Looking to build first FreeNAS setup...too many options, need some advice/opinions.

[mse09]

Hello everyone, noob to the forum here. I'm in the initial plans/process of putting together a FreeNAS setup. Well actually I'm in the process of completely over hauling/restructuring my entire home computing/networking setup in general. I'm going to hit on a few off topic aspects in this post but ultimately it is on topic, just hang in there with me and maybe you can help me out. Basically I've currently got two desktops, and most of the parts for a third just laying around. My goal is to ultimately end up with one desktop (gaming/general use), one box acting as a router running pfSense, and one FreeNAS box handling storage and a couple plugins (plex for sure). I'm going to list all the parts I currently have here at my disposal and then my theoretical build for the FreeNAS box. I'm looking to see if is the most practical given my options/goals or if I might be better served by going a different route.

Hardware list that I've got here:

CPU:

• Intel Xeon E3-1230v3
• Intel Core I3-4130
• Intel Pentium G3258

Motherboards:

• MSI H97 PC MATE ATX (6x SATA)
• AsRock B85M-ITX (4x SATA)
• AsRock Z87E-ITX (6x SATA)

RAM (ALL NON-ECC):

• G. Skill Ripjaws X Series 16gb (2x8gb) DDR3-1600
• Crucial 8gb (1x8gb) DDR3-1600
• Crucial 4gb (2x2gb) DDR3-1333

Storage:

• Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120gb
• Crucial M500 mSATA SSD 240gb
• Crucial MX200 SSD 500gb
• WD Green 3TB
• Seagate 1TB (basic Barracuda entry lvl drive)

PSU:

• Corsair RM550
• Corsair CX500
• 500W 80+ gold slim psu (out of EVGA Hadron Air m-ITX case)

Cases:

• Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 (7x 3.5" internal bays, supports up to E-ATX)
• Cooler Master Elite 120 (3x 3.5" internal bays, only supports m-ITX)
• Torn apart EVGA Hadron Air...might be able to get it back together...not 100% sure about that (3x 3.5" internal bays, only supports m-ITX)

Random:

• Intel NIC i350-T4
• Several GPU's
• Several aftermarket CPU coolers
• Several optical drives

What I'm thinking about using for the FreeNAS build:

• i3-4130
• 8gb DDR3-1600 (1x8gb so I can upgrade to 16gb at some point if necessary)
• Asrock Z87E-ITX (only because 6x SATA vs 4x SATA on the B85M-ITX)
• Corsair CX500...I know they aren't recommended but it's here, and none of this hardware is really optimal to begin with...
• Case...I'll probably buy something I guess, I'd use the little cooler master but 3x 3.5" isn't going to cut it and my desktop rig is currently in the Nanoxia due to the gpu size constraints.
• Will probably start with 4x or 6x 4TB HGST drives (unless WD Reds are preferred...I honestly have no brand preference with this)

What I should probably use with what I've got:

• Xeon e3-1230v3 (this is currently in my desktop, I'd have to either drop down to the i3 for that or buy a replacement)
• 16gb ddr3-1600 (2x8) non-ecc
• msi h97 pc mate
• corsair RM550 (this is currently in my desktop, would have to drop down to the CX500 or buy a replacement)
• Nanoxia case (current desktop build is in the nanoxia case and current gpu won't fit inside the other cases I own currently, will require a replacement)

What would be optimal for the freeNAS box:

• Xeon e3-1230v3
• 16gb ECC ram (2x8gb because the CPU only supports up to 32gb total) (this would have to be purchased outright)
• Server board supporting ECC (this would have to be purchased outright)
• Corsair RM550
• Nanoxia case or server rack case

