Help with HexOS NAS build

[Rolf Ratzer]

Hi,

I am looking for some help, picking parts for my new NAS as well as general tips for building a HexOS/TrueNAS NAS.

I'm going to build two identical NASs, each with HexOS, one to have at my house and one to have at my grandparents' house. We are both going to be using it to store our data. I'm planning on setting it up as a "buddy backup" so that both of our data gets backed up to each other's house (offsite).

 

The build

I have already found some of the parts, so I am looking for feedback, tips and things, that I might have overlooked with those.

Keep in mind that I live in Denmark (Europe) and therefore that's where I'm shopping. Not all the same stuff is available in Denmark as in Europe and in Europe as in the US/rest of the world. I am therefore looking more for tips and feedback rather than specific product recommendations.

Throughout the categories I will provide links to a site called PriceRunner. PriceRunner is a Danish (plus some other European countries) site where you can see prices for various products on a lot of (if not all) e-shops, vendors or other kinds of online stores (in Denmark). It's a really nice website, that I use a lot, and that's also what I use to find the best products for the price in all these categories. 

Link to my currently chosen parts on PCPartPicker: https://dk.pcpartpicker.com/user/rolfratzer/saved/bwWVD3

 

Case: Inter-Tech IPC 2U 2098-SK (Rack-mounted, 2U, 7 x 3.5" drive bays, Micro-ATX MB, ATX PSU, 2 x 60 mm fans in the front) (Link: https://www.inter-tech.de/productdetails-151/2U_2098-SK_EN.html)

Both NASs are going to be rack mounted and there is only room for 2U at my grandparents' house. The case is pretty locked in because I already have one and I want the two NASs to be pretty similar.

 

Motherboard: Asus WS C246M PRO (maybe "/SE" version) (Socket 1151, 8 x SATA ports, Micro-ATX)

The case only allows up micro-ATX motherboard, so I'm limited to that.

I found this nice Asus motherboard with 8 SATA ports. Other than that it has some nice features like the CPU and RAM being oriented horizontally to better suit rack cases, and also a management port (only /SE version).

PriceRunner motherboards link: https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/35/Bundkort?attr_60478991=60478995,60478994&sort=price_asc#s_60479859=7_14

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 9400 (6 cores, 6 threads, Socket 1151)

Link to specs on Intel's site: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/134898/intel-core-i59400-processor-9m-cache-up-to-4-10-ghz/specifications.html

This is probably the best Socket 1151 CPU for price to performance, because I can get one rather cheaply. Here you can see the options

PriceRunner CPUs link: https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/40/CPUs?attr_60326920=60326921&attr_60498110=60498111&sort=price_asc

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12S

I am planning on mounting the fan on the bottom, and I think with that, this will be a better option than for example a NH-L9i, because that would suffocate against the top of the case. According to this sheet: "https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/INTEL-Core-i5-9400-379", the NH-L9i would also not be able to handle my CPU.

 

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX Black DDR4 3200MHz 2x16GB (CMK32GX4M2E3200C16)

The RAM isn't ECC because the CPU doesn't support ECC RAM.
I went with 32 GB because that's the sweet spot in price to capacity (at least on the Danish market). I want a good amount of RAM for ZFS caching and I thought 32 GB was a good amount. Is the benefit of more worth the price?

PriceRunner RAM link: https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/38/RAM?man_id=12529,6764&attr_59869321=59869326&attr_59919528=100014426&sort=price_asc

 

PSU: SeaSonic Prime Fanless PX-450 (450 Watts, 80+ Platinum, Fully Modular, Fanless, ATX)

I found this 80+ Platinum power supply that's as low as 450 Watts.

 

OS/Cache drive: 

I am going to get some small 250/500 GB SSD for the OS but I also thought that it would be nice/good to have a SSD for ZFS L2ARC. I have one M.2 slot and I'm thinking that the Cache SSD would make the most sense to put in that, the OS SSD would then go in a SATA port. But maybe they can be combined on one drive, is that possible/a good idea?

 

Storage drives: 4 x *Used* Seagate IronWolf ST12000VN0008 (12TB 3.5", HDD) + 2 x New (<- For each NAS)

The amount of storage I need is flexible so I focused on finding the best price to performance/capacity and I have landed on this configuration.
I found som used 12 TB, Seagate IronWolf, HDDs. But there was/is only 8 of those in stock and i need 6 for each NAS, so I am filling the gap with some (more expensive) new ones.

 

Other: 10G network card: Inter-Tech Argus ST-7211

[Electronics Wizardy]

3 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12S

I am planning on mounting the fan on the bottom, and I think with that, this will be a better option than for example a NH-L9i, because that would suffocate against the top of the case. According to this sheet: "https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/INTEL-Core-i5-9400-379", the NH-L9i would also not be able to handle my CPU.

