Old CPU/2GB RAM: unRaid v6?

[joefig44]

Been running the following hardware on v4.4 for years, and now thinking of upgrading to v6 but wondering if this would be enough or if I need to upgrade some or all of it?

I'd like to be able to run Plex server on it and likely also use it as a private cloud and also SickBeard/CouchPotato.  Otherwise, it's just serving up mkv HD video files on my home network.

 

Pentium Dual-Core CPU E5200 @ 2.5GHz

2GB of RAM

Asus P5QL PRO motherboard

 

 

[interwebtech]

If it to be NAS function only, it will work. Would still bump RAM to 8GB. If you want to run Plex you have enough CPU for a single 1080P stream.

[joefig44]

That's good news.

 

As for the RAM upgrade, currently it's G.Skill F2-6400CL4D 1GBx2.

 

The only RAM I can obtain that is the closest is F2-6400CL5S 2GBx2.  Assuming this works, it would give me 6GB total RAM.

 

Would this work?

Can I just snap in the new RAM and it will automatically work?

 

[interwebtech]

If you have them on hand, give it a try. Otherwise if you have to buy those then I would look around for better options. I searched eBay for "PC2-6400" which is middle speed for that board (PC2-8500, PC2-6400, PC2-5300. w/max 16GB). Found several option for 8 or more GB around 20-30 bucks

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Computer-Components-Parts-/175673/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=pc2-6400&_dcat=170083&Capacity%2520per%2520Module=4GB&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

[joefig44]

Is top speed PC2-8500 for my board?

 

If so, is it better to pick up 16GB configuration with PC2-8500 and just not use the RAM that is in there already?

[interwebtech]

Is top speed PC2-8500 for my board?

 

If so, is it better to pick up 16GB configuration with PC2-8500 and just not use the RAM that is in there already?

 

First this thought...

Normally I would say yes without hesitation. But you have an older board/CPU which that requires DDR2 RAM sticks. And they will tend to be expensive new due to not being made in quantity anymore. And its unlikely you will be able to reuse them in any upgraded setup down the road. If the cost is much more than say... $40-$50 for 16GB, I would just 8 GB for now and apply the other toward mboard/cpu replacement funds.

 

Yes I would replace the 2GB since it is a good idea to have all your RAM the same brand/speed.

[joefig44]

To put in 8GB DDR2 RAM from a local computer shop I use (I wouldn't trust buying it on eBay), it would cost me $150 after tax (I'm in Canada, btw - so we need to pay the premium on stuff).

 

Then there's the fact I'm running low on disk space in the array.  Currently running 4 - 1.5TB Seagate drives (old ones), losing one to parity I have 4.5TB space that is 95% full.

Two new 1TB drives (to keep it under my parity drive) getting me 2TB extra space would cost me $160 after tax

 

So total to get my existing NAS upgraded and running on the older CPU, 8GB RAM and 2TB extra space would be $255 after tax.

 

I'd like to be able to configure the NAS as a personal cloud as well as run Plex, Sickbeard.  Simultaneous connections to it would be two 1080p streams, but also thinking about streaming 4K in the future.

 

Is it worth spending the $255 now, or better to upgrade to something like a Synology DS415+ which with 6TB of space (for now) would cost me $1,355.

I don't mind spending that much more now, if it future proofs me and also gives me better functionality.

 

 

[BRiT]

It's not worth being ripped off by buying locally for such an ancient system.

[joefig44]

So for $800 taxes in I could get a QNAP TS-431 4 bay NAS with 6TB drive space.

 

Now I understand these are unRaid forums, so likely a little bias, but isn't that a better path for me than spending $255 to partially upgrade my ancient system?

 

I'm likely to pay more than $800 for upgrading mobo, CPU, disks and RAM to continue running Unraid.

[joefig44]

Another option for me is that I have an i3-3.4GHz desktop computer with 8GB RAM and 500GB SSD drive in it that I could install my current unRAID NAS's parity and data drives into thus re-purposing it to be the new Unraid NAS.

 

This would render me with out a desktop PC in the house (only a Macbook Pro and a Windows laptop, - and a bunch of iOS devices).

 

The biggest roadblock here is time. 

 

How difficult and time consuming would it be to take this windows PC with one SSD in it and re-purpose it to be the new Unraid server?

 

Thinking I'd need to upgrade to v6 on existing unraid first, then back-up the data from this PC, remove the SSD, physically move all drives in the Unraid array into it, and hope it works?

Is it as easy as that?

 

Would this provide sufficient horsepower for the unraid v6 within my uses?

