Alternatives to ASUS E35M1-I

[ppmax]

Hi--

Noob here, just 2 posts...I've seen lots of folks using this MB and I am wondering if there are any similarly configured alternatives that use the Intel NIC vs the Realtek on this unit?

Basically I'm looking for low-power ITX, 4-6 SATA3 ports, Intel NIC, with support for 8GB RAM. I'd like to pair this with 4 1 or 2TB SATA3 drives, and use a PicoPSU 160:
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-160-XT-192W-Adapter-Power-Kit

Also: how does one determine if the power-on HD spin-up draw will exceed the capacity of this power supply? I'd like to use a smaller Pico PSU if possible.

Lastly: I've been experimenting with the 64bit 8.2BETA3 and it seems to have strange console output problems where the console does not scroll--console updates appear on one line at the bottom of the console. I have also verified this on my other ITX unit (the Intel Atom D2500).

Thanks much--
PP

 

[ProtoSD]

Also: how does one determine if the power-on HD spin-up draw will exceed the capacity of this power supply? I'd like to use a smaller Pico PSU if possible.

Probably the best way is using an oscilloscope, but that's only if you're really anal about seeing "exactly" what is happening. I happen to have a scope, but I've never been concerned enough to check the spin up spikes.

I'm curious why you want to use the smaller rated PicoPSU?

I use the PicoPSU 160, with a Supermicro MiniITX Atom MB and 5 disks. It's been running great for almost 2 years now.

I would recommend sticking with the 160 even if you anticipate using less power. It gives you more flexibility if you decide to go with a different motherboard or add more disks down the road. I also have an older PicoPSU I bought to use with a ??? (ugh, my brain!) an older miniITX board. I'd later wished I had bought the higher rated power supply because my needs changed.

My power usage peaks around 65W during a scrub, BUT, at least with my motherboard, there is a BIOS setting in combination with AHCI that staggers the spinup of the disks. You can hear them when you power on the system, 5 distinct clicks one after the other. So that also gives you an extra margin if you have that option in the BIOS and decided to use the lower rated power supply.

Power supplies are like religion and politics to some people, but my experience with the PicoPSU has been nothing but good and I'd recommend them for the right situations.

-- Proto

 

[ppmax]

Thanks for the helpful reply protosd! My desire to use a smaller PSU was just to save money and electricity...nothing more. No religion or politics here ;)

I've heard about the staggered spin up...really cool and I need to see if the Asus supports something like that in BIOS.

Out of curiosity, does your Supermicro MB use the Intel NIC and have SATA3? What model do you use? I've read about poor performance and flakey DHCP with the Realtek NIC.

My Intel Atom D2500 is running Pfsense-- what a great little board. I was thinking about swapping that board for use with FreeNAS and going with something like the DN2800MT which (apparently) only draws 12W...I don't really need a spinning disk on the firewall...However, it appears consensus is that FreeNAS w/ZFS wants SATA3 for maximum performance and the D2500 sports SATA2 only...

thx again!
PP

PS: what case do you use for your 5 drive NAS box?

 

[ProtoSD]

My MB does have dual Intel NICs. Below is a link for info about my system specifically, and also a link to the motherboard specs. My system only consumes about 40w when it's just running normally, I never put it in sleep mode. My model only has the D510 Atom processor @ 1.6Ghz, the D525 is 1.8Ghz, but both can max out the Gig ethernet when configured properly.


http://protosd.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-freenas-8-system-specs.html

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/ATOM/ICH9/X7SPA.cfm?typ=H