Unraid 5.0.6 + Plex = time to update hardware?

[brgipple]

I built my server in 2011 with an unused Motherboard/CPU/Memory from a PC intent on making a media server and data storage device.

 

The build consists of:

M.B. = ASUS, M2N-MX SE Plus, Which i needed to add a SATA card and a Gig Ethernet Card

CPU = AMD, Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ @ 2.6 GHz

Mem = Super Talent, 2Gig DDR2 667 - PC5300

HD = 6 drives total (1.5TB to 320Gb)(Parity, cache and 4 data)

 

I just recently updated to a fresh unRaid 5.0.6 install and add the PLEX Media Server and a few plugins from Dynamix. PLEX is running the Library and tmp files from the cache drive only in its own share.

 

Really have never used the server for what i wanted to do with it since i could never find a Bluray player that i liked for windows. so its been turned off for a lot of the time and only used for back ups and music server when on. This all changed when i found VLC and PLEX, now i want to use this for what i intended 3 years ago.

 

What I've noticed is that the CPU is bouncing around 40 to 70% with nothing really going on in the server other than PLEX running, No transfer to or from the server. The memory usage is at 97% with 50Mb free, 1.7Gb cached, 170Mb used.  Question on this, what is got all this memory cached? unRaid or PLEX? and what is it using it for. I have no idea what what these figures were when running unRaid 4.7 and no PLEX.

 

So... with ability of PLEX to be run from my Xbox 360 in the near future the need for a HTPC is going away for i want to do. So what I'm asking is the old hardware going to continue to serve me well, or should i gut my HTPC and install its hardware into the server?

 

Or would i just be wasting this hardware that i could maybe find a use for doing something else?

 

HTPC build: (built around the same time as the server)

M.B. = MSI, 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 (take out the big video card and install a basic card)(maybe add the SATA card from old build to gain expandability)

CPU = AMD, Phenom II X4 840 Quad-Core 3.2GHz

Mem = G.SKILL, Ripjaws 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 - PC3 12800 (maybe bump up to 8Gig?)

 

If i do this, is there anything special that i should do? anything that i need to be careful of?

Just remove the old hardware, install / hook up the new hardware, then assign the drives to the same locations and do a parity check?

 

Thank you all for your time

BRG

 

p.s. is the preclear and format built into unRaid GUI or is it still through the console?

[Traxxus]

Can't answer most of those, but changing the hardware is easy, changed all my hardware a year or so ago, just take a ss of the drive assignment page so you know what drive goes where just in case. Just changed the hardware, stuck the USB in, changed BIOS settings, and off it went.

[brgipple]

So drove you to replace the hardware in your setup?

[tdallen]

The Phenom II X4 840 Quad-Core would do a much better job with Plex.  This site is helpful, you want around 2,000 Passmarks per 1080p transcoding stream:

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

 

The Phenom would still struggle with multiple transcoding streams.  You might want to consider upgrading to a more modern processor if that is your goal.

[chickensoup]

Hey brg,

 

I just thought I would mention- i used to work in a computer store and we sold a lot of those boards and a LOT came back. Various issues from random bluescreens to weird CPU temperature fluctuations to O/S corruption every few weeks all fixed with a new board. I personally stay away from Asus motherboards in general as I've never had any luck with them but that particular model is a black sheep and I would replace it sooner rather than later :-)

[De1taE1even]

I would suggest not getting too "stuck in the weeds" with cpu and ram usage, and instead, just start using your plex server and see if you run into issues when using your current hardware.  For your situation, I think it's all about whether or not you'll need your plex server to transcode, and what format/resolution your media library is in.  If your library is encoded in a format that the xb360 can play natively (probably just h.264 mp4 if I know Microsoft, but you'll need to look this up), then you don't need plex to transcode.  If that is the case, your current hardware should be fine.  If you, however, need plex to transcode, then that's a different story.  I think your hardware could probably transcode one 720p stream fine, but if it's trying to transcode 1080p, you're probably going to peg that cpu. General rule of thumb that I've read is that each 1080p transcode will take (very roughly) 2000 passmark.  Your cpu passmark score is just over 1300, so 1080p transcoding would probably need an upgrade.  This "rule of thumb" is, of course, VERY rough, but I've verified it to be a good baseline, and it holds true with my system for the most part.

 

As for your ram, I wouldn't worry about it being cached.  Linux likes to do that.  I have 16GB ram in my machine, and it is almost 100% cached all the time.  The OS will release the ram as needed for other tasks, but when ram is idle, the OS will cache it and use it to improve HDD access.

 

The best thing you can do is simply to experiment.  Get your plex server up and running on your current hardware, and start streaming to your xb360.  If you have issues, then it'll be time to consider upgrades.  Don't upgrade if not needed though.

[switchman]

I agree with De1taE1even, just try you server and see what happen.  A lot depends on your play back machine and what your encoding is on the show.  I have a couple of FTVs and most of my video streams in direct play.  Only the audio is real time transcoded.  It does not take much to transcode the audio.