Reccomended Builds

[BSweet]

I would love to see a thread of the machines people are putting this OS on. If people could post the specs of the machine such as storage, RAM, CPU, GPU?, etc with the optional performance results, that would probably help a lot of other people know how to get similar results.

[melle]

Would love some budget recomdations. (in power or price) I dusted off my old machine and it seems to have gone to meets its maker.
 

[michrech]

I'm going to be using a custom built system for my install.  It's currently running TrueNAS Scale 24.10.0.2.

• Erying motherboard with an ES 11'th gen laptop CPU (I have no idea which one it's supposed to be.  I can only tell you it's got 8c/16t and runs at 2.2GHz
• 16GB DDR4 RAM
• LSI 9211-8i HBA (in IT mode)
• Six 6TB SATA disks
• Silverstone CS380 case

This is actually my 'backup' storage server, and is what I'll be using for HexOS.  🙂

[hoxlund]

Jonsbo N5 NAS case

Seasonic Focus PX-850 power supply

Asrock x570 Taichi mobo

AMD Ryzen 9 5950x cpu

Noctua NH-D15 cpu heatsink

Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x32GB 3600MHz memory

4x 16TB WD Red drives

2x 4TB Samsung 990 Pro nvme

1x 2TB Samsung 990 Pro nvme (cache)

[Taptile]

I've got a Zimaboard with 2x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf drives mounted on the back of my TV, bolted into the VESA mount of my TV.
I really think this is the perfect home setup as long as your TV is not wall mounted. It's also practical to have the TV there when you need a monitor for the server, as I just did during the setup.

[Diltz09]

13 minutes ago, Taptile said:

I've got a Zimaboard with 2x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf drives mounted on the back of my TV, bolted into the VESA mount of my TV.
I really think this is the perfect home setup as long as your TV is not wall mounted. It's also practical to have the TV there when you need a monitor for the server, as I just did during the setup.

That’s truly awesome 👏 

[Shim]

Once it's proven stable I will be migrating my unraid setup. Here is what I have runnning right now:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4600G 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
Cooler: Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory
Storage:
Sabrent Rocket 256 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
4x Western Digital Red Plus 8 TB 3.5" 5640 RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: U-NAS NSC-410 w/ Power Supply

I love this little case!

Edited December 2, 2024 by Shim
adding photo of case

[ubergeek]

Currently on .....

i3 8350k

24gigs of ddr4 3000mhz

Random Mobo from the scrap ben

ebay Lsi card - 8 port

scrap 4tb drives from ebay 

128gb ssd  for boot 

Cooler Master HAF case crammed full of drives with some 3d printed bits to hold in drives 

Currently at 18tb useable might switch it around once I can get Hex installed 

[Mawson]

 

I've got two budget builds right now. One core feature I focused on was getting motherboards with built in IPMI so I wouldn't have to fuss around with extra monitors and/or a KVM, so that lead me to Ebay for used Supermicro gear.

• "Rincewind" - My local server
  • $20 Random-butt rack case from back when George W. was in office.
  • $120? SilverStone 3x 5.25" ODD to 5x 3.5" HDD cage (SST-FS305-12G)
  • $0 120 GB Kingston boot SSD
  • $0 5x random 2TB HDDs
    • ~$600+ (These need replaced before full deployment. Need at least 24TB usable to match the other server)
  • $70 Fujitsu 9211-8i HBA
  • $30 Supermicro X9scm-f LGA1155 server motherboard with IPMI
  • $17 Xeon E3-1240
  • $40 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600Mhz un-buffered ECC RAM
    • (Will upgrade to 32GB before full deployment)
  • Total cost:
    • ~$300 w/o drives.
    • ~$900 w 6x10TB incl. cold spare
       
• "TheLibrarian" - Remote server at the parent's house. (Original PC was something I got from a customer at work when we upgraded their home theater)
  • $0 Used Nanoxia Deep Silence 3 (iirc)
  • $0 8x random 4TB HDDs that came with the case
  • $0 Crucial boot SSD (came with the case)
  • $0 2x Bluray drives (came with the case)
  • $70 Fujitsu 9211-8i HBA
  • $55 Supermicro X10SSL-F LGA1150 server motherboard with IPMI
  • $30 Xeon E3-1246 v3
  • $40 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600Mhz un-buffered ECC RAM
    • (Will upgrade to 32GB before full deployment)
  • Total cost:
    • ~$190 w/o drives.

[freid]

16 hours ago, Shim said:

Once it's proven stable I will be migrating my unraid setup. Here is what I have runnning right now:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4600G 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
Cooler: Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory
Storage:
Sabrent Rocket 256 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
4x Western Digital Red Plus 8 TB 3.5" 5640 RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: U-NAS NSC-410 w/ Power Supply

Really like that setup. What do you guys think of potentially running this on an actual NAS like this one?

UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus (Intel Pentium Gold 8505 5-Core CPU, 1 * 10GbE, 1 * 2.5GbE, 4K HDMI)

[reagan]

most of its stupid oem hp stuff, but it was free.

i7-8700

24gb ram (1x8gb + 1x16gb)

GTX 960

Random 400 some watt Silverstone SFX PSU, w/ the 180w OEM HP one

3x4tb seagate terascale drives from ebay

HP oem mobo

hp oem case

[jorceshaman]

I just ordered my set up. I specifically chose the case and motherboard because of wanting to do 8+ drives.

i5-2600k (Intel with igpu for Plex)

32GB TeamGroup Elite 5600mhz DDR5 (2x16GB)

Asrock Z790 Pro RS (cheapest with 8 SATA ports)

1TB Silicon Power NVME boot drive

8 x 12TB HDDs (4 already in my Synology, 4 more to move data to temporarily before moving the originals to HexOS)

DarkRock Classico case (10 3.5" plus 3 2.5" drive spots)

Corsair RM750e PSU

StarTech SATA splitters for powering the drives

[Mobius]

• Cpu - Core Ultra 265k
• Mobo - Asus Z890M-Plus Prime WiFi
  • Realtek RTL8125 2.5gb
• Ram - 4 x Gskill Ripjaws m5 48gb 5200mhz cl 40 
• Storage 
  • 2 x 16 tb Seagate skyhawk ai hdd
  • 3 x 14 tb Seagate exos hdd
  • 1 x 2 tb Samsung 980 pro ssd
  • 1 x 256 gb Samsung 960 evo ssd (boot drive)
• PSU - Super flower leadex se 1000w 80+ platinum
• Case - Phanteks p500a

psu/case ar things i just had laying around and ill swap them out eventually. Case i will switch to the jonsbo n5

[Manydemons]

Currently in use

Antec P101 case

Asrock atx board used don't know the model 

9600k stock cooler nothing fancy 

Dual 2.5gb network card (had it on hand using 1)

600w EVGA power supply

1tb nvme drive (had it used it for os because I'm impatient 😅)

3x 6tb drives (yup had em)

1x 256gb sata SSD (had it don't trust it but I'll use it)

 

Inbound 

2x 256gb sata SSDs

1x 4 port hba

 

Maybe some day 

More 6tb drives 

GPU for passthrough on a virtual machine if it turns out virtualization is a viable gaming setup.

 

Probably not migrating Plex unless a lot of other services are at one click install status as well. Have a working setup right now and I'll definitely tear it apart if it makes sense but right now I'm just glad to have my old junk doing things for me.

[REYES.DAVID70]

Currently in use

Mac Pro 5,1 (Can hold 6 3.5 drives)

Xeon(R) CPU X5675 @ 3.07GHz

12gb Ram

512gb nvme on pcie adapter for OS

AMD R9 280x

Intel X540-T2 10gb Card

Currently testing with 3x 2TB drives

 

If it is stable, which I don't doubt as Mac OS is based on linux then I will slowly gut my parts machine and run dual cpu's with upgraded ram and max it out if needed. 

I've always loved that generation Mac Pro case style and feel like HexOS will give it a good life. Love that you can fit two more drives if you remove the disk drive as well as the 4 drive slots. Unfortunately sata 2 speeds as it is old hardware :/. But if it becomes a bottleneck later on then I will probably do a custom build inside my rack with a lian li motherboard tray.

[_zer0_]

Using my trusty old HP Microserver gen8

Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1265L V2

16GB DDR3

4 x HGST Deskstar NAS v2 6TB

1 x 240GB SATA SSD

Intel 82599 dual 10gbps SFP+ card

[freid]

I was looking at building something in a jonsbo case and came up with this build with ChatGPT. It's on the expensive side but I did want something with ECC RAM but also wanted to have an Intel-based graphics that could decode up to AV1.

• Case: JONSBO N1
• CPU: Intel Xeon E-2386G
• Motherboard: ASUS P11C-I
• RAM: Kingston 32GB DDR4 ECC (2x16GB)
• OS Drive: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe SSD
• Data Drives: 5x WD Red 4TB NAS HDDs (existing)
• PSU: Corsair SF450 (SFX)

I was undecided on an Intel CPU with integrated graphics or perhaps an AMD CPU (on an ASRock B650M-ITX board) but with a dedicated graphics card. The challenge I saw was that to get a dedicated graphics card that could support up to AV1 decoding, it would need to be a wider card that wouldn't quite fit in the single PCI slot.

Any thoughts on this build or recommendations for other options?

