Processor Upgrade, recommended Xeon?

[nojohnny101]

Hello,
Here is my current hardware:
ASRock C226M WS Micro ATX
Intel Pentium G3258 Dual-Core 3.2GHz
Kingston DDR3 ECC Unbuffered (KVR16E11/8) 8gb x 4
Seagate NAS 3.5" 3TB x 6 (raidz2)
Sandisk Cruzer CZ33 16gb x 2 (mirrored) for boot
SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular Plus Gold
Fractal Node 804
Noctua NF-F12 PWM (intake) & Noctua 140MM Premium Quiet (exhaust)
APC BR1000G 1000VA UPS
FreeNAS-11.0-U4 (54848d13b)

As per ASRock's website, here is the supported CPUs for the board:

Supports Intel® Xeon® E3-1200 v3/v4* and 5th/4th Generation Core™ i7/i5/i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors (Socket 1150)
- Supports Hyper-Threading Technology
- Supports Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology

*BIOS version 2.0 or above is required

**HDMI only works with certain Intel® E3 v3 CPUs(E3-1276 v3 /E3-1246 v3 /E3-1226v3 /E3-1275L v3 /E3-1286 v3/E3-1286L v3)

***Haswell i5/i7 processor support is an extended advantage provided by ASRock Rack. It is out of warranty; user's discretion is required.
Socket - Single socket H3 (LGA1150)
Chipset - Intel® C226

I am looking to upgrade my processor. I want more cores so I can transcode more media files (plex). I know sharing (SMB) benefits from higher clock speed but I am the only person that access the shares, so I don't think a downgrade in clock speed that would come with upgrading to a Xeon will make much of a difference.

I'm a bit lost on all the options and was hoping someone could make some recommendations. I am absolutely budget conscious so I don't need the top of the line, but I also don't want the lowest upgrade possible. I know the board is a bit limited in selection, but I am not upgrading the motherboard.

If I remember reading correctly, there isn't much value to be gained from going to the v4 from the v3, is that correct?

Thank you!

 

[Stux]

Get a Xeon E3-1230v4

Best bang for buck. Quad core hyperthreading.

Update your bios before upgrading.

 

[Chris Moore]

It might be less expensive to buy a board like mine complete with CPU and RAM than just to buy the CPU for your model system.

Code:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TESTED-Super-Micro-X9SCM-F-Motherboard-w-E97379-001-Heatsink-I-O-Shield/232430611431	   --  $$90
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Apple-Hynix-32GB-4x8GB-1866MHz-DDR3-ECC-Memory-for-Late-2013-Mac-Pro/272830002042  --  $180
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-E3-1230V2-CPU-3-30-ghz-SR0P4/232591059572									   --  $97

 

[nojohnny101]

@Stux thanks for the recommendation. That seems to be a hard processor to find. V3 and v5 are everywhere. Much of a difference besides price?

@Chris Moore I will check out your listings thanks!

 

[Chris Moore]

That seems to be a hard processor to find. V3 and v5 are everywhere. Much of a difference besides price?

I am actually running the v1 revision of that processor, even older than the one I suggested, and I can transcode three streams easily.
Last night, I was running an rsync task between two pools in my server to backup data from my main pool to my backup pool and playing a stream on my 4k TV. The processor utilization was between 80 and 90% but there was never a glitch in the playback. That backup process between pools is the most resource intense thing my server does. Just playing videos on Plex, I have only gotten the CPU up to around 50% and that is with four streams going at once.

 

[Stux]

@Stux thanks for the recommendation. That seems to be a hard processor to find. V3 and v5 are everywhere. Much of a difference besides price?

Don’t think v5 will work in your system. V3 is just a little bit slower, and uses slightly more power than v4 (haswell vs broadwell). Only real difference is TSX memory, which doesn’t matter to you I’m sure.

 

[nojohnny101]

I am actually running the v1 revision of that processor, even older than the one I suggested, and I can transcode three streams easily.
Last night, I was running an rsync task between two pools in my server to backup data from my main pool to my backup pool and playing a stream on my 4k TV. The processor utilization was between 80 and 90% but there was never a glitch in the playback. That backup process between pools is the most resource intense thing my server does. Just playing videos on Plex, I have only gotten the CPU up to around 50% and that is with four streams going at once.

I believe it. That's what I'm looking forward to, considering I'm coming from a dual core G3258, a xeon is going to blow it out of the water no matter what version it is. Thanks for sharing that though.

Don’t think v5 will work in your system. V3 is just a little bit slower, and uses slightly more power than v4 (haswell vs broadwell). Only real difference is TSX memory, which doesn’t matter to you I’m sure.

You're correct, v5 won't work. I think I'm going to go with a v3. I am currently bidding on a a e-1240v3 on eBay and might get it for $145, which seems like a pretty good deal to me.

 

[nojohnny101]

Thanks everyone for the help. I needed up going with the Xeon e3-1240 v3. Since it is the processor only, I have to get a cooler. I might try the Noctua NH-L9I, as it works with the processor but we'll have to see with my board.