I'm currently running a couple of Unraid servers on old Xeon hardware.  An E3 1280 with 32GB RAM and E3 1240 with 16GB RAM and looking to consolidate and improve my transcoding capability.  

I run a Plex server for a lot of my family/friends and don't currently use a GPU to transcode, so I'm keeping 4K files for in-home streaming and 1080p files for remote.  Looking for something that could transcode up to 4 simultaneous 4K video files.

With GPU prices, that's leading me to think iGPU but I haven't built a non-Ryzen computer for years.

I'm also running a bunch of dockers and a couple of VMs (Ubuntu server for on-line poker hosting, a couple Windows sandboxes, and other Linux distros just to test out/play with) so thinking something with a few more cores would be helpful.

My main server is in a Supermicro 846 and I'll be repurposing everything but the CPU, MB, and RAM.  Anyone have any advice or anything I'm not thinking of I need to consider?  I'm not looking to spend a ton but willing if needed. 

Thank you to anyone taking the time to look at this.

Interested in this as well. First time Unraid user currently using a Synology but have the exact same usecase as you...

For Plex HW-Transcoding you can use every iGPU starting with UHD 630 (recommended) or newer... also for 4K.

Older iGPUs on Intel-CPUs are also working but the Quality is lower/bad and maybe not sufficient for 4K.

Edited January 7, 20224 yr by Zonediver

So, after hemming and hawing over things for a bit, this is what I'm thinking.  Anyone have any gotchas I should be aware of?  And yes, it may be overkill but I'm looking to future proof for a while.

CPU: Intel i7 11700K

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S

Mobo: Asus PRIME Z590-A

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR4-3600 CL18

 

Will re-use the following:

Case: Supermicro SuperChassis SC846TQ

Backplane: Supermicro BPN-SAS2-846EL1

HBA: Dell PERC H310

10GB NIC: Mellanox ConnectX-2

 

I also pulled the plug and built my first server a week ago:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/dreeas/saved/#view=wkcYdC

 

I was also afraid I was going overkill as I usually do. 

After playing with it for a few days I got a bit carried away and bought a RTX3060TI for the gaming VM I setup, and then the serverbuild wasn't overkill anymore.
Running about 20 dockers including Plex that uses the IGPU for 4K transcoding of very high bitrate files (70gb+), a win10 gaming vm and a Home assistant VM. 

@DreeasLooks like a great build and very similar to what I'm planning.  Glad to hear it is working out for you.

Is this your first foray into Unraid?  Just looked and I purchased my first Pro license in 2011.  Been using it ever since with great results.

8 minutes ago, Dreeas said:

I also pulled the plug and built my first server a week ago:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/dreeas/saved/#view=wkcYdC

 

I was also afraid I was going overkill as I usually do. 

After playing with it for a few days I got a bit carried away and bought a RTX3060TI for the gaming VM I setup, and then the serverbuild wasn't overkill anymore.
Running about 20 dockers including Plex that uses the IGPU for 4K transcoding of very high bitrate files (70gb+), a win10 gaming vm and a Home assistant VM. 

Good call on not getting an Alder Lake. I'm still sitting here GPU transcoding until Unraid updates the Linux kernel so I can use the iGPU.

11 minutes ago, flyize said:

Good call on not getting an Alder Lake. I'm still sitting here GPU transcoding until Unraid updates the Linux kernel so I can use the iGPU.

That's exactly why I'm going 11th Gen.  I don't want to pay the ridiculous GPU prices if I don't have to but really want to get in on the hardware transcoding train.  I'm hoping the issues get figured out soon though.

51 minutes ago, ccruzen said:

@DreeasLooks like a great build and very similar to what I'm planning.  Glad to hear it is working out for you.

Is this your first foray into Unraid?  Just looked and I purchased my first Pro license in 2011.  Been using it ever since with great results.

Yeah I just heard of Unraid this fall, been scrolling the forums and youtube for a few months before jumping onboard. Coming from a Synology NAS.

Howdo,

 

Sorry to weigh in here, so is the 11th gen fully supported now? including HDR tone mapping? keep reading mixed things and different methods, would rather stay on a stable build of unraid at the mo.

On 2/2/2022 at 10:07 PM, zapp8rannigan said:

Howdo,

 

Sorry to weigh in here, so is the 11th gen fully supported now? including HDR tone mapping? keep reading mixed things and different methods, would rather stay on a stable build of unraid at the mo.

Hi,

 

No when I enable tone mapping I am not able to play back. 

On 2/1/2022 at 5:01 PM, Dreeas said:

Yeah I just heard of Unraid this fall, been scrolling the forums and youtube for a few months before jumping onboard. Coming from a Synology NAS.

@Dreeas - Welcome to the unRaid family! I'm a Veteran Noob 🙂 but it's been more than a decade and unRaid just works. And it works well. And the people are amazing!