Would unraid play friendly

[interwebtech]

I would bet someone here with the time could come up with a very serviceable combination for $800 or less. I personally would go that route. Not spend on the existing system (too old/expensive). Not a Q-NAS as that locks you into a closed system with limited options. The open plug-in and Docker system unRaid has is light years better than those.

 

One more plug for eBay... you do realize your purchase is guaranteed by eBay? If you have a problem and the seller won't give you back your money, eBay will step in and make you whole. Buyers are golden on eBay.

[interwebtech]

Another option for me is that I have an i3-3.4GHz desktop computer with 8GB RAM and 500GB SSD drive in it that I could install my current unRAID NAS's parity and data drives into thus re-purposing it to be the new Unraid NAS.

 

This would render me with out a desktop PC in the house (only a Macbook Pro and a Windows laptop, - and a bunch of iOS devices).

 

The biggest roadblock here is time. 

 

How difficult and time consuming would it be to take this windows PC with one SSD in it and re-purpose it to be the new Unraid server?

 

Thinking I'd need to upgrade to v6 on existing unraid first, then back-up the data from this PC, remove the SSD, physically move all drives in the Unraid array into it, and hope it works?

Is it as easy as that?

 

Would this provide sufficient horsepower for the unraid v6 within my uses?

Would unraid play friendly

 

Look up your specific CPU here:

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/

 

You need 2000 "passmarks" per 1080p stream for Plex. If it is enough, then its just a matter of having enough drive spaces in that case. As for the upgrade, either way will work. There is a wiki with recommended steps for the upgrade process.

[tdallen]

I started out with a system similar to yours an upgraded it with a Core 2 Quad processor and DDR2 memory.  It was fun but not a good use of money.  I really can't recommend investing any money in an old LGA775 system with the intent of using it for unRAID 6 and Plex .  For a little more money you could build a brand new system.

 

Your  i3-3.4GHz desktop computer with 8GB RAM and 500GB SSD would make a good unRAID platform.  It won't be a Plex powerhouse but it would be a lot more powerful than what you have now.

 

People who go Synology with the intent of using it for Plex are almost always disappointed unless they pre-encode their source material for direct play on their players.  The CPUs in Synology's are not capable of any significant transcoding.

[joefig44]

My i3-2120 hits 3875 pass marks:  not bad. 

8GB of RAM, and same case as the one I use for my existing unRaid so it should just be a matter of moving the disks over, plugging the USB in and I should be good on v4.4.

Then I'll do the upgrade to v6 once I confirm everything is stable.

 

Does this sound like a good approach and that it should work?  Or is the swap of mobo, CPU and memory likely to cause issues with my v4.4 unRaid build?  Is it better that I upgrade to v6 on the existing hardware first and then do the disk swaps?

[tdallen]

I'd try booting the new computer with 4.4 (a fresh install and boot stick is best, but make a backup of your current USB boot stick if you use it).  If it boots and recognizes all devices then you are good with that approach.  If it doesn't (perhaps the newer hardware needs new drivers) then you will have to upgrade before moving components to the new system.  Also, before you start, read up on the upgrade path from versions 4.x.  The upgrade from 5.x is pretty straightforward but the upgrade from 4.x is more involved.

 

I think in your shoes I'd upgrade unRAID first and then move hardware.  However you do it, though - do one thing at time, slowly, check your work at each step and make backups as you go.

[interwebtech]

Either way is fine.

 

edited: tdallen makes good points, I missed that you are on v4. Wiki sez:

ANY version prior to v5.0-beta6 -> 'clean install', then configure settings and drive assignments, then run New Permissions

 

recommend study material for the upgrade

http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/Upgrading_to_UnRAID_v6

[joefig44]

Yes, been through that.

 

I think I'll proceed as follows:

 

1.  Take some time and backup all critical data on target system (currently a Windows PC used by family)

2.  Get existing unRaid upgraded to version 6 from 4.4 as per instructions.  Even though hardware will be low for v6, it's only temporary.

3.  Take new hardware offline and remove optical drive and AMD Radeon 6000 series dedicated graphics card - I don't think unRaid 6 would make any use of this card, right?

4.  Migrate physical disks from existing unRaid to new hardware.

4.  Plug in same USB used with unRaid in existing system into new hardware and use it to boot up

5.  Confirm stability

If at this point things aren't working and I can't fix it easily, I should be able to simply swap back the physical disks, copy my backup of v4.4 to the same USB and should be back to where I am now.

[joefig44]

Another question:

 

Any foreseen issues with the old data drives I have being a bottleneck on system performance?

