Which is better?

[Robert Thomspon]

Hey guys... fighting myself on what to do...

I currently have a Dell T7500 w/ 1x Xeon X5667 and 48GB of DDR3 ECC RAM, with 4x8TB Seagate Barracuda drives running past a RAID card flashed to run simple SATA 6GB/s (The T7500 is natively SATA 2... so the card in theory makes my drives faster... )

Anyway, I happen to have a spare rig from helping my brother build a better gaming rig...
Ryzen 5 1600, 16GB DDR4 (NOT ECC) (2x8GB sticks) and a Gigabyte GA-AX370 board (not the best out there... and kind of a PITA if i wanted to run true RAID... but I dont :)
I would lose the add on Video Card the T7500 needs, as well as probably the RAD/SATA card as the Gigabyte is natively SATA 3...

Anyone have recommendations on which I should use? (Both are roughly the same in power usage... both processors are 95W... The AMD would probably run a few Watts lighter as no need for add on Video or SATA)... The AMD should be significantly faster on processing... but I dont have the same amount of RAM (The T7500 shows 36GB of RAM (WIRED under reporting) as always in use (1.1GB min, 32,6GB Avg, 36.7GB Max... again, all as "WIRED"
... but always less than 500MB used as ACTIVE (4.4MB min, 978MB average, 5.5GB Max))

 

[Chris Moore]

Gigabyte GA-AX370

Realtek NIC onboard, among other problems, so I would pass. You might be able to sell the components to make some cash on eBay and use that cash to buy something like this:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...anges-to-upgrade-as-high-as-512gb-of-ram.110/

 

[Robert Thomspon]

Realtek NIC onboard, among other problems, so I would pass. You might be able to sell the components to make some cash on eBay and use that cash to buy something like this:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...anges-to-upgrade-as-high-as-512gb-of-ram.110/

What would be the other problems? (I have add on NIC cards... but that would counter the "getting rid of X addon card with saving in Watts used)

 

[Robert Thomspon]

Realtek NIC onboard, among other problems, so I would pass. You might be able to sell the components to make some cash on eBay and use that cash to buy something like this:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...anges-to-upgrade-as-high-as-512gb-of-ram.110/

And Im not looking to buy other componenets... this is an either or... not buy more :) If the AMD isnt better than the Xeon...

 

[Constantin]

If power consumption is important to you, then I’d reconsider taking Chris’ advice.

There are some great low power boards out there and none of them use CPUs with a TDP of 95W. (See the low power server section on servethehome.com for further articles, reviews, and so on).

For example, for SOHO applications I’m a fan of the D-15xx based Supermicro boards because they are built to be servers, can offer features such as a on-board HBA, SFP+ and/or 10GBe, multiple Pcie 3.0x8 and m.2 at x4 slots, etc. all with a relatively modest thermal and power envelope.

That way, you can end up with a kicking file server while spending comparatively little. For example, the X10SDV-2c-7TP4F offers all the above except 10GBe with a 25W TDP CPU for less than $500 (plus RAM).

 

[Robert Thomspon]

If power consumption is important to you, then I’d reconsider taking Chris’ advice.

There are some great low power boards out there and none of them use CPUs with a TDP of 95W. (See the low power server section on servethehome.com for further articles, reviews, and so on).

For example, for SOHO applications I’m a fan of the D-15xx based Supermicro boards because they are built to be servers, can offer features such as a on-board HBA, SFP+ and/or 10GBe, multiple Pcie 3.0x8 and m.2 at x4 slots, etc. all with a relatively modest thermal and power envelope.

That way, you can end up with a kicking file server while spending comparatively little. For example, the X10SDV-2c-7TP4F offers all the above except 10GBe with a 25W TDP CPU for less than $500 (plus RAM).

While I appreciate the input... can we stick to the question asked?

I am not looking to sell either build.
I am not looking to buy more parts.
I am asking... of those 2 rigs... which would you go for? Which is "better"? Which makes more sense?

I am not looking at which consumes less power, they were just remarks on the benefits i could see from where i sit... and they are minimal at best...

So... can you guys get back on to answering the question at hand rather than answering questions that I didnt ask?

