Router parts list needed.

[Gladzilla]

Looking to build a router that will handle Private internet access vpn at 1gbps. The os will be pfsense. May I get a parts list from the community. Budget is $500. I'd like it to be a mini itx or smaller. Going this route vs a prebuilt pia router as to have the option to use this as a storage server in the future. 

[Mark77]

You'll want a CPU that supports AES-NI.  I'd suggest something based on an Intel "Q" chipset, and a CPU that supports Intel AMT, so you can remote into the machine with VPro.

 

Haswell is probably the sweet spot these days in terms of used gear.  

 

If you can live with a single Gig-E, then eBay is full of Lenovo M73's with Intel i5-4570T CPU's, Q87 chipset, and some RAM for $120-$150.

 

[Gladzilla]

10 hours ago, Mark77 said:

You'll want a CPU that supports AES-NI.  I'd suggest something based on an Intel "Q" chipset, and a CPU that supports Intel AMT, so you can remote into the machine with VPro.

 

Haswell is probably the sweet spot these days in terms of used gear.  

 

If you can live with a single Gig-E, then eBay is full of Lenovo M73's with Intel i5-4570T CPU's, Q87 chipset, and some RAM for $120-$150.

 

Which is better more cores(assuming pf sense uses more than one core/can be opened on multiple cores) or high core speeds?

[mariushm]

The 55-60$ Athlon 200GE  (2 core , 4 threads) supports AES-NI and it's fast enough. Brute performance wise, it's about on par with the  i5-4570T  recommended above.

Pair it with 8 GB of memory and a A320 / B350 / B450 ITX motherboard and a M.2 SSD (or sata, if you don't mind extra cables) and you got a server.

If the performance isn't good enough, you'd still be able to upgrade to something bigger.