BUILD Advise and Consent (like, you know, the Senate)

[cmfisher4]

Okay, folks, here's the build as I have it (advice request to follow):
Case: Fractal Design R4 Pearl (has 8 drive bays)
PSU: It's good (recommended on several other posts)
RAM: Crucial ECC 8GB (verified compatible with...)
Mobo: SM X9SCM-F-O (socket 1155)
Storage: 4x 3TB WD reds (two just ordered, other two pending question below)
CPU: Here in lies the ?
I am willing to pull the trigger on a Xeon, but I'm just not sure that I really want (need) to. I've read through the other build checks and I am pretty sure I can get away with just a Pentium that supports ECC (at about 1/3 of the price). For a Xeon, I would go with a E3-1230V2 (~$230) since it is hyperthreaded and supports AES. I may not need all that power and I don't currently intend to encrypt, but "If I'm going to ride (go Xeon), I'm going to ride a white horse," as the saying goes.
My question is, do you think I would be wasting my money when other posts that I've read tell me that I can pretty much get away with the most powerful Pentium that I can find that supports ECC (looks like a G2140)? I am going to mainly use the server, in my home, as a HD movie server intending to run the Plex plug-in (so it should be able to handle real-time DLNA duties). I do not foresee this primary mission ever changing (and am willing to pay the consequences if it does), but I want to be able to stream 1080p (4K eventually I guess, but I am a slow adopter of TV technology) without problem.
Right now, I would only stream to one other computer at a time, but my kids are only 7 and 10, so that may change in the reasonable life of this server (5+/- years) when they finally understand that they can stream movies to whatever device they want (ah, the innocence!)
Again, I am willing to spend the extra $$ for a Xeon, but if someone has experience with the Pentium (in whatever flavor) being able to handle this, I would appreciate it. Also, opinions, to me, matter. Please feel free to tell me what you would do in my situation.
Thanks again,
Chris

 

[DrKK]

Hi Chris.

You can, and probably should, consider the Pentium that fits this socket. I use the X10SLM board with the G3220, with a similar pool and use case to yours, and I have *NEVER* even cracked the barest load on my G3220 CPU for $60.

What is it, the G1610 for your socket? Do it.

 

[jyavenard]

I guess the question really comes down to: will you ever want to use encryption? If Yes: Xeon, if Not: Pentium

DrKK has a definite opinion when it comes down to encryption so for him it's a clear cut option :)

 

[cyberjock]

The 2 main factors for Pentium vs Xeon is encryption and Plex transcoding. If you plan(or think you might want) to use either of those someday, just get the Xeon. You seem to be interested in future-proof, and the Xeon is a solid choice for 5 years. If you choose to go with the Pentium you may have issues in the future. There's no way to predict loading of FreeNAS in the future or what plugins you might want to use that don't exist yet.

If in doubt and spending the money won't upset you, go with the Xeon. That's what I would do... and that's what I did do.

Now.. about the RAM. 8GB is a bit small for that size of a pool. I'd probably do 16GB to ensure you don't have performance problems later.

 

[cmfisher4]

Thanks, guys, for you input.
While I don't really ever see my need for encryption, I do foresee a time when I may use Plex to transcode so that I am not having to convert mkvs to mp4s for the damn XBOX and the other things that will come down the pike in the future. DrKK, do you use Plex to transcode (or at all) and, if so, does the Pentium handle it?

As for the RAM cyberjock, given that I currently have just a bit under 2GB of data to store and that the pool will build out to about 5.5GB, I figured 8GB would be enough to get me going without a performance hit. However, I do intend to order another 8GB stick (its on my Amazon wish list :)) after the pain from the financial punch from finishing the system out passes.

Again, thank you everyone. Gives me a warm fuzzy to have input from some of the smartest guys on here.
Chris

 

[JohnK]

I don't believe anyone will try transcoding with anything but a Xeon.
Personally I would stick my neck out and say that transcoding is a short term work around as more and more devices can play a bigger variety of formats, including MKVs. It might make more sense to change your front end player than to transcode to play media on your Xbox.
I use Openelec running on 3 Zotac AD12 and have no problem streaming anything at the same time using the Pentium processor. There are much cheaper ways of doing this (e.g. dlna on smart tv), but I like to keep a consistent experience for the wife acceptance factor.

 

[cyberjock]

I use transcoding because some of my videos are bitrates that are too high for 802.11g. So my cell phone will never be capable of playing them.

Some people own roku's which pretty much rely on converting movies to a codec that the relatively unimpressive CPU can handle. Mine is connected via ethernet, but some people use wifi. If they use wifi they may have a similar problem as my cell phone.

And what if your household has iphones and android? It's easy to convert to one format, but what if you have both?

For people like myself transcoding is the only way to be! I wouldn't change it nor do I expect there will ever be a good alternative. I did buy a Xeon knowing that it would be like this though.

 

[cmfisher4]

Bit the bullet (and am frantically thinking up a wife-approved excuse) and went with the Xeon E3-1230V2 (1155 socket). While I may never need the power, I probably will never know I didn't (ignorance is bliss). And, someday, it may become my desktop CPU since it looks like it is more powerful than my 2500K (that's a first for me where a "secondary" build is more powerful than my "primary" build). Same socket...maybe I'll backfit someday.
Thanks again for the discussion and advice...that's why I'm using FreeBSD even if I'm still a bit frightened by it. I am confident that when if the s^&t hits the fan, you guys will be here to help...and on short notice (given, of course, that I have, on good confidence, tried to follow your previous hardware recommendations and advice).
This also provides the excuse to upgrade the #2 son's computer to the i3 3220. He's running an old AMD 955 (trick-f^&k(d into a 3 core proc). He's only 7 and won't know any better (minecraft), but Daddy will!