 

They've been running for 9 years now - no errors ever.  They are Seagate 1.5TB:

 

ST31500341AS is the model number on all including the parity drive.

[garycase]

Before buying a bunch of new hardware, I'd do a couple minor upgrades to your current system.

 

Your E5200 will run v6 fine, although it's likely to struggle with Plex  [Your CPU has a PassMark rating of 1497, which is a bit below the 2000 PassMarks/stream that's generally recommended for Plex ... but note that how much CPU it really needs depends on just what transcoding it needs to do, so you may find that it works fine for one stream in your situation.

 

In any event, since you want to move to v6, I'd go ahead and do that first => if you should then decide to upgrade to better/newer hardware it's just a matter of plugging in the drives and booting to your USB flash drive.

 

I'd do the following:

 

(1)  Add the pair of 2GB modules you indicated you had access to ... bringing the memory to a total of 6GB, which is plenty for the usage you've indicated.

 

(2)  Save a screenshot of your drive configuration, so you know for CERTAIN which drive is assigned as parity.

 

(3)  Save a copy of your flash drive;  then reformat it; be sure it's labeled "UNRAID"; put the v6.1.8 download files on it; and run MakeBootable with admin privileges so it's now a bootable drive.

 

(4)  Boot to the flash drive and assign your drives => then Start the array and let it do a parity sync.    When that finishes, run the New Permissions script (on the Tools menu); and then do a parity check to confirm all went well.

 

Done :-)  You're now running v6.

 

Now buy yourself a new, larger parity drive (4TB or larger), and replace the parity drive with that drive.  Once that's done, you can add the old parity drive to the array and gain another 1.5TB of space => and you'll then be able to either add additional drives as large as the new parity drive, or replace your old 1.5TB drives with the larger drives.    Note that any of these drive upgrades are not related to the hardware you're using -- so the only thing you'll actually be spending on the old hardware is the cost of a couple 2GB memory modules.

 

You can then install the Plex Docker and see if your specific system runs okay for a single stream or not.  If not, then you can decide what to do vis-à-vis upgrading to a more capable processor.    You could either go with a completely new setup; or you could spend $25-40 and bump up the CPU to a Core 2 Quad with a significantly higher PassMark that will easily handle Plex [e.g. for $25 you can get a Q9400 that scores 3429 on Passmark;  for $45 you can get a Q9550 that scores 4048].

 

[garycase]

My i3-2120 hits 3875 pass marks:  not bad. 

8GB of RAM, and same case as the one I use for my existing unRaid so it should just be a matter of moving the disks over, plugging the USB in and I should be good on v4.4.

Then I'll do the upgrade to v6 once I confirm everything is stable.

 

Does this sound like a good approach and that it should work?  Or is the swap of mobo, CPU and memory likely to cause issues with my v4.4 unRaid build?  Is it better that I upgrade to v6 on the existing hardware first and then do the disk swaps?

 

By the way, if you DO decide to simply move everything to this system, do the v6 upgrade first; then the move.    Much less likely to encounter any issues with the newer hardware that way.

 

But note that if you upgrade your current system to v6 and then simply swap in a Core 2 Quad you'll have a PassMark roughly equivalent to the i3 in this system.    If you're going to move to newer hardware, I'd go with something with a PassMark of at least 5000.

 

[joefig44]

Before buying a bunch of new hardware, I'd do a couple minor upgrades to your current system.

 

Your E5200 will run v6 fine, although it's likely to struggle with Plex  [Your CPU has a PassMark rating of 1497, which is a bit below the 2000 PassMarks/stream that's generally recommended for Plex ... but note that how much CPU it really needs depends on just what transcoding it needs to do, so you may find that it works fine for one stream in your situation.

 

In any event, since you want to move to v6, I'd go ahead and do that first => if you should then decide to upgrade to better/newer hardware it's just a matter of plugging in the drives and booting to your USB flash drive.

 

I'd do the following:

 

(1)  Add the pair of 2GB modules you indicated you had access to ... bringing the memory to a total of 6GB, which is plenty for the usage you've indicated.

 

(2)  Save a screenshot of your drive configuration, so you know for CERTAIN which drive is assigned as parity.

 

(3)  Save a copy of your flash drive;  then reformat it; be sure it's labeled "UNRAID"; put the v6.1.8 download files on it; and run MakeBootable with admin privileges so it's now a bootable drive.

 

(4)  Boot to the flash drive and assign your drives => then Start the array and let it do a parity sync.    When that finishes, run the New Permissions script (on the Tools menu); and then do a parity check to confirm all went well.

 

Done :-)  You're now running v6.

