I’m trying to build a DIY NAS, I already have some (6) 3.5" SATA disks, a Mini-ITX case, and power supply, but I’m still unsure on which motherboard & CPU to get. I think a motherboard + N100 combo is a good option because of the price and power consumption.
I’m currently using a MiniPC with an i5-6500T (4784 passmark) and an external HDD enclosure connected with USB using RAID-1 (software) which uses about 35W. The USB enclosure is limited to 2 slots, and I’ve heard from here that it can be problematic in combination with RAID. The N100 (5551) boards have a slightly better passmark score but most importantly more expandability (SATA & PCIe) and supposedly a lower power consumption. The i5-6500T has a TDP of 65W, the N100 a TDP of 6W, that doesn’t say much but it seems to a lot better when looking at info online. The N100 also apparently has Quicksync support while the i5’s support is limited and struggles to encode 1080p (100% CPU usage).
There are 2 main boards I’m considering. The BKHD 1264 and the ASRock N100M. ASRock is a better known brand, but their version only supports DDR4 and 2 SATA ports while the BKHD board supports DDR5, has 6 SATA ports, and has 4 × 2.5G network ports. I’ve also heard complaints about high temps (90c) with the N100m because it only has passive cooling, while the BKHD board has active cooling and a large heat sink. However, the BKHD board is a bit more expensive (~€150 vs ~€130), but it seems worth it because I won’t have to add an external HBA.
What do you think would be the better option?
EDIT 2024-05-26: I ended up getting the ASUS Prime N100I-D D4 because it’s significantly cheaper (€95). It does have less SATA ports (1), but I accidentally bought a SATA card so that actually works out pretty well.
The tdp is bullshit on the n100. It really means nothing, as it can pull closer to 14W idle, it’s still good, but don’t rely on the numbers too much, if that’s important to you.
The thing I don’t like about the n100 is that it only supports single channel RAM, and the naming makes no sense, as the n97 outperforms it.
While true, the 6W idle can be hit with proper tuning, I just wouldn’t recommend it. Still, from what I’ve seen with mine, it overall uses less power than a pi4/5 at the plug. I’m pretty happy with the one running my network services. I’ll be going AMD next round with the pstate improvements coming up once this one outlives it’s usefulness though.
What’s a good AMD chip for low power?
If you’re simply looking at core-per-watt, any. If you just want a server system don’t buy a G series APU chip.
What if I’ve never built a headless system and am afraid of not having easy access to a GUI?
There’s a convenient web interface for managing Linux servers called cockpit. I use it myself. You can manage raid devices and add other packages to see historical system stats.
https://cockpit-project.org/
You can always have a remote desktop and no monitor if you wish, or forward over SSH. Lots of options to have graphical control.
How would you get through the install though? Are there any simple solutions without any graphics output?
Wow. Lots of questions.
What are you trying to solve for here?
Some kinda asshole here. Good luck.