As you can see I've got plenty of hardware but nothing is really optimal for any of it. I bought the Xeon thinking it was comparable to the i7-4770 (which was the top dog without getting into the X99 platform when I built) just minus the iGPU and cheaper. This was after building with the i3 initially and thinking that I "needed more power"...heh, doubtful. I bought the Pentium later on for a project that never happened. Don't worry I've made the same bad choices in regards to motherboards, psu's, cases, and gpu's as well. So now I'm attempting to make good on all (or most) of these bad choices and purchases by putting them to work doing something beneficial. I'm trying to do this with as much of the hardware that I already own as possible to keep additional costs to a minimum. So does my theoretical build look decent enough? I know I've got to buy the actual storage drives but that's at least a known expense going into it. My goal with this FreeNAS system is to ultimately (this will happen incrementally as funds allow) have 12-16TB of redundant storage. I'd also like it to handle my plex server which is currently ran on my desktop. So what would you do with what I've got here? I'm just trying to decide my best course of action. I think I've rambled on long enough here. Thank you for taking the time to look through this.

 

[Cicatrize]

Hey there, welcome!

Okay, so, good news and bad news. I'll start with the good stuff:

You're right. The optimal setup is what you'd want to go with, but really, the i3 is capable as well if you're just planning on setting up storage and Plex. Both CPUs will handle those tasks with ease. Also, that Pentium will be excellent for a pfSense build. My pfSense box is running an AMD E-350 and that's enough for my use (so far). Realistically, you don't really need to buy a new CPU, so that's good. :) I would also recommend 16GB RAM minimum for FreeNAS, even though 8GB is the minimum requirement.

Here's the bad news (really not so bad):

You are going to need want a new motherboard and ECC. I've gotten away with running non-ECC for a long time, but I did have some issues one time with a stick of RAM and had to start over with my pool. I wouldn't recommend anyone use non-ECC RAM for FreeNAS, even though it might be hypocrisy. There is more to it than that, though. Server motherboards (i.e. Supermicro) have much better components, and they don't really cost much more. Less, actually, if you're comparing to "gaming" motherboards.

 

[joeschmuck]

I think you could use any of your hardware above so long as you have 8GB RAM and build a FreeNAS system however it would be substandard in one way or many. However you could build a system and play with it. You will need to figure out what storage capacity you will need and then add 50% to it, and I strongly recommend RAIDZ2. Tghe hard drives will be the largest single cost and lucky us, we get to replace them every 3 to 5 years and spend more money. All the other components will generally last as long as you use the hardware, could be 10+ years so don't skimp here or you will be like me and purchasing more hardware later on, a real waste of money. Don't forget a good quality UPS to power the device.

You seem to already know the proper hardware to use so I think you already answered your own questions.

 

[mse09]

Thank you both for the responses. I think after laying this all out I've changed my mind about how I'm going to approach this project. Bad news is it will end up being expensive but the good news is I'll end up with an awesome FreeNAS box in addition to a new desktop build. Maybe this time I'll do everything the right way...for once...possibly.

 

[joeschmuck]

I like the idea of a new desktop build but since advancements in computers have not been the same leaps and bounds like they were 10 years ago, it's hard to justify a new motherboard and CPU, but it's nice to day dream about it.

 

[SweetAndLow]

It seems like you understand that some of your hardware isn't the best. You could try using these motherboards but with all the strange audio and nic's they have I'm not sure they will actually allow the system to boot. If it was me I would just get the correct motherboard and RAM to start with and use your other parts as needed.

 

[mse09]

I like the idea of a new desktop build but since advancements in computers have not been the same leaps and bounds like they were 10 years ago, it's hard to justify a new motherboard and CPU, but it's nice to day dream about it.

I totally agree. The only reason this ends up with a new build for myself is because the CPU/PSU (Xeon e3-1230v3/Corsair RM550) I'm currently running will be given to the freeNAS box. I will then be able to give my RAM/GPU (16gb/GTX 970) to the computer my son uses so that'll be a good upgrade for him (he's currently running 4gb ram and a R7 260X). Also this just gives me a great excuse to build another rig and I've got no complaints with that.