Custom Meshlicious 9x HDD Plex NAS unRAID Server
by Stoph C Posted on: 7/14/2023
Build Description
Started using Plex for streaming personal media but filled up the 8TB external HDD pretty quick! Figured this was the perfect opportunity to get into the world of servers. I wanted something that was SFF, dead silent, had plenty of HDD bays, and still looked good to set on my desk. Didn't like the look of the Node 304 or NR200 but when the SSUPD Meshlicious came out, I knew I could make it unique and exactly what I wanted. Decided to upgrade my gaming rig during this process and use those parts for the server or buy used. Server GPU was omitted since I have my own gaming rig which can handle heavy duties if necessary. Check out both rigs in the last photo!
Using unRAID has been a great choice of server OS and an amazing learning tool to get into servers! Since it's used primarily for Plex by my family, drives are spun down most of the time. Plex libraries are split up into different drives allowing for a single HDD spin up at a time depending on the movie/show. The system remains dead silent, even when 1 or 2 drives are in use. Currently have 3x 18TB Seagate Exos HDDs and 6x 6TB Seagate Ironwolf HDDs. Noise and thermals have been a non-issue. Even during 24-hour data transfer to all drives at once, HDDs never hit above 38 degrees. Incredibly happy with the way it came out and couldn't recommend the SSUPD Meshlicious enough as an insanely versatile and beautiful SFF case!
Custom Mods:
- Created a 3x triple HDD sled system within the GPU chamber for a capacity of 9x HDDs. Drives mounted using 3/8" foam material as vibration dampeners. Each HDD sled has 0.125" clearance between each other allowing airflow. Sleds are bottom-mounted w/ screws and friction magnetic mounted on top with absolutely no wobble without being turned completely 90 degrees. Able to unscrew from the bottom of the case and slide out the top for ease of adding HDDs.
- Thermalright AXP-90I w/ Noctua NF-A12x15 Chromax installed using custom 1mm steel rod.
- 4x Arctic P8 PWM PST CO in rear HDD chamber using magnetic tape.
- 8600k delidded (9900k delidded for gaming rig).
- Corsair SF600 Gold w/ Noctua NF-A9x14 fan swap (Corsair SF750 Platinum for gaming rig).
- Painted custom hardware matte black.
- Added RGB last minute for extra server fps!
Specs:
Case: SSUPD Meshlicious
CPU: 8600k delidded (owned)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP-90I
MOBO: ROG Strix Z390I
RAM: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 16GB 3000mhz (owned)
SSD: SK Hynix 1TB M.2 NVME (Plex metadata storage, downloads, AppData, backups)
SSD: Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 NVME (VMs & backups) (owned)
HDD: 3x 18TB Seagate Exos and 6x 6TB Seagate Ironwolf (Plex media, personal storage, backups)
SATA Card: BEYIMEI PCIe 6x SATA port card
PSU: Corsair SF600 Gold (owned)
CPU Fan: Noctua NF-A12x15 Chromax
Intake Fan: 2x Arctic P14 PWM PST CO 140mm
Exhaust Fan: 4x Arctic P8 PWM PST CO 80mm
LEDs: Phanteks NEON 2x 400mm
Using unRAID has been a great choice of server OS and an amazing learning tool to get into servers! Since it's used primarily for Plex by my family, drives are spun down most of the time. Plex libraries are split up into different drives allowing for a single HDD spin up at a time depending on the movie/show. The system remains dead silent, even when 1 or 2 drives are in use. Currently have 3x 18TB Seagate Exos HDDs and 6x 6TB Seagate Ironwolf HDDs. Noise and thermals have been a non-issue. Even during 24-hour data transfer to all drives at once, HDDs never hit above 38 degrees. Incredibly happy with the way it came out and couldn't recommend the SSUPD Meshlicious enough as an insanely versatile and beautiful SFF case!
Custom Mods:
- Created a 3x triple HDD sled system within the GPU chamber for a capacity of 9x HDDs. Drives mounted using 3/8" foam material as vibration dampeners. Each HDD sled has 0.125" clearance between each other allowing airflow. Sleds are bottom-mounted w/ screws and friction magnetic mounted on top with absolutely no wobble without being turned completely 90 degrees. Able to unscrew from the bottom of the case and slide out the top for ease of adding HDDs.
- Thermalright AXP-90I w/ Noctua NF-A12x15 Chromax installed using custom 1mm steel rod.
- 4x Arctic P8 PWM PST CO in rear HDD chamber using magnetic tape.
- 8600k delidded (9900k delidded for gaming rig).
- Corsair SF600 Gold w/ Noctua NF-A9x14 fan swap (Corsair SF750 Platinum for gaming rig).
- Painted custom hardware matte black.
- Added RGB last minute for extra server fps!
Specs:
Case: SSUPD Meshlicious
CPU: 8600k delidded (owned)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP-90I
MOBO: ROG Strix Z390I
RAM: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 16GB 3000mhz (owned)
SSD: SK Hynix 1TB M.2 NVME (Plex metadata storage, downloads, AppData, backups)
SSD: Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 NVME (VMs & backups) (owned)
HDD: 3x 18TB Seagate Exos and 6x 6TB Seagate Ironwolf (Plex media, personal storage, backups)
SATA Card: BEYIMEI PCIe 6x SATA port card
PSU: Corsair SF600 Gold (owned)
CPU Fan: Noctua NF-A12x15 Chromax
Intake Fan: 2x Arctic P14 PWM PST CO 140mm
Exhaust Fan: 4x Arctic P8 PWM PST CO 80mm
LEDs: Phanteks NEON 2x 400mm
