Hardware 'Upgrade'
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Decided to 'upgrade' my current PFSense hardware (an old Dell GX260 with 1 Gig Ram) because I can't upgrade the RAM any further and Snort is really not happy and keeps shutting down due to lack of swap space (depsite me configuring the system with a 10 Gig swap drive).
So I plan to install now into an old Abit AW8 MAX motherboard with 2 Gig of DDR2 800 RAM but can not decide which of my spare CPU's to use.
A Pentium D 945 @ 3.4 GHz
Or a Core 2 Duo E5400 @ 2.7 GHz.
I have no doubt that both CPU's will handle PFSense easily, but which CPU would be the lesser of the overkills (Given that the Pentium D runs hot and isn't particularly economical) but the E5400 is an ideal CPU for newer projects such as home theatre and I think a serious overkill for PFSense use.
Need some ideas which to use.
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You will see a large difference in power usage between these two. Consider the fact that PFS will run 24/7, and use the C2D. The less efficient P(4)D, paired with a relatively modern (and modest) GPU will function adequately as an HTPC, and less time running means less energy wasted.
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Thanks, that kind of supports my thoughts, I retired the P4 because of it's heat and power usage so I guess using it in a 24/7 system would be a bit silly.
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On topic, my brother just retired a PD 3.0GHz. It was using 130W at the wall, idle. The replacement X2 240 system measures ~45W idle at the wall. Both using integrated ATI graphics. The newer C2D I would expect to use no more than that in a similar configuration, so yeah, quite a difference.