Help Me Spend $2,500 to Upgrade My Server Before the End of 2019!


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I'm doing an end of year upgrade to my server that is partial used for business purposes (hence getting the expense in for 2019) and I've got $2500 to spend.

 

Required Performance/Improvements

 

1. Ability to transcode 4k for remote playback.

2. Support for Virtual Machines and Remote VPS Servers

3. Ability to add on functionality for remote file server with multiple users like  NextCloud or something.

4. Increased storage. Will be loading up with a lot more 4k content. 

5. Optional: Improved file redundancy. 

 

CURRENT SPECS
 

Motherboard: Gigabyte F2A88XM-D3H

CPU: AMD A8-5500 APU w/ Radeon™ HD Graphics @ 3200
Ram: 8GB
PS: CX430M
Cache Drives: 2x Samsung 850 500gb SSDs
Array Drives: 6x 8TB WD80E (5 Disk + 1 Parity | 9.31TB of 30.7TB Free) 

Notes:
 

  • Hard drive bays are full
  • Was thinking of starting the process of upgrading to 12tb drives
  • Would like to keep the case if possible. 
  • Would like to offload 4k transcoding to GPU or QuickSync CPU (don't want the CPU overloaded if someone is streaming transcoded 4k)
  • Motherboard upgrade necessary?
  • Non work video playback is all through Plex.

 

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Edited by cypres0099
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My research is pointing me toward a Intel Core i5-7600K Kaby Lake Quad-Core 3.8 GHz. It's got Quick Sync Video that should be able to take the CPU load of of 4K h264/265.  Am I on the right track here?

Will need to get a new motherboard. 

 

Edit: Or maybe the Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake 6-Core 3.6 GHz?

Edited by cypres0099
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4 hours ago, BRiT said:

As to hardware upgrades, the best performance for the money seems to be on the AMD CPU side.


My understanding is that AMD processors don’t have hardware transcoding for 4K h264/265 like the intel Quick Sync Video compatible processors. Is that right or is there an AMD equivalent?

 

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Ok, so according to this thread  post 2015 CPUs in general (not just Intel QSV processors) can handle 4K h265 much better than in the past. So it takes only a 8000 passmark score to transcode 4k h265 with most recent CPUs.

 

I hope I'm correct in my evaluation?

 

Since this no longer locks me into an Intel chip here's what I'm now thinking.

 

AMD RYZEN 9 3900X (31,930 passmark)

ASRock Fatal1ty X370 (This gives me 10 SATA ports in case I need 2 extra in the future)

How does this combo look?

Ok for 4k and Virtual Machines?
Any Ram recommendations?

430w Power Supply ok?

EDIT:
 

For RAM maybe...

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200

 

Gives the option to upgrade to the motherboard max of 64gb if needed. 

Edited by cypres0099
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On 12/23/2019 at 6:03 PM, cypres0099 said:

AMD RYZEN 9 3900X (31,930 passmark)

ASRock Fatal1ty X370 (This gives me 10 SATA ports in case I need 2 extra in the future)

This combination is most likely not compatible out of the box, you will need an older AM4-CPU to upgrade the bios or you ask your dealer to flash the bios for you.

As for memory I would recommend this kit: https://www.newegg.com/ballistix-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820164110

Edited by SignorRossi
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On 12/28/2019 at 11:13 AM, SignorRossi said:

This combination is most likely not compatible out of the box, you will need an older AM4-CPU to upgrade the bios or you ask your dealer to flash the bios for you.

As for memory I would recommend this kit: https://www.newegg.com/ballistix-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820164110

Oh shoot. I already ordered it. Stuff started arriving today. Is there something in the description that would have alerted me that it’s not compatible?

 

i don’t have another AM4 processor. 

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On 12/31/2019 at 7:42 AM, klipp01 said:

https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-100

AMD has a loaner program.
 

 

Thanks for the suggestion. If I wasn't trying to get it up and running quickly, I'd try it out.

 

I just installed the MB, Ryzen 3900x, and RAM this afternoon with an old PCIe graphics card. I thought there was a chance that the motherboard had come with the 5.3 bios from the factory since the update was released in July. Unfortunately there's no way to tell.

 

The computer won't post and get stuck in a boot loop. Starts up for 20 seconds (no video output) then resets and starts up again. 

 

I don't know if this is due to the 3900x not being compatible or if there's another problem. Maybe the ram? It's not listed on the official asrock compatibility list. 

 

I've ordered a Ryzen 3 that is compatible with all bios of this motherboard so that I can update the bios if that's the problem. But I'm not sure that it is.

 

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You know those times when you want to throw your computer against the wall and light it on fire? That's been my experience the last 24 hours. 

Newegg was supposed to have their ASrock x370 boards updated to the new bios by ASrock, but apparently mine slipped through the cracks. So my board had a bios that was not compatible with Ryzen 9. But it took hours of troubleshooting to rule out other things first. After calling 6 computer repair shops in town, I found one who had an old beater Ryzen in the shop specifically for upgrading bios for series 3 ryzens.

 

So now everything is back up and running EXCEPT my plex server has decided to become invisible. Clicking on the Webui link on the docker takes me to a "Page Not Found". Clients can't find the server either. No idea what caused it and no idea how to fix it.

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