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Parts list OK?

Hello:

I'm just starting to learn about Sophos UTM Free Home Use firewall.  I was thinking of using an Atom C2750 board, but after reading this thread:

https://community.sophos.com/products/unified-threat-management/astaroorg/f/52/t/29376

now I'm not so sure.

How does this look?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($202.24 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($79.08 @ Amazon Canada)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste  (Purchased For $0.00)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($114.58 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate 600 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($84.73 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($131.13 @ Amazon Canada)
Other: Supermicro X10SLV-Q ($217.74)
Total: $829.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-30 10:01 EDT-0400

It's the highest-clocked i3 there is.  Raw speed for IDS/IPS.  I'm not sure about RAM - is this too much?  The motherboard has two proper Intel LAN ports - i217V and i210AT.

My requirements are modest - there's only two users and my Internet speed is 30 Mbps down/5 up.  It would be nice to have some expandability for future requirements both for the software and for higher speeds - say 60 Mbps.

Is this massive overkill or just enough?  Cost is a secondary concern, I'd rather have spare power but it would also be nice if the entire system was quiet and power-efficient.

Thanks for any comments.

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0 BarryG over 10 years ago

Hi, a short ATX PSU should fit in the Node 304 case, but it is recommended to use an SFX PSU with ATX mounting plate, as the cables will be a much more convenient (shorter) length.
Even with a modular ATX PSU, the cables will be far too long. They can be shoved into the drive bays, but it'll block airflow.

I'm using the SILVERSTONE ST45SF-G (Gold) 450W SFX but they now also have a 300W model as well, and a Bronze-rated 450W.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657&IsNodeId=1&Description=silverstone%20sfx%20power%20supply&name=Power%20Supplies&isdeptsrh=1
Those all include the ATX plate, iirc.

These are not fanless, but mine is very quiet; the noisest component in my system is the Intel CPU fan, and even then it is usually quiet.
I like Noctua, but that is overkill for an i3.

The rest of your parts look fine... 4GB RAM would be OK, but future UTM versions may need more.

Barry
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0 BarryG over 10 years ago

Hi, a short ATX PSU should fit in the Node 304 case, but it is recommended to use an SFX PSU with ATX mounting plate, as the cables will be a much more convenient (shorter) length.
Even with a modular ATX PSU, the cables will be far too long. They can be shoved into the drive bays, but it'll block airflow.

I'm using the SILVERSTONE ST45SF-G (Gold) 450W SFX but they now also have a 300W model as well, and a Bronze-rated 450W.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657&IsNodeId=1&Description=silverstone%20sfx%20power%20supply&name=Power%20Supplies&isdeptsrh=1
Those all include the ATX plate, iirc.

These are not fanless, but mine is very quiet; the noisest component in my system is the Intel CPU fan, and even then it is usually quiet.
I like Noctua, but that is overkill for an i3.

The rest of your parts look fine... 4GB RAM would be OK, but future UTM versions may need more.

Barry
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0 Fraoch over 10 years ago in reply to BarryG

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I like Noctua, but that is overkill for an i3.

I'm leaning towards it more for silence than for superior cooling. It remains fairly quiet even at high RPM.
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0 Fraoch over 10 years ago in reply to Fraoch

I'm leaning towards the Antec ISK-110 VESA now that iroc409 has allayed my fears about the power supply.

Another concern was noise.  I'm thinking it may actually be better to have it mounted behind my monitor with the monitor acting as a noise shield.  The other option would be to have it under my desk which would act as a resonant cavity and which would have a path direct to my ears.

A bonus here is that the motherboard has mSATA.  With a case this small, having an SSD onboard with no cabling would make a real difference.

With that in mind, here's my revised list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($202.24 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($56.48 @ Memory Express)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste  (Purchased For $0.00)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($114.58 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB mSATA Solid State Drive  ($87.56 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Antec ISK 110 VESA Mini ITX Desktop Case w/90W Power Supply  ($97.91 @ NCIX)
Other: Supermicro X10SLV-Q ($217.74)
Total: $776.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-31 15:41 EDT-0400

I confirmed with Supermicro that the Core i3-4370 will work with this.  They don't publish supported CPU lists and anyone who's ever worked with a Supermicro board will know they are picky about CPU and RAM, but this should be good.

Does drive speed make a difference for a Sophos UTM?  I can get a faster M550 for $20 more, or a Plextor M6.  Much higher write speed on those.
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0 BarryG over 10 years ago in reply to Fraoch

Does drive speed make a difference for a Sophos UTM? I can get a faster M550 for $20 more, or a Plextor M6. Much higher write speed on those.

Hi, drive speed is mostly irrelevant, but you want to make sure you get a drive with a long write lifetime.

Barry
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