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    Intel Mini-ITX Atom 8-core Hardware Build Recipe Available Here

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    • R
      robi
      last edited by

      @trumee:

      @robi @Sir Loin, Are you guys running pfsense on a VM or bare metal? It will be shame to have unused CPU on bare metal.

      Bare metal, and NanoBSD due to security reasons. I've got virtualization on a dedicated separate server with Xeon CPU, 32GB of RAM and lots of storage.

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      • T
        trumee
        last edited by

        The fans listed on the minibox website are 3 pin molex/non-pwm only. Are there any PWM fans available which would fit on the hdd brackets?

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        • S
          Sir Loin
          last edited by

          @trumee:

          The fans listed on the minibox website are 3 pin molex/non-pwm only. Are there any PWM fans available which would fit on the hdd brackets?

          A quick Bing search found something like this: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/17651/fan-1145/Evercool_40mm_x_15mm_High_Speed_PWM_Fan_EC4015SH12BP.html?tl=g36c365s1814

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          • M
            messerchmidt
            last edited by

            i would have added more ram. probably 16gb

            the cpu temperature seems right. they run hot

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            • JailerJ
              Jailer
              last edited by

              @Sir:

              @trumee:

              The fans listed on the minibox website are 3 pin molex/non-pwm only. Are there any PWM fans available which would fit on the hdd brackets?

              A quick Bing search found something like this: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/17651/fan-1145/Evercool_40mm_x_15mm_High_Speed_PWM_Fan_EC4015SH12BP.html?tl=g36c365s1814

              Are they still processing orders? Last I heard they were closing up shop.

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              • S
                Sir Loin
                last edited by

                Well, try some other shops that carry similar fans :-)

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                • R
                  R3Z3N
                  last edited by

                  @mifronte:

                  IPMI concerns...

                  I have yet to try WOL when the IPMI is not on a separate  network, however I did use IPMI to configure/install the BIOS and pfSense with Supermicro's IPMI java software, quite nice IMO! I have no VGA or console cables

                  As far as my build, I copied the OP setup except I used the 4 core Rangeley board. I would go with a smaller power brick though or instead use a pico-psu. I was ordering out of fun to learn networking and building, and didn't pay attention to the huge size.

                  Now if only Squid2 or 3 would stop randomly shutting me out of external access, as I want to push the 4 core to see what it can do. I plan on OpenVPN with PIA, Squid, HVAP, Dansguarding or the newer which is not yet packaged yet, and Snort. Think big, start small, first on with figuring out a basic home NAT and firewall setup, then on with the packages.

                  Supermicro A1SRi-2558F
                  Samsung 850 Evo 120GB

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                  • A
                    athurdent
                    last edited by

                    @Justin0:

                    Now if only Squid2 or 3 would stop randomly shutting me out of external access, as I want to push the 4 core to see what it can do.

                    So, do I get you right, Squid crashes? Can you find anything in the System Log regarding those crashes?

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                    • A
                      antillie
                      last edited by

                      I am not sure why the OP is recomending people spend over $50 on a power supply and associated attachments. This and this will do the job for about $35, no additonal attachments needed.

                      The rest of the parts are identical to what I listed here. I have been very happy with my little eight core monster. Its totally silent and fast as hell.

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                      • J
                        jasonlitka
                        last edited by

                        @antillie:

                        I am not sure why the OP is recomending people spend over $50 on a power supply and associated attachments. This and this will do the job for about $35, no additonal attachments needed.

                        The rest of the parts are identical to what I listed here. I have been very happy with my little eight core monster. Its totally silent and fast as hell.

                        The poor reviews are reason enough to not order that AC-DC brick.  I genuinely don't understand why people will pay top-dollar for some components and then cheap-out on something that has the potential to fry everything else.

                        The power-related parts in the original post mimic the ones I used in my M350 build.  The brick was chosen because it's a high-quality unit, doesn't experience voltage sags or spikes under load changes, and comes with a Mini-DIN connector which is less likely to just fall out than a standard barrel.  It's an oversized unit but is cheaper than buying a slightly smaller brick + PicoPSU and it also eliminates the redundant circuitry from the case (the board already has a DC-DC PSU built-in).

