Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup • Hacker News Board

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#141

Post by afavour » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 2:22 AM UTC

windexh8er wrote: post #140

aborsy wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the selling point of this board is IO not CPU: 2X SATA, ePCIe and 2X NIC. You can run proxmox on it with TrueNAS in RAID1 and pfsense/opnsense in a vm.

The processor is weak comparatively on the Zima. I think the minimum you want to be looking at is the current generation of Intel N-series. CWWK and Topton make nice options that have similar I/O, better networking. STH [0] has a good article reviewing. [0] https://www.servethehome.com/almost-a-decade-in-the-making-o...

> But the selling point of this board is IO not CPU

> the processor is weak comparatively on the Zima

…

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#142

Post by dangus » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 2:25 AM UTC

Medox wrote: post #38

dangus wrote: post #2

These little boards are neat products but I think they tend to compare poorly to used “normal computers.” If you want a Zimaboard system with 8GB of RAM, you’re looking at 200 bucks. You have to get the mid-range one just to get 4 cores. I bought a used 2012 quad core Mac mini which also has 2 SATA slots for about half that price. It idles at 13W according to Apple, and the person who sold it to me already had it upg…

My compromise between pre-built Thin Clients and SBC's was building my own Mini ITX PC. The 17x17cm form factor has just enough connectivity for the size, even PCIe. The 2018 build came in at ~250$: Asrock J4105-ITX [1] + mini ITX case (with pico power supply included) + 2x4GB DDR4 + 128GB SSD. Runs ClearLinux and works perfectly 5 years later. The 2024 Mini ITX build will probably feature an Intel N100, like the Asu…

This was really my first thought and preference since I’m interested mini-ITX as it is. There are a lot of really cool ITX cases out there these days.

The cost is higher, but you could probably bring it way down with used components. The Zimaboard isn’t using new generation hardware anyway.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#143

Post by nirav72 » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 2:45 AM UTC

MisterTea wrote: post #50

justinclift wrote: post #6

> This variant of the board costs 200 USD ... Doesn't sound like a good deal when compared with 2nd hand microservers and small form factor PCs from Ebay. Things like these: ∙ https://www.ebay.com/itm/175917817224 ⇦ 2x NVMe slots ∙ https://www.ebay.com/itm/204477355543 ⇦ 4x 3.5" drives, ECC memory capable Note - I don't know those sellers.

The Lenovo Thinkcentre M720Q and M920Q have both an m.2 M key and an internal PCIe x8 slot you can stuff a GPU, quad gigabit or dual 10GbE into. No ECC though. Sells for about $100 on eBay for a decent one with PSU that is the same PSU as their laptops (Bonus if you're a Thinkpad user). You need a riser and rear bracket for the PCIe slot that can be found on eBay for like $25. I have a 6 core i5, 32GB RAM, a dual Int…

The lenovo m720q is amazing little machines. I’m using it with a 2 x 2.5 gbps QNap nic and running OpnSense. It’s been almost a year and it has been rock solid as a router. Before I discovered the m720q , I had no idea that a 8 lane PCie slot was possible in a mini-pc that small.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#144

Post by nirav72 » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 2:52 AM UTC

_cenw wrote: post #42

lakomen wrote: post #3

A server without ECC RAM is not a server, sorry. It's a catastrophe bound to happen.

Just remember, corruption happens outside the memory too.

Yes. Ive seen cheap/bad sata cables cause all kinds of problems for people running home servers.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#145

Post by viraptor » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 3:20 AM UTC

zamadatix wrote: post #139

viraptor wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that over-focus. Lots of small devices (especially older ones) don't have user-accessible fan speed control unfortunately and even if they do, fans degrade over time. I'm running one of the older NUCs as a home server right now and I'm really tempted to replace it with zimablade. Sure, I could replace the current loud fan, then play around with tweaks to slow it down while preserving the performance. But…

Disabling the fan is too much work so you want to go to a board which requires you to come up with your own external drive mounting solution? Maybe we just have different ideas on what takes lots of tinkering, which is fair, as I'll take figuring out a software setting over building something or having external mount components. I'd recommend something like a Beelink over an old NUC though. Tends to be cheaper than a…

> a board which requires you to come up with your own external drive mounting solution

I've got a tray it all lives on, so no attachments needed. Maybe a ziptie.

