Hardware Help, First FreeNas Build, Low Power

[aztekgold]

Looking to start my first FreeNAS build and need some help on hardware choices ,
I want something for file backup on upto 3PC's, basic iTunes server and 1080p streaming to upto to one main TV.

I want it to be reasonably cheap as it is my first FreeNas build and want to get my footing. I also want it as low power as possible.

Motherboard
looking at a asrock Q2900M (quad pentium 2.4ghz) or Q1900M (quad celeron 2.0ghz) see comparison
comes with onboard CPU with a passive heatsink really saving on power.

Power Supply
When it comes to power supplies i never buy anything other that corsair for the reliability so will probably pick up a CX430M trusty budget power supply. I have a spare RM700 watt but would be a bit overkill in a 2 - 5 bay nas??

Memory
probably go with a trusty set of 8 - 16gb of Kingston ram.

Case
Fractal Design 304 looks like a solid choice, although I do have a spare Corsair obsidian 250d case which is the perfect size but is really lacking the Hard Drive Space (2 x 3.5inch and 2 x ssd size), if any modifications can be made to support more drives in the 250d that would save some money.

Hard Drives
2 x 2TB
WD Reds seem like a no-brainer, I have had a look at the Seagate NAS drives but they are a bit pricey.

Any ideas?

 

[marbus90]

http://www.freenas.org/whats-new/20...design-part-i-purpose-and-best-practices.html

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

Don't buy low-power CPUs. They are limited in their maximum power usage, which is seldom the case with a FreeNAS system. Whilst idling all CPUs downvolt/clock to the same level, so you only pay more for less crunch when you really need it. Also the E3-1225 v3 uses <50W under full load on all 4 cores. Most new 6disk systems use <30W in idle.

The recommended Crucial 2x8GB ECC DIMM kit has the part number CT2KIT102472BD160B and is listed as Micron 18KSF1G72AZ-1G6E1 in dmidecode. We have yet to hear about incompatiblities.

 

[SweetAndLow]

Hmm can't decide if that was a bot responding or a real response. Either way you should follow those guidelines posted above.

 

[aztekgold]

I was looking to build a cheap system, how about a intel G3258, it has support for ECC memory , is a great price and is unlocked? not sure if it is the best for power, but if they all idle at around the same, should work fine. I'll definatly go with that crucial ram. what board would i be looking at, cheap as possible without cutting any support/features.

 

[marbus90]

Since you only stated that you want 2 HDDs (assuming you might want to upgrade to 4 HDDs total later on):

Dell PowerEdge T20 – 4 HDD bays, trays and power/SATA cables included, full 6Gbps on every port. Remote management with the Xeon model via iAMT/vPro. Pentium/i3 is sufficient for light usage. Comes with 4GB ECC RAM as standard.
Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 – takes up to 5 HDDs, not all cables included. Remote management with the Xeon model via iAMT/vPro. Pentium/i3 is sufficient for light usage. Comes with 4GB ECC RAM as standard. With another 8GB ECC DIMM usually below $300.

Hard to beat the price. TS140 is easier to come by in US, whilst the T20 Xeon is available for 349EUR in .de

 

[Ericloewe]

Let's clear a few things up:

Those Atoms will use less power than Core processors. They're completely different architectures, not just a low-power version.

Those Atoms are a horrible choice for several reasons I don't have the patience/time to go into right now.

RAM choices will depend on the motherboard - the Crucial CT2KIT102472BD160B kits are a good choice for Supermicro X10 boards and ASRock C2x50D4I boards, among others.

It sounds like you're contemplating overclocking your server. DO NOT.

Since you only stated that you want 2 HDDs (assuming you might want to upgrade to 4 HDDs total later on):

Dell PowerEdge T20 – 4 HDD bays, trays and power/SATA cables included, full 6Gbps on every port. Remote management with the Xeon model via iAMT/vPro. Pentium/i3 is sufficient for light usage. Comes with 4GB ECC RAM as standard.
Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 – takes up to 5 HDDs, not all cables included. Remote management with the Xeon model via iAMT/vPro. Pentium/i3 is sufficient for light usage. Comes with 4GB ECC RAM as standard. With another 8GB ECC DIMM usually below $300.

Hard to beat the price. TS140 is easier to come by in US, whilst the T20 Xeon is available for 349EUR in .de

This is a good option. If you'd rather build it yourself, you're looking at a Supermicro X10SLL-F, Intel Pentium G3220 and at least 8GB of RAM (check the RAM sticky).

 

[aztekgold]

I was going to go for the G3258 because if i was to upgrade to a xeon processor later i would have a processor i could reuse for a desktop. plus it has higher base clockspeed over a G3220
What is the benefits of the Supermicro board as i am new to server builds and don't have any experience with them. I have found some Asus workstation server boards at a cheaper price point. how do these stack up?

Asus p9d-i
Asus p9d-m

 

[rogerh]

IPMI is a brilliant idea, in that a) you rarely need physical access to your server, so you can put it somewhere inconvenient, and b) you don't need a keyboard and monitor for it, even temporarily. Plus you can check on temperatures and fan speeds frequently and easily. (I don't even know if FreeNAS has anything like lmsensors, as I've never needed to find out.) I leave others to extoll all the other virtues.

Edit: I note the ASUS boards seem to have something like IPMI, so, if it works, that is great.

 

[Ericloewe]

The Asus boards are less tested, more expensive, don't include IPMI (you need to buy the activation code or board separately), but should be similar.

Supermicro is the default choice because we're familiar with them and we know they don't have any serious issues. ASRock Rack now seems to have a lineup that matches Supermicro's offerings with the addition of a few niche models.
Besides, you get a handful of guides about X10 motherboards that cover anything I can think of. If you can think of something they don't, tell me and I'll add it to the list.

