Looking to Build a new Un-Raid, have been out of it for quite some time.


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Hi all,

 

I'm not new to PC's or even UnRaid, as my current build is running on 4.7.  It is stable and just plain works, but I need to upgrade for more disk space and want to off-load some other tasks to it.  The requirements I am looking to fill are as follows:

 

1. File Storage for 5 individual users, most of whom are not concurrent (current build on an old Athlon 64 3000 does this fine already)

2. Host for Plex Media Server supporting up to 10 transcodes at once (PMS is currently running on my personal desktop, a Core2 Duo that can handle two transcodes at once)

3. Host for PlexPy (Currently running on a Raspberry Pi2)

4. Host for PlexRequests (Currently running on a Raspberry Pi2)

5. Host for PlexEmail

6. Host for DuckDNS

7. Host for PowerDown Package

 

So with all of that being said, I think the biggest resource hog would be the Plex transcoding.  I can figure out case, power supply, drives, etc, I just need some guidance on a motherboard and a processor to be powerful enough to do all of this, but not total overkill.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

Dave

 

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All transcoding is not created equal - it's highly dependent on the source material and capabilities of the players.  You don't mention the model of Core 2 Duo you're using so it could be anywhere between 1,000 and 2,400 Passmarks.  In either case it's still an old CPU and the fact that you are transcoding two streams with it tells me that your transcoding needs aren't very demanding.

 

Still, 10 streams are 10 streams.  I'd go for a high end v3 Xeon or Core i7 and target around 10,000 Passmarks (something like this).  You could even go to the Xeon E5 series...  I don't think you need multiple sockets but you should max out the single CPU performance for that kind of workload.

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Interwebtech and tdallen,

 

Thank you both for the replies, both were the information I'm looking for and gave me some insight into variables I hadn't considered in my original post.  I actually misspoke, my current CPU is a Core 2 Quad Q9550, passmark score of 4049, so the guess at 2000 passmarks per stream is probably spot on.  I notice with two streams going my normal activities lag quite a bit as the CPU is being taxed pretty hard.  As for material, most of my source material is 1080p, with a mix of clients ranging from Raspberry Pi2, to Roku's, to Plex Browser clients, iPads and Android Phones.  As for the actual streams, I doubt I'll ever hit 10 concurrent, but I want to have headroom for that many. 

 

tdallen, the Xeon you gave a link to has a PassMark score of 10,228, it looks like the Core i7-4790K can be had for around the same price, or perhaps a few dollars cheaper and has a PassMark score of 11,217.  Assuming pricing is the same or close enough to not matter, is there any reason to opt for the Xeon over the i7?

 

Again, thanks for the information, I really appreciate it.

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I'd just go with a decent, high quality gamer's motherboard or perhaps a workstation board depending on your budget. 

 

I always tend to go with Asus boards, they've never let me down.

 

With the i7 you're considering, I'd certainly look at going with an Asus Z97-Pro Gamer, or a Maximus VII Hero.  Both have Intel network chips, and both have all the solid Japanese caps goodness and excellent stability. The Z97-Pro Gamer only has 6 SATAs from the chipset, the M7H has 8 SATAs (6 chipset, 2 off an AsMedia).

 

My old UnRAID box was running off an Asus A88X Gamer, which is a FM2 AMD based board.  It's nice in that it has i211 NIC, 8 SATA off the chipset, but for your uses the A10 APU is too slow as they top out about 6000 Passmarks.

 

Skylake is also a very nice platform - a B150 with a Skylake i7 would use less power and be really very quick, so that's an option.

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tdallen, the Xeon you gave a link to has a PassMark score of 10,228, it looks like the Core i7-4790K can be had for around the same price, or perhaps a few dollars cheaper and has a PassMark score of 11,217.  Assuming pricing is the same or close enough to not matter, is there any reason to opt for the Xeon over the i7?

ECC memory is probably the main reason, and server motherboard features are another (IPMI, Intel NICs, dual NICs).  I think ECC is worth considering in a fault tolerant server though it does add a little to the cost.  If your main concern is horsepower, though, you can get plenty with an i7 (I have a 4790 in my desktop).

 

Edit...

As for the actual streams, I doubt I'll ever hit 10 concurrent, but I want to have headroom for that many.

That's a challenge.  As you noticed current high end CPUs max out around 10,000 - 11,000 Passmarks.  If you seriously want 20,000+ Passmarks (your current capacity x 5) you will either need a very high end Xeon E5 or a dual CPU configuration and that is going to be expensive.  As HellDiverUK mentions, take a look at the new Skylake processors if you want additional horsepower but don't want to spend thousands in the process. 

 

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