I'm looking for some feedback on which direction I should head with upgrades mainly to improve Plex transcoding. My current setup can barely get away with one transcode at time, if anything else wants the proc while a transcode is happening it chokes up.
I currently am running on a consumer setup, I3-550, 16GB RAM, Fractal Designs R4, 6x WD Red 3TB raidz2, Corsair CX430, USB thumb drive boot.
I am thinking about swapping to;
I'm guessing that this setup should be able to handle 4-5 simultaneous transcodes easily, which is my goal, but want to know what y'all think about my choice in hardware. I'm trying to get this done as cheaply as possible but want to be sure that I'm not gonna pay more than the difference in energy cost or headaches.
Since most of the time the server is idle, I'm guessing that the energy usage would be similar to what I am dealing with now. At idle (non-transcoding workloads) I am drawing ~75 watts, loaded (transcoding) ~110 watts. Is my assumption that the setup above would be similar on base? Am I better off coughing up some more money upfront for something new and more efficient?
I'm hoping to be able to run the above hardware for ~5 years. Is that expectation reasonable given that the proc and memory are server pulls that I am guessing would have already seen a few years service?
I've read that USB boot can be flaky and am thinking I may have a drive, SSD or spinning, laying around that I could use and if not I may look at either used SuperDOM or cheap new small SSD whichever I can find cheaper. I also know that my PS is on the lower end, but it has served me well. Given that the PS has been working, do y'all think it should fly as is?
Beside the questions above, does anyone see any other pitfalls with my proposed setup or any way to save some more money?
Thanks for looking and any feedback. I appreciate it!
edit: corrected current power consumption
I currently am running on a consumer setup, I3-550, 16GB RAM, Fractal Designs R4, 6x WD Red 3TB raidz2, Corsair CX430, USB thumb drive boot.
I am thinking about swapping to;
- Supermicro X9SRL-F - new (haven't found used X9 for much cheaper) - ebay - $270
- Xeon E5-2650 - used - ebay - $40
- 4x 8GB 1.35v DDR-1600R - used - ebay - $80 (on Supermicro's approved list)
I'm guessing that this setup should be able to handle 4-5 simultaneous transcodes easily, which is my goal, but want to know what y'all think about my choice in hardware. I'm trying to get this done as cheaply as possible but want to be sure that I'm not gonna pay more than the difference in energy cost or headaches.
Since most of the time the server is idle, I'm guessing that the energy usage would be similar to what I am dealing with now. At idle (non-transcoding workloads) I am drawing ~75 watts, loaded (transcoding) ~110 watts. Is my assumption that the setup above would be similar on base? Am I better off coughing up some more money upfront for something new and more efficient?
I'm hoping to be able to run the above hardware for ~5 years. Is that expectation reasonable given that the proc and memory are server pulls that I am guessing would have already seen a few years service?
I've read that USB boot can be flaky and am thinking I may have a drive, SSD or spinning, laying around that I could use and if not I may look at either used SuperDOM or cheap new small SSD whichever I can find cheaper. I also know that my PS is on the lower end, but it has served me well. Given that the PS has been working, do y'all think it should fly as is?
Beside the questions above, does anyone see any other pitfalls with my proposed setup or any way to save some more money?
Thanks for looking and any feedback. I appreciate it!
edit: corrected current power consumption
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