BUILD Near Final Build

[asajinx]

Thanks to all the information and suggestions on these forums i've came down to two possible decisions about my freenas box. #1. Build It (below)

CPU Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core

$60.99​

Case Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower

$89.99​

Power Supply Corsair 430W ATX12V

$39.99​

Custom SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SLL-S-O uATX Server Motherboard

$126.99​

Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Server Memory

$84.99​

Any suggestions for the build or possible issues with it?

Advantages:
1. Case i picked offers me much better cooling of my 3.5 HD's

#2. Buy Lenovo TS140

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140

$319.99​

Crucial 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Server Memory

$55.99​

Evercool 2x5.25 to 3x3.5 converter

$25.00​

Advantages:
1. i3-4130 is far superior to the G3220 in performance and plex transcoding will work better. Not sure how much this really matters because i don't plan on using it for transcoding purposes (at the moment)

Both setups are going to roughly cost about the same. Thoughts/suggestions/comments?

 

[Yatti420]

If you plan on transcoding I would get more ram and a faster CPU.. If not then get the pentium.. You will want a UPS aswell..

 

[asajinx]

If you plan on transcoding I would get more ram and a faster CPU.. If not then get the pentium.. You will want a UPS aswell..

Do you think the Lenovo is a better deal then?

 

[Ericloewe]

Do you think the Lenovo is a better deal then?

You mentioned 4GB of RAM. Honestly, if you're considering 4GB DIMMs something is probably wrong, can you explain the Lenovo a bit better?

Also, instead of the Corsair PSU, get a Seasonic. Low-end Corsairs are somewhat crummy quality-wise (no objections regarding output), while Seasonic's G-series has better output, much better build quality, a better warranty in some places and isn't much more expensive.

 

[diedrichg]

You will want a minimum of 16GB. If you wish to start with 1 DIMM @ 8GB then you could easily add another 8GB DIMM when you have the money.

 

[asajinx]

You mentioned 4GB of RAM. Honestly, if you're considering 4GB DIMMs something is probably wrong, can you explain the Lenovo a bit better?

Also, instead of the Corsair PSU, get a Seasonic. Low-end Corsairs are somewhat crummy quality-wise (no objections regarding output), while Seasonic's G-series has better output, much better build quality, a better warranty in some places and isn't much more expensive.

Thanks for the PSU suggestion- i wasn't aware of Corsair having issues. Is this one of the G-Series seasonics?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151139

As for the lenovo, it comes with a motherboard that has 4xDIMM slots and comes pre-installed with a 4gb stick. I was going to add a 4gb stick to make it 8gb total. The benefits of the Lenovo are that for $320 you get a C224 motherboard and an i3 + all the basic components of a server. This is a great deal in my opinion but the real problem lies in the fact that the system comes in a crummy case where the hard drives don't get enough cooling.

You will want a minimum of 16GB. If you wish to start with 1 DIMM @ 8GB then you could easily add another 8GB DIMM when you have the money.

Thanks for the RAM suggestion, i wanted to start with 8gb and scale upward after i get the system working.

 

[madik]

What kind of storage are you planning to put into the case? It could be a bit problematic with silent cooling for more that 4 drives.

 

[asajinx]

What kind of storage are you planning to put into the case? It could be a bit problematic with silent cooling for more that 4 drives.

How so? At the moment i have 2x 1TB and 1x3TB drives

 

[madik]

How so? At the moment i have 2x 1TB and 1x3TB drives

I saw one picture on Amazon with inside look into the case (lenovo ts140). Seems like there is only one small fan in front for the intake. It would be problematic to keep lets say 6 drives with similar temperature in that case unless you would be modifying the case with fan in the 5.25" enclosure. For 3 drives it wont be a problem. Kinda like the case

 

[asajinx]

I saw one picture on Amazon with inside look into the case (lenovo ts140). Seems like there is only one small fan in front for the intake. It would be problematic to keep lets say 6 drives with similar temperature in that case unless you would be modifying the case with fan in the 5.25" enclosure. For 3 drives it wont be a problem. Kinda like the case

oh i thought you were referring to the fractal case, yup i thought the same thing about the ts140 case. Thats one of the main reasons im considering not going that route. Additionally, the motherboard only has 4 sata ports.

I got a good deal today on an mini itx case (50% discount) so i'm going to be changing build #1 (soon)

 

[Nick2253]

Make sure you understand the difference between Registered and Unbuffered memory. Your motherboards don't support what you think they support.

 

[asajinx]

Make sure you understand the difference between Registered and Unbuffered memory. Your motherboards don't support what you think they support.

Thanks Nick, i realized that last night while i was reading more. Curious, your signature shows that you're using the Asrock E3C224D2I, what do you think of this build? (I'm switching over to mini itx because i got a good deal on a case). The one thing i'm concerned about is the fact that the newegg page says the motherboard only supports Xeon and i3 cpu's. I'm guessing your signature says otherwise..

 

[Nick2253]

I still see Registered memory ;)

Newegg's compatibility lists are terrible, especially for server components. If you want to check compatibility, go to the manufacturer's website.

