FreeNAS questions for new build

[Inxsible]

Thanks will look into it. I’m not to familiar with the Xeon family what is the 2 year old generation?

Not just Xeons. You have to look for everything a generation or 2 older.
Socket 1155/2011 motherboard,
Any processor that will fit that socket
Suitable RAM for that motherboard--pu combination

 

[MadMan3353]

Thanks will look into it. I’m not to familiar with the Xeon family what is the 2 year old generation?

Is there anywhere that has a list of ECC compatible processors and MOBO they don’t always display that there comparable on the spec sheet

 

[danb35]

Is there anywhere that has a list of ECC compatible processors

ark.intel.com can help you there, but in short, G-series Pentia (is that the correct plural of Pentium?), most i3s, and all Xeons support ECC.

and MOBO

Most "server" and some "workstation" boards support ECC, and those that do will generally note it in their specs.

 

[MadMan3353]

Holy hell is this a challenge to find a mini itx board and CPU that’s ecc comparable and have good performance and not cost a fortune. Any site recommendation other than Newegg?

 

[Inxsible]

Holy hell is this a challenge to find a mini itx board and CPU that’s ecc comparable and have good performance and not cost a fortune. Any site recommendation other than Newegg?

Why does it have to be mini-itx again? Have you already bought the case? If not, can't you swing for a bigger case/chassis?

I use a Tyan S5533 on my Node304 box which is mini-ITX. Not sure if it will be available though.

 

[MadMan3353]

Why does it have to be mini-itx again? Have you already bought the case? If not, can't you swing for a bigger case/chassis?

I use a Tyan S5533 on my Node304 box which is mini-ITX. Not sure if it will be available though.

Trying to stay with a board that will fit in
Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX Small Form Factor. Perfect size for 6 drives and to be hidden

 

[Inxsible]

You haven't answered whether you already have bought the case or not. You will get more server grade board choices if you go with m-ATX or ATX. However, here's a mini-itx that supports ECC https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813599005 but then you will need DDR4 memory and newer processors. You mentioned $500 for the board and CPU, so that board will take 50% of your budget which might not be bad if you can find a processor in another $250 which I think you can.

You have to understand that you need to put your requirements down before we can provide suggestions. You might not need a $250 CPU if all you are using FreeNAS as is a file server for eg. Are you ok going with older hardware? Do you still intend to use your gamer board/cpu?

You started with non-recommended hardware and now you are asking for mini-itx server boards. Can you please put down succinctly for clarity what you want and what you intend to do with the system? That way we can recommend some systems.

 

[MadMan3353]

You haven't answered whether you already have bought the case or not. You will get more server grade board choices if you go with m-ATX or ATX. However, here's a mini-itx that supports ECC https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813599005 but then you will need DDR4 memory and newer processors. You mentioned $500 for the board and CPU, so that board will take 50% of your budget which might not be bad if you can find a processor in another $250 which I think you can.

You have to understand that you need to put your requirements down before we can provide suggestions. You might not need a $250 CPU if all you are using FreeNAS as is a file server for eg. Are you ok going with older hardware? Do you still intend to use your gamer board/cpu?

You started with non-recommended hardware and now you are asking for mini-itx server boards. Can you please put down succinctly for clarity what you want and what you intend to do with the system? That way we can recommend some systems.

Ok I have three options I can do if the budget is right

I will be use the NAS for a media server/file storage and sharing for the multiple devices on the network/cloud storage and torrent machine. I’m going to stay with the node 304 it holds 6 drives more than what I probably will use and it’s small need it to be small cause of the space I have to work with.

Option 1
I do the non recommend system requirements with non ECC ram and probably won’t get support from here lol. With the core i5 and the ASRock MOBO

Option 2
I do the recommend system requirements using ECC compliant components with and older gen system using DDR3

Option 3
I do the recommend system requirements using ECC compliant components with new gen system using DDR4

Options are based on what I can find in the budget

If I can find a microATX to fit in the node I don’t mind doing modifications. If not then the board has to be mini itx or what fits in the node304 case.

Hope this clears it up

 

[Inxsible]

Ok I have three options I can do if the budget is right

I will be use the NAS for a media server/file storage and sharing for the multiple devices on the network/cloud storage and torrent machine. I’m going to stay with the node 304 it holds 6 drives more than what I probably will use and it’s small need it to be small cause of the space I have to work with.

Option 1
I do the non recommend system requirements with non ECC ram and probably won’t get support from here lol. With the core i5 and the ASRock MOBO

This will be easiest to fit the $500 budget (without HDD)

Option 2
I do the recommend system requirements using ECC compliant components with and older gen system using DDR3.

This will be cheapest depending on what we can find in your market for mini-ITX

Option 3
I do the recommend system requirements using ECC compliant components with new gen system using DDR4

This will be the most expensive option as the choices of server boards in mini-ITX is limited. Here's a few :

https://www.supermicro.com/ResourceApps/MB_matrix.aspx

Look for the mini-ITX form factor. There are quite a few in the X11(latest generation) and in the older generation (X10, X9, X8). But many of those boards will not be available easily in the market or even if they are they might cost a lot of money and be out of your budget.

