Question 1

Does this board include the Atom processor?

Accepted Answer

Yes, processor included.  8 Cores with no hyper-threads.   Excellent board for NAS, private web server, etc.

Question 2

What memory are you using? I checked SM's site for compatibility and they didn't list anything sold by Newegg.

Thanks!

Accepted Answer

I used this with Kingston 8gb sticks, KVR16LSE11/8KF. Kingston's page lists them as compatible, but Supermicro doesn't reciprocate.

A warning to keep in mind, Kingston has previously changed a few of their sticks without bumping the part number (noted extensively on the FreeNAS forums.) Several other FreeNAS users have also confirmed these sticks as compatible, but they will likely remain as a "user assumed risk."

Question 3

Has anyone used this board with pfSense? I'm unable to find any supporting documentation. Thank you!

Accepted Answer

Yes, I'm using it with pfSense 2.1.4.  Works great.  A number of discussions about it on the pfSense Hardware forum.

Question 4

What is the max power load that this motherboard requires? The specs say 20W TDP, but if you read up on TDP, that is related to heat and it is an average.  How big of a power supply would I need if I just added RAM and an SSD? I would like to build a pfSense firewall.

Accepted Answer

I'm currently running pfSense on this board with a single SSD, two sticks of RAM, and one PWM-controlled fan. I have the unit connected to a power-monitoring outlet, and it's been averaging a fairly steady 18.5W under day-to-day web browsing load, with peaks of about 21W under very heavy load. That said, I power mine with an (admittedly, overkill) 150W, 12V power supply. I probably would have purchased a smaller power supply, but the bigger one ended up being cheaper and easier to find. I imagine a 25W power supply would suffice in most situations, and certainly a 40W or 60W would be fine.

Question 5

What cables are included?  The online documentation is inconsistent.

Accepted Answer

In the box I received:
   1 x Motherboard
   1 x I/O Shield
   6 x SATA cables (@ 57.5cm length)
   1 x Quick Reference Guide

The Manufacturers site lists the unit only coming with 2 SATA cables.

Question 6

Would you consider using a PicoPSU power supply for this board?

Accepted Answer

You can, it's a very low power board, although there's no particular reason to - it has a direct DC input that you can use without messing with an ATX power supply.

Question 7

Can this RAID at all, Or is RAID a dumb thing to do these days?

Accepted Answer

There is no hardware RAID controller with this board, but I setup Linux Software RAID with two identical 3TB HDD configured as RAID1. So far, it's working quite well.

Question 8

processor included?

Accepted Answer

8 core 2.47 GHZ processor New SystemOnChip Atom technology. Basic SW and 2 A1SRi servers each with 16GB ram, Dual 1TB drives, consume 53 watts.

Question 9

Hi,

Anyone using this with esxi 6.0? Any compatibility issues?

Which RAM are you using for vmware box and/or FreeNAS?

I am looking to build a firewall/router, please recommend slim mini-itx case as well which can sit in some dark corner and not make any noise!

Accepted Answer

This board requires ECC memory.  I am using 8GB of Crucial (Part Number: CT2KIT51272BF160B).

I'm using it as a firewall (running Sophos UTM) in a Mini-Box M350 case.  I added a Noiseblocker BlackSilentFan XM2 fan, but it is not required.

I have also run pfSense on this, but not ESXi

Question 10

What short depth rack mount chassis will fit this any recommendations ?

Accepted Answer

i used the athena power rm-1u100 (model # might be wrong, but it's close)

Questions & Answers