TrueNAS Scale Build 2024 - Questions and Hardware Recommendation

[mateuscardosogs]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the world of TrueNAS and starting to plan my first assembly. After some studies and research, some questions arose that I would like to answer, as well as opinions on recommendations for assembly parts.

Questions:

1. What is the difference/impact between a Gaming Motherboard and a Server Motherboard?
   • I live in Brazil, access to this type of motherboard (supermicro for example) here is almost zero, as there is basically no availability for individuals, so there ends up only being the possibility of acquiring these plates only by import, and with the rates here reaching more than 100%(yes, this really happens), a plate that costs $500 abroad, arrives here for me with the final price of $1000(at least, which could be until later). But unlike these cards, the "gaming" motherboards here have high availability, facilitating access and, above all, cost, which basically follows the external price. So, a $600 gaming motherboard often ends up being cheaper for me than a supermicro motherboard purchased from abroad.
     
2. What is the difference/impact between a Intel and AMD?
   • In these cases I wanted to compare more specifically the differences/impacts related to performance, energy efficiency and general improvements.
   • If among them there really is a more advantageous one specifically thinking about TrueNAS and at what point for other services (such as virtualization, PLEX applications for example) they would impact.
   • Another thing I see a lot in posts is people talking about giving preference to younger generations and others preferring older generations because of the cost-benefit. About this, could anyone tell me if there is a generation that is best suited to look at in relation to Intel and AMD? (I mean that from this generation onwards, the TrueNAS system, for example, can no longer take advantage of CPU advances or that its energy efficiency doesn't make that much difference and it's not worth paying more)

Hardware Recommendation:

Now talking more about hardware recommendations. I'm going to list what I already have today, what I'm probably going to buy and try to explain what the focuses of my system are so that they can help me.

I would like to set up a server that is prepared for my future infrastructure, as I basically entered this world of self hosting and it caught my eye.

• What I already have:
  • Data: 8x HD WD Red Plus 8TB 3.5 5640RPM
    
• What am I going to buy (probably):
  • Case: 2U Rack Case 520mm INNOVISION
    • Basically this choice is firstly related to the space/size limitation of my rack which is only 12U/570mm, cost since as I said before I live in Brazil and this type of part is difficult here and this is the one that would have the lowest price for me and also the aesthetic aspect that pleases me.
      
• What is my focus and “needs”:
  • Micro ATX (M-ATX) or Mini ITX motherboard (Since this case does not support ATX motherboard, in addition, this also includes the question I mentioned previously about types of motherboard, if a server motherboard is really needed, which one would you recommend? If not, would you have any ideal “gaming” specifics?)
  • The idea of a CPU is that it is something that has a good margin of breathing room between what is needed now and what I may need in the future. I want something that has good energy efficiency (not necessarily the cheapest with the lowest consumption, but rather one that has a good balance between what it delivers/performance, and may cost a little more)
  • For RAM, I was basically thinking about 128GB ECC (which in theory has no error)
  • As the case fits an ATX PSU, I was thinking about getting a modular power supply (to allow good cable organization). The power (W) would depend on the chosen configuration.
  • 10GB NIC to keep up with the network infrastructure I already have.
  • NVME for cache, how much would be ideal

The idea of this TrueNAS Scale server is to store all backups of personal information (Images, Documents, Movies), system backups (such as Mac OS, Iphone), data sharing for multiple desktops/services, SMB, apps (plex, nextcloud, home assistant) and some VM's.

An important detail is that there are a lot of files in trees, so I use the Windows search system a lot, for example, so the CPU can affect the speed of these searches.

In the future, I plan to set up a new separate server just for these services using PROXMOX and use TrueNAS just for data storage and sharing exclusively.

 

[mateuscardosogs]

I forgot to send a link and photos of the case, but this would be it: https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/1005005962751109.html

 

[NugentS]

Thats gonna make a noise. 2U cases, to get the airflow will scream.

 

[mateuscardosogs]

It's something that I imagine could happen, but it's not exactly a problem for me at the moment.

Thats gonna make a noise. 2U cases, to get the airflow will scream.

 

[NugentS]

Gaming Motherboards:

1. Not designed to be stable 24*6*365
2. No Support (normally) for ECC. Yes in some cases there some spotty support
   1. If they do use ECC, tends to be UDIMMS = more expensive
3. By default tend to overclock a bit - not a good thing when you want 24*7*365
4. Low PCIe Lanes = Low number of PCIe slots = Low expansion
5. Limited bifurcation
6. No IPMI - and I really like IPMI / iLO / DRACCS etc

 

[mateuscardosogs]

Gaming Motherboards:

1. Not designed to be stable 24*6*365
2. No Support (normally) for ECC. Yes in some cases there some spotty support
   1. If they do use ECC, tends to be UDIMMS = more expensive
3. By default tend to overclock a bit - not a good thing when you want 24*7*365
4. Low PCIe Lanes = Low number of PCIe slots = Low expansion
5. Limited bifurcation

Thanks @NugentS,

It makes a lot of sense and has opened my mind a little now.

What would you recommend mainly MOBO + CPU, thinking about something like:
- 8+ Threads (Because I want a few more things besides ZFS)
- ECC support (128GB is good)
- Micro ATX (M-ATX) Motheboard

 

[NugentS]

Thats far too open a question - "how long is a piece of string?"

NAS - as in file share doesn't require much.
SMB is single threaded - so low core count + high clock speed is required (largely irrelevent at 1Gb, but gets more relevent the faster NIC you use)

I don't like micro ATX becuse of the lack of expansion possibilities