This is my current (early 2020) Unraid dream build. I might never be able to actually build it but the ambition is there. It’s never a bad idea to set ambitious goals, right? My Unraid dream build includes a Fractal Design Define 7 (or Define 7 XL) computer case, a power-efficient six-core Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, plenty of ECC (error-correcting code) memory, multiple big hard drives, a decently sized cache pool, and an X470D4U2-2T motherboard from AsRock Rack.
This Unraid dream build would provide me with ample storage space for my photography and videography, enough computing power for a few Docker containers or maybe even a Linux virtual machine if needed, and data parity. Maybe one day, if you use my affiliate links, I will be able to build my Unraid dream build for real.
The perfect case for Unraid
While researching my Unraid dream build, I was dead set on the Fractal Design Node 804. In my eyes, it was the perfect case for a DIY NAS running Unraid. It’s quite a small cube-shaped box that houses up to ten 3.5″ hard drives and two 2.5″ drives. Someone on the Unraid forum even managed to fit in 12 hard drives with some slight modifications. I really like the design of Fractal Design cases and their focus is mainly on silent cases which is a must in a flat like mine where I can’t easily hide the machine.
Update: It has been brought to my attention that the Fractal Design Node 804 lacks centre screws on the hard drive mounts. This makes it impossible to mount any large hard drives without modifications. For that reason, I can’t recommend the Node 804 to anyone building an Unraid NAS.
Then came the Fractal Design Define 7 XL (and Define 7)
Everything changed when Fractal Design announced the Define 7 and, perhaps more importantly, the Define 7 XL.
The Fractal Define 7 fits 14 and the Fractal Define 7 XL fits a whopping 18 3.5″ hard drives. If you were to fill the Fractal Define 7 XL with 16 TB Seagate IronWolf drives, you would have 288 TB of raw storage in a single tower case. Even with two parity drives, you would be left with 224 TB of usable disk space.
While the 3.5″ hard drives in both the Fractal Design Define 7 and Define 7 XL aren’t hot-swappable, which definitely would be nice in an Unraid build, they are screwed into caddies which makes removing them as easy as pie. As we’ve come to expect from Fractal Design, both cases look great. They definitely wouldn’t be improper next to a media console or as a secondary desktop in an office. Both have a great layout and are, according to the reviews I have watched and read, easy to build in.
Update: Since writing this article, the Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL has been announced. The Meshify 2 XL is very similar to the Define 7 XL but offers better airflow, making it the better choice for Unraid in almost all situations. The Define 7 XL is quieter under load but at the cost of cooling. Read my full article on the Meshify 2 XL here.
Case fans from no one else but Noctua
When it comes to case fans there is only one viable option in my opinion: Noctua. Noctua makes the best performance/noise ratio case fans and in addition to that, they are also very reliable. Noctua even has a line of fans meant for industrial heavy-duty applications. I think those would make perfect sense for my Unraid dream build.
There isn’t a single RGB LED to be found on Noctua fans, and their brown colour scheme has been criticized by some reviewers (though there is also the chromax line of fans, which are black). But an Unraid build doesn’t need to be flashy, it has to perform reliably and in my case quietly. Noctua fans are by no means cheap, but they do come with a 6-year warranty and a good set of accessories in the box.
Power supply (PSU): Seasonic powers my Unraid dream build
I’d use a Platinum- or even Titanium-rated power supply (PSU) from Seasonic to power my Unraid dream build. They’re highly regarded in the community and are competitively priced. For an Unraid build, you should be looking at an efficient power supply, one rated at least 80 Plus Platinum, as it will most likely be running 24/7.
The 80 Plus Platinum rating means that the power supply is rated for at least 90% efficiency at 20% load, 92% at 50% load, and 89% at 100% load and is only outclassed by the 80 Plus Titanium rating.
Motherboard: AsRock Rack X470D4U2-2T
It should be pretty obvious that each Unraid dream build is going to be dependent on its use. Some of you might even disagree with the case I’ve chosen. But as my Unraid dream build would be mainly used for storage, I would need enough room for many drives.
In my build, I’m not looking for an insane amount of computing power or a platform to host a demanding Plex server (although a GPU could be added later on). Considering that, server-grade hardware would be a bit overkill. And because I don’t need to do any hardware encoding/decoding I also don’t necessarily need an Intel CPU.
- Supports AMD AM4 Socket Ryzen Series CPUs
- Supports 4x DDR4 ECC and non-ECC UDIMM, max. 128 GB
- Supports up to 6 x SATA3 6.0Gb/s (inculded 1 SATA DOM), 2 x M.2
- Integrated IPMI 2.0 with KVM and Dedicated LAN (RTL8211E)
- Supports2 x RJ45 10G base-T by Intel X550-AT2
The motherboard I’ve picked out for my Unraid dream build is the X470D4U2-2T from AsRock Rack. Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is an AMD Ryzen motherboard for server use. There are a few reasons why I’d go for this board over a consumer motherboard:
- It has 2×RJ45 10GBASE-T by Intel X550-AT2
- You can run it headless, meaning there’s no need to install a GPU
- It supports error-correcting code (ECC) RAM
- It has enough PCIe expansion for my needs
- An IPMI port which allows remote management is included
- No RGB LEDs!
