Help choosing CPU cooler

[Ejay8400]

What does the os think the temps are? Use sysctl -a | grep -i temp from the freenas cli.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Will check out this when i get home.

Thanks for providing the "top" data, it's illuminating.

So it looks like Plex is doing a number on your system and odds are that your thermals are correct for the load you are putting on your system. A larger heatsink will help but likely not by much because you are pushing the CPU to the maximum. If you only want to make a heatsink change then get the one previously recommended, I trust these folks here who recommended it.

I think you need to start looking into your transcoding settings or the format of your media, or both.

Questions you might want to provide answers on to assist in some further advice:

1) What are the four devices that you are running Plex on the TV (target) side? Are they TVs (what models), are they Roku's (what models), you get the point. I'm looking for the device which has Plex on it.
2) What resolution do you have the targets set for in Plex?
3) What are the transcoding settings in the host (FreeNAS) Plex?
4) What is the format of the media you are sharing with Plex? (This is very important)

I suspect you have your settings pretty high and maybe you could relax them a bit or the media is something like BluRay material and the format needs to be seriously transcoded.

Some advice on the media. When I place media on my FreeNAS for Plex or DLNA use, I convert the data into a format which my devices can natively use, or no transcoding required and all video stuff happens in the Roku 3 before it hits my TV. All my media is in an MP4 container (H.264 format) and all my devices can handle that format directly. This works for my situation and maybe it could help you.

1) I was running all 4 on my laptop through the web player. But at other times I may play on Chromecast and Xbox One.
2) This test I set up to transcode from 1080p to 720p + subtitles. I think the subltitles for some reason takes a lot of CPU power.
3) Here you got my settings for transcoding in Plex:

Not really set to anything high, the background transcoding option still have 2 higher settings to go.

4) Most of what I have on my Plex is in Mkv or mp4 (because of subtitles embeded in it). All is x264.
I know I could convert all my video files so they could do direct play on my server, but that would defeat the entire purpose of buying a server with some power to it just for my media library + it would take so much more time to convert 1000 movies and 3500 tv episodes than it is worth(including the strain on my laptop)
Here is the info from Plex on the video file I did the testing with:

Edit:

So we can say that Plex(and the media) is the problem and not something wrong with the CPU itself? (thinking if there is any point in getting it replaced, is a hassle to replece it and probably takes a month+ to get a replacement after i send it)
Also, if im putting on the new CPU fan

 

[SweetAndLow]

I don't think it's Plex but that's just one opinion and I could be wrong. What are the exact temps of your drives?

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[Ejay8400]

I don't think it's Plex but that's just one opinion and I could be wrong. What are the exact temps of your drives?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

I did a little overview on temperatures recorden in the IPMI in post #35 and #37
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/help-choosing-cpu-cooler.45374/page-2#post-307163

Will also do a check in the OS when I get back home.

 

[Stux]

Thanks for providing the "top" data, it's illuminating.

So it looks like Plex is doing a number on your system and odds are that your thermals are correct for the load you are putting on your system. A larger heatsink will help but likely not by much because you are pushing the CPU to the maximum. If you only want to make a heatsink change then get the one previously recommended, I trust these folks here who recommended it.

I think you need to start looking into your transcoding settings or the format of your media, or both.

Questions you might want to provide answers on to assist in some further advice:

1) What are the four devices that you are running Plex on the TV (target) side? Are they TVs (what models), are they Roku's (what models), you get the point. I'm looking for the device which has Plex on it.
2) What resolution do you have the targets set for in Plex?
3) What are the transcoding settings in the host (FreeNAS) Plex?
4) What is the format of the media you are sharing with Plex? (This is very important)

I suspect you have your settings pretty high and maybe you could relax them a bit or the media is something like BluRay material and the format needs to be seriously transcoded.

Some advice on the media. When I place media on my FreeNAS for Plex or DLNA use, I convert the data into a format which my devices can natively use, or no transcoding required and all video stuff happens in the Roku 3 before it hits my TV. All my media is in an MP4 container (H.264 format) and all my devices can handle that format directly. This works for my situation and maybe it could help you.

When Plex is burning subtitles it requires a full heavy transcode. It's a good stress test.

The problem I saw was one stream was using 75% of the CPU. So obviously 4 would use 100%. Which just indicates the box is underpowered. Could be thermal throttling too

Cooling needs to be adequate for that scenario. It's a good test.

 

[Stux]

Will check out this when i get home.




1) I was running all 4 on my laptop through the web player. But at other times I may play on Chromecast and Xbox One.
2) This test I set up to transcode from 1080p to 720p + subtitles. I think the subltitles for some reason takes a lot of CPU power.
3) Here you got my settings for transcoding in Plex:

Not really set to anything high, the background transcoding option still have 2 higher settings to go.

4) Most of what I have on my Plex is in Mkv or mp4 (because of subtitles embeded in it). All is x264.
I know I could convert all my video files so they could do direct play on my server, but that would defeat the entire purpose of buying a server with some power to it just for my media library + it would take so much more time to convert 1000 movies and 3500 tv episodes than it is worth(including the strain on my laptop)
Here is the info from Plex on the video file I did the testing with:

Edit:

So we can say that Plex(and the media) is the problem and not something wrong with the CPU itself? (thinking if there is any point in getting it replaced, is a hassle to replece it and probably takes a month+ to get a replacement after i send it)
Also, if im putting on the new CPU fan

No. Plex is not the problem. Plex is just triggering the problem.

Your hardware should not burn up when you run Plex.

Maybe the better cooler is the way.