Edited January 12 by freid

[VDO]

4 hours ago, freid said:

I was looking at building something in a jonsbo case and came up with this build with ChatGPT. It's on the expensive side but I did want something with ECC RAM but also wanted to have an Intel-based graphics that could decode up to AV1.

• Case: JONSBO N1
• CPU: Intel Xeon E-2386G
• Motherboard: ASUS P11C-I
• RAM: Kingston 32GB DDR4 ECC (2x16GB)
• OS Drive: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe SSD
• Data Drives: 5x WD Red 4TB NAS HDDs (existing)
• PSU: Corsair SF450 (SFX)

I was undecided on an Intel CPU with integrated graphics or perhaps an AMD CPU (on an ASRock B650M-ITX board) but with a dedicated graphics card. The challenge I saw was that to get a dedicated graphics card that could support up to AV1 decoding, it would need to be a wider card that wouldn't quite fit in the single PCI slot.

Any thoughts on this build or recommendations for other options?

I recently built a JONSBO N1 case myself and I am very happy with it (size wise), but unless you are looking for the same low profile feel, I would recommend looking at some of the other models as it's a bit tricky to work with. You also need to be extra careful with SATA cables and try go either get angled ones, or try to gently bend them before sliding the frame back into the case, as you might break the HDD connector board (which is explicitly not covered by warranty).

Next, be super careful with the Intel Chipset your Motherboard has - from what I can see the C242 Chipset does not support a CPU with graphics so you might not be able to use it for encoding/decoding (unless you meant putting a dedicated GPU, which also needs to be low profile single slot).

I got the Asrock E3C246D2I with the C246 Chipset and can confirm I can see intel display adapter listed in lspci (Linux).
(I also got a CBL-SAST-0933 Supermicro OCuLink to SATA cable, which is a bit more flexible and has lower profile SATA plugs, but the board comes with a cable as well that can work.)

If you're interested in a GPU that can only DEcode AV1, I'm going with an NVIDIA RXT A2000 (Ampere version) with a low profile cooler from n3rdware, which might also work for you.
(I haven't gotten the cooler yet, so I can't personally give any assurances how well it works or not)

There is also a different cooler version for the RTX 2000 Ada (Ada Lovelace) GPU from n3rdware, if you want to have AV1 ENcode as well.
If you are looking for a more budget friendly option, there is the Sparkle Intel Arc A310 ECO, which offers AV1 Encode/Decode and is low profile out of the box, however I wanted something a bit more powerful and also noticed some bad reviews about the fan revving up + it being loud (even post bugfix from Sparkle).

Lastly, be careful with server/workstation motherboards, as they have some quirks you would not expect if you're not too familiar with them (like I was).

Edited January 12 by VDO

[VDO]

4 hours ago, freid said:

I was looking at building something in a jonsbo case and came up with this build with ChatGPT. It's on the expensive side but I did want something with ECC RAM but also wanted to have an Intel-based graphics that could decode up to AV1.

• Case: JONSBO N1
• CPU: Intel Xeon E-2386G
• Motherboard: ASUS P11C-I
• RAM: Kingston 32GB DDR4 ECC (2x16GB)
• OS Drive: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe SSD
• Data Drives: 5x WD Red 4TB NAS HDDs (existing)
• PSU: Corsair SF450 (SFX)

I was undecided on an Intel CPU with integrated graphics or perhaps an AMD CPU (on an ASRock B650M-ITX board) but with a dedicated graphics card. The challenge I saw was that to get a dedicated graphics card that could support up to AV1 decoding, it would need to be a wider card that wouldn't quite fit in the single PCI slot.

Any thoughts on this build or recommendations for other options?

 

8 minutes ago, VDO said:

I recently built a JONSBO N1 case myself and I am very happy with it (size wise), but unless you are looking for the same low profile feel, I would recommend looking at some of the other models as it's a bit tricky to work with. You also need to be extra careful with SATA cables and try go either get angled ones, or try to gently bend them before sliding the frame back into the case, as you might break the HDD connector board (which is explicitly not covered by warranty).

Next, be super careful with the Intel Chipset your Motherboard has - from what I can see the C242 Chipset does not support a CPU with graphics so you might not be able to use it for encoding/decoding (unless you meant putting a dedicated GPU, which also needs to be low profile single slot).

I got the Asrock E3C246D2I with the C246 Chipset and can confirm I can see intel display adapter listed in lspci (Linux).
(I also got a CBL-SAST-0933 Supermicro OCuLink to SATA cable, which is a bit more flexible and has lower profile SATA plugs, but the board comes with a cable as well that can work.)