- AM4 socket: Ready for AMD Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series, plus 5000 and 4000 G-series desktop processors.Bluetooth v5.2
- Best gaming connectivity: PCIe 4.0-ready, dual M.2 slots, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, plus HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.2 output
- Smooth networking: On-board WiFi 6E (802.11ax) and Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet with ASUS LANGuard
- AMD AM4 socket: Ready for 2nd and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors to maximize connectivity and speed with up to two M.2 Drives, USB 3.2 Gen2 and AMD StoreMI
- Enhanced power solution: Military-grade TUF components, Pro Cool socket and Digi plus VRM for maximum durability
- Comprehensive Cooling: Active PCH heatsink, VRM heatsink, M.2 heatsink, hybrid fan headers and Fan Xpert
- Supports AMD AM4 Socket Ryzen 2000 and 3000 Series processors
- 10 Power Phase Design; Supports DDR4 4066+ (OC); 2 Pie 4. 0 x16, 2 Pie 4. 0 x1, 1 M. 2(Key E) For WIFI
- AMD Quad Crossfire. and Crossfire. Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
The choice of CPU mainly boils down to efficiency. Considering that, I would stick a six-core Ryzen 5 3600 with a TDP of 65 watts into my Unraid dream build. It should have enough raw power for loads of Docker containers and enough cores for a couple of Linux virtual machine. The Ryzen 7 3700X would be a nice upgrade, but I would never use the computing power of which that CPU is capable of.
The Ryzen 5 3600 has six cores which can boost up to 4.2 GHz and have a base clock of 3.6 GHz. This CPU comes with a Wraith Stealth Cooler, which is pretty decent and depending on the usage (and how much heat is being generated by other components) wouldn’t necessarily require an upgrade.
AMD Ryzen 3000 Series
Table could not be displayed.AMD Ryzen 5000 Series
CPU cooler: Stock or Noctua
Were I to consider an upgraded CPU cooler, I would definitely pick one from Noctua’s line-up for my Unraid dream build. They’re quiet, well-built, and should be capable of cooling any CPU around the clock. As an Unraid build’s case is generally large, there shouldn’t be any limitations on how big the CPU cooler can be.
The reason I would not go for an all-in-one water cooler (AIO) is simple: I do not, and never will, trust water around my electronics. Furthermore, the pumps of AIO water coolers are known to fail over time, which is something I wouldn’t want happening to my Unraid dream build. If a CPU cooler from Noctua were to fail, all I’d have to replace was the fan and not the whole thing.
Going with a CPU cooler with two fans (for example, the Noctua NH-D15) would give you added reliability. Depending on which CPU you go with, the Noctua NH-D15 would be overkill. But in case one of the two fans was to fail, you would possibly still be able to use the system until a replacement arrives.
RAM is memory
I’d go with error-correcting code memory (ECC memory) in my Unraid dream build, just for the peace of mind. ECC memory is a type of memory that can detect and correct n-bit data corruption which occurs in memory. It is used in most computers where data corruption cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. And I’ll go ahead and include my Unraid dream build in that category.
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The X470D4U2-2T motherboard supports dual channel DDR4 memory technology and can take on up to 128 GB of it. It is important you make sure that the motherboard will accept the memory you are purchasing. Generally, you will find a list of tested and compatible memory on the product page.
Host Bus Adapter (HBA): Dell PERC H310
The X470D4U2-2T motherboard has six SATA ports onboard. Obviously, six hard drives aren’t all I would want in my Unraid dream build. Luckily, I currently use a Dell PERC H310 card, which I would also use in any future build. With its eight SATA ports and the six SATA ports on the motherboard, I’d definitely be sorted for a while. Were I to run out of SATA ports, I’d just get another Dell PERC H310 card or use a SAS expander. A full list of compatible HBAs can be found on the Unraid Wiki.
HBAs, such as the Dell PERC H310, can be found on second-hand marketplaces such as eBay for comparatively little money. Because the Dell PERC H310 uses a SAS2008 processor it can be flashed with IT firmware which is required for use with Unraid. There are many guides online on how to do that.
Unraid cache disks
For my Unraid dream build’s cache disks, I’d be using two high-quality NVMe drives, such as the Samsung 970 Pro or the newer and faster Samsung 980 Pro with an X570 motherboard. The drives would be mirrored because I like my data to be safe and the read/write speed of a single NVMe drive is faster than the gigabit network I currently have.
Hard drives for my Unraid dream build
And finally, the most important thing inside an Unraid dream build which will be used as a NAS: the hard drives. Basically, I would just stick to the largest drives rated for use in a NAS. Which at the moment would be the 16 TB Ironwolf/Ironwolf Pro from Seagate or the 18 TB WD Red Pro. While I do currently use mainly WD hard drives I would avoid them in any future build due to their shady practices in the past. Two of the drives would be used as parity disks.
Seagate IronWolf hard drives
WD Red hard drives
Nice site, definitely helping me now when buolöding and configuring my first Unraid server. This article inspired me to go big. Now putting together this:
PCPartPicker part List: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/sb2GRT
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming X ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 64 GBDDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
Storage: 2* Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: 5* Seagate IronWolf NAS 3 TB 3.5″ 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Seagate IronWolf Pro 14 TB 3.5″ 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: 4* Seagate EXOS Enterprise X18 18 TB 3.5″ 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: PNY Quadro P2000 5 GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 XL ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair HX Platinum 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Case Fan: 7* Noctua A15 PWM 140 mm Fan
UPS: APC SMC1500I UPS
Custom: Asus DUAL-GTX1060-O6G
Custom: DELL H310 SAS 8Port 12Gb/s PCIE3.0
804 works fine. They made adapters https://www.fractal-design-shop.de/Hard-Drive-Adapter-HDD-6TB-White