New X11SSM-F build

[gagna]

Hi all

After a while I'm starting my new build:
Motherboard: Supermicro X11SSM-F
CPU: Xeon E3-1275v6 3.8GHz
RAM: 2 x Samsung M391A2K43BB1, 16GB ECC RAM
PSU: EVGA G2 1300W, 80+ Gold Modular TX ( already have )
Storage: ?

I will use it mainly for storage, torrent and plex, I expect to use a lot of jails
I know g4560 isn't suitable for transcoding 4K so in the future I would like to replace it with the Xeon e3-1230v6 or something similar, suggestion?
What would be the right PSU for this configuration? Case suggestion?

Thank you in advance

Edit: replaced CPU Intel Pentium G4560 (Kaby Lake) 3.5GHz
Added 16gb of same ram

 

[JohnDigital]

1300w is overkill, a good 500 will be plenty but if you have it already go for it. I think you'll be fine with this rig. Im running a similar X10 machine and love it. Fractal cases are my favorite.

 

[Chris Moore]

I expect to use a lot of jails

You might want to have more memory for that.

I know g4560 isn't suitable for transcoding 4K

https://www.cnet.com/news/why-ultra-hd-4k-tvs-are-still-stupid/

What would be the right PSU for this configuration?

The one you have is a bit over large, but it won't hurt anything. Here is a link to a guide:

Proper Power Supply Sizing Guidance
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/

Case suggestion?

I like the Fractal Design Define R6 because it has room to work in and good air-flow and it is quiet with a dust filter. It has all kinds of good things going for it.

 

[Yorick]

I know g4560 isn't suitable for transcoding 4K so in the future I would like to replace it with the Xeon e3-1230v6 or something similar, suggestion?

The 1230v6 will handle one 4K transcode. A 1225v6 may be a future option because you could do hw transcode, I’d keep an eye on how that support develops in FreeNAS.

You’ll only need the transcode when playing a 4K file on a non-4K device, obviously. Streaming to a 4K HDR TV does not transcode.

And while snarking about 4k and the human eye is fun, HDR on an oled screen is glorious. 4k just happens to come with that package - as that article also points out.

 

[Chris Moore]

And while snarking about 4k and the human eye is fun, HDR on an oled screen is glorious. 4k just happens to come with that package - as that article also points out.

I have an HDR 4K TV. It looks great, but from a normal viewing distance, it is not possible for me to tell the difference between 1080p content and 4K content. I do wear glasses so I don't claim to be the final word on what anyone else might be able to see.

 

[Yorick]

I have an OLED HDR TV, and I can tell the difference between HDR and non-HDR, very much so. Shadow and light look much more like they do when "out and about". The difference between 4k and 1080p, I can't tell.

HDR is the point; 4k just comes along for the ride.

 

[gagna]

Thank you all for the answers,

I found one Xeon e3-1245v6 at a good price so I bought that one.

 

[glauco]

My build is almost identical to yours!
As you have pointed out, the Pentium G4560 isn't powerful enough to transcode 4K. As others have mentioned, watching Full HD content on a 4K TV looks just as good. If that is the only reason why you would go for a more powerful CPU, I'd stick with the cheap G4560. If you can afford it, though, why not go for a more muscular Xeon? You never know when you might need more muscle!
16GB of RAM is ok for my light usage: storage + the following jails: nginx reverse proxy, emby, nextcloud, unifi controller, transmission, test.
Storage: if I were to pick my drives today, I would go for 6 1TB SSDs because they're silent and I don't need much capacity.

 

[gagna]

My build is almost identical to yours!
As you have pointed out, the Pentium G4560 isn't powerful enough to transcode 4K. As others have mentioned, watching Full HD content on a 4K TV looks just as good. If that is the only reason why you would go for a more powerful CPU, I'd stick with the cheap G4560. If you can afford it, though, why not go for a more muscular Xeon? You never know when you might need more muscle!
16GB of RAM is ok for my light usage: storage + the following jails: nginx reverse proxy, emby, nextcloud, unifi controller, transmission, test.
Storage: if I were to pick my drives today, I would go for 6 1TB SSDs because they're silent and I don't need much capacity.

Grazie Glauco

 

[PhiloEpisteme]

I like the Fractal Design Define R6 because it has room to work in and good air-flow and it is quiet with a dust filter. It has all kinds of good things going for it.

+1 on the Fractal Design Define R6. It'll fit 11 HDD without any modification but requires additional HDD trays. With a cheap expansion slow bracket it can easily accommodate 12 HDD.

I will note though that the HDD trays required to get to 12 drives can sometimes go out of stock. I emailed Fractal Design about this recently and was told they expected to be out of stock for ~2 months. I ended up buying the trays off ebay from someone in Italy so I could get my build running. They sell in packs of two so unless you find a single on sale somewhere you'll end up with an extra one lying around.

I'll probably move my system to a supermicro chassis at some point, at which time I'll repurpose the Define R6 for a flight sim machine.