New Custom Build

[BobaBrett]

Good Evening All,

Wondering if anyone can help confirm compatability for me.

I am looking into a custom build for a Home Network, ideally keeping costs as low as possible.

The primary purpose is to be a roadblock between my home network, and BT Router. The Network consists of a server estate (Labs, DLNA, etc), and a few PCs, TVs, etc.

I will also be looking to VPN off a couple of devices only, so it will only be a small part of the network using the VPN, with a max throughput of around 10-20Mbps. However it is possible moving forward, that i may add more devices to the VPN due to privacy concerns.

My connection itself is 40/10 Mbits. Although it is highly likely i will be getting a new connection in the next few months, which will be 80/20 at the very least, and possibly 200/12. (Depending which provider i move too)

I already have a quad port Intel NIC that i was able to acquire from a decommission job recently:
Intel Gigabit ET Quad Port Server Adapter
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_10E8

I am looking at the N3050 or N3150 processor, on the below boards:

http://www.ebuyer.com/749960-gigabyte-ga-n3050m-d3p-n3050-1-6ghz-vga-hdmi-7-1-channel-audio-micro-atx-motherboard-ga-n3050m-d3p
or
http://www.ebuyer.com/722459-biostar-n3150nh-ver-6-x-intel-celeron-vga-hdmi-6-channel-hd-audio-mini-n3150nh
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-n3150m-e-integrated-cpu-quad-core-intel-celeron-n3150-16ghz-soc-ddr3-on-board-intel-hd-graphics

(The reason for the Asus board, is for UDimms, of which i have many lying around already to save further costs.)

I will then be adding a 300W PSU, a pretty cheap case, and i will then be either adding a spare HDD i have lying around, or an SSD for even less moving parts.

Has anyone any experience of the above chips, to confirm compatability with PFSense, as well as expected throughput etc? Also, is the Quad Core 3150 a worthwhile upgrade over the 3050. Both of which support AES and have similar clock speeds. Also, would the non-boosted clock speed of 1.6GHZ be cause for concern?

Thanks in advance for your help

[pfBasic]

That looks like a great build for you use case! The Gigabyte 3050 IMO is the perfect fit for your stated needs.

The only things I would mention are:

If you don't already have the 300W PSU, check out a picoPSU. No moving parts, no noise, and they tend to get better power efficiency at the low power draws you'll get from a router. You can get them for ~$40 shipped in the US on the site I'm linking or eBay.
If you already own the PSU then disregard, it's not worth buying a picoPSU unless you are interested in the no noise aspect.
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-80-60W-power-kit

Along the lines of switching to an SSD for no moving parts, you can install 2.4.0 BETA and use thumb drives. It's BETA but very stable for home use. Performance impact is negligible since you almost never reboot your pfSense box, boot times are similar to HDD boot times. If you do go this route check our the link in my signature, you'll want to use a RAM disk.

[whosmatt]

@BobaBrett:

would the non-boosted clock speed of 1.6GHZ be cause for concern?

Not for the requirements you've stated.