Hi. It's my first FreeNAS build.

[tripleJ]

About two weeks ago I installed FreeNAS on an old computer. It was pretty easy and fun to set up with help from this forum! So I decided to make a proper build to store my valuable photos and documents on. It will need to run Plex and stream my photos to my chromecast smoothly. These photos are mostly JPG, sometimes RAW. That means either ±15mb or ±25mb. I did my research and picked some parts I think will do a good job for my needs.

Motherboard: Fujitsu D3417-B2
Memory: Crucial 2 x 8GB DDR4 ECC - CT2K8G4WFS824A
Processor: Intel Xeon E3 1220 V5
Power supply: Be quiet! Pure Power 10 400W CM
Drives: 3 x 4TB - (Seagate Ironwolf or WD Red?)
Case: Cooler Master N400

I am not sure about the processor. Can it handle everything, is it overkill, or is there a better option? I am also not sure about the drives, and don't know yet what RAID configuration I will use. The rest of the components, is that allright? I don't want to spend hundreds of euros more.
Thank you!

 

[Chris Moore]

Motherboard: Fujitsu D3417-B2

I don't think very many people will have experience with this system-board. Supermicro is much more common in the forum.
The processor should be plenty powerful to run Plex. I run my FreeNAS and Plex on the v1 Xeon E3 and it works fine so the performance being incrementally better on a newer chip, your system should do nicely and be more energy efficient too.

Drives: 3 x 4TB - (Seagate Ironwolf or WD Red?)

I would suggest going with more drives and setting them up as RAID-z2 for reliability and 6 drives is a pretty sweet spot to be. Three drives is just not enough, in my opinion.

 

[tripleJ]

Okay. So something like a Supermicro X11SAE-M? My main question is if everything is compatible and would work.

I'll remember what you say about the drives. I think have to look into it a little better. Thanks

 

[Chris Moore]

Okay. So something like a Supermicro X11SAE-M? My main question is if everything is compatible and would work.

I'll remember what you say about the drives. I think have to look into it a little better. Thanks

I suppose it depends on if you want to get something new or if you are able to pickup something used that will do the job. I use a Supermicro system board, but that is not the only answer. I don't think I have seen anyone on the forum use the board you suggested though and I have not seen it at all.
Have you looked at the hardware guides we have in the resource section?

FreeNAS® Quick Hardware Guide
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/freenas®-quick-hardware-guide.7/

Hardware Recommendations Guide Rev 1e) 2017-05-06
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

 

[tripleJ]

That is really useful. I thought I read the forum pretty deep. But I am clearly wrong.