 

[Chris Moore]

I am not looking to sell either build.
I am not looking to buy more parts.
I am asking... of those 2 rigs... which would you go for? Which is "better"? Which makes more sense?

Given only those two options, I would just keep using the Dell Precision T7500. Those systems are great and I use a couple of them at work for small, departmental, servers.
The gaming system is good for gaming, not being a server. Slap some windows on it and play some arcade games or something. Gaming gear is not server gear.

So... can you guys get back on to answering the question at hand rather than answering questions that I didnt ask?

Please allow us some latitude to discuss the situation. We don't work for you. This is recreation for the people that come here to answer questions.

 

[Chris Moore]

That really looks like a good gaming board, it even has LED lighting on the memory slots:

 

[Robert Thomspon]

Given only those two options, I would just keep using the Dell Precision T7500. Those systems are great and I use a couple of them at work for small, departmental, servers.
The gaming system is good for gaming, not being a server. Slap some windows on it and play some arcade games or something. Gaming gear is not server gear.

Please allow us some latitude to discuss the situation. We don't work for you. This is recreation for the people that come here to answer questions.

Thank you... That is the type of answer I was looking for.

And, for the record... With that answer in hand, feel free to add all the recommendations you want or point towards all the parts you think would make a better server... Knock yourselves out... Again, after my question was answered, I don't really care what fluff is added to it.

And, I realize that you do not work for me... However, if you took your car to the mechanic because the brakes were squeeking and asked them their recommendation was for new pads... You'd probably get a little irritated if their first suggestion was to purchase a new car... Same goes here... I wasn't looking for a recommendation on what new parts I should get, I was seeking advice on parts I already have... This that is what was contained in my original post...

 

[Robert Thomspon]

That really looks like a good gaming board, it even has LED lighting on the memory slots:

View attachment 29208

I believe I actually bought this motherboard for my brother... As well as the Ryzen 5 2600... And some faster RAM... Thus the reason that I had a spare board/CPU/ram to tinker with...

As for me and my rig, I'm perfectly content with my i5-9600k, 32GB 3200 RAM, NVidia 2070 video card and 2x 256GB Samsung 970 M2 SSDs running in RAID0 and a 2tb SSD for bulk storage...

But I appreciate the advice on my original post..

With all that said, I really am happy to take recommendations now that the original question was answered...

 

[Chris Moore]

However, if you took your car to the mechanic because the brakes were squeeking and asked them their recommendation was for new pads... You'd probably get a little irritated if their first suggestion was to purchase a new car...

Don't you see how totally different these two thing are? The mechanic is working for you, hired to perform a service, "Fix my breaks," with the implied additional instructions of, "don't waste my time or money".
Here on the forum, it is just a bunch of people hanging out answering the questions they can. Here, it is more like going down to the pub, just a pub filled with people that (to some degree) know a lot about the question you have, based on their own experience. You are bound to get some advice here, whether you want it or not.

With all that said, I really am happy to take recommendations now that the original question was answered...

Do you want to build something that is FreeNAS specific? New hardware, used hardware? What are your goals?

 

[Apollo]

I would still be cautious about getting advices from a mechanic in the choice of my breaks and pads. Making an educated choice is always time consumming.

For Freenas usage I would stick to ECC RAM which means Xeon would be the go-to choice. RAM speed shouldn't be the decision maker here as DDR3 is pretty fast for Freenas.
If RAM isn't used much, maybe you can make use of your Freenas to handle more functionality such as Nextcloud. You could repurpose your Ryzen to be a pfsense box to serve Nextcloud, or simply use it as a backup for your Freenas, but remember using non ECC RAM is like playing with fire if you intned to retain a certain layer of security in your data. I am not saying it is not doable, it is just an unnecessary potential risk to your data.

 

[Robert Thomspon]

Don't you see how totally different these two thing are? The mechanic is working for you, hired to perform a service, "Fix my breaks," with the implied additional instructions of, "don't waste my time or money".
Here on the forum, it is just a bunch of people hanging out answering the questions they can. Here, it is more like going down to the pub, just a pub filled with people that (to some degree) know a lot about the question you have, based on their own experience. You are bound to get some advice here, whether you want it or not.

