Intense PC 2

quack

Hi there,

Can you guys please tell me what you think of the Intense PC 2 ?
You can check the specs here

I'm really interested in this peace of hardware. Some may say it's expensive and, sure, it is, but I really like the horse power inside, the form factor and the 0db noise. Plus I already own a fit-pc2 and I can say it's rock solid.

BUT 2 things bother me before I buy this IPC2:

It has 2 NICs, one of them is an Intel i218. I have read here that the i218 may or may not work under pfsense 2.1.1. Can someone confirm me if this will work or if I'll have to wait for 2.2 ?
I would like to customize my IPC2 with a 4 NICs FACE module (see specs). Unfortunately I read on this forum that there are 'issues' with this 4 NICs module. Can someone tell me what the issues are or may be ? It would be very helpful.

Thank you all.

jasonlitka

On point #1, I still have no idea. I've never actually seen a system with the i218 NIC so I can't toss a 2.1.1 CD in one to find out if it is detected.

On point #2, they won't sell you the FACE module separately unless you buy a ton of these things so until they start offering a separate model on their site you're out of luck.

Last, on the 0db noise vs. "horse power" debate, I'm betting that this system will run hot and under load I'd question its longevity. Sometimes a low speed fan pushing 2-3 CFM is all you need to keep a system cool. There's a reason why most ultrabooks have fans, even when using U-series CPUs.

Nadrek

I run pfSense 2.1 in production on a Fit-PC3 purchased from http://fitpc.com/ with the 4 port FACE module; I've had no issues with the 4 Intel NICs, and the most recent pfSense allows the Realtek to work as well.

pfBlocker, Snort, OpenVPN, and Squid are all running without a problem.

I did cable-tie a Thermaltake 120mm external USB fan http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Mobile-External-Cooling-AF0007/dp/B002OJN250/ref=pd_cp_e_2 to the case, though, to keep temperatures down.

quack

@Jason : I have a quotation from fit-pc.com for an Intense PC 2 + FM-4LAN module. They don't require me to buy extra stuff…

@Nadrek : Thank you very much for the feedback ! I hope the FACE module is the same between FIT-PC3 and Intense PC 2. Can you confirm you have 4 X Intel 82574L network interfaces ?