Will my Hardware work

[Swillmcdill]

Hey Guys

I'm gonna get a computer going for freenas and I'm a bit torn about what path to take hardware wise.

Option one : Upgrade gaming computer and use the old hardware for my freenas box

Sorry for non specific specs but i can't run it to check while I'm waiting on an o-ring for cooling
Motherboard : Asus MAXIMUS IV EXTREME-Z
Processor : i7 3.4 (runs at 4)
RAM : 16gb DDR3 non ECC
video would be some cheapo i pickup second hand as the card on it would go onto new mobo

Option B : Build something from scratch. Likely a Supermicro x10

I'm pretty happy with my computer for gaming as is and feel zero need to change the guts. That being said since the cost of the server would be 900$ (CAD) for the recommended parts for the server i could also do a slick upgrade for the gaming computer and put the old one to work. I'd say i'm more concerned about performance on the server than I am about making current gaming computer faster.

I plan to be running plex as well as other pluggins. Backups, etc.

 

[pirateghost]

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

 

[Swillmcdill]

https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

I've read it and have a shopping cart based on the thread. That being said I'm wondering if my current hardware will run it or would it run into issues with the chipsets. I get the impression the easiest thing to do will be build a server based on that thread from scratch.

 

[j_r0dd]

My only suggestion is if it doesn't support ECC I would not use it. Building the system itself is pretty cheap. The drives are where most of the dough gets spent.

 

[pirateghost]

I've read it and have a shopping cart based on the thread. That being said I'm wondering if my current hardware will run it or would it run into issues with the chipsets. I get the impression the easiest thing to do will be build a server based on that thread from scratch.

If you read that guide, then you should remember this line:

Consumer boards and often "prosumer" boards are not good choices for FreeNAS. All that extra hardware to allow you to overclock, have great audio and video, etc is a waste of power. Even when disabled in the BIOS they will use power 24x7 nonstop. It might have all sorts of great features that are useful for desktops but we aren't building a desktop. We're building a server and we're looking for reliability and high uptime. You want a motherboard that has as much on-board that you need without the extra stuff you don't.

 

[Swillmcdill]

And if I get a wattage meter I can check out its power usage. I don't know how high it is. More focusing on stability and issues I could encounter. That being said I accept the stance is don't deviate from recommendations and was already leaning in that direction. It was more for curiousity than anything.

 

[pirateghost]

It will likely work just fine.

Until one day when it doesn't, and you will be banging your head trying to figure out what went wrong.

And it almost always winds up being some crap hardware component.

 

[j_r0dd]

In the short time I have been here, I can't count the threads of people with issues from using consumer components.

 

[Swillmcdill]

Alright. That's pretty much what I figured.