Recommendation for low wattage PC

uris · **Posted:** Thu May 06, 2010 10:30 pm

Hi all,

Was looking at building a PC for firewall/routing use. I plan to install pfsense onto the PC and use it as a replacement for my Buffalo router, which is 3 years old (100MBs Ethernet/Wireless B/G). I don't need such a powerful PC but power consumption is of utmost importance to me.

The router now is using around 10-12w measure at the outlet. Are there any rigs out there that can achieve <20w? I was looking at the following:

Intel D945GSEJT Board
Additional PCI 1000MBs network card
Option to include a Wireless Adapter card (pfSense does not support draftN cards atm)
100GB 2.5" SATA hdd (reused old HDD)
Apex MW-100

Any idea of the estimated power consumption and any better recommendations?

There is a bundle selling in my region for D945GCLF2D + Apex MW-100 which is selling really cheap (200 USD) vs buying the D945GSEJT + Casing separately (250) but I'm thinking about the power consumption and the need for a PSU (instead of a 12VDC input)

Jay_S · **Posted:** Fri May 07, 2010 5:19 am

Not sure if this is available in your area, but have a look at the $210 USD Netgate m1n1wall boxes:

http://www.netgate.com/product_info.php ... cts_id=546

Netgate link above wrote:

Zero moving parts means no fan noise and an extended lifetime.

The Netgate m1n1wall 2E system utilizes PC Engines ALIX 2D2 network board with 2 LAN and 2 miniPCI slot and your choice of the latest m0n0wall or pfSense software which provide many of the features of expensive commercial firewalls.

Appliance Features:

ALIX.2D2 System Board with
- 500 MHz AMD Geode LX800 CPU
- 2 10/100 Ethernet ports (VIA VT6105M 10/100)
- 2 miniPCI slot for future expansion (VPN Acceleration, wireless, etc.)
- 2 USB ports
- 256 MB DDR DRAM
Black ALIX case with Ethernet and USB cutouts
2GB Sandisk Ultra II CF Card pre-loaded with m0n0wall or pfSense
US Plug Style 120 VAC/DC 15V 1.25A 18W Switching Power Supply
Assembled and tested

Software Features:

The m1n1wall arrives pre-loaded with your choice of m0n0wall or pfSense software. If you prefer, reload the CF card with your own operating system / software to support your application. Possibilities include FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, OpenWRT, Voyage Linux, STYX, iMedia ALIX Linux, Fluxbuntu, fli4l, Zeroshell, Ikarus OS, Embed-it, Mikrotik RouterOS.

[EDIT] Some discussion of this device here: Is the Netgate m1n1wall firewall good enough for pfSense (forum.pfsense.org).

uris · **Posted:** Sun May 09, 2010 5:06 am

That sounds great! Have to check if it is available here. The price is around the same but the power draw is definitely lower.

Edit: Oh hmm. Seems like snort eats a lot more RAM if I am to install that. Also no Gigabit connector as well hmmm.

Jay_S · **Posted:** Sun May 09, 2010 4:13 pm

uris wrote:

Also no Gigabit connector as well hmmm.

You have better than 100Mbps WAN?

BlackWhizz · **Posted:** Mon May 10, 2010 8:06 am

Intels new atom can do that using a PicoPSU. Also if your getting gigabit ethernet LAN/out get a decent card (with a Intel controller which support TCP offloading).

uris · **Posted:** Wed May 12, 2010 2:18 am

Sorry no GB LAN but I was thinking of LAN separation with a 2 LAN GB NIC.

Maybe I'll just do a single LAN and use a GB switch instead. Any idea what's the power draw of the new Intel ATOM cpu and the netgate appliance?

I'm not too sure if NetGate can support Snort with pfsense as well. Gotta do some research

Recommendation for low wattage PC

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