BCM MX67QMD, includes heatsink/fan, dual NIC, PCIe x4
- CPU Heatsink/Fan included (fits in 1U)
- Motherboard specs here
- Motherboard manual here
- Open-ended PCIe x4 slot
- Intel Core i3/i5/i7 socket G1/G2 CPUs supported
G2 (Sandy Bridge mobile) CPU available here from around $5 w/ free shipping - Up to 16GB DDR3 SODIMM (2x8GB)
pfSense only needs 2GB of RAM for a base config, you can pick some up here (about $5-$10) - 2 x SATA3
2 x SATA2 - LAN 1: Intel® 82579LM PHY Gigabit Ethernet Controller
- LAN 2: Intel® 82574L PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Sounds great right? Well, the only downside I have found of this combo so far is the power supply availability. I haven’t found anything affordable on Amazon or Ebay. It uses a 4-pin DC power supply, with a P4 connector. However, you can find cheap options from mini-box, you need to pick up the 4-pin DC cable ($5) and 60w power brick ($19). The other option is to buy a mini-din to mini-fit jr adapter ($6) and pick up a 4-pin DC PSU ($15-ish). Either way costs about the same, it just depends on what your setup is.
Motherboard + CPU Heatsink/Fan - $49.49 OBO free shipping
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FBCM-Advanced-MX67QMD-Mini-ITX-Q67-Socket-G-PGA-989-Core-I-Series-Motherboard%2F122737838629%3Fhash%3Ditem1c93beca25%3Ag%3A4CIAAOSwa8dZ07u0&campid=5338535236&toolid=20008
This should be a great combo to transplant into one of the 1u rackmount cases from the guide below.
- Good Deal
- Mediocre Deal
- Bad Deal