Build Help

[dani190]

Hello,

Looking for some advise on a build I am looking to put together. Currently I have a TrueNAS system running on a Ryzen 5 2400G, MSI X570A-Pro with 64GB ram but am running into issues with not having onboard video (that works) and also not liking that I don't have ECC RAM. This was a system I repurposed so my plan now is to sell the parts and buy a new system to solve some of the challenges I have had and get ECC ram.

After a ton of research I am thinking about going with the below system:

Motherboard: Supermicro X11SSH-LN4F (Also found the X11SSM-F)
CPU: Intel Core i3-6300
Memory: 2x MEM-DR416L-SL01-EU24 16GB Memory (off the Supermicro compatibility list)
Drives (Existing): 7x 8TB WD Red in RAID-Z2 & 8x 1TB Samsung 860 SSDs in RAIZ-Z1
HBA (Existing): LSI SAS9210-8i & Intel Raid Expander RES2SV240

The primary purpose of this system is to backup my computers, run Plex, store my Lightroom RAW photos and other general file storage.

I am not 100% sold on the above hardware but maybe someone can chime in with a better combo. I am more than happy with an ATX size board (actually prefer) but so far can't find one I can get for a reasonable price in Canada. That and at this point, all of the Supermicro boards and blending together in my mind lol.

Thanks!

 

[NugentS]

My only issue with that board is that it only supports 64GB of memory, UDIMM at that = expensive I think
The CPU is 2(/4) Core @ 3.8GHz - so the system is quite constrained anyway
Scale or Core?
Are you expecting to hardware transcode?

 

[dani190]

hmm - fair enough. Like I said, wasn't thrilled with the i3 choice, actually just found an Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 for a decent price... maybe that's a better choice.

Core and probably no hardware transcoding.

 

[NugentS]

Thats a better CPU except it only support 32GB max RAM. I would keep looking

 

[dani190]

Hmm - what if I dropped down to the v5 series... something like the Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1230 v5 or even E3-1270 v5. Basically anything in that range depending on what's cheapest on Ebay at the time.
Looks like it takes 64GB ram, has a lower price on Ebay and a higher passmark score.

I looked at the boards some more and am starting to think that the X11SSM-F is a smarter choice. Looks like having the nvme slot burns one of the PCIe slots. Probably better to have that extra PCIE slot.

 

[NugentS]

I note you are in Canada (means near the US) so look at system dismantlers and see what they have in the way of CPU's. You don't need that many cores, but a higher clock speed is good for SMB.

Then you have to find a motherboard of course, and that seems to be proving difficult. I personally buy new motherboards when I build a server, with rest being 2nd hand (CPU, Memory, HBA), Oh and new PSU's.

Also look at the X10 range

X11SSM-F. 64GB Support - UDIMM again - so expensive. You want RDIMM if you can - its cheaper to buy second hand

 

[dani190]

Good call - let me take a look. I thought the Supermicro boards were super particular with memory being on their supported list? If that's wrong then I see what you mean about RDIMM and being able to find something cheaper.

 

[dani190]

Ok I may be onto something now...

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-1630v3 ~$50
MB: Supermicro X10SRL-F ~$249
Memory: 2x Samsung 16GB 2Rx4 PC4-2400 RDIMM DDR4-19200 ECC REG Registered Server M393A2G40EB1 ~$120

I was able to find the motherboard and memory in Canada which is great - Just the CPU is coming from the US.

From what I can see, this combo has more PCI slots, the CPU is pretty beefy and supports more than enough memory (768GB).

 

[NugentS]

That's a lot better. Ticks just about every box from my PoV. 16GB Dimms seem to be the sweet spot for price vs capacity

 

[NugentS]

Remember to get a decent (quality and size) PSU to spin those disks properly.
PSU Sizing Guide

 

[dani190]

Nice! Thanks. Now I just need to consider new vs used for the motherboard. I had a great one in my cart on Ebay but lost it before I could finalize my decision. and yes PSU will be something ill review. I believe I have what I need already but ill review that article just to be sure.