 

[aztekgold]

Thanks Guys, just ordered

• Supermicro X10SLL-F
• Intel Pentium G3258
• Corsair CX430M
• Crucial CT2KIT102472BD160B Kit
• Fractal Design Node 304 (white)

Glad i posted in the forum, otherwise i'd probably have NAS as useful as a toaster.

Still have to order my drives, going to go for 2 x 2TB WD Red's will probably get those tomorrow.
I have a spare 3TB seagate barracuda would this be suitable to use? if so i will just get 1 x 3TB WD red.

 

[marbus90]

I don't see the saw on that order, because you'll need one to mount an microATX board into an ITX chassis.

 

[Bidule0hm]

And I don't recommend Corsair CX series for server usage. I would recommend the SeaSonic G-360 or G-450 ;)

 

[aztekgold]

Duh, rookie mistake. Totally didn't realize this, I'm glad you pointed out. I have rang this morning and cancelled my order. although the CPU and the ram are from another company so still have those coming.

PSU
As far as the power supply is concerned. 90% of corsair power supplies are manufactured by Seasonic and adhere to the same level of quality but have in my opinion a better level customer support service. if there is anything major about those certain power supply's that is a real deal breaker, then I'm happy to consider them as that's why I'm here to get advice, but the price is more than double.

Motherboard/Case compatibility
I really want to keep with this choice of case (Node 304) as my NAS will be on display in my office and don't want a monstrosity. so I think I am going to go for a ASRock E3C224D2I. I have taken on what you said and chosen a Asrock board, with dedicated IPMI port. the only downfall with the board is only having support for 2 sticks of ram (16gb total) but I highly doubt I will be upgrading more than 16Gb anyway. is there any reason i should not be considering this board? before I checkout the order.

 

[marbus90]

You could also look for an ASRock MT-C224 which also fits into the Node 304, but provides 4 DIMM slots. All neccessary adapters for an ATX power supply are included.

 

[Tywin]

You could also look for an ASRock MT-C224 which also fits into the Node 304, but provides 4 DIMM slots. All neccessary adapters for an ATX power supply are included.

Do you have a link for that (re: necessary adapters)? I wasn't able to find anything when I was poking around a few weeks ago looking at that board.

 

[marbus90]

Do you have a link for that (re: necessary adapters)? I wasn't able to find anything when I was poking around a few weeks ago looking at that board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157580
the last picture shows them.

 

[aztekgold]

You could also look for an ASRock MT-C224 which also fits into the Node 304, but provides 4 DIMM slots. All neccessary adapters for an ATX power supply are included.

Would be an even better choice for me but unfortunately can't get it in the UK

 

[Bidule0hm]

As far as the power supply is concerned. 90% of corsair power supplies are manufactured by Seasonic and adhere to the same level of quality but have in my opinion a better level customer support service. if there is anything major about those certain power supply's that is a real deal breaker, then I'm happy to consider them as that's why I'm here to get advice, but the price is more than double.

That's not true. Some are indeed SeaSonic PSUs (the AX series for example) but not 90% and certainly not the CX series... I have a CX-450 on the desktop and guess what? I can see from the vents that it use Capxon caps... SeaSonic use far better caps (Panasonic, Nippon Chemi-Con, Hitachi, ...) and I know from the review/tests that the SeaSonic PSUs are just excellent in every aspects (for example the X-650 I have on my NAS is gold certified but it almost pass the Platinum certif and the voltages are rock stable with almost no ripple).

And the price isn't the double, especially with the G-360 or 450, they are very good value for money.

But it's just my advice, in the end you buy what you want, no problem ;)

 

[Ericloewe]

That's not true. Some are indeed SeaSonic PSUs (the AX series for example) but not 90% and certainly not the CX series... I have a CX-450 on the desktop and guess what? I can see from the vents that it use Capxon caps... SeaSonic use far better caps (Panasonic, Nippon Chemi-Con, Hitachi, ...) and I know from the review/tests that the SeaSonic PSUs are just excellent in every aspects (for example the X-650 I have on my NAS is gold certified but it almost pass the Platinum certif and the voltages are rock stable with almost no ripple).

Very right. I'll also add that Corsair CX is about the lowest you can go without blowing up your hardware. A server really deserves a better PSU, if only for the 80+ Gold rating.

 

[aztekgold]

Yeah, well maybe i exaggerated with 90% but a fair few of them see PSU manufacturers . Seasonic design most of corsairs power supply versions but do not follow up the manufacturing process of the full range this is why corsair sprung up from nowhere with their power supply's and instantly gained a good rep (because they where Seasonic).

I undoubtedly agree that Seasonic make brilliant if not the best power supply's. I have used a few before and have one in use at the moment on my CAD machine that has been running nearly 4 years now and still as solid as when I bought it. and would choose them every time if money wasn't an obstical.

I do really like the idea of having a Seasonic 400w fanless platinum as I have been running a corsair RM750 for over a year now in my main desktop. As it is a RM series the fan only spins under high load and the fan hasn't needed to spin once yet so it just shows with adequate cooling i should be fine with a 400w fanless. And it would be great to have a near silent NAS. If i can find a good deal on one i will defiantly get one.

My Crucial Ram has arrived along with my power supply today!
as for the motherboard I've ordered ASRock E3C224D2I shame i couldn't get the MT-C224 but 16gb of Ram should be okay for my usage.
The Case and CPU are also ordered now.

Just my drives to order, i was thinking of going for 2 x 2TB WD reds, how much would i need to start adding some redundancy?