Dell Precision for Freenas???

[Dlukky]

Just curious if anyone has used a Dell precision for a freenas system. They seem to have the specs that freenas requires. Large amounts of ECC ram for a reasonable price and two, Dual or Quad processors. I am looking at something like the T5400 on ebay. I already have one of these system runnings win 7 it has done great for about 3 months and I really dont have much money in it.

Thanks Dustin

 

[Dlukky]

I did a search and I see a few post about similar machines. Anyone have any helpful comments?

THanks

 

[joeschmuck]

I don't know anything about that machine but it looks fine. You said you have one already and it runs fine. It wouldn't be very difficult to take it, swap out a few drives and add a USB Flash drive to it just to test it out before ordering your server.

 

[Fox]

How many drives can it hold? My experience with them is that it can hold only two drives and that they have older processors, which means they may require more power.

 

[Dlukky]

The precision 690 will hOld 4 drives and works on Dual xeon processors. Not sure about the power consumption of those processors. Maybe you can enlighten me?

 

[Fox]

I'm referring to the T5400. I believe the 690 is a different chassis. You stated you already have one running (I assumed that to be the T5400), so you should be able to assess the situation yourself. The power consumption depends on how they are equipped. I would check the stats of the box (processor) and then do a Google search to see how much juice it will take. Two older processors might take 100 watts (I'm not sure), just for those, and when you add the other items (drives, cards, etc) your box could be taking 200watts or more. Also check how much drive space you have. I could be wrong about the 2 drive bay. I suppose it depends if you have a DVD-ROM drive in it and other items.

For me power would not be a major consideration as I live in a part of the country where it is very cheap. If on the other hand you live in Hawaii, where power is expensive, it might be a primary concern.