[Another First Unraid Build]

25 minutes ago, testdasi said:

Hold your horses!

It's not that straight-forward, mate.

I was busy over the weekend defending my place against Ciara or I would have posted something.

 

First and most importantly, AFAIK, 9th-gen full QuickSync support is only available in kernel 4.20 and up.

Unraid 6.8.2 stable is still on 4.19 kernel.

So if you want QuickSync (which is the foundation of all the recommendations above about transcoding), you have to use 6.8.2-rc7 (which was on 5.x kernel) or wait for the Soon™ 6.9.0-rc1 (which Limetech promised will be on 5.x kernel).

Of course, given the fluid nature of Linux kernel, things could have been changed but keep that in mind if you find your QuickSync not working / not up to par.

 

Thanks for the post, I hope Ciara wasn't too harsh to deal with!

 

I won't be starting the process of buying the parts in for the build until later in the year, I have June/July in mind, so waiting on this support won't bother me too much. Even if it's not supported when I build, if I go Intel, I don't foresee any imminent issues in waiting for the Unraid updates. Also, do you mean 6.8.0-rc7, or have I misread some other posts?

 

As an aside, how often does Unraid typically update from, for example, 6.x.0 to 6.y.0? 

 

37 minutes ago, testdasi said:

Now on with other pointers:

• AMD and Intel measure TDP differently. Anyone trying to derive power consumption by using TDP numbers cross-brand has no idea what they are talking about, sorry to be harsh.
  • The GT 710 power consumption is so relatively low in the grand scheme of things that if you are so concerned about it in your upgrade decision, then you have even more pressing concerns to deal with e.g. food.

Nah, it was thrown in as it's laying spare & I thought I'd need it at least to do the initial setup.

 

 

40 minutes ago, testdasi said:

• Ironically, I would still recommend you to go Intel i5-9400 for your build because, with your suggested usage assuming QuickSync works, it's a somewhat more cost effective build.
  • This particularly takes into account you already have hardware acceleration enabled in Plex, which means you have already purchased a Plex pass, which has to be considered as part of a Ryzen build cost.
  • This also assumes you shop around for a good Intel deal.

Yeah I'd had Plex Pass for some time prior to finding the hardware acceleration option; I'd fallen into the misguided 'I need Plex Pass to share my library with others' train of thought.

 

I think Intel has won this battle for my build; while the CPU I currently have is still solid for my usage, I don't foresee the need to upgrade again any time soon going that way, unless my needs change. Having QuickSync seems like the way to go (even if it's in an updated version).

 

50 minutes ago, testdasi said:

• When getting an NVMe drive, make sure it's 3D TLC (or 3D NAND or V-NAND or terms like that).
  • Avoid QLC like Intel 660p despite its low cost. It's dirt cheap for a reason (it's on par with a good SATA SSD on a good day and super freaking terrible on a bad one)
  • If you ever intend to pass through the NVMe as a PCIe device to a VM (i.e. stub it and select it in the other PCIe device section of the VM template GUI) then make sure to google the controllers of your NVMe in case there's any kernel conflicts. Some (e.g. many NVME runs SM2263 controller) need special workarounds (with limitations) and some (e.g. Intel 660p) just downright refuse to be passed through.

I doubt I'll be doing this at any point, but that's good to know, cheers! 

[Another First Unraid Build]

Funny you mentioned that ASRock board, I've got that on a list to check out, heh. 

 

I'm always drawn to the CPU midway in any model set, but looking at the 9x00's, other than the obvious clock speed, etc., there's not too much difference. Some instruction sets (TSX-NI, stable Image Platform Program (SIPP) & Trusted Execution Tech), which I doubt I would ever have a need for in my use-case.

 

Think the 9400 wins on this one due to price alone. 

 

I have a 250GB NVMe in my current saved list, but I think you're right in moving to 500GB... for another £20, it makes no sense when spending £600-£700 anyway.

[Another First Unraid Build]

No particular reason other than what was recommended above, so threw it together quickly. Although I said I'd likely go for it in my last reply, I'm more than happy to change components if within budget and there's a good reason... That definitely seems like a good reason for a different chipset.

