Re: [gentoo-user] Computer case for new build

[Frank Steinmetzger <Warp_7@gmx.de>]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 5561 bytes --]

Am Mon, Sep 18, 2023 at 02:20:56PM -0500 schrieb Dale:

> >> […]
> >> The downside, only micro ATX and
> >> mini ITX mobo.  This is a serious down vote here.
> > Why is that bad? µATX comes with up to four PCIe slots. Even for ten drives, 
> > you only need one SATA expander (with four or six on-board). Perhaps a fast 
> > network card if one is needed, that makes two slots. You don’t get more RAM 
> > slots with ATX, either. And, if not anything else, a smaller board means 
> > (or can mean) lower power consumption and thus less heat.
> >
> > Speaking of RAM; might I interest you in server-grade hardware? The reason 
> > being that you can then use ECC memory, which is a nice perk for storage.¹ 
> > Also, the chance is higher to get sufficient SATA connectors on-board (maybe 
> > in the form of an SFF connector, which is actually good, since it means 
> > reduced “cable salad”).
> > AFAIK if you have a Ryzen PRO, then you can also use a consumer-grade board, 
> > because they too support ECC. And DDR5 has basic (meaning 1 bit and 
> > transparent to the OS) ECC built-in from the start.
> 
> I tend to need quite a few PCIe slots.  I like to have my own video
> card.  I never liked the built in ones.

You’re just asking to be asked. ;-) Why don’t you like them? (I fear I may 
have asked that before).

I get it when you wanna do it your way because it always worked™ (which is 
not wrong — don’t misunderstand me) and perhaps you had some bad experience 
in the past. OTOH it’s a pricey component usually only needed by gamers and 
number crunchers. On-board graphics are just fine for Desktop and even 
(very) light gaming and they lower power draw considerably. Give it a swirl, 
maybe you like it. :) Both Intel and AMD work just fine with the kernel 
drivers.

> I also have never had a good built in network port to work right either.  
> Every one of them always had problems if they worked at all.

I faintly remember a thread about that from long ago. But the same thought 
applies: in case you buy a new board, give it a try. Keep away from Intel 
I225-V though, that 2.5 GbE chip has a design flaw but manufacturers still 
use int.

> I also need PCIe slots for SATA expander cards.

That’s the use case I mostly thought of. Irritatingly, I just looked at my 
price comparison site for SATA expansion cards and all 8×SATA cards are PCIe 
2.0 with either two or even just one lane. -_- So not even PCIe 3.0×1, which 
is the same speed as 2.0×2 but would fit in a ×1 slot which many boards 
have in abundance.

2.0×2 is about 1 GB/s. Divided by 8 drives gives you 125 MB/s/drive.

> If I use
> the Define case, I'd like to spread that across at least two cards,
> maybe three.  So, network, video and at least a couple SATA cards,
> adding up fast.  Sometimes, I wouldn't mind having the larger ATX with
> extra PCIe slots.  Thought about having SAS cards and cables that
> convert to SATA.  I think they do that.  That may make it just one
> card.  I dunno.  I haven't dug deep into that yet.

After the disappointment with the SATA expanders I looked at SAS cards.
They are well connected on the PCIe side (2.0×8 or 3.0×8) and they are 
compatible with SATA drives. I found an Intel SAS card with four SFF 
connectors (meaning 16 drives!) for a little over 100 €. It’s called 
RMSP3JD160J. I don’t know why it is so cheap, though. Because the 
second-cheapest competitor is already at 190 €.

> Figure the case is a
> good place to start.  Mobo, CPU and such next.  Figure mobo will pick
> memory for me since usually only one or two will work anyway. 

One or two what?

> > I was going to upgrade my 9 years old Haswell system at some point to a new 
> > Ryzen build. Have been looking around for parts and configs for perhaps two 
> > years now but I can’t decide (perhaps some remember previous ramblings about 
> > that). Now I actually consider buing a tiny Deskmini X300 after I found out 
> > that it does support ACPI S3, but only with a specific UEFI version. No 
> > 10-gig USB and only 1-gig ethernet though. But it’s cute and small. :)
> 
> I thought about using a Raspberry Pi for a NAS box.  Just build more
> than one of them.  Thing is, finding the parts for it is almost
> impossible right now.  They kinda went away a couple years ago when
> things got crazy. 

I was talking main PC use case, not NAS. :)
The minimalist form factor doesn’t really impede me. I don’t have any HDDs 
in my PC anymore (too noisy), so why keep space for it. And while I do like 
to game a little bit, I find a full GPU too expensive and hungry, because it 
will be bored most of the time.

The rest can be done with USB, which is the only thing a compact case often 
lacks in numbers.

> Since no one mentioned a better case, that Define thing may end up being
> it.  That Gamemax is cheaper but a lot less drive capacity.  Heck, when
> I bought my current case, which has space for five 3.5" and six 5 1/4"
> drives, I thought I'd never fill up just the 3.5" ones.  Now, the 3.5"
> ones have been full for a while and the 5 1/4" are about full too.

Full with ODDs? Or drive cages? You can get 3×3.5″ cages which install into 
three 5¼″ slots.

-- 
Grüße | Greetings | Salut | Qapla’
Please do not share anything from, with or about me on any social network.

If you switch off the lights fast enough,
you can see what the darkness looks like.

[-- Attachment #2: signature.asc --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 833 bytes --]