Memory Speed - How to know what to set

[Bizarro252]

Hello!
I am currently building out a new box to move my FreeNAS system to and I am confused on what I should attempt to run the memory at. The world I am used to is unlocked processors and overclocking, so stable server grade builds are new to me :)
Do I follow the spec listed from Intel regardless of the speed of the modules or that the motherboard can support? I believe the memory controller is now on the CPU itself, so I should follow that - right?

Specs:
GIGABYTE C246M (states can run up to 2666)
2x 16GB 2666 Crucial ECC UDIMMs
Intel i3 9100 (states on Intel ARK page speed of 2400)

I am guessing that I COULD run at 2666, but I am going for stability here not all out max speed so what is the wise stable choice? Follow Intel and run 2400? I get the final parts in tomorrow so we will see what it decides to default to...


Thanks!

 

[Chris Moore]

I am guessing that I COULD run at 2666, but I am going for stability here not all out max speed so what is the wise stable choice? Follow Intel and run 2400? I get the final parts in tomorrow so we will see what it decides to default to...

This is not ideal hardware for a server. The integrated audio gives it away as NOT being a server board. I would suggest sending that hardware back and getting something from our recommended hardware list:

FreeNAS® Quick Hardware Guide
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/freenas®-quick-hardware-guide.7/

Hardware Recommendations Guide Rev. 1e) 2017-05-06
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

Hardware Recommendations by @cyberjock - from 26 Aug 2014 - and still valid
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

Proper Power Supply Sizing Guidance
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/

 

[Chris Moore]

The world I am used to is unlocked processors and overclocking, so stable server grade builds are new to me

You shouldn't even be thinking about overclocking a server and a proper server board won't give you the option.

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

I am guessing that I COULD run at 2666, but I am going for stability here not all out max speed so what is the wise stable choice? Follow Intel and run 2400? I get the final parts in tomorrow so we will see what it decides to default to...

My personal philosophy WRT memory speed is that because FreeNAS is a storage appliance that generally memory speed won't produce noticeable improvements in performance. The best way to improve performance for your dollar is to get ram modules in the largest size supported by your board, get as many of them as you can afford, consider adding a SLOG if you're doing a lot of sync writes, consider 10Gb NIC if you're using a ton of network bandwidth (for example from a lot of concurrent users), consider adding an L2ARC if you've maxed out your board's memory and you're getting a low ARC hit ratio. There are some "free" ways to improve performance as well such as by tweaking some settings and by using appropriate pool layouts for the type of use your system will see.

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot; there are exist people who have built all flash storage in the name of performance. If you've got lots of dollars you don't want anymore, this is a great way to go. :)

If you've enjoyed tweaking and maxing out gaming boards in the past I think you'll enjoy doing it for FreeNAS. There is a ton of tweaking and customization you can do, but you'll be turning different knobs than you do with gaming rigs.

 

[jgreco]

There's no point in screwing with the memory settings on a NAS. Don't do it. At best you will not go any faster (that is not a typo). At worst you can cause corruption and risk your data. The limiting factor on a NAS is always the network. The network is far slower than the slowest memory your system will support.

If I had the option between 64GB of the fastest memory a board supported and 128GB of the slowest, I would pick the 128GB slowest *every* time. It is the amount of memory, not the speed, that wins out for a NAS.

 

[HoneyBadger]

It is the amount of memory, not the speed, that wins out for a NAS.

Bingo. Even the ancient-by-2019-standards DDR3-800 is still capable of pumping out 6400MB/s per channel. Even if you halved that to consider simultaneous reads/writes to RAM that's still more than enough to saturate a 2x10Gbps MPIO setup.

(Now this doesn't mean you should go buy that quad-socket Xeon X7000-series with 288GB of DDR2 ... consider the overall system performance as well.)

 

[Bizarro252]

Hi everyone thanks for the feedback - and moving this to a more appropriate sub forum, sorry about that.

@Chris Moore
Totally agree this is not a pure server board, I was looking for something in the workstation category and settled on two choices, the ASROCK (ASRACK) C246 and this Gigabyte board. I think the ASROCK is slightly more geared towards a server board, but in terms of overall features (additional M.2 NVME slots) the gigabyte won out for me.
For me personally, none of the data that resides on this server is life and death, its main function is home media and large file storage, I did want to make the move to ECC DRAM, but even there you can see I stuck with an i3 vs a Xeon to enable this feature.
My main reason for doing this is I tend to re-purpose builds if I upgrade something else and I wanted this to remain somewhat flexible if it goes on to do something else for me. Totally agree this is not 100% server grade, but it has the main features I was looking for (The damn thing doesn't even boot headless and have to get a dummy adapter so no, not a server board!)

Everyone else,
I think I mis-represented my question, my intent is NOT to overclock anything on this system, just stating that's the hardware world I come from.
I am asking what speed I am supposed to run, what the DRAM module is rated for or that the CPU datasheet says its spec is? Intel states 2400 for this CPU, the motherboard and DRAM modules are rated at 2666.
I assume I should stick with the 2400 spec listed on the Intel sheet as I believe the memory controller itself is integrated into the CPU these days?

Thanks!

 

[SweetAndLow]

Do what the memory is rated for. That's how it's designed.

 

[Chris Moore]

but in terms of overall features (additional M.2 NVME slots) the gigabyte won out for me.

But that is a useless feature. Like the x16 PCIe slots. It just isn't needed in FreeNAS. If you were building a high-end workstation with dual video cards, then you might be right on the money. It is just wrong for a server and even worse for FreeNAS.

(The damn thing doesn't even boot headless and have to get a dummy adapter so no, not a server board!)

Another reason to not use it for FreeNAS.
A build with DDR3 memory like the one below would have been a better choice.
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...anges-to-upgrade-as-high-as-512gb-of-ram.110/