BUILD Node 304 Build in Australia

[KieranC]

Hi all,

I've been doing a fair bit of research into building a FreeNAS box, mainly just as a file server. I've decided to go with the Node 304 for the case, but am having some troubles choosing the rest of the parts. Mainly because they aren't as easy to find here in Australia.

For the motherboard the ASRock E3C224D2I is the best I've been able to find, but wanted to check if anyone knew of a better option. I've heard the E3C226D2I is a bit better, but I've been struggling to find them here.

In terms of CPU and RAM again I'm not sure what is best to get. I've looked at other people's builds and haven't been able to find the parts here. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

For HDDs I'm thinking of WD 3TB Greens (start with 3, with the possibility of expanding later), and for PSU the Corsair CX 430M, and just was curious if anyone else had used these and what your experience has been.

Thanks,

Kieran

 

[diedrichg]

...disregard

 

[Bidule0hm]

"For HDDs I'm thinking of WD 3TB Greens (start with 3, with the possibility of expanding later)" I hope you don't plan to use them in a RAID-Z1. Look at the link about RAID-Z1 in my sig to understand why it's bad idea ;)

I don't recommend Corsair PSUs for a server (except maybe the AX series but they start at 750 W...), especially the CX series which is the low end of Corsair's PSUs and only 80 Plus Bronze. Take at least a 80 Plus Gold PSU. I recommend SeaSonic, for example the G-360 is very good for his price and is enough if you don't want to run more than 10 drives.

 

[marbus90]

In regards of mobo the ASRock MT-C224 is the new hotness for "ITX" systems which really are DTX (2 PCI slots).

You should look into the Seasonic G-360 as well as into getting 6 HDDs from the start. We're not recommending raidz1 anymore, a 6disk raidz2 is more common. Note that the Greens have to be wdidled. Also you may want to shell out for WD Red drives with far better warranty: 3 years with advanced replacement instead of 2 years with depot warranty.

 

[KieranC]

Thanks for the responses. Looks like going with 6 WD Red drives from the outset is a better idea. I had originally chosen the CX PSU because it is modular which I hoped would make cable management in the small form factor a bit easier. Looking at the output cables on the G-360 it doesn't seem like there'd be many spare cables anyway. However if I go with the MT-C224, how would I go about powering it? I noticed it has an 18-pin power in, not the 20-pin on most PSUs, the G-360 included.

In regards to RAM and CPU, what would you recommend?

 

[marbus90]

The MT-C224 has an ATX-to-18pin adapter included. the 4pin connector is for providing power to 6 SATA HDDs.

RAM 2x8GB either Samsung or Micron (Crucial) from the QVL, CPU-wise we'd need to know your requirements in terms of transcoding and encryption.

 

[Bidule0hm]

The board uses a standard ATX 8 pins 12V connector on the rear I/O pannel, see the page 23 (page 28 on the PDF reader) of the manual: ftp://europe.asrock.com/manual/MT-C224.pdf ;)

 

[marbus90]

... which is the only thing needed to power that board. the 18pin connector is 12V only as well. welcome to the future... ;)

btw, bidule, your timezone alignment broken as well? :P

 

[Bidule0hm]

Yeah, I don't know why they didn't put a 12V ATX 8 pins in place of the 18 pins connector... half of it is NC and you need an adaptor... it's very poor engineering.

It's just that I like to go to sleep late; at night there is more internet BW, everything is quiet, there's no one to bother you, ... :p

 

[cattledog]

In regards of mobo the ASRock MT-C224 is the new hotness for "ITX" systems which really are DTX (2 PCI slots).

You should look into the Seasonic G-360 as well as into getting 6 HDDs from the start. We're not recommending raidz1 anymore, a 6disk raidz2 is more common. Note that the Greens have to be wdidled. Also you may want to shell out for WD Red drives with far better warranty: 3 years with advanced replacement instead of 2 years with depot warranty.

Marbus....I didnt think you had to wdidled the newer green wd? I purchased my gear from http://www.alfa.com.au/ super fast deliver. (ie:before I even paid the stuff was on my door step...:))

http://www.alfa.com.au/

 

[Ericloewe]

If you want a modular PSU, the Seasonic G-450 is only slightly more expensive.

"For HDDs I'm thinking of WD 3TB Greens (start with 3, with the possibility of expanding later)" I hope you don't plan to use them in a RAID-Z1. Look at the link about RAID-Z1 in my sig to understand why it's bad idea ;)

I don't recommend Corsair PSUs for a server (except maybe the AX series but they start at 750 W...), especially the CX series which is the low end of Corsair's PSUs and only 80 Plus Bronze. Take at least a 80 Plus Gold PSU. I recommend SeaSonic, for example the G-360 is very good for his price and is enough if you don't want to run more than 10 drives.

Corsair AX are also excellent PSUs - because they're not crummy CWT designs. The original AXs (650/750/850) are rebadged Seasonic X-Series. The current AXs (760/860) are Seasonic Platinum (updated X-Series). The AXis and AX1200 are also very good - they're Flextronics designs.

