Motherboards with 3 PCIe_x16 slots

[RoDiesel]

What are the use cases, specifically? Will the files be worked on from the NAS by multiple people, or is it pure storage?

The files will be stored on the NAS, once the final version of them is reached. Kind of archiving there, but with everyday search/read.

 

[Frick]

The files will be stored on the NAS, once the final version of them is reached. Kind of archiving there, but with everyday search/read.

So why NVMe then?

Also, what about backups?

 

[chrcoluk]

On the 5600G lanes issue, I had a google and can see is a fair amount of conflicting information out there, but the arguments saying its 8 lanes seem to be mostly sourced from older and gimped mobile chips.

According to AMD the 5600G has 24 lanes.
16 for first PCIe
4 for M.2 (these can be rerouted, on my board the second 16x PCIe slot is a 4x CPU lanes, but will be disabled if the first M.2 slot is used).
4 for chipset

ASRock product page for my board backs up AMD spec's also.

If push comes to shove I can test my 5600G to see if it allocates 16 lanes on a 16x GPU.

 

[unwind-protect]

A lot of options but still in doubt about the HW purchase (new or used). The NAS is needed for a small office (~10 users, for the moment). The plan for NAS is like this :
- volume 1 for pictures/short movies (at least 2x8 TB),
- volume 2 for documents (at least 2x4 TB) and
- volume 3 for different mixed files (2x4 TB).
So I have 3 volumes, all with Raid1 (6 drives in total).
In case of a HW failure (NAS or drive), I need to be able to extract any healthy drive and read it into some other device/computer (hence the need for mirroring).
For volume 2, I have to store/read a lot of small files and also be able to search inside them. This is one of the reason I go for a DIY NAS, with a much powerful CPU than the N5105.
On the NAS I will also install some add-on packages/virtualization.
I could go with 2 smaller NVMe drives at the beginning (2 x 8 TB) for all 3 volumes, but in time, the full version will still need to have at least 6 NVMe drives.
I was able to find a used x399 MB with a 1900x on it, at a decent price. But the TDP of the CPU is a no go at this point.
Any thoughts?

Honestly, I would use a SATA/SAS hot swap frame for 2.5" drives. Live replacement of drives is very handy when people yell at you because they need their files.

Performance will be good enough to saturate 10 GB/sec.

 

[RoDiesel]

So why NVMe then?

Also, what about backups?

HDD is out of question and SATA is kind of obsolete. Not to mention that is at the same price with NVMe. So why not NVMe? Considering that I need a lot of search (inside of files), it looks like the best option.

 

[chrcoluk]

HDD is out of question and SATA is kind of obsolete. Not to mention that is at the same price with NVMe. So why not NVMe? Considering that I need a lot of search (inside of files), it looks like the best option.

SATA isnt obsolete, its just on communities like this we have tech enthusiasts who have a hunger for cutting edge and bleeding edge performance.

However for something like a NAS, you dont need a single device to be able to pull NVME levels of bandwidth, and SATA has many practical benefits over NVME including much reduced per device bandwidth requirements. You can as an example install a multi port SATA card on a 4x PCIe slot, as well as have say 8 SATA slots built in on the board. With your stated use case its clearly a much more practical solution which as said will still be able to saturate a 10gbit link.

What you could do as a compromise is setup a ZFS NAS, and attach a NVME as a caching device so frequently accessed files are accessed over the fast device (if they not in the RAM ARC cache), but the data is ultimately backed by the main SATA based pool.

 

[masterdeejay]

The cheapest i think is an used Lenovo P520 workstation ebay
2x pcie 16x
2x pcie 4x
1x pcie 8x
Ram is also cheap for this setup. (used ecc reg ddr4)
But i think you need at least one 10G network card and switch for the nvme drives to feed. (copper or optical)

Alternative solution is used x299 WS board (asus have dual 10G board and a lot of pcie lanes "x299 WS sage/10g")
Or some used LGA3647 server motherboard and cheap xeon.

 

[freeagent]

Yep, cards like the ASUS are dumb cards in the sense that they are simply adding M.2 slots without adding a controller that would allow for bifurcation, lane sharing, ect. M.2 already directly interfaces via PCIe as well so it's not like they are doing anything special in that regard, $75 for that is grossly overpriced IMO.

It came with my motherboard, so no cost to me

And it does let you run a couple of extra drives so its ok.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Yeah wow
I just got a couple sn850x 4tb m.2 at 230.us per
Can't imagine 8 of them

 

[kapone32]

It came with my motherboard, so no cost to me

And it does let you run a couple of extra drives so its ok.

All hail to the B550-XE!!

 

[freeagent]

I currently have 4 NVME drives running, but if I swap locations for my GPU I could add another drive. Not bad for X570.. That add in card came with one of my B550 boards, so on that setup it was even handier since you are pretty locked down on B550.

All hail to the B550-XE!!

I like that board more than my Dark Hero..

