BUILD PLEX powerhouse build

[chasbaci]

Hello FreeNAS Community

Needing the community to help me with this build. First I will admit that my great technical powers are lacking so please forgive lack of technical jargon. My ultimiate goal is to create a FreeNAS server that will serve my family as a PLEX transcoding monster. The server will be used to stream mulitible video streams simultaneously and will require a large stress load. The following are some ideas on builds:

Dual Xeon's

2x Intel Xeon E5-2620 v3 2.40GHz with a CPU Mark of 10030 (Combined CPU Mark of 16706)
SuperMicro X10DRH-I-B
Samsung DDR4-2133 ECC/REG Memory (the recommend memory from Supermico)

Single Xeon

1x Intel Xeon E5-1650 v2 3.5 GHz with CPU Mark of 13124
SuperMicro X10SRL-F motherboard
Samsung DDR4-2133 ECC/REG Memory (the recommend memory from Supermico)

Both Systems will have the following Equipment:

8x Seagate 3TB Desktop HDD SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
Corsair Professional Series AX 1200 Watt Digital ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum (AX1200i)
Corsair Hydro Series High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H60 for cooling those CPU's
Thermaltake Core V71 Full-Tower Chassis (With plenty of fans to keep things cool)
60GB SSD holding the OS

Again any help with this decision or even a better combination of processors is welcomed. Was even thinking of running high end i7's but decided against that with the lack of ECC support. I will be making this final decision with in the next day or two.

 

[joeschmuck]

I think you are describing a major computer workstation/gaming machine, not something for simple Plex transcoding. If you are serious about this you need to have a few things in mind before figuring out what hardware you need... 1) How many streams maximum, 2) How many streams realistically, 3) How you are getting those streams to the playing devices (WiFi or Ethernet). You just tossing out something water cooled isn't telling me that you are serious but more like someone trying to get attention. Not trying to offend you if you are serious.

 

[chasbaci]

I am very serious in regards to this build, I have a current FreeNAS system up and running as we speak, unfortunately it is on an AMD platform with non ECC memory. After reading what Plex requires for Transcoding a 1080i movie is close to a CPU mark of 2000. This system will need to stream close to 4 to 5 instances simultaneously. The streaming will be done thru a wired home network along with stream via the web to some family members. There is plenty of bandwidth both in house and via the web I have gig service for the home. Not trying to offend but not sure most people would look to spend this type of money just to make a gaming machine out of FreeNAS. The reason for the water cooling setup was with the experience I have with the current setup. I am running an AMD FX-8350 which is close to 8500 CPU Mark running 3 movies the processor fan screams with the workload.

 

[marbus90]

Child, calm down.

4-5 Streams can be done on an Avoton C2750. If you really want to get a nice system for that, the E5-1650 v3 won't break a sweat. All in all, this barebone seems like a good choice for you:
http://www.supermicro.nl/products/system/2U/5028/SYS-5028R-WR.cfm

and be sure to grab two of these: http://www.supermicro.com/products/nfo/SATADOM.cfm for freeNAS boot.

Also, your HDDs aren't NAS certified. Pick WD Reds, HGST NAS or Seagate NAS. Definitely no Seagate desktop HDDs.

 

[SweetAndLow]

1. skip the ssd and use a usb stick for the os
2. power supply is way overkill, when i transcode 7 1080p videos my max power draw is around 120watts
3. skip the water cooling and just get a good air cooler. Way cheaper and the hdd spinning will be the loudest part of your build.
4. i would go with the E5-1650. this will be the cpu I use when i grow my freenas box.
5. get wd red drives
6. get a UPS

 

[joeschmuck]

As you can see by the other responses, you don't need a killer system to achieve what you desire. Purchase a single CPU solution, fan cooled (stock fan first and upgrade if you must), a good MB, 16GB RAM (32MB would be sweet but not required in my opinion), and as mentioned above get a good quality UPS to protect your investment. And you didn't offend me, I just didn't know if you were serious given the type of system you wanted to build.

