Skylake Build

[asmodeus]

Hello, I'm building my first FreeNAS system and would like to get some feedback and help on the build I'm putting together.

Use Cases:
- Backup location for 3 Macs
- File server, current storage requirement is 10TB. I don't see this growing beyond 20TB in the next 3 years.
- Plex media server, probably don't need streaming support
- CrashPlan backups from NAS

I've been researching on the forums and concluded that I want to build a Skylake system that will allow me to grow to double the RAM and disk capacity in the future (64GB).

Skylake build
- Mainboard: Supermicro X11SSL-CF
- Memory: 32GB RAM, PC2133 ECC
- PSU: I'm thinking Seasonic X-650, but maybe it's oversized?
- CPU: need help to decide between Intel Xeon E3 1230v5 (TDP 80W) and 1240L v5 (TDP 25W). Is the 1240L adequate for my use case? I like the low TDP, but I'm not sure if it's a mobile CPU or otherwise unfit for my purposes?
- HD: 8x Hitachi Ultrastar MegaScale DC 4000.B (HMS5C4040BLE640) 4GB, plan to have a RaidZ2 of these as a single vdev
- Chassis: I'm thinking Fractal Design Node 804, but might go for another solution with more accessible/hot swappable HD slots, e.g. Fractal Design Define R4

Looking forward to your feedback!

 

[asmodeus]

Low-TDP CPUs limit peak heat generation at the cost of lower peak performance. They don't guarantee lower overall power consumption, and may even consume more power over time for the same workload. They are intended for environments when cooling capacity is a constraint, like in laptops or datacentres. I wouldn't use one in your build.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that! I'll be sticking to the E3 1230v5 then.

 

[Stux]

E3-1230v5 is a nice high speed 8 thread cpu. This is good for cifs/afp sharing (i.e. File serving and backup use) and will also be good for plex et al.

Skylake CPUs will all scale to the same low consumption levels when idle.