Xeon or i7 for Plex

[Randommuch2010]

Evening all,

 

I'm currently running Plex from UnRAID and it streams to an Xbox One just fine, but when I open up a stream to an iPad, the CPU usage gets pinned at 95-100%. Keep in mind the CPU I currently have in it is complete trash, only a little A6-5400K APU.

 

I'm looking at upgrading over the next few months, and I may be able to go down the path of a 2011-3 socket build, where I'd be using one of the hexacore i7's. More likely, is I'll be going down the path of an 1151 socket build with either an i7 or Xeon chip. I'm just wondering if anyone has any real experience either side of this and has any useful information I'd be able to help me come to a decision with?

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[testdasi]

You would only want Xeon if you want to use ECC RAM. Otherwise, Skylake Xeon is basically non-Xeon with ECC capability.

 

Haswell-E is slightly different. You can use ECC RAM with ASRock motherboards so you don't actually need to get a Xeon. The 5820K would be an excellent choice but would be big overkill for 2 PLEX streams.

[interwebtech]

Or upgrade to A10-6800K (FM2 socket) and get passmark of 4904 for $130ish

 

Your current A6-5400K has a passmark of 2138 so better than double capacity.

[ashman70]

I don't agree that you must use ECC if you use a Xeon, its totally optional and not absolutely necessary IMO. ECC is a nice to have, not a need to have. So if you want to go with a Xeon, go ahead, you don't need ECC if you want to go with a Xeon.

[METDeath]

I've used non-ECC with my Xeon E5-2670 and ECC.

 

That said, if you can get away with just upgrading your CPU on your current build and have enough RAM, that's the cheaper option. Depending on your form factor you can also consider an upgrade a 970/990 board and get an FX-6300 for a decent price.

[testdasi]

Perhaps I wasn't too clear on my reply. My point was that there's no need to get Xeon if you don't need ECC. In fact, for Haswell-E you do NOT need Xeon to still have ECC. I thought it was very clear on my Haswell E example.

 

In other words, if you want ECC, you may or may not need a Xeon.

If you don't want ECC then there's no point getting a Xeon.

 

And I'm talking about homeusers type of scenario.

[ashman70]

See I don't agree with this statement 'If you don't want ECC then there's no point getting a Xeon' you can have a Xeon without ECC and your system will run perfectly fine a Xeon doesn't require ECC at all.

[Randommuch2010]

Okay so since ECC RAM would be just a way to blow money in my case, because nothing critical is running off it, best bet would be to go with the CPU upgrade for my current board? The case is a HAF XM so size isn't really anything to be concerned about as anything but dual socket boards fit in it with room to spare.

 

This upgrade may be enough to see me through for the next few years, I'm just concerned that because it will be running at full throttle basically whenever I use it, it might start to blow parts of the cheap motherboard I'm using. I've got excellent airflow through the case and I've already attached heat sinks to the MOSFETS and other parts of the power delivery to ensure they don't overheat.

 

Also, slightly off this topic, I have two spare RAID cards kicking around, an Adaptec  AAR-1430SA and a RocketRAID 2300. Anyone had any experience with UnRAID and these particular cards?

[JorgeB]

Adaptec works great with unRAID, make sure it has latest firmware if using >2TB disks.

[testdasi]

See I don't agree with this statement 'If you don't want ECC then there's no point getting a Xeon' you can have a Xeon without ECC and your system will run perfectly fine a Xeon doesn't require ECC at all.

So what's the benefit of a Xeon over and above an equivalent non-Xeon in the context of unRAID?

 

You can use a 4x4 exclusively in Manhattan. It will run perfectly fine.

But if you don't need to pull heavy weight and/or going off road then there's no point getting a 4x4 to only use it in Manhattan.

[interwebtech]

unRaid will run fine on a single core Sempron (I ran one for years on v5) if all you do is NAS stuff. Its the dockers and VMs that need horsepower. If all you are going to do is Plex then concentrate on CPU passmark score above all else.

[Randommuch2010]

Hmm, well if that's the case then I may drop back to a consumer-grade i7 6700 or possibly an i5 if money is tight. General consensus appears that the Xeon would be horrendous overkill for my uses.

 

Also, thanks for the input about the RAID card!

[mr-hexen]

For Plex, figure 2,200 passmarks per video transcode. Find the cpu that meets your stream criteria at your lowest cost.

[METDeath]

For Plex, figure 2,200 passmarks per video transcode. Find the cpu that meets your stream criteria at your lowest cost.

 

This, plus a little room to grow, so calculate at least one extra stream.

