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Asus Z690 ProArt Creator WiFi (Thunderbolt 4) + i7-12700K + AMD RX 6800 XT

I should add that I recently built a heavily non-conventional TrueNAS Scale system based on these components:
Even though the CPU and motherboard are a bit overkill, I don't want a slow NAS. This system doesn't stay powered on 24x7. It runs about 12 hours a day (from whole-home solar panels for zero carbon footprint), but here E-cores are valuable because of lower power consumption.

Wanna see what it looks like? It's still a work in progress...

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etorix said:
The CPU does not matter for Thunderbolt.
But Maple Ridge is not supported by macOS, and this matters for your build. So far it's possible to use Maple Ridge at least with cold plug for Thunderbolt 3 devices. Hot plug is unreliable. Thunderbolt 1/2 support is removed by NVM updates, which come with BIOS updates (read here for a partial solution… or a taste of the headaches ahead).
If this is acceptable, go ahead with selecting your CPU.

If you require either of hot plug, TB 1/2 compatibility or Thunderbolt bus, you should go for a Titan Ridge AIC… if you can still secure a GC-Titan Ridge. And you may then want to reconsider the choice of motherboard, or reconsider going on with a last Hackintosh build. I don't want to scare you, but if working Thunderbolt is a work requirement you need to be aware there's a potential deal breaker here.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for that clarification. I forgot about the BIOS issues. Fortunately, I will not require either hot plug or TB 1/2 compatibility. All my devices are TB 3 and remain attached so I don't mind cold plug booting.
 
Gigabyte Z490 Vision D, i9-10850K, AMD RX 6600
Z490 Vision D |  i9 10850K |  RX 6600 Pulse 8GB
Asus Z690 ProArt Creator, i7-13700K, AMD RX 6600XT
ProArt Z690 Wi-Fi |  i7 Other |  Radeon Other
K
CaseySJ said:
I should add that I recently built a heavily non-conventional TrueNAS Scale system based on these components:
Even though the CPU and motherboard are a bit overkill, I don't want a slow NAS. This system doesn't stay powered on 24x7. It runs about 12 hours a day, but here E-cores are valuable because of lower power consumption.

Wanna see what it looks like? It's still a work in progress...

View attachment 565927 View attachment 565928 View attachment 565931 View attachment 565929 View attachment 565933 View attachment 565934 View attachment 565935 View attachment 565936 View attachment 565937 View attachment 565938 View attachment 565939 View attachment 565940 View attachment 565941 View attachment 565942 View attachment 565944
Click to expand...
Keen to see this finished as i'm looking at building a NAS system myself.
 
Hi @CaseySJ, thank you for your guidance with this build. I have been enjoying a successful Monterey install based very closely on your instructions. I've noticed recently that my network connection will occasionally go "dumb" in-that the internet is still available, but I am unable to log into any other machines on my local network. When I try to double click another server, the username/password popup does not appear, and the function seems to be in a state of limbo. A restart fixes the issue.

I've tried removing routers, and actually thought about reverting to a Realtec ethernet pci card. just thought i'd ask you first and see if there might be something obvious I should tweak in my setup first. My efi is attached. Appreciate any insight from you. Thanks -John
 

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CaseySJ said:
I should add that I recently built a heavily non-conventional TrueNAS Scale system based on these components:
Even though the CPU and motherboard are a bit overkill, I don't want a slow NAS. This system doesn't stay powered on 24x7. It runs about 12 hours a day, but here E-cores are valuable because of lower power consumption.

Wanna see what it looks like? It's still a work in progress...

View attachment 565927 View attachment 565928 View attachment 565931 View attachment 565929 View attachment 565933 View attachment 565934 View attachment 565935 View attachment 565936 View attachment 565937 View attachment 565938 View attachment 565939 View attachment 565940 View attachment 565941 View attachment 565942 View attachment 565944
Click to expand...
Impressive! But I’m skeptical of your choice in the cooler… doncha know that just like those neon triple-blade wipers of the 80s, all that color bling just slows it down?
LOL
 
Sabzz said:
Keen to see this finished as i'm looking at building a NAS system myself.
Click to expand...
Irrespective of your choice of NAS OS, let me point out that CaseySJ's build is "non-conventional" because he went for a last generation board and over-powered CPU. A NAS is mostly idle and does not need the latest and greatest CPU; serving through SMB benefits from high clocks because SMB is single-threaded but does not need many cores: A "non-K" Core i3 from an older generation would do fine.

