Hello Everyone,
I'm currently planning out my first FreeNAS build. I've built several general purpose and gaming computers in the past and am enjoying learning more about what hardware makes a great NAS. I'm attempting to build something as silent as possible and am hoping to get some advice on which processor might best suit my needs. I appreciate limiting my choices in processors to low TDP isn't ideal but unfortunately I live in a one bedroom condo and this build will sit in my living room. I am an audiophile at heart so any fan noise needs to be avoided at all costs.
This build will serve dual function as NAS and media server. I intend on using Plex for video needs which represents the heaviest of potential workloads on the build. Additionally it will be used to host lossless audio file, photos, and general work documents. If all goes well I will also set up the unit for Time Machine backups for our Macbook Pro and Mac Mini. We only have two people in our household so overall traffic on the system will be low and at most we would see two video files being transcoded at the same time.
Considering the limitation on noise generation I want to passively cool the CPU which limits us to a TDP of 45w or below. These are the CPUs I identified:
Xeon E3-1235Lv5 (multi core passmark 6000+)
Xeon E3-1240Lv5 (multi core passmark 8000+)
Xeon E3-1260Lv5 (multi core passmark 8000+)
Plex indicates that you basically need a passmark score of 2000 for each 1080p file transcode happening at once (which represents the heaviest type of workload I anticipate for the build). Considering all three processors have enough headroom to potentially serve more than 2 transcodes at once it seems all three CPUs would be adequate. In a dream world it would support 4k transcoding but I don't think that's possible with the limitations I have on TDP.
I'm leaning towards the E3-1235Lv5 considering it is more affordable and has the lowest TDP. It's also unique in the sense it's the only one of the three that has P530 embedded graphics. My understanding is that the embedded graphics supports Intel Quick Sync Video which is Plex supported and optimized for transcoding, potentially outperforming the other two processors in this type of task.
Am I on the right track here? Any alternative suggestions that I haven't considered?
I'm currently planning out my first FreeNAS build. I've built several general purpose and gaming computers in the past and am enjoying learning more about what hardware makes a great NAS. I'm attempting to build something as silent as possible and am hoping to get some advice on which processor might best suit my needs. I appreciate limiting my choices in processors to low TDP isn't ideal but unfortunately I live in a one bedroom condo and this build will sit in my living room. I am an audiophile at heart so any fan noise needs to be avoided at all costs.
This build will serve dual function as NAS and media server. I intend on using Plex for video needs which represents the heaviest of potential workloads on the build. Additionally it will be used to host lossless audio file, photos, and general work documents. If all goes well I will also set up the unit for Time Machine backups for our Macbook Pro and Mac Mini. We only have two people in our household so overall traffic on the system will be low and at most we would see two video files being transcoded at the same time.
Considering the limitation on noise generation I want to passively cool the CPU which limits us to a TDP of 45w or below. These are the CPUs I identified:
Xeon E3-1235Lv5 (multi core passmark 6000+)
Xeon E3-1240Lv5 (multi core passmark 8000+)
Xeon E3-1260Lv5 (multi core passmark 8000+)
Plex indicates that you basically need a passmark score of 2000 for each 1080p file transcode happening at once (which represents the heaviest type of workload I anticipate for the build). Considering all three processors have enough headroom to potentially serve more than 2 transcodes at once it seems all three CPUs would be adequate. In a dream world it would support 4k transcoding but I don't think that's possible with the limitations I have on TDP.
I'm leaning towards the E3-1235Lv5 considering it is more affordable and has the lowest TDP. It's also unique in the sense it's the only one of the three that has P530 embedded graphics. My understanding is that the embedded graphics supports Intel Quick Sync Video which is Plex supported and optimized for transcoding, potentially outperforming the other two processors in this type of task.
Am I on the right track here? Any alternative suggestions that I haven't considered?