Hardware questions

moto211

I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card.

raidflex

@moto211:

I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card.

Great, looking forward to your feed back. Really the only thing holding me from going to the Intel dual NIC is case selection. I am still looking though, I have found some smaller cases with expansion, but they tend to be HTPC cases and more expensive. Also I find that they are not meant to stand vertical, which in my case would be a better option.

moto211

@raidflex:

@moto211:

I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card.

Great, looking forward to your feed back. Really the only thing holding me from going to the Intel dual NIC is case selection. I am still looking though, I have found some smaller cases with expansion, but they tend to be HTPC cases and more expensive. Also I find that they are not meant to stand vertical, which in my case would be a better option.

How small of a case are you looking for? I'm using this one that supports low profile cards:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIQBNW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

raidflex

@moto211:

@raidflex:

@moto211:

I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card.

Great, looking forward to your feed back. Really the only thing holding me from going to the Intel dual NIC is case selection. I am still looking though, I have found some smaller cases with expansion, but they tend to be HTPC cases and more expensive. Also I find that they are not meant to stand vertical, which in my case would be a better option.

How small of a case are you looking for? I'm using this one that supports low profile cards:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIQBNW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That one isn't too big, but still a good size larger then the Antec. My main concern though with the case that you linked is the PSU, 220W is way overkill for the components I would be using. Because of that I question the efficiency of the PSU at such a low power draw. Usually PSU's have a sweet spot around 30-50% of their max load for the best efficiency. Also the DVD-ROM is not need.

moto211

@raidflex:

That one isn't too big, but still a good size larger then the Antec. My main concern though with the case that you linked is the PSU, 220W is way overkill for the components I would be using. Because of that I question the efficiency of the PSU at such a low power draw. Usually PSU's have a sweet spot around 30-50% of their max load for the best efficiency. Also the DVD-ROM is not need.

Agreed. I'm not using most of the space either. No DVD, no FDD. In addition to having room for expansion cards (4 of them) I like that it can accommodate a 3.5" HDD+2.5" HDD+4x2.5" HDD (with 5.25" to 4x2.5" adapter). Might multipurpose my firewall as a NAS at a later point so space for additional drives was a consideration. If I don't add drives, I'll probably disconnect the included PSU and move to a PicoPSU. And, the price was right.

raidflex

@moto211:

@raidflex:

That one isn't too big, but still a good size larger then the Antec. My main concern though with the case that you linked is the PSU, 220W is way overkill for the components I would be using. Because of that I question the efficiency of the PSU at such a low power draw. Usually PSU's have a sweet spot around 30-50% of their max load for the best efficiency. Also the DVD-ROM is not need.

Agreed. I'm not using most of the space either. No DVD, no FDD. In addition to having room for expansion cards (4 of them) I like that it can accommodate a 3.5" HDD+2.5" HDD+4x2.5" HDD (with 5.25" to 4x2.5" adapter). Might multipurpose my firewall as a NAS at a later point so space for additional drives was a consideration. If I don't add drives, I'll probably disconnect the included PSU and move to a PicoPSU. And, the price was right.

Yeah, I would only be using my pf sense box as a firewall. I have a Freenas server for everything else.

raidflex

I did find this case which is a good size, but the PSU is still overkill.

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-ISK-300-150-Mini-ITX-Computer/dp/B0035FIS2O/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1390933847&sr=1-18&keywords=mini+itx+case

moto211

Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7

jasonlitka

@moto211:

Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7

The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.

raidflex

@Jason:

@moto211:

Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7

The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.

I am curious on how you fit an expansion card in that case? I did not think it was possible.

jasonlitka

@raidflex:

@Jason:

@moto211:

Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7

The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.

I am curious on how you fit an expansion card in that case? I did not think it was possible.

Thin-ITX boards are pretty thin. With an angled PCI-E riser you can get a card in there. There's actually a lot of room to spare.

http://imgur.com/a/I0JbF

raidflex

@Jason:

@raidflex:

@Jason:

@moto211:

Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7

The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.

I am curious on how you fit an expansion card in that case? I did not think it was possible.

Thin-ITX boards are pretty thin. With an angled PCI-E riser you can get a card in there. There's actually a lot of room to spare.

http://imgur.com/a/I0JbF

Ah I see the card is setup horizontal, did not know that those angled PCIE adapters existed.

raidflex

Do you know what the clearance between the NIC and the motherboard is?

Edit: I found this board, but I suspect that the NIC may end up over the fan. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135368

jasonlitka

@raidflex:

Do you know what the clearance between the NIC and the motherboard is?

Edit: I found this board, but I suspect that the NIC may end up over the fan. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135368

Not much.

That board doesn't have a PCI-E slot so you wouldn't be able to use it like I did anyway.

raidflex

I am really considering this motherboard, despite the cost. It will just be easier to choose a case this way because everything is integrated. Does any one here have any experience with this particular brand or even with pfsense and this board?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813176015

CNLiberal

This chassis and either:

ATOM CPU, NO IPMI

ATOM CPU with IPMI

You'll need RAM with either option.

moto211

@raidflex:

I am really considering this motherboard, despite the cost. It will just be easier to choose a case this way because everything is integrated. Does any one here have any experience with this particular brand or even with pfsense and this board?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813176015

I've heard great things about Giada boards for network appliance purposes. I almost bought that one but opted to go with the ECS board and grab a dual port intel nic from fleabay because of the lower total cost. If keeping the physical size of the build had been my primary concern, I absolutely would have bought the Giada instead.

raidflex

I ended going with:

Biostar NM70I-1037U
Intel 320 120GB SSD
Intel PRO/1000 PT Dual Port NIC
Antec ISK 300-150

The problem I have now is I am getting high power consumption for this system. I did enable powerD and I can see the CPU speed will throttle all the way down to 200MHz, so I know powerD is working. But I see virtually no difference in power consumption from when I am at the BIOS screen vs when PfSense is running.

I checked the BIOS settings and all power saving features are enabled. I have disabled on-board audio and LAN.

Currently it idles at 35W and load is over 40W, which is way over what the system should be. The TDP of the CPU is only 18W and the SSD can't be more then 1W. I also noticed that even after enabling powerD, that the power consumption did not decrease.

I have two other SFF systems. One is a an AMD E-350 which idles at 15W and the other is a Celeron 520 that idles at less then 30W.

From the BIOS POST screen to the full boot-up of Pfsense I do not see the power consumption go below 35W.

dreamslacker

Try adding the following to /boot/loader.conf.local


hint.p4tcc.0.disabled=1
hint.acpi_throttle.0.disabled=1
est_load="YES"
cpufreq_load="YES"

Restart and try again. EIST is much better than P4TCC.

raidflex

@dreamslacker:

Try adding the following to /boot/loader.conf.local
hint.p4tcc.0.disabled=1
hint.acpi_throttle.0.disabled=1
est_load="YES"
cpufreq_load="YES"
Restart and try again. EIST is much better than P4TCC.

Thanks for the help. But after enabling these settings and rebooting the power consumption did not change.