Hi all, I'll try to keep this short. I posted awhile ago asking for recommendations, but have since reconsidered my hardware options and figured I'd make a new thread. I now think that a used 1U server running a Supermicro X9 motherboard will provide the best bang-for-the-buck for what I want to do (local backups, plex streaming, a few VM's, and generally learning more about FreeNAS). I have spent HOURS scouring eBay and to be honest I feel sort of overloaded at this point. I know this is asking a lot, but if someone with more knowledge than me could look at the options I am considering and let me know if I am overlooking anything, I would greatly appreciate it.
EDIT: I will be running four 4TB WD Red's in raidZ1. None of this data is critical.
Also, I've read the recommended hardware thread and learned that running hardware raid with FreeNAS is no-no. Most of the listings I see on eBay do not specify whether they use a raid card or simply an HBA, and I do not know how to find this out without having the server model number. Could anyone help me out with this?
EDIT AGAIN: I guess I am confused about how the backplane connects to the motherboard. As I understand it now, the TQ backplanes act as a sort of "pass thru" and go off of the motherboards SATA ports. The other possibilities are to use a RAID controller or an HBA. Is this correct? Is it safe to assume that most 1U's will use a TQ backplane since they only hold a relatively small number of drives?
Option1:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/UXS-Server-Intel-Xeon-E3-1270-V2-3-5Ghz-Quad-Core-16GB-RAM-Supermicro-X9SCM-F/153231424196?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2763.l2649#viTabs_0
Option 2:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...ghz-4-Cores-16gb-4x-Trays-2x-PSU/233098749051
Option 3: (not 1U but, but leaves room to upgrade)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...-V2-3-4ghz-Quad-Core-16GB-No-HDD/233102719381
Option 4: (this one is a bit overkill, but if I can get it for a good price, why not?)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...630-2-30Ghz-32GB-300GB-1U-Server/401726989189
Again, thank you guys for your time.
EDIT: I will be running four 4TB WD Red's in raidZ1. None of this data is critical.
Also, I've read the recommended hardware thread and learned that running hardware raid with FreeNAS is no-no. Most of the listings I see on eBay do not specify whether they use a raid card or simply an HBA, and I do not know how to find this out without having the server model number. Could anyone help me out with this?
EDIT AGAIN: I guess I am confused about how the backplane connects to the motherboard. As I understand it now, the TQ backplanes act as a sort of "pass thru" and go off of the motherboards SATA ports. The other possibilities are to use a RAID controller or an HBA. Is this correct? Is it safe to assume that most 1U's will use a TQ backplane since they only hold a relatively small number of drives?
Option1:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/UXS-Server-Intel-Xeon-E3-1270-V2-3-5Ghz-Quad-Core-16GB-RAM-Supermicro-X9SCM-F/153231424196?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2763.l2649#viTabs_0
Option 2:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...ghz-4-Cores-16gb-4x-Trays-2x-PSU/233098749051
Option 3: (not 1U but, but leaves room to upgrade)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...-V2-3-4ghz-Quad-Core-16GB-No-HDD/233102719381
Option 4: (this one is a bit overkill, but if I can get it for a good price, why not?)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supermicro...630-2-30Ghz-32GB-300GB-1U-Server/401726989189
Again, thank you guys for your time.
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