I want to build a FreeNAS media server around the L5639 CPU, need advice for motherboard

[xemu]

I want to build a freeNAS media server around the L5639 as it is dirt cheap ($10), fast and low power. My preferred hard drive storage would be two 6gb drives in RAID1. What motherboard options do I have? I am looking for something used and inexpensive on Ebay. Compatibility looks like a minefield. Thanks for your help!

 

[warllo]

What are you use cases other than storing just files? You might be better off with a more modern socket. If you provide us a little more info we could probably make you some good suggestions.

 

[xemu]

I want to store my movies, music and documents centrally so that I may access them anywhere. I would also like to give a few friends and relatives access, though I don't expect a big load on the system. Does that help?

 

[drinking12many]

If you can find a board etc for a reasonable price it will do fine, long as your not transcoding etc. people here tend to over-recommend hardware. I used to have an HP-N40L dual core 1.2 8GB that ran mine fine for like 5 years long as I wasn't transcoding. I switched about a year ago to an old gaming box I retired that is an psuedo-8 Core AMD 8320 and 24GB non-ecc RAM *GASP* though I have a lot of ISCSI extents for SQL Cluster work I do. For home use generally anything will work if your not planning on the transcoding...all my TVs can stream anything 1080P, 4K I have not ever tried on my 1080P TV I don't imagine that would go well. Of course for safety sake even with non-ecc or any system for that matter backup backup backup!

On the other hand once you price out the board chassis ram etc, it may actually be cheaper to go for something newer.

This isnt a bad price on a good board provided it actually works.... generally from EBAY I have had good luck with used computer parts.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/S7012GM4NR...h=item2844c7d1e2:g:adwAAOSwkJNbn9yQ:rk:7:pf:0

 

[xemu]

After reading the "FreeNAS Community Hardware Guide
2016-10 Edition Revision 1e)" I got another idea for an inexpensive, low power but good performance setup.

SuperMicro X10SLL-F ($75) + Xeon E3-1220L ($50, passmark 2000, and TDP of 13W!)

The guide recommends an Intel Pentium G3220 for light usage. This chip has a TDP of 54W, passmark score of 3000, and is the same price.

What do you guys think?

 

[rvassar]

For light use, either will work. You should also be able to use a Core i3-32xx, as the i3 can support ECC. I used an i3-2120 on an X9SCL... Works like a champ, even with 10GbE and iSCSI to an ESXi box.

Another reason to avoid L5639, there will be no Meltdown/Spectre microcode updates.

 

[KrisBee]

For light use, either will work. You should also be able to use a Core i3-32xx, as the i3 can support ECC. I used an i3-2120 on an X9SCL... Works like a champ, even with 10GbE and iSCSI to an ESXi box.

Another reason to avoid L5639, there will be no Meltdown/Spectre microcode updates.

I'd do a bit of research on whether the i3 CPUs you referred to really do fully support ECC. They were removed from the intel ark and there are various past threads on this topic on the forum.

 

[rvassar]

I'd do a bit of research on whether the i3 CPUs you referred to really do fully support ECC. They were removed from the intel ark and there are various past threads on this topic on the forum.

Interesting... Good catch. Supermicro still lists them as supported for both his X10, and my X9 boards. They're both in Intel Ark. The i3-2120 was listed as supporting ECC recently, when I was researching my build. The i3-3220 specificly lists ECC "no".

So... Disregard my i3 comment. They appear to be in limbo. I guess I need to find a proper Xeon for my build.

 

[rvassar]

Just to muddy the waters further. Intel has another document addressing this:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005717/processors.html

Which states:
"The Intel® Core™ i3 Desktop Processors and supporting desktop boards do not typically support ECC memory. ECC memory is usually used on servers and workstations, rather than on desktop platforms, mainly due to the price premium of ECC memory. Check with your desktop board manufacturer to see if ECC memory is enabled on your board."

Supermicro requires/supports ECC memory on the X9SCL and supports using the i3, and Intel's Ark stated the i3-2120 did support ECC when I was researching the build. However... The Ark page the i3-3220 specificly say "No".

I'm probably safe, and I haven't been unhappy with the performance, but... That not as conclusive as I would like, so I'll be on the hunt for an E3 Xeon of some sort in the future.

 

[KrisBee]

I'd like to see that Intel tested in a court of law. It doesn't not unequivocally state Sandy/Ivy Brdge i3 CPUs support ECC in the right m/board. Yet supermicro implies it does in their x9 series m/boards. As s/hand 1155 xeons are not that expensive, it's worth keeping an eye out for a bargain.