First build for plex / docker / virtualization: Ryzen 5 3600 vs Xeon E2650v2 SR1A8

andrewzah

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Aug 11, 2019
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Upon reading the forums and hardware recommendations, I initially settled upon something like the Xeon E5-2650 v2 SR1A8. However I started thinking about upgrade paths in the future and total power usage- so when I saw the ryzen lineup and x570m pro4 mobo it was really hard to ignore.

This server will live in the living room, so I want it to be as quiet as possible when just handling plex + a few docker containers.

What I want to be able to do:
(In general)
* Manage 6-8 4tb drives, which will eventually go to 8tb
* Plex stream to 2-4 streams at once with some transcoding, 1080p & 4k content, rarely HVEC 10bit
* run plenty of docker containers to house my various bots and long running programs + databases

(Sporadically)
* handle video rendering
* virtualize 5-15 bsd/windows/*nix VMs for tests (not living long term)
* offloading rust/nix work via remote compilation (i.e. building for different architectures with Nix)

The below items can also be viewed in this spreadsheet.

Tentative build for the Ryzen:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - 3.6Ghz/4.2Ghz 6-core 65W - $200 [Newegg]
Motherboard: ASRock X570M Pro4 AM4 MicroAtx - $185 [Newegg]
Memory: Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM CT16G4WFD8266 - $96x2 [Amazon]
Total: $1,114 per the spreadsheet, or $579 + $632 for the rest

Tentative build for the Xeon E5-2650v2 SR1A8:
CPU: Xeon E5-2650v2 2.6Ghz 20MB 8GT/s SR1A8 - $69 [Ebay]
Motherboard: SuperMicro X9SRL-F - $179 [Ebay]
Memory: Crucial 16gbx2 ddr3 1866Mhz PC3 - 14900 CL13 RDIMM ECC - $100
Total: $980 per the spreadsheet, or $348 + $632 for the rest

Shared Components:
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS Plus Series SSR-650FX 650W - $109 [Newegg]
Boot Drive: WD Black NVMe M.2 2280 250Gb PCI-Express 3.0 x4 SSD WDS250G2X0C - $70 [Newegg]
SSD Drives: SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series 2.5" 500GB - $87x2 [Newegg]
CPU Fan: Noctua NH-L12S 70mm Cpu Cooler - $50 [Amazon]
Intake Fans: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 120mm - $20x4 [Amazon]
Exhaust Fans: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 140mm - $22x2 [Amazon]
Case: Fractal Node 804 MicroAtx - $110 [Newegg]
UPS: APC BX1500M Back-UPS Pro 1500 VA 900 Watts - $164 [Newegg]
Total: $632 per the spreadsheet

Drives:
WD red 4tb hdd 5400rpm: WD40EFRX - $100 [Amazon]

Reasoning
Case: I don't have a strong preference for the node 804 vs a Fractal Design R6 or a Phanteks P600, but I like the dual compartments and bay capacity of the 804. I currently do not see a need beyond 8 storage drives.

Motherboard: Since the x570M Pro4 uses the AM4 socket, I should be able to upgrade to the next amd series of cpus as well. It allows up to 128GB ECC or Non-ECC memory. If I end up wanting 10gbe I would rather purchase a card than have it tied to the mobo.

CPU: 3.6Ghz for 6 cores at 65W is nice. $1,114 amd build - $980 xeon build = only $134 price difference.

Drives: It seems 4tb/drive still makes more sense than 8tb/drive price-wise right now. Probably will get 6 in one go, or 4 and 4.

Please let me know your thoughts and/or if I left something out. I am leaning towards the Ryzen but I'm not against going with a xeon/supermicro combo either.
 

Chris Moore

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Sorry, but you are spending your money on things you don't need.
Boot Drive: WD Black NVMe M.2 2280 250Gb PCI-Express 3.0 x4 SSD WDS250G2X0C
You don't need a fast boot drive. This is way overkill and wasted money. You can have a perfectly good server with a boot drive that costs $5.
You should absolutely be looking at hardware like this instead:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro-4U-CSE-846-24-Bay-SAS2-BP-w-X9DRi-F-2x-6-Core-E5-2620-2Ghz-IT-MODE/202743312268
You can get a whole system that can mount 24 hard drives (for future expansion) and only spend a little more than $400 for the main system and all you need to add is memory and hard drives. There is no need to spend for a Ryzen processor when you can have the whole system for about the cost of the system-board and CPU. That system I linked to only has 2Ghz processors (two of them) but they are six core each, so you have plenty of resources and you can always put a faster processor in it later if you think you need it.

