Searching low power - low cost mini-itx hardware

jzhyHuy8

Hi!

I hope that this is the right board to ask this:

I want to build a pfSense box to put in between my router and my switch. I have a server rack and a few 19" mini-itx cases lying around, so I just need the hardware that goes in the box.

Unfortunately I have no idea which mini-ITX mainboard is ok for pfSense. In some threads I saw disucssions about AS Rock board but some said that they have problems with the BIOS and for others, everything worked fine.

What I am looking for:

Low power consumption
Dual Ethernet would be nice, so I don't have to buy another adapter
Reasonably low cost
Should have enough performance for about 20 devices hanging on the switch

Is here anyone that could possibly help me? I feel kind of lost with the quantity of boards out there..

jzhyHuy8

Because I got no answer, I searched a bit in the forum and people seem to use the GIGABYTE GA-J1900N-D3V a lot.

So my last questions would be:

Is this board ok if I have 20 - 30 devices using the internet?
Should I go with 4GB or 8GB Ram?
Is a 60GB SSD enough or do I need more?
Is a 120W PSU enough?

almabes

Have you looked at store.netgate.com or store.pfsense.org?

You can buy the same ADI Engineering mini-ITX boards used the the SG-XXXX boxes from netgate.

jzhyHuy8

Yeah, looked at both of them but I live in Europe, so I unfortunately can not order from these stores (would have to pay about 40% on top of the price of the products).

So it would be cheaper for me to buy every part and put everything together by myself.

almabes

Yup…that makes a difference. I know that esf is in the process of setting up distribution in the EU, but that doesn't help you now. Folks seem to like Supermicro boards. Search the hardware forums. BlueKobold has posted extensive amounts of good info, although he can be a little tough to follow, since its obvious English is not his primary language.
But his English is better than my German.

jzhyHuy8

Just searched some Kobold-posts and they all seem really helpful. Thanks!

So is he german? If that's the case I could just write him a quick message.

almabes

He signs his posts "Frank from Germany".
He's probably your best bet for hardware advice, in my opinion. And probably a lot easier to follow in German.

Edit:

Actually he signs 'em "Cheers from Germany \n Frank"