The WD blue was chosen for same reason, just as it was mentioned and so I can try to get an understanding of the difference between an M.2 SATA & NVMe/PCIe.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

[Another First Unraid Build]

Not sure why - but the i5 9500 & 9600 seem to be difficult to find without them looking overpriced, in the UK... Either out of stock, 'delayed' or even 'pre-order' in some places. the 9400 is easier to source, but no idea why the others aren't.

 

Slightly random question, but are c-states an issue with Intel CPUs, or is that just linked with Ryzen? I've read a few topics where it had to be disabled, but they were all Ryzen based builds.

 

For a B360 mobo I've randomly chosen (albeit, if I was to go Intel, it'll likely be my choice if I get my head around this M.2 stuff), the attached shows you need a M.2 PCIe SSD so that no SATA connectors are disabled. Am I right in thinking that this would be an NVMe M.2, or is it something like an adapter that slots into one of the actual PCIe slots that you then plug an M.2 guy into?

 

I've got a quick parts list for an Intel build drawn up, here... Is my understanding correct that, considering the attached specs for the mobo, this WD Blue guy wouldn't cause a SATA port to be disabled?

[Another First Unraid Build]

Cheers, I'll have a look at those boards & CPUs.

Does having an M.2 not usually mean losing at least 1 SATA port? M.2/NVMe etc are all quite new terms for me, so still learning.



Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

[Another First Unraid Build]

Yep transcodes is what is giving me the biggest headache when trying to decide, heh. I am starting to feel like I'm letting the Ryzen marketing/packaging get the better of me. My first ever self-build with with an Athlon XP setup, moving from an intel 386 so you can imagine my giant nostalgic soft-sport (read bias) for AMD after seeing the difference🤣

 

The GPU was more for initial setup & 'just in case' I needed to use at, as it'll be headless afterwards. I didn't even think that particular GPU could do transcodes, tbh, so it was never considered for that purpose. Have it in a box in my 'will get used at some point' pile. 

I couldn't actually tell you when I enabled hardware acceleration on Plex (as I wasn't aware of the option until fairly recently), but I have a feeling it was less than 12 months ago & I've been running Plex for closer to 4 years. I'm not sure if QuickSync will be *that* big a loss for my use-case, but I found it difficult to find black & white comparisons of having it or not, mainly because, admittedly, I'm not 100% sure on what exactly I'd be checking for on the CPU reviews.

[Another First Unraid Build]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking for a while reading posts & trying to get myself to a fairly decent level of understanding before diving into my first Unraid build.

 

My current server (a repurposed Dell Optiplex 990 DT, specs below) is running out of storage space, & there's no room to expand it, so I'm looking to start my first dedicated Unraid build. 

 

My budget is around the £650 mark. As far as expandability is concerned, I'd like to be able to add another couple 4TB drives at some point, but that likely won't be for a while. the 3TB drive in my current set up will be added to the array after moving the data.

 

It's main uses will be storage & a Plex server. I'll be running the Plex, Radarr, Sonarr dockers & potentially NextCloud to begin with.

 

My main question is, although the Ryzen CPU is clearly the better of the 2, will I lose much transcoding power by losing QuickSync? At most, I would have 2 or 3 concurrent streams from users. I could have 4 if all users decided to stream something at the same time on something that won't direct play, but that's never happened & very unlikely to. 

 

Anyway, after the longwinded first post, here's my current setup & planned build. Appreciate any feedback/comments etc.

 

Current Build:

CPU: Core i7 2600 @ 3.4GHZ

Memory: 10GB DDR3 

OS SSD: 120GB Toshiba SSD (THNSNJ128GCSU)

Storage: 3TB Seagate Barracuda 

 

 

Unraid Build (I already have the video card and SSD laying spare):

 

PCPart Picker list

Case: Fractal Design Node 804 

Motherboard: Asus PRIME B450M-A Micro ATX 

CPU: Ryzen7 2700 3.2GHz 8-Core 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 
Cache Drive: Crucial MX500 250GB SSD 
Storage: WD Red 4TB
Storage: WD Red 4TB 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 710 1GB
PSU: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 450W 80+ Gold Semi-modular ATX