Hardware tip needed

[Andaluz]

Hi all,

as I´m curious around FreeNAS and searching for new options for the future I wanted to build a FreeNAS system to play around. I have quite some old hardware here which I would like to reuse.
Before anyone starts...this will just be a test system and will hold no important data. All my data is already saved on three other NASes I have here.


Here the hardware I have:

- 4x 4GB Kingston Technology 4GB 1600MHz Reg ECC
- 7x 2TB HDD´s NAS ready
- 128 GB Samsung SSD
- BeQuiet 350W Power Supply
- An ugly case but with good airflow where all HDD´s would fit in

What do I need?
This is exactly the point where I need the experience of you guys!
I´m searching for a board and CPU where i can fit the RAM. I´m really happy to buy something used via a reseller or private person. As the budget for the moment is very limited.
As this system will only be for storage and playing around performance is not the main key. I would like to have a mATX or uATX board.
SoC or CPU and board both system would work for me.

Thanks in advance for tips!

regards,
Andaluz

 

[danb35]

I´m searching for a board and CPU where i can fit the RAM.

What kind of RAM, since you didn't say? DDR2? DDR3? DDR4? In any event, I doubt four 4 GB sticks of registered ECC RAM are worth making much effort to save, but the RAM type would determine what kind of board would need to be used. I don't think any SOC boards support registered ECC RAM.

 

[Andaluz]

You´re right forgot to put the type.

Kingston 4 GB DDR3 1600

thanks

 

[MrToddsFriends]

4x 4GB Kingston Technology 4GB 1600MHz Reg ECC [...] DDR3

After putting my Intel and Supermicro glasses on this leads me directly to a Socket-2011 (not -3, that would be the more recent variant for DDR4) Ivy Bridge-EP or Sandy Bridge-EP Xeon E5 CPU, E5-1xxx being sufficient for single socket motherboard:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors#"Ivy_Bridge-EP"_(22_nm)_Efficient_Performance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors#"Sandy_Bridge-EP"_(32_nm)_Efficient_Performance

And a UP Xeon Motherboard - Socket R (LGA 2011), X9 Series:

https://www.supermicro.nl/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/#2011

That said, E5 Xeon CPUs for Socket-2011 are by far less energy efficient than E3 Xeons, at least in idle state. E3 Xeons, on the other hand, are not capable of handling registered DIMMs.

 

[loch_nas]

Only some of the "newer" SoC mainboards take reg. RAM, and they want DDR4 RAM, not DDR3.

You could try to get a used mainboard or server with C60x chipset (2011 or 1356 socket), but the question is if it's really worth it as @danb35 said.

An important aspect could also be voltage as a lot of mainboards seem to only accept low voltage RAM. You didn't tell us the voltage of your memory (1,5 or 1,35 V).

 

[joeinaz]

Hi all,

as I´m curious around freeNAS and searching for new options for the future I wanted to build a freeNAS system to play around. I have quite some old hardware here which i would like to reuse.
Before anyone starts...this will just be a test system and will hold no important data. All my data is already saved on three other NASes I have here.


Here the hardware I have:

- 4x 4GB Kingston Technology 4GB 1600MHz Reg ECC
- 7x 2TB HDD´s NAS ready
- 128 GB Samsung SSD
- BeQuiet 350W Power Supply
- An ugly case but with good airflow where all HDD´s would fit in

What do I need?
This is exactly the point where I need the experience of you guys!
I´m searching for a board and CPU where i can fit the RAM. I´m really happy to buy something used via a reseller or private person. As the budget for the moment is very limited.
As this system will only be for storage and playing around performance is not the main key. I would like to have a mATX or uATX board.
SoC or CPU and board both system would work for me.

Thanks in advance for tips!

regards,
Andaluz

I have three boards in my lab. My current FreeNAS system uses the SuperMicro X10SAE motherboard with eight 2 TB disks and 16 GB of EEC. It's a nice board ATX form factor board the has an Intel 1150 socket. It has three limitations; first the board supports only up to 32 GB of RAM; this may be a restriction for future growth. Secondly, it needs EEC UDIMMs and those are not cheap. Finally, it has only 2 PCIe slots bigget than x2. I need at least three x8 slots.

My newest project focused on providing a large memory space for the least cost. If money were no issue I would choose the Supermicro X10SRL-F. The 8 DIMM slots and 1TB max RAM capacity make memory a non-issue. The challenge is the cost of DDR4 memory and Intel v3 and v4 CPUs. Instead, I looked at 2 other boards:

The X9SRL-F, and the X8DTE. Both can use DDR3 registered DIMMs which are relatively inexpensive. eBay has 32GB (4x 8GB) for under $100. The big difference in the two boards are the form factor, DIMM slots and sockets.

My X8DTE is an extended (E-ATX) motherboard. This means you need a larger than normal (full-tower) case to use it. It has two 1366 sockets. The 4 core E5640 CPU I use cost under $10 on eBay. Each socket has 6 DIMM slots and each slot can support 16GB DIMMs. The board's 12 slots can support up to 192 GB of RAM. With the X8DTE, I can start out with a single CPU and 24GB of RAM for about $80 and the cost of the motherboard. There are six x8 slots on the motherboard.

My X9SRL-F is an regular ATX motherboard. This means you likely can install it in a regular case (mid-tower). It has one 2011 socket. It supports Intel E5-2600 v1 and v2 CPUs. I purchased an 8 core E5-2650 (v1) CPU for $70 on eBay. 8 DIMM slots and can support 32GB or registered DIMMs. The board can support up to 256 GB of RAM in this configuration. With the X9SRL-F, I can start out with a single CPU and 24GB of RAM for about $150 and the cost of the motherboard. There are seven x8 slots (two of the slots are x16 form factor).

At this point I am torn as to which board to use in my new system build. My new case will support 12 disks (and my tape drive) internally and either board will do. I hope to test each in the near future. Any suggestions will be helpful...