Do you want to build something that is FreeNAS specific? New hardware, used hardware? What are your goals?

Then replace "Mechanic" with "A guy who is a <insert car brand here> technician as a real job, but you're asking him on the internet for advice on what brake pads to get... And his response is buy a new car." … And while his advice might be sound, it isn't the question you asked.

Please dont discount an entire thought just because you are able to find a fault in the wording that lets you spin it to your advantage... the rest of the scenario still fits.

As for "we are all at a pub"... yeah, again... i understand and accept that. I get that I am going to get advice whether i asked for it or not... that isnt the problem... the problem is forgoing or ignoring the original question in favor of answering the one no one asked, but you prefered to give a response to..

However, again, i am grateful for the eventual yet concise advice. I accept that you know more than I do... I didnt question your why to going with the T7500... i accepted it as you knowing better than me. (I wouldnt be opposed to the why... or the comparison)...

And, ultimately, I am thankful that there are people on here who willingly donate their time, their experiences, and their expertise to us pleebs...

 

[Robert Thomspon]

I would still be cautious about getting advices from a mechanic in the choice of my breaks and pads. Making an educated choice is always time consumming.

For Freenas usage I would stick to ECC RAM which means Xeon would be the go-to choice. RAM speed shouldn't be the decision maker here as DDR3 is pretty fast for Freenas.
If RAM isn't used much, maybe you can make use of your Freenas to handle more functionality such as Nextcloud. You could repurpose your Ryzen to be a pfsense box to serve Nextcloud, or simply use it as a backup for your Freenas, but remember using non ECC RAM is like playing with fire if you intned to retain a certain layer of security in your data. I am not saying it is not doable, it is just an unnecessary potential risk to your data.

Its all non-mission-critical stuff (TV Shows, movies... etc). I was trying to set up NextCloud (i used to run owncloud) but it... i dont know, seems to be slightly broken (or im an idiot... bot are equally plausible) at the moment... I got it installed via jail, but cant configure it yet (to be honest... i quit after maybe 5 minutes as i had other things needed to get up and running).

I liked PFSense... but man, it is a bulky beast that is a little unweildy for a home environment....

 

[Chris Moore]

Then replace "Mechanic" with "A guy who is a <insert car brand here> technician as a real job, but you're asking him on the internet for advice on what brake pads to get... And his response is buy a new car." … And while his advice might be sound, it isn't the question you asked.

True story, I took my Honda to a repair shop to have something fixed, I don't recall what, and the owner of the shop suggested that I should get a Toyota instead. You never know what you will get.

I wouldnt be opposed to the why... or the comparison

From my perspective, having many of the T7500 systems at the place I work, they are built like servers, even though they are intended to be workstations, but they will run 24/7 for a very long time with no maintenance besides the occasional dusting. In the last seven years I only recall two of them failing and we are just now phasing them out. We keep hardware a long time here. They are well built and reliable and most of the hardware in them is perfectly compatible with FreeNAS. The gaming system has questionable build quality and it has unusable hardware in the form of the sound system and poorly compatible hardware in the form of the network interface. It would be a different question entirely if you were getting something that was newer AND just as compatible and reliable. The gaming system is newer, but it isn't intrinsically more reliable and it is certainly not more compatible, not even ECC memory, for example. The Dell isn't perfect, but it is better, even though it is old. One of the T7500 systems I have at work is running eight hard drives for the storage array by connecting to an external SAS enclosure. It is running Windows Server 2012 R2 and has been running as reliably as any purpose built server. In my mind, it is a whole different level of reliability, kind of like my mechanic telling me to get a Toyota when I already have a Honda. I might buy a Toyota next time.

One nice thing about the T7500 is that they can be upgraded to a dual processor configuration and each of those processors can be 6 core at 3.4 GHz and the system can accommodate up to 192 GB of RAM. It is a beast of a computer with the only down side being that it takes some power to run.
I used a pair of Dell T3500 workstations (same generation hardware) for my FreeNAS systems at home up until I was able to buy real server gear.
Those professional workstations that have Xeon processors and ECC memory, you can often pick them up fairly cheap on eBay and they make fairly good servers. Dell, HP and IBM / Lenovo all make them.