Re use my old system

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Doktor-X

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Hi i'm new here. I have one question about my first freenas build i have pc with this components:

GA-MA790FX-DS5
AMD Phenom X4 9750
OCZ Platinum 4GB
Im not planing to use GPU but its AMD 3870

My bord support am3 CPU with TDP of 25w AMD Athlon II X2 260u

Do you guys think that swapping that CPU with my of TDP 125 will lower overoll Power consuption
 
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danb35

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Minimum RAM is 8 GB, and 16 GB is probably a better target for most home users, so yes, the 4 GB it currently has is a problem. The fact that it uses DDR2 means it has a front-side bus, which is a performance killer. And though the board claims ECC support, validating that for AMD CPUs has always been problematic. It also has a crap Realtek NIC, though that's at least easy enough to fix by installing an Intel NIC. Too many suboptimal points to say this is a good idea.

To your actual question, there's really no way to know whether swapping the CPU will reduce your power consumption. TDP specs give the max power use, which is not where the CPU typically lives, and at idle, roughly-comparable CPUs are going to consume about the same amount of power.
 

joeschmuck

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Do not guess on the RAM, it can be costly. You need to purchase the RAM in which the motherboard manufacturer has listed on it's certified RAM list, assuming it has any ECC RAM listed.

I can speak from personal experience that you can run a FreeNAS system on an AMD system however as previously pointed out, the RealTek NIC has it's issues. If you go down this path I would recommend an Intel NIC add-on board. This will save you some grief.

BTW, just looked at the RAM list for the GA-MA790FX-DS5 MB, no ECC RAM listed.
 

Ericloewe

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The fact that it uses DDR2 means it has a front-side bus, which is a performance killer.
It's AMD, it doesn't. Performance should be less crappy than a Core 2 Duo of similar vintage.
 

Doktor-X

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I can't imagine that performance will be that bad, im planning to use server for media storage. I'm more concerned about power consumption then performance
 

danb35

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It's AMD, it doesn't. Performance should be less crappy than a Core 2 Duo of similar vintage.
Ah, good to know, thanks. I haven't paid much attention to AMD for years.
 

danb35

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Doktor-X

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Friend of mine gave me watt meter and my power consumption with one 3tb green, one 1tb black, and one 64gb ssd, is 99 watt idle without gpu, 132 with gpu, and about 240 watt when i have 100% cpu usage
 

danb35

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That doesn't sound too bad. With an Atom C2750 board you could easily be looking at half that power consumption, but that's a $300+ board/CPU.
 

Doktor-X

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No, im looking to make server from existing hardware with smallest possible cost upgrade/downgrade
 

joeschmuck

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While you will likely be able to make a FreeNAS server using your parts, as long as you are aware that your system doesn't meet the minimum specs for FreeNAS, then you have accepted the risks. Just keep a backup of your storage, well the important stuff because it could become corrupt. Yes, true story, bit flips and stuck bits do occur and more often than you would think.

All you need is a 64 bit CPU, the AMD will do fine, 8GB RAM or more, a NIC which you got, and some hard drives. Your system will not be a speed demon but it will function.

My advice is for you to run MemTest86 for 1 solid week uninterrupted. If you have no RAM errors then proceed. I say run it for 1 week because you don't have ECC RAM and this will at least ensure you have a stable system overall. Then run a CPU stress test of your choice for about 20 minutes. If the system survives then proceed to taking care of your data. If you are using old hard drives, run a SMART Long test on them and check the results. If that works out, I think you are ready to run the FreeNAS software and get that server online.

If you ever do need help in the future with this system, please ensure you list the hardware and of courser FreeNAS version. This isn't so people will tell you that you have an inferior system (they will do that, heck I just did that), but it may help us give you better advice.

You also stated in your power consumption that the video card was removed. I would not remove the card until after you have FreeNAS working perfectly + 1 month. You will eventually find something where you need a monitor.

Lastly, I would expect your power consumption to drop once you have FreeNAS running and the CPU can be placed in a lower power mode (Under System -> Advanced -> Power daemon), and there are some other tricks you might be able to take advantage of as well.
 

Doktor-X

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i have just another question about adding drives to pool if i create raidz2 with 4x3tb drives and want to add another 3tb drive can i expand without losing data
 

danb35

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Not safely. Review @cyberjock's ZFS basics guide (link is in @Ericloewe's sig) to better understand what you can and can't do with your pool.
 

joeschmuck

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i have just another question about adding drives to pool if i create raidz2 with 4x3tb drives and want to add another 3tb drive can i expand without losing data
Yea, that's a bad idea. @danb35 gave the perfect info which you should read a understand it, it is critical to your NAS operation.
 
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