NAS hardware recommendations

[modem7]

Hey guys,



Looking to build a new NAS, but have a few questions as I'm looking to do it on a relatively cheap budget.



Looking to spend ~£150 on each component hopefully at most.



So far I've got the following requirements:



10x HDD's minimum, onboard graphics card, minimum 8gb, probably 16-32gb ECC RAM (I understand THAT part might be over my particular budget requirements but it's something that can be split, so not too fussed about that), and mobo needs to be mATX/mITX.



The current parts list I have is:



Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1265L v3

Supermicro X10SL7-F

Fractal Design Node 804 Case

ECC RAM

PSU

SSD
(Already have HDD's)



The question I have pertains to the motherboard and CPU.



Which motherboard should I be looking for, and which CPU should I pair with it? I need some form of onboard graphics for the CPU to help w/ the transcoding of video files, and a moderately low TDU as it'll be a 24/7 server.



It seems the E3-1265L v3 is rather difficult to source in the UK.



Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[BigDave]

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

Your thoughts on the graphics card will change once you have read the guide.
We can help answer any other questions you might have after that.

 

[Chris Moore]

I need some form of onboard graphics for the CPU to help w/ the transcoding of video files

Not in FreeNAS. It doesn't work that way.

 

[modem7]

Not in FreeNAS. It doesn't work that way.

Even better - makes things easier to choose from!

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

Your thoughts on the graphics card will change once you have read the guide.
We can help answer any other questions you might have after that.

Appreciate it! Will read through that tonight!

 

[Chris Moore]

The current parts list I have is:

Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1265L v3

Supermicro X10SL7-F

Fractal Design Node 804 Case

ECC RAM

PSU

SSD

Is this what you are thinking to buy or what you already bought. You can save significant money by going back to the previous generation and not really loose anything that FreeNAS can use.

Here is what I would suggest, if you are looking for capable, but also inexpensive...

This X9 System Board only has 6 SATA ports but you can connect SATA drives to the SAS HBA:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TESTED-Sup...rboard-w-Heatsink-Fan-I-O-Shield/273262609005

and the CPU to go with it:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-XEON...-LGA1155-QUAD-CORE-CPU-PROCESSOR/283003555351

SAS HBA to give you 8 ports that you can connect your data drives to:
Lot of 2 Mini SAS to 4-SATA SFF-8087 Multi-Lane Forward Breakout Internal Cable
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H310-...ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID-High-Air-Flow/162834671120

The forward breakout cables you need for the SAS card:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/371681252206

Best price I could find for the correct type of memory:
New samsung 8GB DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800E ECC Dimm server Memory Unbuffered Ram
https://www.ebay.com/itm/182189824056

I would suggest getting a "Gold" efficiency rated supply.
I used one like this in one of my early builds and I still use it for something else:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438059

CPU cooler, the one that comes with the board above might be a little loud, but try it first.
I use one like this in my wife's desktop computer and it is very quiet and does the job cooling the processor:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608067

If that SSD is for a boot drive, it doesn't need to be big or fast, just reliable.
I would stay with Intel or Samsung on the SSD front:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-DC-S3500-SSDSC2BB080G401-SSDSC2BB080G4-80GB-SATA-MLC-SSD/183294207771

That Intel SSD is an older model, but it is one of the DC (Data Center) models that should still be good for another 5 or 10 years because they are built really well.

 

[modem7]

Is this what you are thinking to buy or what you already bought. You can save significant money by going back to the previous generation and not really loose anything that FreeNAS can use.

Thank you!

Will be checking those out! Thankfully I'm upgrading from an N40L, it's just a bit dated, and I've run out of physical storage (6 HDD's in there).

Much appreciated!

 

[modem7]

Hi @Chris Moore

Thank you so much for those recommendations.

It seems that most of the X9SCM-F boards I'm able to find in the UK have their CPU cooler backplate glued in via some form of double sided adhesive.

Do you think there's any other potential solutions in this case for other boards?

 

[Chris Moore]

It seems that most of the X9SCM-F boards I'm able to find in the UK have their CPU cooler backplate glued in via some form of double sided adhesive.

I had to pry one of those off one time. It is quite a pain, but it is doable. I was switching from the Dynatron fan that was original to the board to a Noctua and the mounting system was different.

If you use one of the screw down coolers like this, you can keep the plate you have:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dynatron-K...3rd-Gen-Socket-LGA1155-1156-1150/310682235072
or
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cooler-Mas...Core-i3-i5-i7-LGA-1155-1156-USED/283026983728
or
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-of-LGA...-990-390-760-and-will-fit-others/223035159497
or
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermaltak...U-Processor-Cooler-with-92mm-Fan/261841829503
or
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Deepcool-P...r-Intel-LGA-1155-1156-Core-i3-i5/263578906663

In fact, it looks like there are more coolers that use the screw mount than there are coolers that mount some other way.
Although, the Intel cooler has plastic pegs that poke through the same holes that all these other coolers use for the screw mounts.

If you choose to pull the plate off, just take your time and use a plastic pry tool and be careful not to damage the board. I have done it, but it took an hour or more because that is some hard glue.

 

[Chris Moore]

Do you think there's any other potential solutions in this case for other boards?

Because so many of the other suggestions are based on this board, it would be a totally different list of parts. There are many other system boards that will fit the chassis you had mentioned, but having the right selection of parts that will all work together and give little or no problems; that is the difficult part.
What is the problem with the CPU backplate? Did you want a different CPU cooler?