BUILD New (Old?) Build. Any compatablility issues?

[Markess]

I guess its kind of an odd question for a new build, but are there any issues using the current FreeNAS release with older Supermicro boards?

I was offered a new X7DBR-i with 8GB of RAM, that were never used. Apparently it was a spare that was never even opened. I have a couple Xeon L5240s that should be compatible, along with 2 WD Reds to use in mirror.

I'd be using this box for my home network for file storage and local streaming of media content (no transcoding). No more than 2 users connected at a time.

I thought that if I was given the hardware, I'd like to make use of it. But if there's issues with FreeNAS on it, I'd do something else with it.

Thanks for any advice or insights!

 

[marbus90]

You shouldn't use X7 generation hardware. Slow interconnect, runs extremely hot (space heater for real, even in idle), uses lots of energy (8W per DDR2 FB-DIMM)...

A C2750 based system will pay off rather fast and offers the same performance whilst idling at 10% the energy of that X7 system.

 

[Markess]

Thanks. Much appreciated! Just the kind of advice I needed.

Sometimes "free"that works costs you more in the end than buying what works best up front. Looks like this is one of those times.

 

[marbus90]

Estimates are around 90-95% in rackunit and energy savings with a 16-blade-center of that generation, total 256GB RAM vs. a single new 256GB host. ROI after 2 years - just trough energy costs.

So yeah. For the occassional looking and poking on physical hardware it's acceptable to have around, firing it up for a few hours per month/year... anything over that, don't.

 

[Lordadmiral Drake]

I'm running a setup with an X7-DBE + 1 QC Xeon + 2*4GB RAM + 1 HDD

Pulls 220W on idle

 

[marbus90]

Replace with C2750 and new PSU, go down to ~22W idle.

 

[Markess]

Lordadmiral Drake, Yesterday at 2:28 AM

I'm running a setup with an X7-DBE + 1 QC Xeon + 2*4GB RAM + 1 HDD

Pulls 220W on idle

Okay, that's some serious power draw. I think I'll definitely take my build in a different direction! To maintain Spousal Approval, I restrict my projects to the home office, which isn't too large. So, keeping a handle on heat and noise usually trumps performance as a top goal. Looks like X7 definitely won't cut it there!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Lordadmiral Drake]

If noise is an issue, don't buy a server case. The fans that come with those are insanely loud and can't normally be replaced with standard ones. I'm keeping my machine in the basement for that reason