Options are based on what I can find in the budget

If I can find a microATX to fit in the node I don’t mind doing modifications. If not then the board has to be mini itx or what fits in the node304 case.

This is not possible. The Node304 does not offer a lot of space beyond the mini-ITX dimensions. If you are bent upon Node 304, you will need to stay with a mini-ITX board

 

[MadMan3353]

This will be easiest to fit the $500 budget (without HDD)
This will be cheapest depending on what we can find in your market for mini-ITX

This will be the most expensive option as the choices of server boards in mini-ITX is limited. Here's a few :

https://www.supermicro.com/ResourceApps/MB_matrix.aspx

Look for the mini-ITX form factor. There are quite a few in the X11(latest generation) and in the older generation (X10, X9, X8). But many of those boards will not be available easily in the market or even if they are they might cost a lot of money and be out of your budget.

This is not possible. The Node304 does not offer a lot of space beyond the mini-ITX dimensions. If you are bent upon Node 304, you will need to stay with a mini-ITX board

Stupid question on the super micro site do those boards come with the processor or just displaying what it looks like with a processor in it?

 

[Inxsible]

If it is SoC -- then the CPU is built on to the board. Supermicro is not the only choice obviously. Asus, AsRock, Tyan, Jetway also make server grade boards.

 

[MadMan3353]

If it is SoC -- then the CPU is built on to the board. Supermicro is not the only choice obviously. Asus, AsRock, Tyan, Jetway also make server grade boards.

Intel Xeon E3-1220V3 Haswell 3.1GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150 80W Server Processor BX80646E31220V3

or

Intel Xeon E3-1225 V2 Ivy Bridge 3.2GHz (3.6GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W BX80637E31225V2 Server Processor?

 

[danb35]

Depends which board you're using; those chips require different sockets. But just between the two, I'd lean toward the v3 over the v2. OTOH, I'd take a hard look at the 1230/1231, as it seems like a significant performance boost for not very much more money.

 

[MadMan3353]

Depends which board you're using; those chips require different sockets. But just between the two, I'd lean toward the v3 over the v2. OTOH, I'd take a hard look at the 1230/1231, as it seems like a significant performance boost for not very much more money.

I know they take different boards just trying to find a decent processor first then work around that

 

[Inxsible]

For your stated use case of file server/ media server(streaming not transcoding) and torrent machine even a Pentium would be sufficient. I know because I use one for the same purpose. No point spending $150+ on a Xeon when a Pentium can be had for around $50 NEW

Bottom line, unless your use case is going to change significantly over the next 5 years, I'd stick with a Pentium for less money and less power draw compared to the similar generation of Xeon.

 

[danb35]

Again, as between the two you posted, I'd favor the 1220v3, for a couple of reasons: (1) it's a newer part, which typically brings improvements in performance and efficiency (even if those improvements have been marginal recently); (2) it lacks the built-in GPU of the xxx5 parts, which is wasted sillicon and watts in a proper server motherboard. But if the 1225v2 were significantly cheaper, or its corresponding motherboard were significantly cheaper, I wouldn't mind that part either.

 

[MadMan3353]

For your stated use case of file server/ media server(streaming not transcoding) and torrent machine even a Pentium would be sufficient. I know because I use one for the same purpose. No point spending $150+ on a Xeon when a Pentium can be had for around $50 NEW

Bottom line, unless your use case is going to change significantly over the next 5 years, I'd stick with a Pentium for less money and less power draw compared to the similar generation of Xeon.

Would the pentium be powerful enough to stream high res video over the internet via Plex or high res video within the home. Multiple users?

 

[danb35]

Plex says you need approximately a passmark score of 2000 per transcoded 1080p stream. A Pentium G4600 (chosen mostly at random) has a passmark score of 5400, which should give you two transcoded streams plus plenty of room to handle system overhead. But I realize that's a Socket 1151 part, which means we're back to the DDR4 RAM. In Socket 1150, the highest speed I see is the G3470, with a passmark score of 3700--enough for one stream transcoded.

 

[MadMan3353]

Plex says you need approximately a passmark score of 2000 per transcoded 1080p stream. A Pentium G4600 (chosen mostly at random) has a passmark score of 5400, which should give you two transcoded streams plus plenty of room to handle system overhead. But I realize that's a Socket 1151 part, which means we're back to the DDR4 RAM. In Socket 1150, the highest speed I see is the G3470, with a passmark score of 3700--enough for one stream transcoded.

Good lord rock and a hard place.

 

[Inxsible]

Would the pentium be powerful enough to stream high res video over the internet via Plex or high res video within the home. Multiple users?

Are you sure you are streaming or transcoding? There's a difference. I can stream videos to multiple devices (i have tried 3 without issues) simultaneously with my Pentium G3240. With a passmark of 3175, it will be able to transcode 1 stream too, but won't be able to do anything else at the same time.