How many hard drives/how much data are you looking to store? That generally needs to be your first question. From there, the next question is: what am I going to do with that data? Together, that will give you the number of hard drives, the amount of memory, and the CPU capacity you need. Everything else then falls out.

 

[Ericloewe]

Thanks for the PSU suggestion- i wasn't aware of Corsair having issues. Is this one of the G-Series seasonics?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151139

No, I don't really know that model, but I believe it's similar to the G-series, but non-modular. The one I meant is this one. It's cheaper right now, too.

The low-end Corsairs aren't exactly problematic - it's just that they're stuck in the nasty position of being only a bit cheaper than Seasonic's lower-end stuff, which is easily the best out there at low wattages. The main concern is quality, Corsair uses a sleeve bearing fan and second-tier capacitors, while Seasonic uses ball-bearing fans and Japanese capacitors. Compared to the closest Corsair model, the CS450M, the Seasonic G450 is actually cheaper right now!

Of course, if your budget is tight, I have nothing against the low-end Corsairs (they're all pretty much the same, except for features like Gold efficiency and modular cables) - in fact, I have three of them running several computers right now. If you can afford it, though, definitely go with the Seasonic.

 

[asajinx]

I still see Registered memory ;)

Newegg's compatibility lists are terrible, especially for server components. If you want to check compatibility, go to the manufacturer's website.

How many hard drives/how much data are you looking to store? That generally needs to be your first question. From there, the next question is: what am I going to do with that data? Together, that will give you the number of hard drives, the amount of memory, and the CPU capacity you need. Everything else then falls out.

Ah forgot to update that. Heres an updated list

CPU Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core

$60.99​

Power Supply SeaSonic 350W ATX12V

$41.99​

Custom ASRock E3C224D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard

$190.99​

BitFenix Colossus Mini ITX Computer Case

$49.99​

Kingston 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1333 Server Memory

$84.99
​

I'm looking to store about 1-2TB of media (photos, videos, etc) and of course leave room for growth. I have about 5TB of storage capacity in drives in 3.5" drives i already own so i plan to repurpose them for that. Do you think the G3220 is sufficient? I don't plan on running any transcoding or anything (i do that separately on my i7 machine).

No, I don't really know that model, but I believe it's similar to the G-series, but non-modular. The one I meant is this one. It's cheaper right now, too.

The low-end Corsairs aren't exactly problematic - it's just that they're stuck in the nasty position of being only a bit cheaper than Seasonic's lower-end stuff, which is easily the best out there at low wattages. The main concern is quality, Corsair uses a sleeve bearing fan and second-tier capacitors, while Seasonic uses ball-bearing fans and Japanese capacitors. Compared to the closest Corsair model, the CS450M, the Seasonic G450 is actually cheaper right now!

Of course, if your budget is tight, I have nothing against the low-end Corsairs (they're all pretty much the same, except for features like Gold efficiency and modular cables) - in fact, I have three of them running several computers right now. If you can afford it, though, definitely go with the Seasonic.

Thanks that makes sense. Do you think i'll need a 450 watt for 6 drives (maximum my case carries). Or can i safely stick with the 360 watt version?

 

[Ericloewe]

Thanks that makes sense. Do you think i'll need a 450 watt for 6 drives (maximum my case carries). Or can i safely stick with the 360 watt version?

You could probably do 10 drives with the G-360, but it has the downside of not being modular. 6 drives is no problem at all. It comes down to semi-modular on the G-450 (Motherboard and CPU fixed, IIRC) vs all fixed on the G-360.

 

[Nick2253]

Modularity is highly overrated for a server. An intelligent application of zip ties will more than compensate for modularity.

A 360W PSU is more than enough for 6 drives. I'm currently doing 6 drives on a 300W PSU.

5TB may not be enough. You want to use at least RAIDZ2, and that requires two parity drives. The sort of defacto standard right now is 6x drives in RAIDZ2. If you only use RAIDZ1, you are highly susceptible to data loss in the event of a failed drive. (Read cyberjock's signature link on "RAID5 is Dead"). If you don't want to use RAIDZ2, you might as well not be using ZFS, which means you might as well not be using FreeNAS. Not trying to scare you off; just the reality of picking the right tool to do the job.

G3220 is more than enough for what you're likely going to be doing. In my setup, I only use FreeNAS as a NAS. No jails, no transcoding, and only light NAS use at that. I barely touch my CPU. (However, I want to start playing with jails, which is why I went with the CPU I went with).

I'm glad to see you pick 8GB of memory. You want at least 1GB of memory for each TB of accessible storage. In my case, I have 4x 4TB drives = 16TB of storage, so I want at least 16GB of memory (which is what I have).

Heat is the biggest NAS killer out there. Make sure you are not using desktop-class drives (7200RPM; or if you are, make sure you have sufficient cooling).

 

[Ericloewe]

Modularity is highly overrated for a server. An intelligent application of zip ties will more than compensate for modularity.

I used to be a fan of those things... I stopped being one the minute I wanted to do something as simple as rerouting a fan cable - ended up with a severed RPM monitor wire that was a pain to "fix". I'll agree that modularity is a subjective advantage (I personally prefer it wherever feasible), but I must absolutely disagree on the zip ties. Do yourself a favor and use velcro instead.