The HXs are a bit more dubious, being CWTs, but they're the best CWT has to offer.

 

[Bidule0hm]

Yeah, it's why I made the "except", personally I don't trust PSUs made by Corsair anymore (even if on the hi-end side) because if they cut corners on the low-end they probably do the same on the mid and hi-end as well, just less aggressively. And the reviews on the X-Series of SeaSonic are just exceptional (the Gold PSUs are very close to be Platinum because of the margins they add to be sure to pass the Gold certification and the voltages are utterly stable, no noise, very tight regulation, ...), I didn't see any better PSU (at least not utterly expensive...) when I searched two years ago :)

 

[KieranC]

Thanks for the input people. I doubt I'm going to need more than 400W for this system. So I'll go with the G-450 from Seasonic. I've been looking around for the MT-C224 motherboard, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Any ideas?

 

[nickt]

I've just ordered mobo (asrock c2750d4i), seasonic g360 and ecc ram from newegg - and I'm also in Australia. Newegg shipping to Australia is worse than local, but not too bad. Australian dollar doesn't help. Although it adds up, I couldn't find cheaper in Oz, and some of the parts I couldn't find at all.

Keep a single order below $1000 to avoid extra tax.

Hard drives I bought locally - I don't want to have to send them a long way for rma...

 

[KieranC]

Thanks, I haven't looked into buying stuff from newegg. Still can't find the MT-C224, so I'm going back to considering the E3C224D2I. Looking at getting one stick of Kingston 8GB RAM, which would allow for an upgrade down the track should I need it. But from what I've seen 8GB should be enough for a simple file server. Also, what do people think of the Pentium G3220 for the CPU?

Regards,

Kieran

Edit: I've found a Seasonic 350W 80+ Gold PSU, but OEM, that should be okay yeah?

 

[diskdiddler]

Did you end up doing a Node 304 build? I started pricing up one incase my machine died, didn't look cheap but should've been half decent.

 

[nickt]

I have and have been very happy with the case - and the system overall.

Just one observation for Australians: after about 8 months my Seasonic G360 PSU died without warning. These things happen... But the bad part was the support I didn't get from either Seasonic or NewEgg.

Seasonic refused to talk to me or honour my 5 year warranty because they claimed the warranty was only valid in the US. NewEgg tried repeatedly to fob me off. After 2 months of reminding NewEgg of their obligations under Australian consumer law, they ultimately refunded the purchase price.

I shudder to think what might happen if ever my mobo died. The PSU I could replace quickly from the local computer parts store (albeit louder and less efficient). But I have never seen an Australian supplier for an ASRock C2750D4I...

Very disappointed by NewEgg. They are large with good reputation who advertise directly to Australian customers. Buyer beware....

 

[dAlexis]

By the way, 304 is good, but sometimes using tools is needed to make it better. Have a look on my today work below :) Why it was done - today I finally exchanged my hardware to skylake after 9.10 upgrade (YES!!!) But my new mainboard ( Gigabyte H170N) have SATA ports parallel to mainboard on the edge (better to see MB photo to understand it exactly, if you cannot imagine it). Due to this SATA cables nearly cannot be pluged! - pressed in PSU. Less, than 1 cm between PSU and MB edge. Due to this I decided to make a hole in metal and move PSU forward - ~1 cm is exaclty free under front fans. Today it was done - saw, hammer, files, drill - real work with hardware :) PSU moved forward and cabling is OK.

 

[gabs247]

Thanks nickt, I was going to buy from NewEgg as that's the only place I could find hardware (at a decent price at least). It seems a lot of the more scarce stuff is just too expensive from Australian distributors. I might just get stuff that i can source locally, even if it's not the ideal components.

I have just been able to get a nice case, a Fractal Design Define Mini someone offloaded on ebay. And I know I can get some things like either an Intel G4400/I3 6100 from MSY with a basic macro ATX motherboard. It won't have ECC RAM or a dual Intel NIC, but it'll cost a lot less and still provide the basic functionality. More importantly, buying from MSY will be a lot less painful if something goes wrong and I don't have to wait for international shipping. Or should I take the risk with NewEgg and get a Supermicro X11SSL-F board or ASROCK C2750d4I and hope for the best? MSY would only have Corsair PSU, they don't sell Seasonic...so I'd have to source that online too.

Being in Australia and trying to build a NAS at the moment is depressing :S

 

[Kevin Horton]

And I know I can get some things like either an Intel G4400/I3 6100 from MSY with a basic macro ATX motherboard. It won't have ECC RAM or a dual Intel NIC, but it'll cost a lot less and still provide the basic functionality. More importantly, buying from MSY will be a lot less painful if something goes wrong and I don't have to wait for international shipping.

If you care about your data, you need EEC RAM. Only go with non-EEC RAM if your data has no value to you. You can learn why EEC RAM is very, very important by reading the first post in this thread.