Spec me a VERY small PC

[Lunawolfy]

Hey all,

I am looking to make something which is small in both size and requirement all it will be doing is processing packet captures so its not very intense in a home environment, needs to be:

- Small form factor, its low power so it should be small
- No OS or peripherals needed
- Two network interfaces needed (so +1 from MB and +1 from NIC?)
- 8-16GB RAM, does not need to be highly clocked, just large amount of it
- No GPU needed

What do you recommend?!

 

[Lunawolfy]

They don't have the performance I am looking for, its going to be running my firewall and IDS systems. Ergo I need a small rig made up.

 

[Lunawolfy]

Just thinking. Why not build a network tap yourself and analyse it with your current machine? Or do you need continual 24/7 analyses and storage of network traffic which a dedicated box would be better for? (which raises questions about what exactly you're doing [do you work for a shadowy government agency ]).

I could however my current rig is mostly for games and I don't leave it on 24/7.

At least with this I can leave it on for storage and other things

Plus mirrored port switches are expensive

 

[Lunawolfy]

Have you looked at hardware firewalls?

Yeah I don't require one, I need the box for packet inspection etc.

 

[Lunawolfy]

What doesn't have the performance? A RPi or a NUC? Can't see how a NUC doesnt fill every single one of your requirements...

Going into the future it'll need a lot of storage. I need something expandable, not something with a 2.5" bay. Plus I'd rather have more performance than less, I don't want the potential for increased latency.

I'm Torn between an i3 or one of AMDs multi cored offerings. However I've been away from AMD for years.

 

[Lunawolfy]

You didn't mention any of that in your OP, just saying

That is just occurring to me now XD

I wasn't particularly specific :/

 

[Lunawolfy]

I've been looking at components etc and I think this would work. Is the motherboard and CPU compatible? (Never used AMD before )

CPU: A8-6600K 3.90GHz (Socket FM2)
Motherboard: Asus A55BM-E AMD A55 Chipset (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX
RAM: TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit
PSU: Silverstone Strider SST-ST30SF SFX Series - 300 Watt Power Supply
Case: Aerocool Qs-101 Micro-ATX Case - Black
NIC: TP-Link Gigabit PCI Express Network Adapter (TG-3468)

The only worries I have is will the CPU work in the main board and is the ram compatible? Unsure if high-frequency RAM will work.