upgrade old FreeBSD home server

Tieks: I totally agree with you. I don't want "very old" but a little old.

Unfortunately, it's the newest stuff that will be hyped....
 
So I take it that I shouldn't really worry about ethernet drivers these days?

The last time I bought hardware, that was a concern, i.e. that some wouldn't be adequate (I was told).
(Edit: Yes, I have a true Intel PCI double ethernet card running fxp.)

Now as long as I can connect two ports to it, it'll work OK?

I ask because that's really the only difference hardware-wise from e.g. a refurbed business desktop.
 
So I take it that I shouldn't really worry about ethernet drivers these days?
You have worry but much less! And more likely that refurbed desktops have ethernet h/w that is supported.

I haven't had great experience with used stuff. The two used thinkpads I bought didn't last all that long (but may be laptops are less reliable in general). I generally buy *new* hardware but *not the latest* hardware so that I get warranty and can extend warranty for 3 years or so.
 
The last time I bought hardware, that was a concern, i.e. that some wouldn't be adequate (I was told).
(Edit: Yes, I have a true Intel PCI double ethernet card running fxp.)
It's now called em(4), I recently got a dual for 1.5€ and a quad for 5€ (not yet in active use, and the quad is a bit old and power-hungry) at the bay. In active use is alc(4) (works well) and re(4) (really low end). People seem to be going for 10Gbit, so these are dumped.
 
I'm with you on Thinkpads - I heart my T430, but how can you tell if they're business lease returns?
It's all about looking on ebay at the right time ready to buy, and if you don't see what you want today it could be there tomorrow.

A business lease return lot will have a larger number of the same model Thinkpad. A W520 is considered to be a workstation and can be upgraded to 32GB RAM. It's also the last Model that had the old style keyboard, which most people consider to be the best laptop keyboard made:

"Thinkpad W: High-end mobile workstations for CAD and digital art, supersedes the entire T series 'p' variants."

Be sure to check the sellers rep on past sales and pass them by if they have a history of problems. Other than that you can't depend on the picture of the laptop they present because that's representative of the Model and it's the luck of the fraw which one they pick up off the stack for you.

If there's a problem be ready to work with them to make it right and don't file a complaint unless it comes down to that. I didn't get a valid Win10Pro key with my first one and he worked with me outside ebay (which is against the rules but I caught what he meant) to make it right so they wouldn't see him send me a key. The last one arrived a little late but that was the fault of the Postal Service.

Both run and look like new. The first one stays offline serving as my MP3 player and I've been using the other for daily use the last month or so. I have screenshots posted of them both at work.
 
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So I take it that I shouldn't really worry about ethernet drivers these days?
Intel is always good, except those new 2.5Gbit ones, they're not supported, 1 or 10GBit Intel shouldn't be a problem.

What do people look for in a tower case these days? Ease of manipulation...
Lots of spaces for adding case fans both front and back, computers run hot these days, good airflow going in on the front and out the back is important. Lots of space for drives (both 2.5 and 3.5 inch). That's usually it. Only my main desktop is a tower model. All my other machines are in 19" rack mountable cases and I usually outfit those with hot-swappable drive bays so I don't have to take it apart when a drive dies (every drive eventually does).
 
I guess my point of view is distorted because my current computer is very loud. That's what I ended up with when I didn't specifically think about it last time.
 
Where does running hot & lots of fans leave us with noise?
I run them only on demand. Boards still have a serial interface, and this provides for two wires that can easily be switched from software. Some BD137 transistor can then switch about 1 Ampere. That way I can monitor all disks via smartctl in addition to the CPU.
Got rid of my temp problems that way; no more of these mishap's:
Code:
  9 Power_On_Hours          -O--C-   089   089   000    -    83114
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        PO--C-   100   100   060    -    0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       -O--CK   100   100   000    -    996
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count -O--CK   082   082   000    -    22181
193 Load_Cycle_Count        -O--C-   082   082   000    -    22182
194 Temperature_Celsius     -O----   176   176   000    -    34 (Min/Max 18/68)
196 Reallocated_Event_Count -O--CK   100   100   000    -    58

0x05  0x020  1              68  ---  Highest Temperature
0x05  0x028  1              18  ---  Lowest Temperature
0x05  0x050  4           30220  ---  Time in Over-Temperature
0x05  0x058  1              60  ---  Specified Maximum Operating Temperature
 
What do people look for in a tower case these days? Ease of manipulation...

Even there, the choices are dizzying.
I either used Thermaltake (Soprano the latest used) or Antec cases. The Thermaltake case has a 16+cm front fan that is only heard when I put my ear down directly on it.

Often the case fans (nowadays) are not the problem, the problem is graphics card fans. I always go for cards that are rated between 20 and 30dBA. Fortunately, most cards marketed as quiet meet this (at least when I last bought one). Of course, they would get noisier should you play some graphically intensive game. Equally you could dispense with a graphics card and use the on-board one. That's an area I know nothing about.

Another point is power supply. These can be noisy, so pay a little extra, get a gold+ rated one (basically means converts more voltage and produces less heat). I use Antec and have never had aproblem.

Welcome to the slippery slope of computer purchasing/building.
 
Where does running hot & lots of fans leave us with noise?
I'm using 14 cm Be Quiet! and Noctua fans (1, 2), and have no noise to speak of. The fans that come preinstalled in computer cases are crap and they'll be noisy eventually if they're not noisy right away. My video card is water cooled.
 
