Build underway but have questions.

[Celt]

This is the build I am currently working on. Some of these parts have already been purchased, and are marked as such

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EHBERSE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
WD Red 4TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD40EFRX

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015YEI7LK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Corsair RMx Series, RM1000x, 1000W, Fully Modular Power Supply, 80+ Gold Certified

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K6OVG0I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Fractal Design Node 804 No Power Supply MicroATX Cube Case FD-CA-NODE-804-BL, Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018AX40ZE/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Supermicro Micro ATX DDR4 LGA 1151 Motherboards X11SSH-CTF-O

Crucial 16GB Single 2133MT/s DDR4 PC4-17000 Dual Ranked x8 ECC DIMM CT16G4WFD8213 / MTA18ASF2G72AZ-2G1A1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017UGK94S/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2D8382U3T7OK2

Intel Corp. BX80662E31240V5 Xeon Processor E3 1240 v5
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016TQ828U/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

These are based on the Recommended Parts List.

I currently have 6 Hard Drives (I will add another 6 at a later date of a higher capacity), the power supply and the case. The memory will be based on the Motherboard so I'm not worried there. The processor will also go along with the motherboard I choose, but I do want the power of that particular processor. My question comes is about the Motherboard:

I could have *sworn* that the X11SSH-CTF was expressly talked about in the Recommended Parts List. Downloading it and rereading it however I couldn't find it. I specifically remember it being the one referenced as having the LSI SAS that can be flashed to give a non raid HBA for more drives. Am I in error, has something changed, or is there something else I missed?

Edit: Did a side-by-side comparison on Supermicro's site. One has the capability for 16 drives (the CTF) the other for 14 (the CF). The CTF has the C236 chipset and the CF has the C232. Does anyone know any other pro's or cons for these two chipsets, or is it really down to pretty much having 2 extra drives. And yes, they both have the the LSI SAS to account for 8 of those drives.

 

[Ericloewe]

The X11SSH-CTF has 10GbE onboard and a price to match.

 

[Celt]

Eric, thanks for the response

So, 10GbE and two extra drives. I had 14 drives in my head, as I think I had the CF initially in mind. I just did simple division when I first thought about the build, which left me 2 drives for install, and two storage pools of 6 drives a piece.

Going with USB thumbdrives for the OS, I can do 8 drives each, with RAIDZ2. That will give me 24 TB for my first vdev with 4 TB drives, assuming I'm thinking of this correctly.

So, are two extra drives and 10GbE worth the $200 premium for that board. I think I have to look at what RAM goes with it first and see about the RAM price difference, if any.

 

[Inxsible]

I currently have 6 Hard Drives (I will add another 6 at a later date of a higher capacity),

Unless the 6 that you add later contain at least a few 2.5" drives, I doubt you will be able to fit all of them in there.

Eric, thanks for the response

So, 10GbE and two extra drives. I had 14 drives in my head, as I think I had the CF initially in mind. I just did simple division when I first thought about the build, which left me 2 drives for install, and two storage pools of 6 drives a piece.

Going with USB thumbdrives for the OS, I can do 8 drives each, with RAIDZ2. That will give me 24 TB for my first vdev with 4 TB drives, assuming I'm thinking of this correctly.

Wait, just because your board will support 14 drives that doesn't mean your case will. The case you plan on using, Node 804 can have a max of 10x3.5" and 2x2.5" drives or 8x3.5" and 4x2.5". Either way, that's 12 data drives max, assuming you use a USB for the boot pool. If not using USB, you have to reduce 1 or 2 depending on if you use mirrored boot drives. THe 2 extra drive support is irrelevant because your case won't support 14 drives, let alone 16.

So, are two extra drives and 10GbE worth the $200 premium for that board. I think I have to look at what RAM goes with it first and see about the RAM price difference, if any.

If you don't have the need for 10Gbe, then save your $200

 

[Ericloewe]

I think I have to look at what RAM goes with it first and see about the RAM price difference, if any.

It's the same RAM as for the other X11 models.

So, are two extra drives and 10GbE worth the $200 premium for that board.

You tell me. How much does a recent 10Gb Intel NIC cost? If it's more than 200 bucks, then yes, it's a good deal.