Total noob... need some hardware help please!

[Noobie]

Hey there!

This is my first post so please forgive me if I am asking for help in the wrong place.

I have a few old comps at my place and am thinking of converting at least one of them to run FN... but am not sure what more I need as I want to use as many of the existing parts as possible.

I opened one of the old ones and this is what I see:
Mobo: Asus p5gd1 : http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5GD1/#specifications
CPU : P4 3ghz
RAM: 2 gigs
PSU: Working, 400w

I remember one of the main problems I had with this comp was it used to get pretty hot, but I think I can get a new cooler for it and taking out the graphic card should give it some more airflow...

What else do I need?

Thanks in advance!

(Will post specs of the other comps as soon as I can figure them out :) )

 

[joeschmuck]

If you plan to use the ZFS file system for your hard drives then I recommend you get at least 4GB RAM. Since this is your motherboards maximum you will have some limitation if using ZFS. You could use UFS instead and it is fine, most NAS devices use this format. ZFS is more resilient to data corruption though. Your CPU and power supply seems fine.

If you plan to use ZFS then you should understand what hard drive capacity you plan to install and use the minimum RAM for that setup. 4GB RAM minimum, I use 8GB RAM for five 2TB drives (10TB) and it works fantastic. 4GB RAM is fine for four 2TB drives (8TB) or less.

When reading the forum you will notice many people ask about CPU's, just something that can run at 1.6GHz or better.

 

[Noobie]

Hey!
Thanks for replying, I kind of gave up on anybody replying so it's reassuring that someone is still willing to help total noobs!

A few questions:
Do you suggest I buy any "raid cards" or anything else? For example this one seems to have great reviews on NewEgg.

I don't mind buying new RAM, I see on Amazon its going for around 50 bucks for 4 gigs.

I also found this old HP computer of mine with a p5LP-LE motherboards (specs here)

Which do you suggest I use for my first project? (p5gd1 or p5LP-LE?)

4GB RAM is fine for four 2TB drives (8TB) or less

In ZFS or UFS? Also please note I have different sized disks, not all the same (eg: not all 2tb drives, more like, 400gigs (2) 1tb(3) 1,5tb(1) 2tb(2) )

Thanks!

 

[Stephens]

Please read the FreeNAS documentation, noobsauce80's ZFS primer, and ProtoSD's FAQ. A FreeNAS implementation works a lot better if you understand the restrictions and expectations.

ZFS generally works best if you don't use hardware RAID and let ZFS manage the drives.

 

[Noobie]

Thanks, there is so much to know, just didnt know where to start.
Cheers!

 

[Stephens]

At least you're willing to read...

noobsauce80's ZFS Guide
FreeNAS 8 unofficial FAQ
FreeNAS 8 documentation

 

[Noobie]

At least you're willing to read...

noobsauce80's ZFS Guide
FreeNAS 8 unofficial FAQ
FreeNAS 8 documentation

Thanks!

 

[Noobie]

Hmmmm, I wrote a thank you reply yesterday... it's still not showing... bug?