Buy MSI IM-945GSE-A now, or wait for next generation?
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The MSI IM-945GSE-A seems perfect for my needs. Should I buy now, or should I wait for the next generation of Atom motherboards?
The Intel D510MO is available starting tomorrow (Jan 5). That board isn't optimal for me, but the other makers probably won't be far behind (right?). The D510 boards will be dual-core and fanless due to a better power consumption story. On the other hand, there's the risk that pfSense won't support something in the new platform. My current thought is to go conservative and buy what is available now and what has been known to work, but I want to query the forum first.
Background: I'm going to build a pair of pfSense boxes to route traffic at my home and at my small office. I will occasionally establish a VPN tunnel to either location while traveling. The boxes will also provide NAS at both locations and will rsync with each other on a schedule. Both locations are 802.11n networks with 30Mbps uplinks. I'm new to pfSense but not new to FreeBSD.
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The MSI IM-945GSE-A seems perfect for my needs. Should I buy now, or should I wait for the next generation of Atom motherboards?
That's always the question. It depends if you are worried most about speed, power savings or compatibility.
If the current Atom has the speed you need, and you aren't worried about the 3 or 4 watts that'll be saved by the new platform, then get it now. If you need the extra speed and/or power savings, I'd say wait. Well….make that a qualified wait. We know what 1.2.3 is based on. You could peruse the FreeBSD forums and see what they are saying about compatibility with the new Atom chipset. Or check out the FreeBSD 8 forums but know you'll be running pfSense 2.0 beta. It's really a decision only you can make since none of us have a crystal ball. My magic 8-ball says go for it.
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The Intel D510MO is available starting tomorrow (Jan 5). That board isn't optimal for me, but the other makers probably won't be far behind (right?).
There is a brief review of some other boards using the same chipset at http://www.linuxtech.net/features/intel_atom_pineview_motherboards_overview.html
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There is a brief review of some other boards using the same chipset at http://www.linuxtech.net/features/intel_atom_pineview_motherboards_overview.html
The DFI LR100-N16M looks promising, with dual NICs and a CF reader. Neither the article nor the DFI press release state whether the NICs are Intel or some other make. Plus, it supports 667MHz SO-DIMMs, several of which I have gathering dust.
DFI Press Release: http://tw.dfi-acp.com/Upload/News/ACP_US/acp_arch88.jsp
EDIT: The previous generation DFI boards seem to be using RTL8111C NICs.
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I'd recommend finding a board with Intel NIC's too, but if worse comes to worse, you could find a case that would allow for a PCI/PCIe card or one with a horizontal riser card. I've had good luck here: http://www.idotpc.com/TheStore/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=35