Even a stock cooler will be fine here probably. Your unlikely to be pushing the CPU hard here, and those chips don't run hot either.

 

3 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

 

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX Black DDR4 3200MHz 2x16GB (CMK32GX4M2E3200C16)

The RAM isn't ECC because the CPU doesn't support ECC RAM.
I went with 32 GB because that's the sweet spot in price to capacity (at least on the Danish market). I want a good amount of RAM for ZFS caching and I thought 32 GB was a good amount. Is the benefit of more worth the price?

PriceRunner RAM link: https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/38/RAM?man_id=12529,6764&attr_59869321=59869326&attr_59919528=100014426&sort=price_asc

 

Since you have a ecc supporting board. Might as well go i3 or xeon for the ECC support. Won't cost much more, and nice to have for the data protection.

 

3 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

that it would be nice/good to have a SSD for ZFS L2ARC.

Probably won't be needed for most uses, typically for a use like this your getting a pretty low hit rate.

 

3 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

Other: 10G network card: Inter-Tech Argus ST-7211

 

I"d be tempted to get one based off a newer intel chipset like a old chip, and something like a x550 would be better option if you can get one. 

 

I'd probably setup ZFS snapshots then send/recieve over a SSH link for offsite backups. You can send a encrypted dataset so it won't ever have decrypted data offsite if you want.

 

 

[Bersella AI]

On 8/1/2025 at 2:55 AM, Rolf Ratzer said:

CPU: Intel Core i5 9400 (6 cores, 6 threads, Socket 1151)

This choice does not seem to make sense. Despite being unfamiliar with Danish, I found the recent Core i3-12100 and even i5-12400 on the same CPU list, priced cheaper but absolutely outperforming than i5-9400. Therefore it might be better to switch to 12th gen instead.

Then pick up a B760/H610 board with DDR5 slots, as DDR5 kits does not differ from DDR4 in pricing nowadays (e.g., these kits vs. what you posted).

 

On 8/1/2025 at 2:55 AM, Rolf Ratzer said:

I am going to get some small 250/500 GB SSD for the OS

Even a tiny 16GB stick of Optane would host TrueNAS without any hassle. It might be helpful to have two M.2 slots on the motherboard, with one for boot drive, and another for a SATA riser card.

 

Agree with @Electronics Wizardy in other aspects.

[Rolf Ratzer]

On 8/1/2025 at 12:02 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Even a stock cooler will be fine here probably. Your unlikely to be pushing the CPU hard here, and those chips don't run hot either.

You are probably right, but I failed to mention, that I care a lot about noise, because both of the NASs are going to be in a normal room. I want them to have good cooling, so that they run quiet.

 

On 8/1/2025 at 12:02 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Since you have a ecc supporting board. Might as well go i3 or xeon for the ECC support. Won't cost much more, and nice to have for the data protection.

The Intel Xeon E3-1225V5 is the cheapest Socket 1151 CPU with ECC support as you can see here: https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/40/CPUs?attr_60326920=60326921&attr_60498110=60498111&sort=price_asc

It comes in at 1995 DKK while the Intel Core i5 9400 is only 1129 DKK.

It would be nice with ECC support, but I don't think it's worth getting a worse CPU for almost twice the price just to get ECC.

 

On 8/1/2025 at 12:02 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Probably won't be needed for most uses, typically for a use like this your getting a pretty low hit rate.

Yeah I guess you're right, but what if it could be on the same SSD as the OS? then I might as well do it.

 

On 8/1/2025 at 12:02 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

I"d be tempted to get one based off a newer intel chipset like a old chip, and something like a x550 would be better option if you can get one. 

These are the options I could find:

1. Inter-Tech Argus ST-7211 - Intel 82599 chipset

2. DeLock 90479 - Intel 82599EN chipset

3. InLine 51130A - Intel JL82599EN chipset

4. Trendnet TEG-10GECSFP - Marvell 88X3310P chipset

5. Asus XG-C100F - Aquantia chipset

Other options get into double-the-price territory

 

On 8/1/2025 at 12:02 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

I'd probably setup ZFS snapshots then send/recieve over a SSH link for offsite backups. You can send a encrypted dataset so it won't ever have decrypted data offsite if you want.

I'm not entirely familiar with what you are saying, but I am planning on using ZFS snapshots, but for the backup my plan was to use the upcoming HexOS feature, "Buddy Backup".

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

9 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

You are probably right, but I failed to mention, that I care a lot about noise, because both of the NASs are going to be in a normal room. I want them to have good cooling, so that they run quiet.

 

Hdds are gonna be loudest by far. But the stock cooler should be silent for NAS use here. 

