what do you think about ASRock H61M-ITX for freenas?

[zinneken]

My main question is: what sort of read/write speeds could I expect from this MOBO considering it has a soldered AMD Zacate E-240 APU?

Also, will I get better NAS performance using the standard Realtec RTL8111E or by installing a gigabit card in the PCI-Express (which will already have a USB3 card)?

Some background:

I would like to use it for fast AFP copy, fast timemachine backup and iTunes server at home.
I'll max it to 8 GB ram
It will have 2*2TB 3.5" SATA3 drives (mirroring) for timemachine, 1*1TB 2.5" SATA for itunes (music only) server and AFP file copy, 1*ATA->SATA adaptor with 2 slower drives holding older stuff (slow copy)
It will also have a USB3 card to connect an external HD which XBMC on ATV will access to watch movies. The computer will never play a movie, just make my movies library available over the network to XBMC on ATV.
Everything is gigabit cabled, no wifi.

At anyone time I will never use more then 2 services at the same time (I'll never listen to music and watch a movie at the same time or timemachine and AFP files at the same time, but I may do a timemachine and access a movie at the same time if the speed of the machine allows for it).

 

[cyberjock]

Realteks are the lowest of network cards.. Intel NIC would be better.

I'm not an AMD guru, but that CPU appears to be a lower performer than some Intel Atoms. If that is the case, I wouldn't expect to exceed more than 30-50MB/sec in a best case scenario.

USB isn't recommended for storage long term. Too many issues with USB connections, cabling, etc.

It could probably stream a movie okay, and perhaps do a movie stream and a time machine backup. But if you are really concerned you might want to look for something a little more powerful.

Edit: That's a single core CPU. I'd never spend money for a single core setup. Dual core, at the minimum for any resemblance of performance.

 

[zinneken]

Thanks for your insights, seems from what you're saying that this mobo is a no go.

Thing is, there are not many budget mobo's around that are mini-itx. I would like to keep the set-up relatively small. Most budget micro-atx cases are huge boxes in comparison, and offer plenty of space for PCI, which I'll not need. Sort of a trade-off between power and the box in which it can go.

Would anyone know of a budget mini-atx case that is just that, small mini-atx with plenty of space for HD?

 

[cyberjock]

Generally the recommendation isn't to go for size first. Build for what you need the server to do, then look at size. Often when people build for size they quickly find themselves walled in a corner they can't get out of. Mini-ITX typically has only 1 expansion slot. If you build a system with it and later have to add an Intel NIC you have no option to add anything else later without expensive upgrades. While you might sit here and think you won't need any expansion slots later, you'll be surprised at how many people are caught between a rock and a hard place because they only have 1 expansion slot and it is already dedicated for something else. Many people realize after their system is built that they need to add something and are stick in a rut.

Is Mini-ITX doable? Yes.

Can it be workable? Yes.

Does Mini-ITX often cause horrible pain later? Yes.

Personally, I don't generally recommend anything less than an Micro-ATX. That gives you up to 4 slots to work with and can save you from those "oh sh**" moments. I just recently built a new FreeNAS server and I went with a Micro-ATX despite knowing I'll only need 1 slot. It's for that "just in case" scenario. I hate building new servers frequently.. it's just too expensive and too time consuming to deal with frequently.

 

[zinneken]

Thanks for your recommendations! I have made a new set-up, in a new post.