G2 socket motherboard
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Hello everybody, this is my first post here and i'm planning to set up a pfsense box (mostly for my home network and learning purposes) using a cpu from my old laptop (i7-3630QM). This is the only suitable motherboard with low power consumption, double Gigabit Ethernet that can also uses the G2 (rPGA 988B) socket:
http://www.portwell.com/products/detail.php?CUSTCHAR1=WADE-8020
I'm looking for a budget solution and running it on second hand hardware is not a problem. My WAN speed is usually about 70 Mbit/s both up and down.
Thank you!
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Those are super expensive (and old). Don't do it. Maybe if you can find a really cheap second- or third-hand X9SCV-Q board it might be worth it, but those laptop extracted CPUs are often rather useless. In pretty much any system where laptop CPUs are used, they are using the BGA version. In systems where they want low-power CPUs they use the U or L versions of 'normal' CPUs, there really is almost no middle ground where socketed laptop CPU's in non-laptop mainboards come in to play, except those rare (even for the target market) industrial motherboards.
For 70Mbit the APU2 will work just as well, and if you are in the USA those are quite cheap, at least cheaper than any mainboard you will find for that CPU you have. Same goes for the SG-1000. If you want more power, one of the China boxes (see the locked topic) will do as well. If you have more money, the more expensive SG-3100 and above work as well.
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but those laptop extracted CPUs are often rather useless
I totally disagree and feel QM77 boards are a good choice. I have several from Advantech AIMB-272 to Kontron QM77.
Plus most use an Intel ethernet chip due to industrial nature. No shortchanging you with a junk interfaces.If you need advanced CPU features make sure you get a i7 chip(aes-ni).
I am using 3612QM and 3632QM and they are a nice CPU.
Better than any desktop CPU due to their low TDP in my opinion. -
but those laptop extracted CPUs are often rather useless
I totally disagree and feel QM77 boards are a good choice. I have several from Advantech AIMB-272 to Kontron QM77.
Plus most use an Intel ethernet chip due to industrial nature. No shortchanging you with a junk interfaces.If you need advanced CPU features make sure you get a i7 chip(aes-ni).
I am using 3612QM and 3632QM and they are a nice CPU.
Better than any desktop CPU due to their low TDP in my opinion.So you disagree because they are not technically bad? Because that's not what we're talking about here. Those boards are not cheap and for the same price you can cover the intended setup with a complete all-in-one box that does the job fine.
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Thank for the replies, right now i'm open to all the possible solutions. Another question that can help me decide: does the APU2 afford the load of running the Suricata plugin (for my home network load)? I've read that the SG-1000 struggles with it. To my current knowledge right now there is no wat to run Suricata in a pfsense box within 200$, am i right?
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Ebay search: qm77 itx
It is not a bad choice is you are recycling parts. The noise might be annoying, those little cpu coolers usually spin at very high rpm to compensate for its size. I ended up using an AIMB-262, i7, 16gb as a htpc and now gaming PC for my daughter, added a modded 1150 cooler and it has been working since 2014.
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If you want to run suricata then you'll need an i3 or better, and you won't find that sub-$200 indeed.
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@johnkeates:
If you want to run suricata then you'll need an i3 or better, and you won't find that sub-$200 indeed.
So i suppose a GA-J1900N-D3V isn't gonna cut it right (it comes with a Celeron J1900 2.0 GHz quad-core)? Because right now i can buy one of those for 1/3 of its amazon price.
@tirsojrp:Ebay search: qm77 itx
It is not a bad choice is you are recycling parts. The noise might be annoying, those little cpu coolers usually spin at very high rpm to compensate for its size. I ended up using an AIMB-262, i7, 16gb as a htpc and now gaming PC for my daughter, added a modded 1150 cooler and it has been working since 2014.
I've read the specs of the AIMB board and i liked them, but sadly i cannot find an used one. As i like the idea of giving my old cpu new life, i will jump on the all in one cpu-mobo board if it's substantially cheaper. The only option in my price range is an AAEON EMB-QM77 (used) for 150$ and still i would have to replace fan i guess(it comes with a loud 40mm fan i suppose). I will buy/salvage an ITX case and a minimal psu either route i take - QM77 or embedded - but i still have a DD3 stick from my laptop so i will recycle that surely.
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@johnkeates:
If you want to run suricata then you'll need an i3 or better, and you won't find that sub-$200 indeed.
So i suppose a GA-J1900N-D3V isn't gonna cut it right (it comes with a Celeron J1900 2.0 GHz quad-core)? Because right now i can buy one of those for 1/3 of its amazon price.
J1900 doesn't support AESNI which will be required for 2.5. You'd be buying into dead end technology with that purchase.
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@johnkeates:
If you want to run suricata then you'll need an i3 or better, and you won't find that sub-$200 indeed.
So i suppose a GA-J1900N-D3V isn't gonna cut it right (it comes with a Celeron J1900 2.0 GHz quad-core)? Because right now i can buy one of those for 1/3 of its amazon price.
J1900 doesn't support AESNI which will be required for 2.5. You'd be buying into dead end technology with that purchase.
So basically only recent ARM cpu or Intel Core or Xeon supports that instruction set while Celerons and Atoms are out of question?
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@johnkeates:
If you want to run suricata then you'll need an i3 or better, and you won't find that sub-$200 indeed.
So i suppose a GA-J1900N-D3V isn't gonna cut it right (it comes with a Celeron J1900 2.0 GHz quad-core)? Because right now i can buy one of those for 1/3 of its amazon price.
J1900 doesn't support AESNI which will be required for 2.5. You'd be buying into dead end technology with that purchase.
So basically only recent ARM cpu or Intel Core or Xeon supports that instruction set while Celerons and Atoms are out of question?
More like everything older than 2008. But that's 10-year old stuff.
