Building a new TrueNAS server: advice welcome!

TrueNAS General
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Looking to build a new 10GbE all-NVMe TrueNAS server around this mobo. I was initially pondering between ASUS’ yet unanounced 2dn generation Flashstor 12 Pro, or something based on this, though the former has yet to be … announced, while the latter doesn’t accommodate enough NVMes for my taste.

No transcoding required, just data storage. What processor do you guys think I should get? i3? i5? 12th gen? 13th gen? 14th gen? Need lots of lanes, low power. Will be using an add-on PCIe NVMe card, as well as an add-on 10Gbps LAN card, hence the need for at least 2 full-fledged PCIe slots.

Many thanks!

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Lots of PCI lanes means Xeon (Scalable), or EPYC with a chipset/motherboard that allows PCI bifurbication.

For a 4xNVME adapter card you would need something that can bifurbicate a 16x slot down to 4x4x4x4.

IMO neither of the 2 options you mentioned can do that.I think the Asus board can do 8x4x4…not sure tho.

You would have to combine this card with only 3 slots occupied, plus onboard m2 slots.

Or you need to use (expensive) PLX switches.

Also, I would stay away from 13th and 14th Gen Intel CPUs for now because of the current instability issues.

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Mind the heatsink! The one shown is closed at the top and strictly meant for cooling in a 1U enclosure.

Doesn’t go together. EPYC/Scalable is not quite low idle power. Low power CPUs do not have “lots” of lanes.
But how many is “lots”?

“An” add-on card, singular? Ryzen CPUs (not APUs) can do x4x4x4x4 at low idle power.

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The X12SDV-4C-SPT4F is a great board, but it’s a bit ill suited for “lots of NVMe” configs.
The gaming Z790 is… a relatively new Intel gaming board. Meaning, at the very least, high power (you could go with a Pentium Gold G7400 though) and no ECC.

Can you elaborate more on your use case? Simple storage and tons of NVMe is not a traditional combination; moreover, if you want to use PCIe adapters, ATX motherboards are better suited.

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https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=ROMED6U-2L2T#Specifications

:crazy_face:

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Thanks for the suggestions! How about a 2nd hand mobo like this, plus an Epyc 9124?

Wouldn’t that kill my electrical bill?

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I wouldn’t touch them until the 15th gen, truth be told

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At the very least.

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What about Xeon E-2400 ? Are they affected too ? Not enough pci lanes tho.

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Make sure CPU, and motherboard supports ECC RAM.

This is the relevant part of my self-build:

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Here’s a pointed question: will ibe able to put a E-2468 Xeon on that ASUS mobo I mentioned in the OP?

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No. And I need at least 4 chacters in order to post.

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Certainly capable… but at a cost—and most certainly overkill for plain storage.
How many drives?

Likely not, because these derive from mobile CPUs and are not meant to be fed high voltage for maximal performance, like the top-of-the line Rocket Lake Core i7/i9. But bifurcation stops at x8x4x4.
For four NVMe drives, a (server) Ryzen board does the job. More than four drives raises the question of going Scalable/EPYC or using a PLX switch.

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Just made an offer on eBay for an Epyc 9124. (Fingers crossed!) Also ordered the ~$500 ASRock board on Amazon.

It’s wait and see right now.

Thanks all for the advice!

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That’s expensive storage then! Let us know how the build will develop!

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One thing that skipped my mind during this impulse buy: how much will this setup run my electricity bill per year? Any guesses? (Again, mostly passive data storage.)

Also, looks like I will be needing a CPU heatsink as well. Will I need fans too?

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Awesome!

I think 128 PCI lanes will last a while :smile:

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My Xeon Scalable System idles at 160 Watts :sweat_smile:

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Yes.

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Looks like my offer for the CPU has been accepted. Not sure if I should be happy or sad at this point. :slightly_smiling_face:

Anyway, now I am looking for suggestions for a CPU heatsink, uATX case, fans, PSU etc., all welcome.