Chewed over the 1U idea and decided against it for the time being. Just too restrictive (and expensive for no performance gain).
Will still be getting a data cabinet in the near future for other gear but that is sorted with this build.
Final build is:
Intel G5400T CPU
https://ark.intel.com/products/129949/Intel-Pentium-Gold-G5400T-Processor-4M-Cache-3_10-GHz
Running at 25w @ 2.1Ghz across 2 cores/4 threads.
The above will be passively cooled with a:
Arctic Alpine 11 Passive block of metal
https://www.arctic.ac/uk_en/alpine-11-passive.html
This will be more than adequate for the required use, especially with the CPU running at 25w.
ASRock H310M-HDV mATX Mainboard
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/H310M-HDV/index.asp
For this build, a more expensive chipset gives zero benefits for what is needed so cash saved to go towards other components.
A Micro ITX board would have meant a smaller case but mITX Boards and cases seem to have a premium over even mATX components and a smaller case also limited passive cooling options.
Aerocool CS-101 mATX case
https://www.aerocool.com.tw/au/chssis/pgs-c/cs101
A nice cheap mATX case which looks pleasant in my opinion, not too garish and will fit inside data cabinet by itself either on the bottom or on a shelf.
SFX POWER 2 300W PSU
https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/494
Efficient and reasonably priced and quiet but is nowhere near going to be pushed in any way.
Kingston Fury Black RAM 4GB @ 1.2v
HDD is a WD Green 120GB SSD.
Network controller is an:
Intel® PRO/1000 PT Quad Port Server Adapter
I know the build is not everyones cup of tea and am sure many will do it different ways but for what I wanted for a PfSense build, lower power, low heat, low noise, it will get the job done.
Total build price:
£250
RAM - Members Market
Network Card - Refurbished from Ebay with warranty
Mainboard - Open box discounted
I have saved where possible.
Comparing this to a "Premium" router (Whatever that means), I am confident this will be much better at routing network traffic and running VPN than anything "off the shelf".
Relative to Netgates own SG-3100 which costs over £300 in the UK with only 8GB storage and 2GB RAM (still better than most off the shelf routers), even at over £300, persistent 1GB lan traffic might cause slowdown without adding VPN and proxy into the mix causing other issues.
Looking forward to getting up and running
Will stick this in project logs incase anyone finds it interesting but thought to post here as this is where it started
Thanks for the help of anyone who contributed.
Will still be getting a data cabinet in the near future for other gear but that is sorted with this build.
Final build is:
Intel G5400T CPU
https://ark.intel.com/products/129949/Intel-Pentium-Gold-G5400T-Processor-4M-Cache-3_10-GHz
Running at 25w @ 2.1Ghz across 2 cores/4 threads.
The above will be passively cooled with a:
Arctic Alpine 11 Passive block of metal
https://www.arctic.ac/uk_en/alpine-11-passive.html
This will be more than adequate for the required use, especially with the CPU running at 25w.
ASRock H310M-HDV mATX Mainboard
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/H310M-HDV/index.asp
For this build, a more expensive chipset gives zero benefits for what is needed so cash saved to go towards other components.
A Micro ITX board would have meant a smaller case but mITX Boards and cases seem to have a premium over even mATX components and a smaller case also limited passive cooling options.
Aerocool CS-101 mATX case
https://www.aerocool.com.tw/au/chssis/pgs-c/cs101
A nice cheap mATX case which looks pleasant in my opinion, not too garish and will fit inside data cabinet by itself either on the bottom or on a shelf.
SFX POWER 2 300W PSU
https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/494
Efficient and reasonably priced and quiet but is nowhere near going to be pushed in any way.
Kingston Fury Black RAM 4GB @ 1.2v
HDD is a WD Green 120GB SSD.
Network controller is an:
Intel® PRO/1000 PT Quad Port Server Adapter
I know the build is not everyones cup of tea and am sure many will do it different ways but for what I wanted for a PfSense build, lower power, low heat, low noise, it will get the job done.
Total build price:
£250
RAM - Members Market
Network Card - Refurbished from Ebay with warranty
Mainboard - Open box discounted
I have saved where possible.
Comparing this to a "Premium" router (Whatever that means), I am confident this will be much better at routing network traffic and running VPN than anything "off the shelf".
Relative to Netgates own SG-3100 which costs over £300 in the UK with only 8GB storage and 2GB RAM (still better than most off the shelf routers), even at over £300, persistent 1GB lan traffic might cause slowdown without adding VPN and proxy into the mix causing other issues.
Looking forward to getting up and running
Will stick this in project logs incase anyone finds it interesting but thought to post here as this is where it started
Thanks for the help of anyone who contributed.
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