> Disabling the fan is too much work

Disabling would be easy, but I can't do that without frying it. Slowing it down means connecting the screen, rebooting into BIOS, adjusting the speed, restarting, collecting data, doing it again to check another setting, ... repeat many times, mounting it back every time. Then set up alerts on high temperature so that when the nearby heater kicks in during winter it won't overheat anyway. So yeah, it's a lot of hassle.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#146

Post by windexh8er » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 3:35 AM UTC

afavour wrote: post #141

windexh8er wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The processor is weak comparatively on the Zima. I think the minimum you want to be looking at is the current generation of Intel N-series. CWWK and Topton make nice options that have similar I/O, better networking. STH [0] has a good article reviewing. [0] https://www.servethehome.com/almost-a-decade-in-the-making-o...

> But the selling point of this board is IO not CPU > the processor is weak comparatively on the Zima …

Wouldn't you rather have a decent CPU and better I/O at the same price point in a similar form factor?

There are options. Some that are better, which is why I posted the link. Not everyone is OK with a couple generations old CPU.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#147

Post by nullify88 » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 4:34 AM UTC

dominick-cc wrote: post #63

alias_neo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We don't all live in countries where electricity is near-free. In the UK, it would cost more in electricity than the $200 Zimaboard to run one of those eBay machines for a single year. e.g. 90W 24/7 for a year is ~£212 (~$258 US), 60W 24/7: ~£142 ($173 US) In this price range, power-consumption is a _major_ decision factor.

If you want low power, check out the N100 systems that are out now. They use like 3W. I bought the N200 from this deal recently and it's a great little machine that can handle a lot of Plex transcodes https://slickdeals.net/f/16934029-msi-cubi-n-adl-dual-nic-in... It's interesting that these N100 systems can cost less than some of the Zima products. So for me, I don't see much of an upside of going with them.

While slightly bigger than those mini desktops, Asus and Asrock have recently released Intel N100 ITX motherboards. I have the Asus variant in a 1u short depth case and since theres no fan, its silent and capable of running some self hosted stuff at ease.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#148

Post by vladvasiliu » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 5:41 AM UTC

MisterTea wrote: post #50

justinclift wrote: post #6

> This variant of the board costs 200 USD ... Doesn't sound like a good deal when compared with 2nd hand microservers and small form factor PCs from Ebay. Things like these: ∙ https://www.ebay.com/itm/175917817224 ⇦ 2x NVMe slots ∙ https://www.ebay.com/itm/204477355543 ⇦ 4x 3.5" drives, ECC memory capable Note - I don't know those sellers.

The Lenovo Thinkcentre M720Q and M920Q have both an m.2 M key and an internal PCIe x8 slot you can stuff a GPU, quad gigabit or dual 10GbE into. No ECC though. Sells for about $100 on eBay for a decent one with PSU that is the same PSU as their laptops (Bonus if you're a Thinkpad user). You need a riser and rear bracket for the PCIe slot that can be found on eBay for like $25. I have a 6 core i5, 32GB RAM, a dual Int…

I have a 4x1Gb i350 in my SFF EliteDesk and it can get quite warm. I've had to install an aftermarket small fan for peace of mind, since the case only has a CPU and a PSU fan which don't create any airflow over the extension cards.

How's a dual 10 GbE faring in the even smaller enclosure of those Lenovos? What's the noise situation? I wanted to switch my router and random home VM needs to an EliteDesk mini I have lying around but it only has a Gb port, so I was looking at thunderbolt 10 GbE adapters, but seeing how pricy they are, might as well get a new complete box.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#149

Post by RockRobotRock » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 6:24 AM UTC

mike_d wrote: post #106

thekombustor wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Zima Blade isn't actually USB-C powered - it's just a USB-C port carrying a raw 12V. No PD negotiation supported. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1bbD1kw334 Honestly, for me, total dealbreaker for a product like this. Not only will it never work with anything other than the original PSU, that PSU will likely fry anything else you plug it into.

Which is perfectly in spec. Feel free to email the USB Implementers Forum and let them know they are clowns and USB-C was a mistake. USB-C simply describes a connector. USB-PD is one of many optional power over USB-C specifications you can use, or choose not to use. Heck, USB-PD v1 supports power delivery over USB-A connectors.

It's kinda silly that Android phone manufacturers came up with their own protocols. PD was long overdue, it's a godsend.

Re: Zimaboard: The closest thing to my dream home server setup

#150

Post by mcholen » Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 7:00 AM UTC

oneplane wrote: post #116

Zima is average-good at branding and maybe styling and that's about it. The hardware is pretty much random ODM low power designs, but based on ancient 2016 era releases. Maybe it's just a company in Hong Kong trying to offload old inventory, maybe it's something else (i.e. Intel SIPP), but I wouldn't recommend it either way, unless power is free and you really want to minimally reduce e-waste (which is what this is).…

I doubt the ODMs are incentivized to wrap up some e-waste, rebrand it, and introduce it to the market under a new cap like ZimaBoard. Is this common practice?