Motherboard, RAM and USB Stick?

[shawly]

So I currently run Proxmox on my homeserver and for my storage I use a Openmediavault VM with SnapRaid, the only reason for that is, because I use VT-d to pass through my TV card.
But since I've run into so many problems with VDR and TVHeadend, that I have decided, that I'll just buy a USB TV card that is compatible with Linux and Kodi. So I don't have to bother with this anymore.

That also means I can get rid of Proxmox and there is also no real need for OMV anymore and I thought, I maybe should go with FreeNAS.

But for FreeNAS, even for a simple home server with no valuable data, mostly movies and tv shows, I still need the recommended hardware, right?
Since I run a Z87 consumer board from Gigabyte and non-ECC RAM I'll have to upgrade. My Xeon E3-1245v3 should be ok, since it supports ECC RAM.

I've found an affordable SUPERMICRO X10SLL-S on ebay, it's used, but I'm ok with that. I'm not sure, but these unbuffered ECC UDIMMs could work? A thread with recommended RAM for X10 boards says the CT2KIT102472BD160B do work, so is there a big difference between these and the above CT2KIT102472BA160B, besides the voltage? Or is there any problem with using 1.5V ECC RAM?

The only thing I don't know is, which USB stick I should use, I'd like an affordable one that has a long life span with enough space to fit FreeNAS, nothing more. I know that pretty much any USB stick should be fine, but I'd rather have one that is recommended by some experienced users.

Would it be "safe" to run FreeNAS with my current consumer hardware (Gigabyte Z87X-UD5H and 16GB Curcial Ballistix) so I could prepare the system for the use with the optimal hardware? Or would you rather say I should wait these two weeks until I get my loan and buy the new board and RAM and then migrate my system to FreeNAS? It also says, FreeNAS supports EXT3 for data migration, does EXT4 also work read only?

 

[Bidule0hm]

1.35 and 1.5 V sticks are the same, they are binned and the best ones goes to the 1.35 V pile. That's why I'd recommend the 1.35 V ones, plus they are less power hungry of course ;)

SanDisk Cruzer Fit, pretty much the most recommended USB stick for FreeNAS and very cheap but good quality.

No, you should wait, plus you need to burn-in the hardware (see the related thread) before using it with real data so it's useless to install on your consumer hardware anyway.

 

[shawly]

Alright I found the CT2KIT102472BD160B for the same price as the 1.5V ones.

I just saw that your i3 also supports ECC, so looked up which CPUs support ECC and found out my Intel Pentium G3258 also supports ECC, I could switch my Xeon with this one, since my home server will need much less performance from now on. (not power, I know they have almost the same power consumtion)
The Pentium should have enough power to achieve the same network transfer speed as the Xeon and it's also enough to extract archives over night. I just had the Xeon for VT-d, which won't be needed anymore.

Ok, I didn't knew mainboards or RAM sticks have to burn-in.

 

[Bidule0hm]

Everything must be tested to make sure the system is stable and to rule out infant mortality. Fortunately while you'll test the RAM and the drives you'll also test the rest of the system ;)

 

[shawly]

That's good to know! So I have searched for some other mainboards, since I actually want one with 4 DIMM slots, since there is a possibility, that I might need to stock up to 32GB of RAM when I add more disks to my server, right?
I currently have three 3TB WD Reds in my server, so 16GB should be fine at the moment. Or can I use 16GB of RAM even with 24TB of space? Someone said the 1GB per 1TB on FreeNAS rule isn't relevant anymore but I don't know if this is true..

I have the option of choosing between

• a used Supermicro X10SLL-S for 107€ (but it only supports 16GB of RAM)
  
• a B-Stock ASRock E3C222D4U for 138€
• an RMA Intel S1200V3RPS for 140€
• a used Supermicro X10SAE for 125€ (which has been only tested for 1 week, but there has to be a catch with this one, 125€ for an almost new X10SAE is too good to be true. But if I get my hands on the proof of purchase I could make use of the warranty)

So I currently don't know which one to choose, the X10SLL-S would be a great deal, if it weren't for the 16GB limit..

Edit: Whoops, I just saw that the X10SLL-S only has two SATA3 ports, well then, that makes it easier. If the guy which is selling the X10SAE responds to my mails and even has the proof of purchase, I'll take the risk and buy it.

 

[Bidule0hm]

Unless you go crazy on plugins and jails 16 GB will be plenty for now ;)

The rule is more or less relevant, it's just a broad rule. 16 GB can or can not be enough for 24 TB, it depends on the usage.

Personally I'd take the risk with the SAE one, but it's your choice so don't blame me after :)

 

[shawly]

Well, since the X10SLL-S is out of the race, it doesn't matter anymore, when the time comes I might upgrade the RAM when I get more drives, but for now I don't need more space. :)
I'll install the MediaBrowser Plugin, the BitTorrent Sync Plugin and a jail for JDownloader, that's all I need at the moment and probably all I'll ever need.

I think so too, but the offer was placed almost two months ago, the chance that he'll answer and that he still owns the board is small.. And without a bill I won't take the risk. :x
If not, the Intel S1200V3RPS should do the job.

Thanks for your awesome and quick help!

 

[Bidule0hm]

They are light plugins, no problem here ;)

You're welcome :)

 

[shawly]

I was almost buying the S1200V3RPS, but I searched around ebay and someone is selling two Supermicro boards, one X10SLH-F and one X10SLM-F, which are currently at 1€.

If this guy isn't one of the people who lets friends and family bid on his auctions, if they don't hit the price he wanted, I might get one under 150€!