I didn't know you could just double click to reconnect.


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## Krazy Owl (Feb 15, 2013)

Where did I talk about pirating? You download whatever you want I'm not going to tell you what to download legal or not.


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## ChaoticG8R (Feb 15, 2013)

Krazy Owl said:


> Where did I talk about pirating? You download whatever you want I'm not going to tell you what to download legal or not.



Torrent =/= Legal.


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## MT Alex (Feb 15, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> I refrain from pirating anything.





ChaoticG8R said:


> Torrent =/= Legal.


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## AlienIsGOD (Feb 16, 2013)

LOL, u can use torrent clients to d/l legit software.  People need to stop thinking that a torrent is the devil, cause its not and its also a very useful and quick way to d/l.


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## TRWOV (Feb 16, 2013)

ChaoticG8R said:


> Torrent =/= Legal.



The WoW client download is torrented (sic). Torrents are illegal, therefore WoW is illegal.


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## newtekie1 (Feb 16, 2013)

Yes, a very small percentage of software is distributed legally through torrents.  But, lets face it, for those few pieces of software you don't need a box dedicated to downloading torrents.

This thread doesn't need to turn into a discussion on the legitimacy of torrents.


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## Krazy Owl (Feb 16, 2013)

I just talked about hardware and the other one started with piracy. Some people have brain farts!


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## micropage7 (Feb 16, 2013)

just using tape?
maybe its the simple way but i guess for long term you should screw it or put it on 5,25 inch bay


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 16, 2013)

micropage7 said:


> http://img.techpowerup.org/130213/IMG_1385.jpg
> just using tape?
> maybe its the simple way but i guess for long term you should screw it or put it on 5,25 inch bay



Its fine. Very strong tape.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 16, 2013)

@Newtekie

Happened again this morning. Im going to go ahead and try your batch file. For the ser and password. Is it straight just user: Username Password or User: Username Passward: Password?

EDIT: nevermind i got it. First simple batch file ive ever written.


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## newtekie1 (Feb 16, 2013)

That is odd...  I've actually never seen that error before.

If you are using the same username on both the server and your main computer make sure you're using the same password on both computers as well.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 16, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> That is odd...  I've actually never seen that error before.
> 
> If you are using the same username on both the server and your main computer make sure you're using the same password on both computers as well.



I just ran the batch file and it fixed it lol. I have it now in my startup folder so itll happen automatically. Simple enough.


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## newtekie1 (Feb 16, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> I just ran the batch file and it fixed it lol. I have it now in my startup folder so itll happen automatically. Simple enough.



Yep, that works too.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 16, 2013)

newtekie1 said:


> Yep, that works too.



Is it possible to put in the batch file a bit of code so that DOS window doesnt pop up, stays hidden?


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## TRWOV (Feb 16, 2013)

micropage7 said:


> http://img.techpowerup.org/130213/IMG_1385.jpg
> just using tape?
> maybe its the simple way but i guess for long term you should screw it or put it on 5,25 inch bay



I've used that to mount mirrors, frames, etc., it can hold up to 2 pounds. An SSD is nothing for it.


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## t_ski (Feb 16, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Is it possible to put in the batch file a bit of code so that DOS window doesnt pop up, stays hidden?



Edit the settings for the shortcut so it runs minimized?


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## newtekie1 (Feb 16, 2013)

t_ski said:


> Edit the settings for the shortcut so it runs minimized?



Yep, that is the easiest way.  It isn't totally invisible, but it it doesn't get in the way.

You can also adjust the number of times the router is pinged from 10 to something lower if you computer isn't having problems with getting a network connection when you first log on.  I start at 10 and lower it, if the first ping comes back sucessful you can probably actually just delete the ping line entirely and the window won't be open long.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 19, 2013)

So the batch file works perfectly on boot up. Connects the drive without issues everytime.


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## TechNerd1300 (Oct 20, 2013)

*The old 3000 parts*

You still got them? I'm interested in them for some work I need to do to mine, are you in America?


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## MxPhenom 216 (Oct 20, 2013)

TechNerd1300 said:


> You still got them? I'm interested in them for some work I need to do to mine, are you in America?



Yes, and Yes. I am not currently home right now though, but ill be back thanks giving if you want them I can send them too you.


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## TechNerd1300 (Oct 20, 2013)

Well thanks, I'll be sure to check in again around Thanksgiving. These going to cost anything or are they free?


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## MxPhenom 216 (Oct 20, 2013)

TechNerd1300 said:


> Well thanks, I'll be sure to check in again around Thanksgiving. These going to cost anything or are they free?



Probably just the cost of shipping. I was going to have them go to PC Recycle Anyways.


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## TechNerd1300 (Oct 20, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Probably just the cost of shipping. I was going to have them go to PC Recycle Anyways.



Well that sounds fine, I'll PM you to figure out if the shipping is worth the parts value considering you live across America from where I live at Thanksgiving.


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## TechNerd1300 (Oct 20, 2013)

Check the PM I sent you


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