I'm happy with my Noctua cooler :)

 

[Ejay8400]

When Plex is burning subtitles it requires a full heavy transcode. It's a good stress test.

The problem I saw was one stream was using 75% of the CPU. So obviously 4 would use 100%. Which just indicates the box is underpowered. Could be thermal throttling too

Cooling needs to be adequate for that scenario. It's a good test.

So you mean the Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5 Skylake is underpowered? or that it is performin less than it should?
"Could be thermal throttling too. Cooling needs to be adequate for that scenario. It's a good test." How would I figure this out?

I have the "Cooler Master Hyper 212X" ready to be installed at home, just wanted to make sure I got everything tested as needed first. ( CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO was recomended here, the 212X is the newset edition of it and it was exactly the same price on both of them here)

 

[Stux]

So you mean the Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5 Skylake is underpowered? or that it is performin less than it should?
"Could be thermal throttling too. Cooling needs to be adequate for that scenario. It's a good test." How would I figure this out?

I have the "Cooler Master Hyper 212X" ready to be installed at home, just wanted to make sure I got everything tested as needed first. ( CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO was recomended here, the 212X is the newset edition of it and it was exactly the same price on both of them here)

Forgive me if I'm wrong, I haven't re-read this thread, but I thought your issue was your CPU spiking to 100C

At 100C your CPU will probably throttle. It won't be running at full speed.

Put the cooler on. Retest.

 

[Ejay8400]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, I haven't re-read this thread, but I thought your issue was your CPU spiking to 100C

At 100C your CPU will probably throttle. It won't be running at full speed.

Put the cooler on. Retest.

Yes it spiked and have gotten some throttles, even if it's about 2 weeks since that happened. Tho it should never happen.

Then I will get back to building when I get back home. Thank

 

[Stux]

And this illustrates how CPU demanding Plex can be (for those that don't believe it). Just 4 720p streams with subtitles will bring an e3-1230v5 to its knees ;)

 

[Ejay8400]

Alright, so I installed the new CPU fan without any trouble.

Some readings for you first:

Fan speed at full speed when idle (CPU fan at FAN1):

Fan speed at optimal when idle:

Temperatures when idle and full speed:

Stress test with 4 videos transcoding from 1080p to 720p with subtitles:
temperatures after 5 minutes:

It jumped around a bit between 40c and 54c

Also adding the voltage sensors from when i did the stress test, in case it may have some meaning:

Also took 3 photos of the fan after it was installed, sorry for the scetchy quality of the pictures.

Show : pictures

Also did some readings from the OS:

At idle with fans on full speed:

Stess test with 4 videos transcoding from 1080p to 720p with subtitles for about 5 minutes:

 

[SweetAndLow]

These temps seen way better and normal. Sorry we lead you down some random paths. Usually the stock coolers work perfectly fine. I use a e3-1230 with a stock cooler in my gaming PC and have no issues with temps.

Glad to see things are better!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Ejay8400]

These temps seen way better and normal. Sorry we lead you down some random paths. Usually the stock coolers work perfectly fine. I use a e3-1230 with a stock cooler in my gaming PC and have no issues with temps.

Glad to see things are better!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

This is how I have learned most of my knowledge of servers, so at least I learn something going through all of it!

Hope these numbers keep stable and doesn't make any trouble now ;)

 

[joeschmuck]

Nice CPU Temps with the new cooler. Yea, normally the Intel stock cooler does a very good job so maybe there is just something with it like it's not the right shape (they are not perfectly flat) or the thermal grease was from a bad batch. I'm going to have to look up the cooler you bought just so I can see what it is.

Were the temps with the side of the case still open? Curious what they will be once you close it all up. I would expect them to go up a little but not much if you have good air flow.

 

[Mirfster]

Glad your temps are looking okay. But I am still pondering the Intel stock cooler... Either way as long as you are cool that is what really matters.

 

[Jailer]

The stock Intel cooler works ok for most normal loads. When you start pounding it with video encoding it's not up to par. I've seen temps in the low 70's C with mine when I used a Vbox VM to handle my video transcodes so @Ejay8400 temps are not out of the ordinary. I was on the fence about getting a new cooler as well but since then I've built a new desktop and use that for encoding so there's no need for a new CPU cooler on the server now.

One thing you might want to keep en eye on is system temps. With the stock cooler no longer in place you don't have much airflow over the CPU VRM circuitry and it may get a little warm.

 

[Ejay8400]

Nice CPU Temps with the new cooler. Yea, normally the Intel stock cooler does a very good job so maybe there is just something with it like it's not the right shape (they are not perfectly flat) or the thermal grease was from a bad batch. I'm going to have to look up the cooler you bought just so I can see what it is.

Were the temps with the side of the case still open? Curious what they will be once you close it all up. I would expect them to go up a little but not much if you have good air flow.

Yes, something must have been bad on this one.
All the reports I did above is with the cabinet closed off, so it gets good airflow
Also noticed it is much much more quiet than the intel fan.

The stock Intel cooler works ok for most normal loads. When you start pounding it with video encoding it's not up to par. I've seen temps in the low 70's C with mine when I used a Vbox VM to handle my video transcodes so @Ejay8400 temps are not out of the ordinary. I was on the fence about getting a new cooler as well but since then I've built a new desktop and use that for encoding so there's no need for a new CPU cooler on the server now.

One thing you might want to keep en eye on is system temps. With the stock cooler no longer in place you don't have much airflow over the CPU VRM circuitry and it may get a little warm.

Yes, did notice the VRM temp got higer than before, will see if I add some more fans to the build later on.

So, is there anything left to do that could improve anything on my build?