[tdallen]

I'm conservative, but I say start with a ~4,000 Passmark CPU to run unRAID and a single Plex 1080p stream.  Then add additional 1080p streams at 2,200 per.  You want some headroom and Plex likes lots of CPU depending on the format of your source material and capabilities of your players.

[StevenD]

Just go all in and get a dual Xeon setup!

[testdasi]

Dont push it too close. Treat unRAID overhead as 1 stream on its own. Trust me 4000 passmarks is minimum you need for 1 1080p PLEX stream. Been there, tried that.

[interwebtech]

Read the authority (below, my emphasis). Remote users eat most of my cpu. Depending on the source material, my own streaming takes very little transcoding as my clients can do direct play. So the more transcoding you will do (subtitles, phones, tablets, remote users, etc) the more cpu you will need. My point being a direct play stream will not take anywhere near 2000 passmarks. A 720P transcode to a remote user will take only 1500.

 

https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201774043-What-kind-of-CPU-do-I-need-for-my-Server-

 

Very roughly speaking, for a single full-transcode of a video, the following PassMark scores are a good guideline for a requirement:

1080p/10Mbps: 2000 PassMark

720p/4Mbps: 1500 PassMark

[testdasi]

Don't mean to be disrespectful but plex statement starts with "very roughly speaking".

It even ends with:

Warning!: This guideline should not be used as a concrete measurement. Instead, it can be used to help give you a rough idea of what you may require.

 

So I still stand by my statement i.e ."Don't push it too close".

I had the i7 920 which has 4996 passmarks and it ran at 75%-85% transcoding my 1080p stream.

That (simplistically in my mind) suggests 4000 is the minimum, taking into account overhead.

 

Certainly Plex was not the only thing so perhaps my overhead was a little high.

And certainly it might just be my stream was a little too demanding.

However, I don't think it's prudent to advise someone to strictly adhere to a guide that starts with "very roughly speaking", for which the writers later effectively say "don't hold me responsible if you follow my guide and your computer can't do it".

[interwebtech]

Don't mean to be disrespectful but plex statement starts with "very roughly speaking".

It even ends with:

Warning!: This guideline should not be used as a concrete measurement. Instead, it can be used to help give you a rough idea of what you may require.

 

So I still stand by my statement i.e ."Don't push it too close".

I had the i7 920 which has 4996 passmarks and it ran at 75%-85% transcoding my 1080p stream.

That (simplistically in my mind) suggests 4000 is the minimum, taking into account overhead.

 

Certainly Plex was not the only thing so perhaps my overhead was a little high.

And certainly it might just be my stream was a little too demanding.

However, I don't think it's prudent to advise someone to strictly adhere to a guide that starts with "very roughly speaking", for which the writers later effectively say "don't hold me responsible if you follow my guide and your computer can't do it".

 

My reply was not directed at you and in no way contradicted your assertions. I was merely giving more detail on how to determine your own individual use case. Doubling the recommendation is one way to do it.

 

My 8944 passmark handles multiple stream of all shapes and sizes (I've had as many as 3 remote and 1 local at the same time). Its my upload speed that stresses long before the CPU slows down.

[Randommuch2010]

Cool, so if I go off that, high end i5 or an i7 should do fine. I would consider overclocking but in something that's meant to be as reliable as possible, might give that a miss

 

Cheers for all your input, I'll have a look online and make a parts list.

[CHBMB]

I personally wouldn't entertain the idea of overclocking on an Unraid box.  The first aims should be.

 

1.  Stability

2.  Stability

and

3.  Stability

 

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Randommuch2010]

It was more of a thing to try than a long-term performance solution. PCCaseGear currently have a deal on for a Xeon E3-1230, MSI E3 Krait WS board and 16GB of HyperX for $599. Might give that a shot, seems cheap and would be a big leap from where I'm at now.

[00b5]

It was more of a thing to try than a long-term performance solution. PCCaseGear currently have a deal on for a Xeon E3-1230, MSI E3 Krait WS board and 16GB of HyperX for $599. Might give that a shot, seems cheap and would be a big leap from where I'm at now.

 

Regardless of what everyone thinks you need for the transcodes, that would be a major improvement:

 

Intel Xeon E3-1230 v3 @ 3.30GHz               9303

AMD A6-5400K APU                                       2138

 

Doubt you'll see cpu pegging for a transcode stream to your xbox & ipad anymore

 

Keep in mind, stream plex to something like a roku/etc often uses directstream, and doesn't have to transcode anything, so it can handle a lot more that way.

 

[Randommuch2010]

That's the other side ben fit I'm after. I'll have more power for future expansion and playing around with VMs as well.

 

Also beginning to look into some of Intel's server boards as getting an add-in Ethernet NIC and HBA card will cost me the same as the new board anyway.

 

Bring on dat expansion!