                        I can break anything.

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                        • S
                          Sir Loin
                          last edited by

                          Well said, Jason.

                          I had the picoPSU + standard barrel power brick before I switched over to the better power brick and mini-DIN connector.  The standard barrel connector got disconnected easily a few times when I moved on the box in my closet, which was quite annoying.  The mini-DIN connector makes a much better, more solid connection and it has never disconnected by accident.  The picoPSU works, but it duplicates components that are already on the motherboard that you have already paid for.  The picoPSU probably impedes air float a little bit.  Not all power supplies are created equal.  I'd much rather pair a high quality power supply with high quality components and not risk frying it by being penny wise, pound foolish.

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                          • T
                            trumee
                            last edited by

                            @Sir Loin, Do the standard barrel brick and the brick different you quoted in OP have different connectors? Reason I am asking because the pictures don't show the end connector. It is not very clear whether the power brick for DIN connector and the picopsu are interchangeable.

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                            • S
                              Sir Loin
                              last edited by

                              You can see the connector on the mini-box.com web site: http://www.mini-box.com/12v-12-5A-AC-DC-Power-Adapter

                              Standard barrel

                              mini-DIN 4-pin

                              You DO NOT need a picoPSU if you go with the mini-DIN power supply.  All the information is there in the OP, in the power supply section. as well as in the pictures I posted.  If it is still not clear, ask away.

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                              • T
                                trumee
                                last edited by

                                Thanks for the pics. My question was more regarding the power brick. There is no image of the brick connector at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081S1YEE

                                But your third photo of the chassis with a single pin connector made it clear. So, tt looks like the power brick used for picopsu and DIN connections are not interchangeable. Guess, the downside of the DIN brick psu is that if it fails it will need to be sourced from mini-box.com. The picopsu brick will be more readily available.

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                                • S
                                  Sir Loin
                                  last edited by

                                  Correct, they are not interchangeable.

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                                  • T
                                    trumee
                                    last edited by

                                    There seems to be a USB3 header on the motherboard. How do you connect it to the front panel USB 2 port?

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                                    • R
                                      R3Z3N
                                      last edited by

                                      @trumee:

                                      There seems to be a USB3 header on the motherboard. How do you connect it to the front panel USB 2 port?

                                      Can't with the built in panel. However you could attach this to the front:
                                      [http://www.picco.nl/catalog/images/A41865.jpg]http://www.picco.nl/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/534_542/products_id/5586](http://www.picco.nl/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/534_542/products_id/5586[img)

                                      or
                                      [http://www.bilder.delock.de/produkte/thumb/4f3d31bf45e482.11415395.jpg]http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_83095/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en
                                      ](http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_83095/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en<br)

                                      Supermicro A1SRi-2558F
                                      Samsung 850 Evo 120GB

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                                      • W
                                        willieaames
                                        last edited by

                                        AmaZing, much appreciated :D

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                                        • T
                                          trumee
                                          last edited by

                                          @Justin0:

                                          @trumee:

                                          There seems to be a USB3 header on the motherboard. How do you connect it to the front panel USB 2 port?

                                          Can't with the built in panel. However you could attach this to the front:
                                          [http://www.picco.nl/catalog/images/A41865.jpg]http://www.picco.nl/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/534_542/products_id/5586](http://www.picco.nl/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/534_542/products_id/5586[img)

                                          or
                                          [http://www.bilder.delock.de/produkte/thumb/4f3d31bf45e482.11415395.jpg]http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_83095/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en
                                          ](http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_83095/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en<br)

                                          Don't think that extension cable would work. The motherboard and the panel are both male sockets, so a female to female cable is required. Is such a cable available?

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                                          • ?
                                            Guest
                                            last edited by

                                            Don't think that extension cable would work.

                                            The blue end of the cable is connected to the board and the other end to the two USB port unit.

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