BUILD Home ECC build

[KMR]

Howdy folks,

I have purchased 6 3TB drives which are currently running in RaidZ2 on an old Socket 775 Motherboard. I am running into errors and so I am moving up my schedule for an ECC based build. I have spec'd out two systems and would like some feedback on both. I don't have a lot of money to throw around but I'm willing to spend a little for extra protection on my investment. I have a Seasonic PSU on order now which will be in the box shortly. The options come down to an AMD build based on consumer components or an Intel build based on low-end server grade components.

AMD:
Asus m5a97 LE R2.0 AM3+ board that supports ECC RAM.
Athlon X2 270 dual core @ 3.4Ghz.
Kingston 16GB (2x 8GB) unbuffered ECC RAM kit.
Total cost: $353.64 in my hands.

Intel
Intel S1200BTSR board support ECC RAM.
Pentium G2020 @ 2.9Ghz
Kingston 16GB (2x 8GB) unbuffered ECC RAM kit.
Total cost: $469.49 in my hands.

I know the AMD is more power hungry than the intel. I am leaning toward the Intel setup for the server grade motherboard and chipset. In the end the $115 doesn't seem like that much for a computer I've already spent a good deal on. I could save $20 or so by going with a Supermicro motherboard.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[cyberjock]

I'm not good at ranking how good an AMD is versus Intel(Stephens.. step in here!). I'm all Intel personally. So my slightly biased opinion is go for the Intel because it's Intel and the fact its server grade stuff.

Assuming clock for clock the CPUs are the same, AMD would be better for the higher clock speed.

 

[ProtoSD]

I used to be an Intel fan since a huge chunk of my old coworkers work there, then I went to the dark side when AMD lept ahead for awhile, now I'm an Intel fan again since the Core i3,5,7 processors are so quick. Beyond that, I can't really say which one to choose ;)

 

[KMR]

Yeah, I have four PCs in my rack right now and they are all Intel (1 Celeron pfSense router, 1 Celeron Win7 PC, 1 C2D FreeNAS box, and a Xeon 1230v2 ESXi server). If I went with the AMD it would be the odd ball to replace the C2D. Honestly I'm thinking the extra cash is worth it in this case since the storage box is the most important computer I have. The only reason I have to even considering the AMD is the cost savings.

 

[Stephens]

If you are planning to use encryption, get a chip with AES-NI, which the G2020 doesn't have. If one already has AMD equipment, it can be used, but unless going for a small form factor PC using APU's (atom, etc) or cases where every dollar is critical, Intel's currently in the lead.

 

[paleoN]

I am running into errors and so I am moving up my schedule for an ECC based build.

Then I assume you would consider the reporting component of ECC memory to be important? Then the question becomes how well does FreeBSD support such reporting on the Asus m5a97 LE R2.0 vs Intel S1200BTSR or whatever Supermicro.

 

[KMR]

Are there any links on the reporting functionality you can provide so I can do some relevant reading? I've never built an ECC system before so I don't know much about it. After lurking on forums for a while and reading the debates I've decided to go with it because the additional cost at this point is negligible. After seeing how easy it is to get errors on my current system I'm much more interested in the extra protection ECC provides.

I will be ordering the components this weekend I suspect and I have pretty much decided on the Intel setup. So if anyone had any comments on the Supermicro MBD-X9SCL-O board Vs the Intel S1200BTSR board it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[paleoN]

Are there any links on the reporting functionality you can provide so I can do some relevant reading?

I don't have any. I was simply helping you define the question. I'm unsure if any/most enthusiast boards actually have such support, but I haven't ever looked. Since you are going with a server grade motherboard it is likely much easier. I would still search whichever models you are looking at to see if the FreeBSD support looks solid.

 

[KMR]

I ended up going with the G2020, Kingston ECC RAM, and the Supermicro board because it was cheaper and it supports VT-d if I want to use this board for another build down the road. I also found a solution for my angry wife: I bought her a motorcycle.

/dusts hands
Work complete.

 

[paleoN]

I also found a solution for my angry wife: I bought her a motorcycle.

LMAO, I like how you take care of business sir. ;)

Let us know when you get it all put together.

 

[KMR]

Components came in today. I swapped in my new MB, CPU, and ECC RAM. I'm running Memtest86 over night so I'll get everything up and running tomorrow after work. So far two passes and no errors. Memtest86 shows ECC as off for whatever reason but this motherboard only accepts ECC RAM so I'm assuming things are working. Is there anything anyone knows of to test the ECC functionality?

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, forgot to mention. The Seasonic PSU hasn't arrived yet but it will be swapped in when it does. I also ordered the 1500VA APC UPS today so it will be here in about a week or so.

 

[gpsguy]

Just give your wife the bag the PSU comes in ... <grin>

The Seasonic PSU hasn't arrived yet...

 

[KMR]

Update:

So, I have all the equipment in (except the PSU which will arrive Monday). I ran 10 passes of memtest86 error free. For whatever reason memtest86 doesn't show the ECC option but it doesn't really matter. I did a scrub which ran at about double the speed of the old config and it came back error free. The next steps are to configure the dual nics with load balancing (my switch doesn't support LACP) and setup the UPS when it arrives.

Here's hoping for a reliable and stable box! Total cost to date including the UPS, motherboard, cpu, ram, hard drives, PSU, and UPS (in case anyone is wondering): $1642 CAD.

 

[paleoN]

For whatever reason memtest86 doesn't show the ECC option but it doesn't really matter.

Well, memtest86+ doesn't. The original memtest86 has an ECC option I believe.

Here's hoping for a reliable and stable box! Total cost to date including the UPS, motherboard, cpu, ram, hard drives, PSU, and UPS (in case anyone is wondering): $1642 CAD.

Are you keeping your temps under control?

[thread=11986]How much money have you sunk into your FreeNAS project?[/thread] I would actually put the hard drive purchases into their own section.

 

[KMR]

Yes, I am keeping the temps under control now. I bought hard drive spacers and there is now a 1 unit gap between each drive. The drives are running between 41 - 44 degrees C which is well within operating temperature. The PSU and UPS are now in my hands and I will be installing them over the next couple of days. I will report back with the power consumption numbers when I am done testing.

 

[Amou]

I quite enjoy this build. I was wondering how much watt is your psu and what are you using to keep the temps? Assuming you aren't using stock fans.

 

[KMR]

I have the PSU and UPS installed and running now but the UPS is not configured yet.
My power consumption is as follows:
Startup: peaked at 190W (I may look into staggered spin up for the drives)
Idle: 71W
Scrub: 80 - 84W
I will do more detailed testing when I have time over the next couple of days. I also need to track down some CIFS performance issues. I'm getting between 40 - 50 MB/s transfer rate where the old build got 80 - 90 MB/s.

Thanks for the vote. I am using a cheap IstarUSA case with 2x 80mm fans and 2x 60mm fans. The PSU is 430W which is probably overkill.

 

[KMR]

I checked this morning and the UPS said 60W so that seems like its rest state that it will stay at overnight. I'm pretty happy with that number overall.

Regarding the performance issues - does anyone have some suggestions on things to check? I thought auto-tune was enabled by default on FreeNAS and I would have thought that if anything the hardware upgrades would at least give me the same performance.

 

[cyberjock]

Any hard drives over 40C have a much increased failure rate over the long term. Read up on the Google research on their hard drives and you'll see that hard drives have a fairly low failure rate between 15C and 39C. Once you hit the 40C the annual failure rate goes way up(and by way up I mean double or more).

 

[KMR]

Oh, hmm. I will have to look into a better cooling strategy then.