# Custom FreeBSD Build



## Mattais (Nov 14, 2016)

Hey Guys,

I am going to build a FreeBSD workstation/server and I am wondering if the following components are supported:

x2 Intel Xeon E5 2630 v4
Supermicro X10DAX
Leadtek Quadro M2000
Creative Sound Blaster ZxR
x4 Kingston 16GB (1x16GB) PC4-17000 (2133MHz) ECC Buffered DDR4
Kingston 480GB SSD
x6 Western Digital WD 6TB Se
Corsair Obsidian 900D Full Tower Black
Seasonic 1050W Snow Silent P1050
Pioneer BDR-209DBK
TP-Link TL-WDN4800 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter

The Supermicro site says the X10DAX supports 10.3, can I assume it will be ok to go ahead with the build?

Currently have 2 24" monitors, looking to upgrade that to 3 with the M2000.

Being my first build, I would like to see what you guys think?


Mattais.


----------



## wblock@ (Nov 15, 2016)

Not sure about the sound card or the wireless card.  The power supply seems vastly oversized, and the Kingston SSD is out of place compared to the other components.  The Kingston memory might be okay, but check the Supermicro site to see if it is approved for that board.


----------



## t1066 (Nov 16, 2016)

I am using the TP-link wireless card. So it should work under FreeBSD. While Creative sound blaster Z using CA0132 works under snd_hda(), it seems that ZxR is using CA0113, which may not be supported.


----------



## Mattais (Nov 17, 2016)

Thank you for the replies,

I had a feeling about PSU overkill haha, so I'll downgrade to a 750W PSU.

The RAM is supported, as is Crucial ECC DDR4, but from what I have read around the net, and from experience, Kingston makes some EXTREMELY reliable RAM, as does Crucial, but I have heard more positives about Kingston for RAM.

I assumed Kingston/Crucial would make one of the more reliable SSD's on the market, then again, I have also heard Intel may be the only reliable SSD on the market.  I am happy to not have the SSD and just 6 WD Se's. I could eventually add another 3 WD Se's to the build and pool.

I can change the soundcard to an ASUS Xonar STX/STX II, I believe that should be supported.

I apologize for overestimating the PSU Wattage.


----------



## wblock@ (Nov 18, 2016)

A too-large power supply will not hurt anything, it just will not run as efficiently as one that is the correct size.  A giant video card might need that power, but otherwise I suspect even a 550W supply would be bigger than necessary.

I've used SSDs from several manufacturers and have had no failures at all.  That said, most manufacturers have multiple lines, some low-end and not very fast (yet still fast enough), some higher-end with better warranties.


----------



## rigoletto@ (Nov 18, 2016)

In your place I would buy SK Hynix memory, usually cheaper and one of the most tested by Supermicro. Also, most of the famous memory brands usually use Hynix chips...

EDIT: About SSD I would take a look on Plextor: Marvell controllers and Toshiba NAND.

Cheers!


----------



## Mattais (Nov 18, 2016)

lebarondemerde said:


> In your place I would buy SK Hynix memory, usually cheaper and one of the most tested by Supermicro. Also, most of the famous memory brands usually use Hynix chips...
> 
> EDIT: About SSD I would take a look on Plextor: Marvell controllers and Toshiba NAND.
> 
> Cheers!



Thanks, but I am comfortable with either Crucial or Kingston, I shall check out Toshiba, thank you.


----------



## Mattais (Nov 18, 2016)

wblock@ said:


> A too-large power supply will not hurt anything, it just will not run as efficiently as one that is the correct size.  A giant video card might need that power, but otherwise I suspect even a 550W supply would be bigger than necessary.
> 
> I've used SSDs from several manufacturers and have had no failures at all.  That said, most manufacturers have multiple lines, some low-end and not very fast (yet still fast enough), some higher-end with better warranties.



I just thought I would get a decent SSD to get a good boot time, compared to a HDD.

I will keep customizing and post the final output.

Thank you.


----------



## t1066 (Nov 19, 2016)

Asus Xonar STXs are not supported by FreeBSD directly. There is a driver at https://github.com/polachok/xonar-freebsd. Not sure how good it is. But most USB DACs should work correctly.


----------



## Mattais (Nov 21, 2016)

t1066 said:


> Asus Xonar STXs are not supported by FreeBSD directly. There is a driver at https://github.com/polachok/xonar-freebsd. Not sure how good it is. But most USB DACs should work correctly.



Ok, i might go a model down in the Creative card, Being an older model, better chance of support. I am also buying a custom 87 key WASD mechanical board, with some cherry mx silent reds, should be pretty sweet.


----------