 

[chasbaci]

So here is the update on what the core system will be:

Board: SuperMicro X10SRH-CF-O (got a deal on this from Amazon $142.00)
Processor: Intel Xeon E5-1650v3 Six-Core Haswell Processor 3.5GHz 15MB 2011-vs socket (SuperBiiz $574.99)
Memory: 4x Crucial DDR4-2133 8GB/1Gx72 ECC/REG CL 15 Server memory (SuperBiiz $395.96)
Power Supply: Corsair AX760 ATX (Amazon $149.99)
Hard Drives: 6x Seagate 3TB ST3000DM001 (I know I should have Red's but these were purchased last month and can not be returned, hoping they hold up $92.oo)Battery Backup: APC UPS 1500va supporting AVR (BestBuy $199)
Case: Thermaltake CoreV71 (Fry's 149.99)

Total Running Cost : $2163.93

I have also sent an email to SuperMicro, asking there opinion on the proper burn in recommendations and if there is any conflicts with the config.

I will keep updating this post, I plan on running sever tests with this setup between multiple devices streaming plex and also some heavy file transferring. Maybe some pictures of the build as well.

 

[marbus90]

If you don't have the case and PSU already, I'd recommend this one:
together with the
Supermicro SNK-P0048PS CPU cooler.

 

[Maturola]

So here is the update on what the core system will be:

Board: SuperMicro X10SRH-CF-O (got a deal on this from Amazon $142.00)
Processor: Intel Xeon E5-1650v3 Six-Core Haswell Processor 3.5GHz 15MB 2011-vs socket (SuperBiiz $574.99)
Memory: 4x Crucial DDR4-2133 8GB/1Gx72 ECC/REG CL 15 Server memory (SuperBiiz $395.96)
Power Supply: Corsair AX760 ATX (Amazon $149.99)
Hard Drives: 6x Seagate 3TB ST3000DM001 (I know I should have Red's but these were purchased last month and can not be returned, hoping they hold up $92.oo)Battery Backup: APC UPS 1500va supporting AVR (BestBuy $199)
Case: Thermaltake CoreV71 (Fry's 149.99)

Total Running Cost : $2163.93

That's crazy overkilling for Plex, but a very nice system. if you have the cash to spare that would make a really nice toy =)

Pics for sure =)

 

[joeschmuck]

Buy half that RAM and see how it goes, you can always add if you need to and that will drop the cost. Your CPU might be a little overkill but if you want to future proof your system, it may be a reasonable investment.

 

[jgreco]

1x Intel Xeon E5-1650 v2 3.5 GHz with CPU Mark of 13124
SuperMicro X10SRL-F motherboard

You need a 1650 v3 for that board, IIRC.

 

[Ericloewe]

You need a 1650 v3 for that board, IIRC.

Definitely v3.

 

[marbus90]

You need a 1650 v3 for that board, IIRC.

Definitely v3.

The build has already been updated:

Board: SuperMicro X10SRH-CF-O (got a deal on this from Amazon $142.00)
Processor: Intel Xeon E5-1650v3 Six-Core Haswell Processor 3.5GHz 15MB 2011-vs socket (SuperBiiz $574.99)
Memory: 4x Crucial DDR4-2133 8GB/1Gx72 ECC/REG CL 15 Server memory (SuperBiiz $395.96)
Power Supply: Corsair AX760 ATX (Amazon $149.99)
Hard Drives: 6x Seagate 3TB ST3000DM001 (I know I should have Red's but these were purchased last month and can not be returned, hoping they hold up $92.oo)Battery Backup: APC UPS 1500va supporting AVR (BestBuy $199)
Case: Thermaltake CoreV71 (Fry's 149.99)

 

[jeffreyj900]

My build that I've been burning in for more than a month. Very pleased with it. Yes, very likely overkill. However, still learning FreeNAS and all that it is capable of so you never know :)

Motherboard – Supermicro – X9SRH-7F-O – Recommended in hardware thread
CPU – Intel – Xeon E5-1650 v2 – The v3 of this CPU was not supported by this motherboard
CPU Cooler – Supermicro – SNK-P0048AP4
Memory – Samsung – M393B2G70QH0-CMA – Recommended for Motherboard
SATA DOM – Supermicro – SSD-DM032-PHI – Figured what the heck
Hard Drives – WD Red 4TB x 8 - Not ideal for Z2, based on recommendations; not the end of the world
Case – Supermicro – CSE-836E26-R1200B – Bought on Ebay; very nice case!
UPS – CyberPower – CP1500PFCLCD – Works with FreeNAS

I would recommend getting a case off of ebay. It's noisy, but not as LOUD as I thought it would be. Temps are all good on CPU, overall case temp and HD(s). I paid about $50 more for the SuperMicro case with redundant power supplies including shipping than your planning to spend on that case and power supply.