One may look into recycling an older generation motherboard as a NAS. As an added benefit, older boards are likely to have more SATA ports for HDDs than the current desktop offerings.
If buying to build, or for a more robust build, look into second-hand server hardware and/or embedded boards: Atom C3000, Xeon-D or embedded EPYC (in the Supermicro range these would be, respectively A2SDi, X10SDV and M11SDV). Lower power, engineered for 24/7 operation, IPMI for remote management and headless installation… and quite likely lower cost than last-gen consumer hardware.
 
SmackAttack said:
Impressive! But I’m skeptical of your choice in the cooler… doncha know that just like those neon triple-blade wipers of the 80s, all that color bling just slows it down?
LOL
Click to expand...
I was under the impression that RGB doubles the speed and halves the power consumption. Just like $10,000 audio interconnect cables, but without the high price tag… ;)
 
etorix said:
… A NAS is mostly idle and does not need the latest and greatest CPU; serving through SMB benefits from high clocks because SMB is single-threaded but does not need many cores: A "non-K" Core i3 from an older generation would do fine.
Click to expand...
This is true if the NAS is only acting as a NAS. But a NAS has become a multi-faceted home server that runs multiple applications at the same time. Containers and VMs are expanding the conventional scope.

My recently purchased QNAP (about a year ago) TS-h973ax has a quad-core Ryzen V1500B and 32GB memory. It also runs various services in the background to catalog photos, scan/update music libraries, and index all files for system-wide search. QuTS also comes with “Surveillance Station” for monitoring security cameras. It supports all the IP cameras that I installed years ago.

The upshot of all this is a very sluggish UI when we log into the system. After a year of using it, I realized that conventional thinking about NAS might work for some, but it won’t work for me. This QNAP model desperately needs a beefier CPU.

This experience dictated my component choices for the TrueNAS build. I prioritized CPU performance, and here the mixed-topology Alder Lake with P- and E-cores seems like a perfect fit. The underlying kernel in latest TrueNAS Scale supports mixed cores (from what I’ve read). We get performance when we need it and efficiency when we need that.

etorix said:
One may look into recycling an older generation motherboard as a NAS. As an added benefit, older boards are likely to have more SATA ports for HDDs than the current desktop offerings.
If buying to build, or for a more robust build, look into second-hand server hardware and/or embedded boards: Atom C3000, Xeon-D or embedded EPYC (in the Supermicro range these would be, respectively A2SDi, X10SDV and M11SDV). Lower power, engineered for 24/7 operation, IPMI for remote management and headless installation… and quite likely lower cost than last-gen consumer hardware.
Click to expand...
This is a good point, but we don’t have to use low end components if the “NAS” will not be used 24x7. We can repurpose our previous Hackintosh builds, particularly if they’re based on mini-ITX or micro-ATX.

For 24x7 file-serving use cases, low power consumption becomes an important consideration.

I should add that @etorix provided excellent technical insight throughout my TrueNAS build process. He’s the expert in this area.
 
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johntunes said:
Hi @CaseySJ, thank you for your guidance with this build. I have been enjoying a successful Monterey install based very closely on your instructions. I've noticed recently that my network connection will occasionally go "dumb" in-that the internet is still available, but I am unable to log into any other machines on my local network. When I try to double click another server, the username/password popup does not appear, and the function seems to be in a state of limbo. A restart fixes the issue.

I've tried removing routers, and actually thought about reverting to a Realtec ethernet pci card. just thought i'd ask you first and see if there might be something obvious I should tweak in my setup first. My efi is attached. Appreciate any insight from you. Thanks -John
Click to expand...
Hello John,

If you’re connecting to SMB shares on your local network, perhaps you’re running into this known bug?

appleinsider.com

Apple still hasn't fixed macOS Ventura's network bug

The new macOS Ventura 13.3 update has not corrected a network connection issue that some are experiencing that first manifested in the last few months.
appleinsider.com

This was reported in Ventura, but let’s see if the problem you’re facing is similar (i.e. SMB shares).
 
Sabzz said:
K

Keen to see this finished as i'm looking at building a NAS system myself.
Click to expand...
This is the stock photo on Ali Express:
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Mounting the screen (purchased separately) is not straightforward. May have to use couple of Velcro strips; still looking into options.
 
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