Hi All,

I am considering switching out a few parts on my main server/NAS (Running Unraid) but there are a few things I am unsure about.

Specs:

  • CPU: Ryzen 3700x
  • Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B450-F
  • RAM: 32 GB DDR4 2400MHz
  • GPU: Quadro P2000
  • HBA: LSI SAS2308-8i (9217), HP 487738-001 (24i 4e)
  • Storage: 2x 2TB Gen4 NVMe, 24xMixed HDDs (110 TB)

As you can see I am deficient a few PCIe lanes. Looking at the alternatives it seems that there are a few good deals on some EPYC CPUs.

On the motherboard, there are 10 Slimline 4i connectors, 2 wired for 8 SATA devices. I have no experience with this connector so I am not sure but I was thinking if it would be possible to use 6 of the ports to connect all 24 drives with a Slimline to SFF8087 connector freeing up the PCIe slots for future use. Also if anyone knows the correct connector name for Slimline ports that would be great as I am looking for cables and I don’t think I am finding the correct ones.

Secondly, the 2 m.2 connectors on the motherboard are both wired for Gen3 NVMe SSDs so I would be losing some performance from the Gen4 Drives. I do have 4xGen3 2TB NVMe SSDs lying around so I am wondering if it would be better to move the Gen4 Drives to my gaming PC and use a 16x PCIe card for the 4xGen3 drives.

The issue would be that it doesn’t seem sensible to use 4 SSDs for a cache. The other idea I had would be to pick up some Gen4 U.2 Drives to replace the cache but I am not sure what is the best way to connect those drives.

If anyone has any experience with EPYC or has some recommendations I would love to hear it. I don’t have any specific budget but as with any homelab I am looking to use parts I already have and try to do it as cheaply as possible.

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