 

[kapone32]

HDD is out of question and SATA is kind of obsolete. Not to mention that is at the same price with NVMe. So why not NVMe? Considering that I need a lot of search (inside of files), it looks like the best option.

SATA is not obsolete. A RAID 0 SSD on SATA has better consistency writing files vs NVME.

I currently have 4 NVME drives running, but if I swap locations for my GPU I could add another drive. Not bad for X570.. That add in card came with one of my B550 boards, so on that setup it was even handier since you are pretty locked down on B550.


I like that board more than my Dark Hero..

The only board that is better for me is the X570S Ace Max. The XE is in my daughter's machine. That was one that I could not sell.

 

[A Computer Guy]

On the 5600G lanes issue, I had a google and can see is a fair amount of conflicting information out there, but the arguments saying its 8 lanes seem to be mostly sourced from older and gimped mobile chips.

According to AMD the 5600G has 24 lanes.
16 for first PCIe
4 for M.2 (these can be rerouted, on my board the second 16x PCIe slot is a 4x CPU lanes, but will be disabled if the first M.2 slot is used).
4 for chipset

ASRock product page for my board backs up AMD spec's also.

If push comes to shove I can test my 5600G to see if it allocates 16 lanes on a 16x GPU.

I have a 4750G and it can only bifurcate x8x4x4 in a x16 slot so for a 4 port non-switching NVMe card only 3 slots can be used. You may run into a similar limitation for other G chips.

 

[RoDiesel]

How about this:

Eyertec AD650i Mini ITX

Eyertec AD650i Mini-ITX motherboard As the most important part of your computer, our motherboards are powered by Intel Core i7-12650H processors, offer 6 M.2 slots and a variety of USB interfaces - for higher efficiency, faster speeds and the perfect choice for home servers! overview...

store.minisforum.de

 

[evernessince]

How about this:

Eyertec AD650i Mini ITX

Eyertec AD650i Mini-ITX motherboard As the most important part of your computer, our motherboards are powered by Intel Core i7-12650H processors, offer 6 M.2 slots and a variety of USB interfaces - for higher efficiency, faster speeds and the perfect choice for home servers! overview...

store.minisforum.de

Seems pretty good for those that need the M.2 slots. You are giving up customizability in the lack of PCIe slots but that's not a big deal for a NAS. Price and included CPU are both great as well for this use case. It will be power efficient as well, which is important for a NAS as often it'll run 24/7.

 

[robinluie]

What do you think about this MB: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/pacote office download-rev-10#kf combined with AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900X
By the way, very informative details about the 5600G


Interesting idea. But quite expensive ...

I appreciate your input on the Gigabyte motherboard combined with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900X. It seems like a powerful combination, but as you mentioned, the expense is a notable factor.

Have you considered any alternative motherboard and CPU combinations that might offer a more cost-effective solution while still meeting your performance requirements? It's always a balancing act between performance and budget, and exploring different options can sometimes lead to finding a sweet spot.

Looking forward to hearing more about your considerations!

 

[Wirko]

HDD is out of question and SATA is kind of obsolete. Not to mention that is at the same price with NVMe. So why not NVMe? Considering that I need a lot of search (inside of files), it looks like the best option.

Why not both? PCIe for volume 2 and SATA for the other two?

 

[Waldorf]

@RoDiesel
you seem to mistake ssd (sata) connection, with ssd as a drive.

6 usable M.2 slots, even if a gpu is used.
x570S




@evernessince
except almost all data center info shows that about 25% of non-hdd drives have controller failure,
not nand failure. and its connected to time (~2y), not how much is written.

 

[A Computer Guy]

@RoDiesel
you seem to mistake ssd (sata) connection, with ssd as a drive.

6 usable M.2 slots, even if a gpu is used.
x570S

Wow that x570s is a beast.

 

[kapone32]

Wow that x570s is a beast.

The X570 Unify was also a board with uber connectivity for Storage. These boards also came with adapter cards for 2 NVME drives in the 2nd slot. The secret to the Unify and Ace boards is that the 3rd slot is wired as x8. You could not split the lanes on that slot but it was great for Cards that have an on board controller.

 

[RoDiesel]

The x570s is a very valid option. Together with AD650i they make it to my short list. Thanks a lot! Also I do appreciate the ideas that emerged from this post. Really educative!

 

[Waldorf]

@A Computer Guy
best board i ever used.
had wasted 250$ on a Gb (+300 retail), but planned on staying on AM4 and get a 5950,
so i decided to change the board as well and have a proper foundation (tightest +- and closest (to min needed) when it comes to voltages running auto).

@RoDiesel
the nice part its supporting pcie on all slots, not limited to sata (speeds) on some like other boards.
still leaves the 2nd 16x for maybe a x8 or x4 adapter..

 

[RoDiesel]

In the end I decided to go with the AD650i. It is smaller and has all that I need. Definitely I will get back to this forum with my impressions and some tests. Best regards to all and Merry Christmas!