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RAM for a NAS

martward
By martward
in Storage Devices
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Hi all,

 

I posted recently about some parts I wanted to use for my coming FreeNas. I was told I need at least 8gb of RAM if I wanted to use ZFS, so my question now is, is there any difference in performance between buying one stick of 8 gb or buying two sticks of 4gb? Expanding in the future won't really be a thing since I would probably need to replace all the RAM (matching sticks is a hassle).

 

Thanks :)

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My System:

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AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Gigabyte RTX 3060TI Gaming OC Pro, Fractal Design Meshify C TG, 2x8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200MHz, MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max, Samsung 850 EVO 512GB, 2TB WD Blue, Corsair RM850x, LG 27GL83A-B

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Buy a single 8gb stick. The performance difference is basically non-existent and it gives you the option to upgrade; ram really isn't that picky anymore. 

PSU Tier List | CoC

Gaming Build | FreeNAS Server

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i5-4690k || Seidon 240m || GTX780 ACX || MSI Z97s SLI Plus || 8GB 2400mhz || 250GB 840 Evo || 1TB WD Blue || H440 (Black/Blue) || Windows 10 Pro || Dell P2414H & BenQ XL2411Z || Ducky Shine Mini || Logitech G502 Proteus Core

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FreeNAS 9.3 - Stable || Xeon E3 1230v2 || Supermicro X9SCM-F || 32GB Crucial ECC DDR3 || 3x4TB WD Red (JBOD) || SYBA SI-PEX40064 sata controller || Corsair CX500m || NZXT Source 210.

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In your case there's no difference in performance, leave room for upgrade. By the way for zfs you'll want 8gb + 1gb per tb for optimal performance

It'll be a simple Nas with only one real user and only 3TB (2TB after raid5) storage, speed isn't really an issue. Since the motherboard only has two DIMMs and I don't want to mix RAM, that would mean buying 16gb and thus spending twice as much on RAM. Is it really that necessary?

PSU tier list // Motherboard tier list // Community Standards 

My System:

Spoiler

AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Gigabyte RTX 3060TI Gaming OC Pro, Fractal Design Meshify C TG, 2x8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200MHz, MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max, Samsung 850 EVO 512GB, 2TB WD Blue, Corsair RM850x, LG 27GL83A-B

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It'll be a simple Nas with only one real user and only 3TB (2TB after raid5) storage, speed isn't really an issue. Since the motherboard only has two DIMMs and I don't want to mix RAM, that would mean buying 16gb and thus spending twice as much on RAM. Is it really that necessary?

Not necessary but very highly recommended.

-アパゾ

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It'll be a simple Nas with only one real user and only 3TB (2TB after raid5) storage, speed isn't really an issue. Since the motherboard only has two DIMMs and I don't want to mix RAM, that would mean buying 16gb and thus spending twice as much on RAM. Is it really that necessary?

 

8gb are fine

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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In your case there's no difference in performance, leave room for upgrade. By the way for zfs you'll want 8gb + 1gb per tb for optimal performance

that 1gb per tb is a blanket statement to account for basically any/all setups. Realistically you don't need 1gb per tb. I was doing just fine with 8gb of RAM and 14TB (with occasional stuttering with multiple high bitrate 1080p transcoded streams which may be a cpu issues or a memory issue...I honestly don't know which as both are possibilities).

 

Not necessary but very highly recommended.

PSU Tier List | CoC

Gaming Build | FreeNAS Server

Spoiler

i5-4690k || Seidon 240m || GTX780 ACX || MSI Z97s SLI Plus || 8GB 2400mhz || 250GB 840 Evo || 1TB WD Blue || H440 (Black/Blue) || Windows 10 Pro || Dell P2414H & BenQ XL2411Z || Ducky Shine Mini || Logitech G502 Proteus Core

Spoiler

FreeNAS 9.3 - Stable || Xeon E3 1230v2 || Supermicro X9SCM-F || 32GB Crucial ECC DDR3 || 3x4TB WD Red (JBOD) || SYBA SI-PEX40064 sata controller || Corsair CX500m || NZXT Source 210.

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@Sauron, @APasz, @djdwosk97

I will buy a single stick then, and upgrade if I get more storage or run into problems.

Thank you for the info :)

PSU tier list // Motherboard tier list // Community Standards 

My System:

Spoiler

AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Gigabyte RTX 3060TI Gaming OC Pro, Fractal Design Meshify C TG, 2x8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V 3200MHz, MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max, Samsung 850 EVO 512GB, 2TB WD Blue, Corsair RM850x, LG 27GL83A-B

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