If you're interested in a GPU that can only DEcode AV1, I'm going with an NVIDIA RXT A2000 (Ampere version) with a low profile cooler from n3rdware, which might also work for you.
(I haven't gotten the cooler yet, so I can't personally give any assurances how well it works or not)

There is also a different cooler version for the RTX 2000 Ada (Ada Lovelace) GPU from n3rdware, if you want to have AV1 ENcode as well.
If you are looking for a more budget friendly option, there is the Sparkle Intel Arc A310 ECO, which offers AV1 Encode/Decode and is low profile out of the box, however I wanted something a bit more powerful and also noticed some bad reviews about the fan revving up + it being loud (even post bugfix from Sparkle).

Lastly, be careful with server/workstation motherboards, as they have some quirks you would not expect if you're not too familiar with them (like I was).

Forgot to mention, the CPU Intel Xeon E-2386G (FCLGA1200 Socket) is not physically compatible with the initial motherboard ASUS P11C-I (LGA1151 Socket).
ChatGPT is not always good for precise details such as this, but a good place to start would be to find a motherboard you like, then check the Specifications and CPU/Memory QVL/Compatibility lists to match the component(s) and see what works for you.

[freid]

12 hours ago, VDO said:

 

Forgot to mention, the CPU Intel Xeon E-2386G (FCLGA1200 Socket) is not physically compatible with the initial motherboard ASUS P11C-I (LGA1151 Socket).
ChatGPT is not always good for precise details such as this, but a good place to start would be to find a motherboard you like, then check the Specifications and CPU/Memory QVL/Compatibility lists to match the component(s) and see what works for you.

Thanks for catching this. I guess a AsRock Rack E3C256D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard would be a better fit. Other than the need for OCuLink cables for the SATA, what other server motherboard quirks should I expect? Haven't done a lot of builds so I'd be interested in your insights.

[VDO]

15 hours ago, freid said:

Thanks for catching this. I guess a AsRock Rack E3C256D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard would be a better fit. Other than the need for OCuLink cables for the SATA, what other server motherboard quirks should I expect? Haven't done a lot of builds so I'd be interested in your insights.

For example on my board, the OCuLink setting was set to PCIE by default and instead of a BIOS option, I had to move a jumper position on the board (drives don't get detected otherwise).
The FAN controls are not in the BIOS, but on the BMC and are adjusted either in the IPMI page (not in my case), or via a command line tool, such as ipmitool (had to contact ASRock Rack support to get the commands, as they might differ b/w boards).
The board has a special 24 to 4 ATX power adapter for the PSU cable. Be super careful here, as the board has two of these 4 pin power sockets and one of them is for power out - check the manual to see which is which and avoid damaging the board.

A couple of tips about the case:

• You can actually plug in two 2.5 SATA SSDs if you use one screw per SSD and place them slightly tilted upwards, parallel to each other
• If you don't mind the aesthetics, you can actually remove the front metal panel for better airflow and even replace the 140mm fan with a better one (Some ppl use a BeQuiet, I went for a Noctua)

[freid]

Hey @VDO, I’m getting closer to making my purchase but came across a video with several complaints about airflow. Have you experienced any issues with your build? How have the temps been, and how’s the overall performance of the box?

[Mobius]

2 hours ago, freid said:

Hey @VDO, I’m getting closer to making my purchase but came across a video with several complaints about airflow. Have you experienced any issues with your build? How have the temps been, and how’s the overall performance of the box?

Not sure where you are located but in the United States i can find the jonsbo n4 for cheaper than the n1 and have been recommending that case whenever someone is trying to make a system with 6 or fewer HDDs.
N4 looks like it has better airflow too.

[freid]

I actually prefer a smaller case closer to what a pre-built NAS offers. Hoping to get some feedback from those who built in an N1. Open to other recommendations on similarly small cases.

[freid]

Looking more into it, I do believe I need a larger case but I don't like the fact that in the Jonsbo N4, not all the drives are hot swappable. Also, the case height is a little taller than the space I have for it. So I've reworked my shopping list for the N2. As noted before I'm reusing existing 4TB data drives so they are not in the build list. See my current list below. Let me know what you think. I've included all the links to make things easier to reference.

Component	Item	Source	Price (USD)
Case	JONSBO N2 Black	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQJ6BCB7	$149.98
CPU	Intel Xeon E-2386G	https://www.ebay.com/itm/186977137815	$595.00
Motherboard	Supermicro X12STL-IF	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQTQNGC8	$292.99
RAM (ECC)	OWC 32GB (2x16GB)	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBT1GH4Y	$78.99
OS Drive	Crucial MX500	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786QNS9B	$59.99
Cache Drive	Samsung 970 EVO Plus	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M7Q21N7	$87.60
PSU	CORSAIR SF850	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D45PQ8C4	$199.99
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-L9x65	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VB3Y89E	$59.95
Case Fan	Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W6HJP6	$21.95
MiniSAS HD Cable	10Gtek SFF-8643 to 4xSATA	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0912DLX31	$9.69