[SOLVED] Debating HDD Setup for New Server

[SparkyTech934]

Hey everyone! I'd love to hear some ideas/opinions about what I've got going on as I prepare to deploy a server for the first time, specifically about storage setup

I'm looking at storage solutions for my newly purchased (used) HP Z640 Workstation. I got it for $360 with the following specs:

• 2x Intel Xeon E5-2620v3, 6 core - 12 thread @ 2.4GHz and 3.2GHz Turbo. Intel C612 server grade chipset. (Dual CPU Workstation)
• 16GB Samsung registered ECC DDR4 memory.
• GTX 660 GPU
• 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD (will be replacing both)

Planned upgrades to the machine:

• Another kit of identical RAM (for total of 32GB).
• Throw in a Crucial MX500 500GB SSD that I have laying around.
• Intel NIC for VM external IP.
• StarTech 2x 5.25" bay for 3x 3.5" drives

Onto the actual body of the post..
Now, as I'm preparing to deploy the server (will likely be running Windows 2019 server standard) for use mainly as a web/storage server using Nextcloud in a VM, I'm considering which drive to get, and where to get them. For reference, I will be running a RAID 5 setup with 4x 3.5" drives (4 slots maximum in the machine for 3.5" drives). Unless I get a better suggestion for drive choice, I've settled on the WD Re Enterprise 4TB drives (Model # WD4000FYYZ). These RAID edition, enterprise class drives should be perfect for my setup.

The thing I'm really questioning is, would it be a better idea to get a great deal through eBay on some of these drives? I have bought used drives on eBay before, and actually been quite surprised by the low power-on hours that some of these resellers ship the drives out with. The drives are ~$95.00 a piece on Amazon or Newegg, but I truly believe I can get a set of 4 on eBay for about $45 a piece ($180 total). Thoughts on this?

Would love to hear if anyone has had good experiences buying used drives in the past. Also, feel free to make any suggestions with deployment, etc. Thanks, I appreciate you all!

 

[kanewolf]

Hey everyone! I'd love to hear some ideas/opinions about what I've got going on as I prepare to deploy a server for the first time, specifically about storage setup

I'm looking at storage solutions for my newly purchased (used) HP Z640 Workstation. I got it for $360 with the following specs:

• 2x Intel Xeon E5-2620v3, 6 core - 12 thread @ 2.4GHz and 3.2GHz Turbo. Intel C612 server grade chipset. (Dual CPU Workstation)
• 16GB Samsung registered ECC DDR4 memory.
• GTX 660 GPU
• 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD (will be replacing both)

Planned upgrades to the machine:

• Another kit of identical RAM (for total of 32GB).
• Throw in a Crucial MX500 500GB SSD that I have laying around.
• Intel NIC for VM external IP.
• StarTech 2x 5.25" bay for 3x 3.5" drives

Onto the actual body of the post..
Now, as I'm preparing to deploy the server (will likely be running Windows 2019 server standard) for use mainly as a web/storage server using Nextcloud in a VM, I'm considering which drive to get, and where to get them. For reference, I will be running a RAID 5 setup with 4x 3.5" drives (4 slots maximum in the machine for 3.5" drives). Unless I get a better suggestion for drive choice, I've settled on the WD Re Enterprise 4TB drives (Model # WD4000FYYZ). These RAID edition, enterprise class drives should be perfect for my setup.

The thing I'm really questioning is, would it be a better idea to get a great deal through eBay on some of these drives. I have bought used drives on eBay before, and actually been quite surprised by the low power-on hours that some of these resellers ship the drives out with. The drives are ~$95.00 a piece on Amazon or Newegg, but I truly believe I can get a set of 4 on eBay for about $45 a piece ($180 total). Thoughts on this?

Would love to hear if anyone has had good experiences buying used drives in the past. Also, feel free to make any suggestions with deployment, etc. Thanks, I appreciate you all!

If you have two E5-2620v3 CPUs then for maximum performance you need 8 DIMMs. Each CPU is quad channel memory controller. So with two CPUs you want 8 DIMMs.
And for VMs the more memory the better.

 

[SparkyTech934]

If you have two E5-2620v3 CPUs then for maximum performance you need 8 DIMMs. Each CPU is quad channel memory controller. So with two CPUs you want 8 DIMMs.
And for VMs the more memory the better.

Great catch, thanks!

Having 8 DIMMs is out of the question for now (budget thing), but that would be the ideal conclusion to this project. Plus the VM environment is exactly what I was thinking, the more memory the better. Any opinion on the drives? Thanks again for the post!