 

9 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

The Intel Xeon E3-1225V5 is the cheapest Socket 1151 CPU with ECC support as you can see here: https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/40/CPUs?attr_60326920=60326921&attr_60498110=60498111&sort=price_asc

It comes in at 1995 DKK while the Intel Core i5 9400 is only 1129 DKK.

It would be nice with ECC support, but I don't think it's worth getting a worse CPU for almost twice the price just to get ECC.

 

How much is a i3 9100? That should be cheaper with ecc support.

 

9 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

5. Asus XG-C100F - Aquantia chipset

This would tempt me then, these have pretty good support these days.

 

 

[Rolf Ratzer]

22 hours ago, Bersella AI said:

This choice does not seem to make sense. Despite being unfamiliar with Danish, I found the recent Core i3-12100 and even i5-12400 on the same CPU list, priced cheaper but absolutely outperforming than i5-9400. Therefore it might be better to switch to 12th gen instead.

Then pick up a B760/H610 board with DDR5 slots, as DDR5 kits does not differ from DDR4 in pricing nowadays (e.g., these kits vs. what you posted).

Those CPUs are not for the socket that the motherboard has (socket 1151) and I need that motherboard because of the high amount of SATA ports (8). Something must have happed when you went to link I posted (https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/40/CPUs?attr_60326920=60326921&attr_60498110=60498111&sort=price_asc), it's supposed to only show socket 1151 CPUs.
Also, is your name Bersella "AI"?

[Rolf Ratzer]

6 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Hdds are gonna be loudest by far. But the stock cooler should be silent for NAS use here. 

Yeah those big HDDs do tend to be quite loud, I'm gonna wait with the Noctua cooler then, I'll see if I want it in the future / after I try using the stock cooler.

 

6 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

How much is a i3 9100? That should be cheaper with ecc support.

I can't find it in stock/available anywhere and it's not even on the PriceRunner site anymore. The sites that do have a price, even though it's not available anymore, have a very high one. But it isn't THAT bad not to have ECC, right?

 

6 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

This would tempt me then, these have pretty good support these days.

The Asus XG-C100F is actually a little more expensive than the Inter-Tech Argus ST-7211. Does the chipset matter that much?

[Electronics Wizardy]

6 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

I can't find it in stock/available anywhere and it's not even on the PriceRunner site anymore. The sites that do have a price, even though it's not available anymore, have a very high one. But it isn't THAT bad not to have ECC, right?

 

Can you get it used on ebay? Those are older chips now and harder to get used.

 

Just kinda seems like a waste to pay extra for a board with ECC support and not use ecc.

 

How much is something like a b550 board? That seems like a better option as likely cheaper new.

 

6 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

13 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

 

The Asus XG-C100F is actually a little more expensive than the Inter-Tech Argus ST-7211. Does the chipset matter that much?

Probably a bit better with compatibility, sometimes older nics lose support. You also get supports for features like 2.5/5gbe if you need it and likely better hardware acceleration. 

 

 

[Bersella AI]

On 8/3/2025 at 9:09 PM, Rolf Ratzer said:

Those CPUs are not for the socket that the motherboard has (socket 1151) and I need that motherboard because of the high amount of SATA ports (8). Something must have happed when you went to link I posted (https://www.pricerunner.dk/cl/40/CPUs?attr_60326920=60326921&attr_60498110=60498111&sort=price_asc), it's supposed to only show socket 1151 CPUs.
Also, is your name Bersella "AI"?

I found such a SATA riser card (referred to as "converter") on PriceRunner, which costs 412 Danish kr. There are many ways to meet all the requirements and make use of money more efficiently, and what I recommended is just an option -- the choice is up to you anyway.

In the LGA 1151 family though, Xeon E-2124G is notable as it costs as low as U.S. ~$10 in China but only fits in C242/C246 boards natively. Xeon E-21xx/22xx processors are barely listed on PriceRunner, but may be found elsewhere.

 

The "AI" in my name corresponds to the Chinese or Japanese letter "愛"(Love), rather than Artificial Intelligence.

[Rolf Ratzer]

On 8/3/2025 at 9:55 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Can you get it used on ebay? Those are older chips now and harder to get used.

 

Just kinda seems like a waste to pay extra for a board with ECC support and not use ecc.

 

How much is something like a b550 board? That seems like a better option as likely cheaper new.

I actually found the i3 9100 on ebay (Link) and it's very cheap, so I think I'm going with that instead

I want to stick to the motherboard I found because it has 8 SATA ports and a HBA PCIe card is VERY expensive

On 8/3/2025 at 9:55 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

Probably a bit better with compatibility, sometimes older nics lose support. You also get supports for features like 2.5/5gbe if you need it and likely better hardware acceleration. 