I put together a couple of other build lists here that you might want to look at for an example:

https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/specific-build-components-list-up-to-32gb-ram.109/

https://www.ixsystems.com/community...anges-to-upgrade-as-high-as-512gb-of-ram.110/
 

Chris Moore

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maniyer

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Jun 26, 2019
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I'm no FreeNAS expert (just been playing with it on a VM), but I'm also going to build a system identical to your Ryzen specs, but I do agree on the boot disk. I'll be getting a couple of the Samsung Fit men sticks mirrored together and that should work just fine. Where I differ is that I want to test the extent of how much I can get working under FreeNAS in a small space. I don't have space in my house for a massive server. I want the Node 805, use the the 8 SATA ports on the X570M board, add the SYBA SIPEX40137 8 Port SATA III PCI-e x4 Controller Card so I can add another 8 SATA ports, also, since the board has x4x4 bifurcation, throw in a ASRock Quad M.2 Gen 3, also throw in M2S4C-4 PCI-e m.2 sata holder, and lastly for minimal video, a Zotac GeForce GT 710 1GB DDR3 PCIe x1. This all sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I'll be working with 3 or 4 pools and I will not be overlapping any of the normal drives with the SSDs, and of course I'll be going slow, testing and doing one thing at a time. Lets see how it all goes. With the NVMe and SATA cards, I will start with small 128GB sticks to test that it's all recognised and working smoothly, then upgrade them to larger 1-2TB sticks. I'm sure there will be a lot of stares at this, but I would be intrigued by everyones thoughts and pros and cons. I like to tests the limits of capacity in a small case, keep it clean and cool inside, the benefit of the 804 case being that it can hold a lot of fans and a lot of drives. I'll post more as my project grows.
 

andrewzah

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Aug 11, 2019
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If you go SAS for the drive controller, you might consider using these drives:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Di...-3-5-HDD-Warranty-until-Dec-2020/153501252538
Thanks for the heads up. Is something like this LSI 9210-8i any good?

You don't need a fast boot drive. This is way overkill and wasted money. You can have a perfectly good server with a boot drive that costs $5.
Fair enough, my goal was to not use up an ssd slot + sata connection. What are your thoughts on intel optanes?

You should absolutely be looking at hardware like this instead:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SuperMicro-4U-CSE-846-24-Bay-SAS2-BP-w-X9DRi-F-2x-6-Core-E5-2620-2Ghz-IT-MODE/202743312268
You can get a whole system that can mount 24 hard drives (for future expansion) and only spend a little more than $400 for the main system and all you need to add is memory and hard drives.
Unfortunately I can't go for a server rack due to both space and noise requirements. Hence the node 804 & quit noctua fans. With a sas controller for more drives + being able to upgrade to larger capacity drives in the future, this should be sustainable for a long time. I also am concerned about the potential power draw for dual xeons versus the 65W ryzen.

Thanks, I'll look through these as I make a revised comparison.

I'm sure there will be a lot of stares at this, but I would be intrigued by everyones thoughts and pros and cons.
It certainly is interesting, I'm interested in seeing future updates!
 

andrewzah

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I did end up going with the AMD build due to the lower TDP. I'll post an update later with the finalized hardware specs once all the components are in, and I've set up FreeNAS with everything. I just wanted to thank you all for the help, the amount of information here is staggering.
 

anmnz

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Feb 17, 2018
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I would be interested in actual power consumption measurements for this system, if you're able to do them.

(As pointed out many times on the forums, TDP tells you absolutely nothing about power consumption in practice and can actively mislead you -- real measurements are where it's at!)
 
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voyager529

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Jul 27, 2011
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That LSI controller controller is a good one, BUT...if it's the one I'm thinking of, it's got its own stupid CLI to configure it (as if we're all going to learn syntax for a RAID controller; there's no menu UI at a BIOS/preboot level); you're far better off connecting it to a Windows box once and use its Java application to set it to JBOD mode, and then you're golden.

Also, if you're trying to avoid the use of a SATA slot, PCIe to M.2 adapters are less than $20 on Newegg. Similarly, 120GB Inland SSDs are $20 at Microcenter or Amazon.
 
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maniyer

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Jun 26, 2019
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How is the setup running?
Any issues with the ASRock X570M Pro4?
I've read a lot of users are having issues with the Intel LAN port. Maybe that's a Windows issue, but wanted to check and see if you have experienced any issues.
 

andrewzah

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Aug 11, 2019
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How is the setup running?

No issues other than the challenge of routing all the power and sata cables through the split case. Going with the nvme ssd ended up being a great decision.

I have plex, nextcloud, sonarr, etc, running as jails and Portainer running in a Docker Host VM with Rancher.

I plan on doing a build/postbuild writeup once I get more time in the future.
 

maniyer

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Jun 26, 2019
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Very nice, thanks for the update. I look forwards to the final report.
 
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