I already have unraid, should I combine it with gaming rig?

[takkkkkkk]

I have an unraid on server that has ~20 3TB HDDs, with low wattage I5 and 36GB of memory, and then a gaming rig with 36GB, GTX780 and 4790k .

With the new GTX, I'm thinking about rebuilding my gaming rig, but then I thought may be I should get i9 / thread ripper  or dual E5-2667 and then combine the unraid server and the gaming pc. But that was really my enthusiast thinking, in reality, are there any point of doing this? Considering I already have dedicated unraid server, and is working fine, I don't know if I  necessary have to change it... I have couple users using unraid, so I didn't really want them trans-coding killing my gaming performance either. Also, I'm worried about power consumption.  my gaming rig is turned off every time I'm not using it, if I combine it with unraid server, it has to be on 24/7. I didn't need my wife blaming me for high hydro bills.

 

thoughts? May be I'm not being creative enough to think about advantages replacing the dedicated unraid server and sharing it with gaming rig

Edited September 18, 2018 by takkkkkkk

[testdasi]

17 minutes ago, takkkkkkk said:

But that was really my enthusiast thinking, in reality, are there any point of doing this?

I have couple users using unraid, so I didn't really want them trans-coding killing my gaming performance either.

if I combine it with unraid server, it has to be on 24/7. I didn't need my wife blaming me for high hydro bills.

So you basically have 3 questions.

1. Of course there's a point - which is to keep you happy.
   If you are really serious about your gaming and want the max performance possible at the highest detail level possible then you really want to separate your gaming PC from the unRAID server. The main reason is that most games benefit from high single-core performance and less so from high core count (which always comes with lower per-core clock). When you combine the server with the gaming PC, it's inevitable that gaming performance will drop (both average fps and consistency), even with all the tuning in the world. This is assuming your GPU won't be the bottleneck.
   If you are building a good all-purpose machine anyway, and/or if you are using a mainstream GPU (I'd say GTX 1070 or lower) then there's a point to add more horsepower to combine. unRAID versatility will enhance the all-purpose-ness. However, be aware that you are likely to face issues and frustrations setting things up and will need to do appropriate research. Some consider that part of the fun.
    
2. With sufficient cores + RAM and correct config, the 2 activities won't have any impact on each other.
    
3. The answer here is it's impossible to tell. Remember having a separate gaming PC means you have 2x motherboards, 2x RAM, 2x PSU, etc. none of which is 100% efficient. So theoretically, while gaming, you will use more power than a (hypothetical) combined system. On the flip side, a combined system may run 24/7 which theoretically consumes more power (how much more depends on the power consumption profile of your hardware, mitigated by how much of it idles during the 24/7). I simplify this by considering both net each other off i.e. any increase (or decrease) in electricity bill will happen regardless if you are running 2 separate PCs and a combined unRAID build.