 

Now buy yourself a new, larger parity drive (4TB or larger), and replace the parity drive with that drive.  Once that's done, you can add the old parity drive to the array and gain another 1.5TB of space => and you'll then be able to either add additional drives as large as the new parity drive, or replace your old 1.5TB drives with the larger drives.    Note that any of these drive upgrades are not related to the hardware you're using -- so the only thing you'll actually be spending on the old hardware is the cost of a couple 2GB memory modules.

 

You can then install the Plex Docker and see if your specific system runs okay for a single stream or not.  If not, then you can decide what to do vis-à-vis upgrading to a more capable processor.    You could either go with a completely new setup; or you could spend $25-40 and bump up the CPU to a Core 2 Quad with a significantly higher PassMark that will easily handle Plex [e.g. for $25 you can get a Q9400 that scores 3429 on Passmark;  for $45 you can get a Q9550 that scores 4048].

 

Thanks for this, good advice.

 

The 4GB of RAM I can get access to that is closest to my existing 2x1GB dual-channel RAM (G.SKill F2-6400-CL4D) that I already have is the following:

 

G.Skill F2-6400CL5S-2GBNT 2GB RAM

 

Two modules of this would cost me about $80 getting me to 6GB total.

 

My concern is that it isn't dual-channel RAM (i.e. each 2GB module is stand-alone).

 

Would this still be ok to use and work well alongside the dual-channel RAM I already have in there?

 

[joefig44]

Scratch that last concern:  I just ordered the exact ram in the 2x2GB dual channel off ebay.

 

Wondering if maybe I should splurge for the Core2Quad CPU right now as well and do the whole hardware upgrade at once.

[garycase]

Scratch that last concern:  I just ordered the exact ram in the 2x2GB dual channel off ebay.

 

Wondering if maybe I should splurge for the Core2Quad CPU right now as well and do the whole hardware upgrade at once.

 

You certainly could just go ahead and upgrade the CPU if you want ... as I noted earlier, it's not very much to do that, and you may want to just do it all while you've got the case open.    [be sure to buy some thermal compound if you don't have any.]

 

By the way, r.e. your comment "... My concern is that it isn't dual-channel RAM ..."  ==>  there's no such thing as "dual channel RAM".    Dual channel is a mode of operation for the memory controller that's used when you have modules installed in both channels that it supports.    The individual modules are the same regardless of the operating mode.    When modules are sold in pairs as "dual channel" or in packs of 4 as "quad channel" that's purely marketing -- there's NO difference between when you get that way vs. just buying the modules independently.    As long as the modules have matching specs, they'll work just fine in dual channel mode.

 

[joefig44]

Good to know.

 

ANother question:  Am I going to have to manipulate the BIOS during the RAM and/or CPU upgrade thus requiring me to hookup the NAS to a monitor via view it through the unRaid web console?

 

It's just I have it in a closet right now and would have to get it all out and hook it up to my monitor if so.

 

Either way, have some time to do it as RAM won't arrive until mid-week and CPU likely even later if I decide to go that route.

 

Another question:

 

Thinking I'd go with a Q9650 CPU 3Ghz which I can get on eBay for about $130 shipped to me in Canada.  Seems like the fastest CPU for my mobo.

 

Would that and the 6GB RAM be enough to do what I want to do with it?

[garycase]

You shouldn't need a monitor/keyboard to upgrade the RAM -- although some systems require you to press a key to acknowledge that the amount of memory has changed.

 

Upgrading the CPU MAY be a bit more problematic.    Your E5200 was supported beginning with version 0410.  Depending on which specific Core 2 Quad you get, you may require a newer BIOS.    IF that's the case, you'll want to do the BIOS upgrade BEFORE you switch processors ... since you need to be able to boot to do the upgrade 

 

... Just checked, and the Q9650, as well as the Q9550 I had suggested above, are both supported as of 0410 => so those will be just fine.  There are a few Core 2 Quads that require either 1001 or 1004 (the latest) BIOS versions ... but as long as you get either a Q9550 or q Q9650 you'll be fine.

 

A Q9650 scores 4276 on PassMark, so it should be fine for what you've outlined ... and 6GB should be enough RAM.    Note that a Q9550, which scores 4048 on PassMark, should also be fine, and may be a good bit less than what you indicated for the 9650.

 

You'll probably need to enter the BIOS one time when you change the CPU -- but possibly not.    Just to be safe, I'd set up a monitor and keyboard while you update the memory and CPU.    While you have it open, I'd also replace the motherboard battery [probably a CR2032] ... a $2 item that is almost certainly ready for replacement.