I think I will be going with the Inter-Tech Argus ST-7211 because It doesn't look like the Asus XG-C100F comes with a low-profile PCIe bracket. It's also quite less expensive, so I will just deal with any issues I might get.

[Rolf Ratzer]

On 8/5/2025 at 2:07 PM, Bersella AI said:

I found such a SATA riser card (referred to as "converter") on PriceRunner, which costs 412 Danish kr. There are many ways to meet all the requirements and make use of money more efficiently, and what I recommended is just an option -- the choice is up to you anyway.

HBA PCIe cards are VERY expensive and I'm not sure how well M.2 to SATA cards, like the one you found, work. I found this discussion, but it's inconclusive.

 

On 8/5/2025 at 2:07 PM, Bersella AI said:

In the LGA 1151 family though, Xeon E-2124G is notable as it costs as low as U.S. ~$10 in China but only fits in C242/C246 boards natively. Xeon E-21xx/22xx processors are barely listed on PriceRunner, but may be found elsewhere.

I found the i3 9100, that Electronics Wizardy suggested, very cheaply on ebay, so I think I'm going with that.

 

On 8/5/2025 at 2:07 PM, Bersella AI said:

The "AI" in my name corresponds to the Chinese or Japanese letter "愛"(Love), rather than Artificial Intelligence.

Oh ok, that makes more sense

[Ha-Satan]

On 8/3/2025 at 2:55 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

How much is something like a b550 board? That seems like a better option as likely cheaper new.

 

Yeah, like my MSI B550-VC has 8 SATA ports as well as a whole bunch of PCIe slots. I'm not sure how it goes for ECC or anything else but to me it seems like an obvious go-to choice for a NAS build.

[Rolf Ratzer]

1 hour ago, Ha-Satan said:

Yeah, like my MSI B550-VC has 8 SATA ports as well as a whole bunch of PCIe slots. I'm not sure how it goes for ECC or anything else but to me it seems like an obvious go-to choice for a NAS build.

I just checked and unfortunately the MSI B550-VC isn't available anywhere in Denmark, though it sounds like a nice board.

[Rolf Ratzer]

Now that I'm getting the i3 9100, I need some ECC RAM.

I found this one: HPE SmartMemory P00924-B21 (32 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, CL21, registered ECC)

Is "HPE" trustworthy and is this a good module?

[LIGISTX]

2 hours ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

HBA PCIe cards are VERY expensive

Can you not get one on eBay in the US and have it shipped? You can get h310 (LSI 9211’s) HBA’s for pretty dang cheap these days. 
 

https://ebay.us/m/JjzY69

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 hour ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

Now that I'm getting the i3 9100, I need some ECC RAM.

I found this one: HPE SmartMemory P00924-B21 (32 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz, CL21, registered ECC)

Is "HPE" trustworthy and is this a good module?

HPE is a big brand, there fine. But you need unbuffered ECC, registered ECC won't work.

[Rolf Ratzer]

3 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

Can you not get one on eBay in the US and have it shipped? You can get h310 (LSI 9211’s) HBA’s for pretty dang cheap these days. 
 

https://ebay.us/m/JjzY69

You're right, I can get it quite cheaply on eBay, but I don't need it if I go with the 8 SATA port motherboard. The board it's otherwise pretty nice, feature vise, so I don't think there is much benefit to finding another one.

[Rolf Ratzer]

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

HPE is a big brand, there fine. But you need unbuffered ECC, registered ECC won't work.

Yeah ok, I found this instead then

Samsung M391A4G43BB1-CWE (32 GB, DDR4, 3200 MHz, [doesn't say what latency], unbuffered ECC)

That's good right?

[Electronics Wizardy]

15 minutes ago, Rolf Ratzer said:

You're right, I can get it quite cheaply on eBay, but I don't need it if I go with the 8 SATA port motherboard. The board it's otherwise pretty nice, feature vise, so I don't think there is much benefit to finding another one.

I'd be tempted to get a newer platform and a cheaper HBA if you can.

 

That should work at first glance.

[Rolf Ratzer]

23 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I'd be tempted to get a newer platform and a cheaper HBA if you can.

 

That should work at first glance.

I feel you, but I just really like the features that the Asus WS C246M PRO/SE motherboard has: Rack-optimized PCB layout, Dedicated Management Port, ASPEED 2500 BMC chip, ECC memory support, Good amount of PCIe slots, 8 SATA ports. I also looked into other options of motherboards and it quickly reaches the same price range as the Asus WS C246M PRO/SE. So I think it will be hard to find a better motherboard for the price, especially when I can get the CPU so cheaply, with this MB.

[fretfingers]

Did you ever get around to building this? I'm about to jump into building my 1st server with an old Dell Precision 5810 Tower and HexOS. How's your build going?