Updated: RIP (likely) mobo, new config, thoughts?

[Ron Robertson]

My faithful (and now quite old) system has died. The pool is intact (6x4TB SATA WD Red), and I have good config backups. What I don't have is a known good minimum configuration, nor old parts to swap in. I moved at the onset of the pandemic, and the pile of parts in the closet didn't come across the country.

The system was 2014 vintage, an Asrock E3C224D2I R motherboard, Intel i3-4130, 16GB ECC RAM. I still have the Fractal Design Node 304(?) case and 500W PSU.

Cost is not a major issue - while I'd like to avoid thousands, I'm able to build a capable system to run another 8 years. What I don't have is loads of time to spend reading and getting current - while I'd love to, it just doesn't fit with life at the moment.

Suggestions for mainboard/cpu/ram that would provide the 6 SATA headers needed and fit a mini itx form factor?

ETA: have downloaded the most recent hardware recommendation guide, and am picking my way through it. Also, the more "appliance like" the better, so a true standalone cpu is not a requirement - this thing gets used primarily as file storage by a household.

 

[Etorix]

Appliance-like, mini-ITX: Supermicro X10SDV (Xeon D-1500) or A2SDi (Atom C3000) series.
It will help that cost is not a major issue because these are quite expensive new and even second-hand is a seller's market.

 

[Ron Robertson]

Yeesh. Availability seems to be a much larger hurdle than cost. There's not stock on many of the recommended or popular options.

 

[Ron Robertson]

Alright, need a quick sanity check before I order:

Gigabtye MX33-BS0 motherboard (6 SATA headers, no oculink or proprietary fanout cables)
Intel Xeon E-2334 Rocket Lake 3.4GHz 65W (on the QVL for this board)
Fractal Design Node 804
32GB Kit 2x16GB DDR4-3200 PC4-25600 ECC UDIMM 2Rx8

Intend to run system from a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, with 6x4TB Western Digital Reds in a pool that I'm carrying over from the old system. Will carry over the 500W EVGA PSU with all of the lovely sata headers from the previous Node 304.

Any issues that anyone sees? Spending about 1K in total once I add a small UPS and the M.2 drive.

 

[Etorix]

I see no obvious issue with this list.
If you're going for micro-ATX in a new case there are many more options, so take some time to explore before hitting the "Buy" button…

 

[Ron Robertson]

Update, all hardware arrived this afternoon. Chose to take the slightly more risky route - rather than restoring from config file on an older version. Instead, installed TrueNAS Core 13, imported the pool, easy peasy. Very little drama. Thanks for the help along the way, @Etorix.

 

[oncdoc]

Alright, need a quick sanity check before I order:

Gigabtye MX33-BS0 motherboard (6 SATA headers, no oculink or proprietary fanout cables)
Intel Xeon E-2334 Rocket Lake 3.4GHz 65W (on the QVL for this board)
Fractal Design Node 804
32GB Kit 2x16GB DDR4-3200 PC4-25600 ECC UDIMM 2Rx8

Intend to run system from a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, with 6x4TB Western Digital Reds in a pool that I'm carrying over from the old system. Will carry over the 500W EVGA PSU with all of the lovely sata headers from the previous Node 304.

Any issues that anyone sees? Spending about 1K in total once I add a small UPS and the M.2 drive.

Thank you for sharing. How is your build? I'm looking to build something like yours versus just buying the mini x Plus. My only concern is that that atom processor is aged. Is there going to be a way for us to upgrade the internals of the mini series on our own easily? I always try not to buy the tail end of a chip cycle or car cycle etc etc

 

[Ron Robertson]

Thank you for sharing. How is your build? I'm looking to build something like yours versus just buying the mini x Plus. My only concern is that that atom processor is aged. Is there going to be a way for us to upgrade the internals of the mini series on our own easily? I always try not to buy the tail end of a chip cycle or car cycle etc etc

Went perfectly, and it's been humming ever since. I expected something along the way to be difficult, but somehow it went off flawlessly from the initial build to the import of the existing pool.

While you are right to consider the future, it's also true that many of us use these systems as something rather pedestrian, simple file storage (with the added redundancy that the system is designed to offer). They will age, and that's alright. Mine ran in a corner for eight years, and if it would have done it's job for another eight I would have allowed it, probably. By the time I was four years in it was past due. :)

 

[artlessknave]

Is there going to be a way for us to upgrade the internals of the mini series on our own easily?

this is more a question for it's own forum post, or directly to IX, since you bought it from them, but here is a quick answer.
ultimately, like any other computer case, any board that fits the chassis and has enough of the same ports is a perfectly valid replacement part.
the minis are a specialized, but fundamentally standard, chassis.
the minis all use mITX, so that's what you really need. something like the miniXL+ needs a board with enough ports for all the drives, so it depends which mini you have.
most mITX motherboards have 4-6 SATA, which would be enough for the smaller minis