New build help - point out my insanity

[benmrowe]

Hi all

I'm heading towards my own first FreeNAS build, and have read a fair number of the threads on here, and have put something together, but I'm sure I'm missing something. Could you please point out where I have scrimped too much or needlessly overspent?

Build here:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SLL-F Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Sandisk ReadyCache 32GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Arctic White) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Thanks in advance!

I appreciate it doesn't yet include a UPS. I went for a small SSD instead of a USB. Is that unnecessary?

 

[BigDave]

You have to be careful with compatibility of the RAM on that site (PC Partpicker).
IIRC the board and processor do not use REGISTERED memory.
Supermicro has a "tested memory" list that gives model numbers you can reference.
Also the Crucial website has a list of models they guarantee to perform in that board.
I think there might be a post in here about the X10 boards and the more common
RAM models that are known to work with them.
I use an SSD instead of a thumb drive, but it's not necessary.

 

[benmrowe]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I'll look at the RAM again. Cheers.

 

[BigDave]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I'll look at the RAM again. Cheers.

https://www.supermicro.com/support/resources/

 

[danb35]

Your power supply is probably fine if you aren't going to add any more drives, but you may want to check out https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/ particularly if you are to make sure you have enough capacity.

Your CPU is likely overkill, but that will depend on your use case. If you're going to be using Plex and transcoding multiple HD streams simultaneously, it's probably worth it. Otherwise, an i3 would probably be fine, and you might even be able to go with a Pentium.

An SSD isn't necessary, but it will probably be more reliable than a USB stick.

 

[benmrowe]

Your power supply is probably fine if you aren't going to add any more drives, but you may want to check out https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/ particularly if you are to make sure you have enough capacity.

Your CPU is likely overkill, but that will depend on your use case. If you're going to be using Plex and transcoding multiple HD streams simultaneously, it's probably worth it. Otherwise, an i3 would probably be fine, and you might even be able to go with a Pentium.

An SSD isn't necessary, but it will probably be more reliable than a USB stick.

Thanks.

One reason I'm doing this project is for Plex (or similar) and to watch multiple things in different rooms, so I thought the extra processing power was useful.

I went for a low wattage, efficient hard drive because I know that too much spare capacity can harm efficiency, but I'll look at the post you linked. Thanks.

 

[benmrowe]

So I've updated the build a touch based on all your comments. I checked the RAM and moved to something unregistered. I've also bumped the PSU.

New build here:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Supermicro X10SLL-F Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Sandisk ReadyCache 32GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

If I am installing to an SSD I assume I only need one USB instead of two, right?

 

[danb35]

If I am installing to an SSD I assume I only need one USB instead of two, right?

You don't need any USBs at all--you could burn the installer ISO to a CD/DVD, or (my preference) mount it over the network using IPMI. But if you are intending to write the installer to a USB stick, yes, you'll need one of those free for the 15 minutes or so it would take to write the ISO and install FreeNAS to your SSD.

 

[benmrowe]

Cool, thanks!

 

[Stux]

I would suggest looking into Supermicros X11 Skylake boards instead of their X10 Haswell boards. Pretty much the same capabilities,except you can have 8 SATA3 ports, a 64GB ram limit (instead of 32) and they use DDR4, which is cheaper for 16GB dimms.

The biggest limiting factor on your NAS will be RAM, one day.

If you do go with the Skylake board, the E3-1230v5 is the equivalent CPU and you should use single sticks of 16GB ram so that you can hit the 64GB ram limit one day.

BTW, the DIMMs you have are RDIMMs and I believe you need UDIMMs for an 1150 board.