I do need to replace my fans every so often. My home is quite dusty (it's almost 100 years old) and fans just clog up and start whining after some time. More expensive fans are typically better and will last longer, but those too will need replacing from time to time.
The fans that come preinstalled in computer cases are crap
Yeah, those usually don't last long in my house. They're easily replaced so it's not that big of an issue for me.
 
Bigger fans means less revolutions, hence less wear and noise. The worst fans in terms of noise are the small ones on graphics cards. If you don't play games you could use a passively cooled card or, as mark_j pointed out, go for on-board graphics. Power supplies are equipped with a fan too, don't pick the cheapest one. A good power supply will pay off with less noise and lower energy use.
I have been running two 14 cm fans on the 5 volt line of a molex hdd plug since 2015. Very silent. They are slightly dusty by now. I live in an old house too, but I use a vacuum cleaner once a year.
 
I do need to replace my fans every so often. My home is quite dusty (it's almost 100 years old) and fans just clog up and start whining after some time. More expensive fans are typically better and will last longer, but those too will need replacing from time to time.

I use canned air to blow my systems out every few months and that seems to keep the fans alive a lot longer.
 
Yes, my intent is the onboard graphics card. That is what I have been using, assuming it's still going to be good enough for web browsing....
 
Yes, my intent is the onboard graphics card. That is what I have been using, assuming it's still going to be good enough for web browsing....
:) of course it is. Onboard graphics these days are better than specialty graphics cards from back in the day (anybody remember viper)- you can watch 1080p, do limited video processing, and even play games that aren't super demanding.
 
I use an Opolar gaming fan on my laptops when compiling ports or some of them will overheat and shut down at 100C.

They are well worth the little coinage they cost.
 
I've been using pretty generic systems for a while. I prefer Gigabyte motherboards, I've had good luck with either Intel or AMD cpus. I tend to get "1 generation back from latest" because FreeBSD support seems better and I'm not losing anything for a desktop. Intel i915 integrated graphics work fine, generic Nvidia cards also work fine. I also tend to max RAM right up front (32GB is plenty for just about everything on a desktop).

Cases: again, generic mid-tower sizes have always worked for me. Enough space for a bunch of drives and still enough empty space for airflow. Make sure to get adapters for SSDs so they you can just fit them in.
Power Supplies: I tend to spend a bit more money on these up front. A little bigger and higher quality because they seem to last longer.
Fans: Noctua NF-F12 fans have always done good for me. Nice design, quiet so far lasting pretty well.

Fans and Power Supplies, I think "gaming" labelled are reasonable places to start.

Extra NICs: I've never had an issue with any Intel chipsets in any bus type (PCI, PCIe, etc).

As one who remembers building up x286 systems, the level of integration on todays motherboards/chipsets is amazing; you wind up with lots of empty space in a case.

My opinions, based on what's worked for me.
 
I use canned air to blow my systems out every few months and that seems to keep the fans alive a lot longer.
Yes, or have a compressor and just use shop compressed air. But one thing to be careful of: Don't let fans spin madly. It's fun, they make a nice whining noise, and the extremely high RPM ruin their bearings. So put one finger on the hub of the fan when cleaning it with compressed air.

Oh, and making sure it is clean air (no water or oil) is obvious too.
 
My thoughts on system building are pretty similar to mer.

Fans are one item that I don't skimp on. I always buy Noktua PWM (4-pin) "premium" fans. The 4th pin allows automatic control. Every case has at least two.

I have two mid-tower servers (4 SSDs, and 9 spinning disks), a large monitor, a Raspberry Pi, and a few switches on my UPS, and it's pulling 225 Watts. Admittedly it would be a lot more on start-up. But my point is that without high-end video cards, your PSU does not need to be huge (less capacity and more quality is my focus).

Do your power budget carefully, and get the best quality power supply you can afford. Modular is best. The last one I bought for a server was a 450W Seasonic Gold.

Minimise the moving parts. Do you really need spinning disks? Consider the advantages of a smaller case, and lower power consumption.

Think about whether you want ECC memory, and a motherboard and CPU that supports it.

ATX power supplies are supposed to blow air into the case, and cool all components inside the case using positive air pressure. Make sure that your PSU and all the fans are cooperating to achieve this outcome (i.e. they must all blow inwards).

You may want USB 3 for backup with external disks. Do your homework on the motherboard USB ports. USB 3 is not a single standard (but USB 3.1 Gen 2 is generally compatible with USB 3.2 Gen2).
 
Todd McComb
The easy and cost effective solution is to go for a entry level server, it'll do ECC (which you'd want if you do storage) and just work.
While it isn't the most brand spanking new hardware on the market a Dell T40 will probably do the job just fine. You can find the Xeon variants around ~350-400 EUR here in Europe although be aware of the x86 vulns regarding the CPU however this is most likely not an issue for a home user. https://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/threads/dell-emc-poweredge-t40.1247593/ will give you most information you'll want/need (use Google translate if you don't speak german)

Other similar variants would be Lenovo ThinkSystem ST50, HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen10 (these might not use Intel NICs), Fujitsu Primergy TX1330 M4

If you don't care about ECC I'd suggest that you look for a business PC model, depending on where you live HP, Dell, Lenovo etc might have online outlets.
 
I'm not knowledgeable about ECC, so don't know about that....

Are there issues with builtin video on AMD Ryzen motherboards? So many people seem to think I need a GPU, but I don't know what they think I'm doing... just ordinary web browsing (& text stuff!). I did note the issue with the 2.5G ethernet drivers.
 
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