Hi everyone,
been running rack HP PowerEdge R510 with dual X5670 cpu for last wow … 10 years.
Fantastic machine. Never let me down. Benchmarks showing as passmark 10000 for it.
I’m looking to upgrade to something possibly smaller and DEFINITELY less noisy (those 6 fans make a huge racket)
What could i consider if currently i have 8 HDDS (1 ssd for system and 7x WD REDs of mutliple size 3-8TB) .
I do not have many users and prob max 5 streams concuring (most on local lan)
Do you think server like below would handle my needs? I want Windows server if possible.
Don’t use old servers. They will never enable you to reach your goal of reducing the noise.
You already have the Plex Pass. Why not getting a current Intel Core i7 or i9 CPU which has the Quicksync support, enabling you to use hardware transcoding?
This CPU certainly can be cooled a lot quieter, if you pick a suitable case. “Suitable” meaning “big”, as only big cases provide enough room for large coolers with large fans which, due to their size can rotate very slowly and thus make much less noise.
No, the Intel Core CPUs already come with the needed silicon to transcode and also bring support for on-board graphic. Which is sufficient for setting up and administrating the machine.
And this reduces the thermal footprint further – so less noise.
My old, tired AMD FX-8350 is barely hanging on with a 5935 passmark. I only Direct Play, but it’s time has come (and gone).
I wouldn’t even call 7500 an upgrade, to be honest.
I am aiming for an AMD Ryzen in my price range and the down-dog-discount AMD Ryzen 7 5800X ($500+/-) has a 28,605 passmark - and that’s what I’d call an upgrade… good thing I can afford it…lol
AMD CPUs are not supported for hardware transcoding in Plex.
So you will be needing an add-on GPU if you want hw transcoding.
But many GPU are still limited on how many transcodes they can process. (usually 2 or 3, unless you have a CAD GPU with an insane price tag on it.)
That old AMD FX-8350 IS my Gaming Rig - and my Plex Server… if we’re all Direct Playing - we can all live together happily at the same time.
I had to replace an AMD Vid Card recently with an AMD RX-570, 'cause at the time I really needed one, and I didn’t seem to have $1500 in my checking account for something I really wanted. Ha!
In the (unusual) event something has to transcode, the RX-570 happily throws it’s hat into the ring doing a fine job - and that’s what’s keeping this old system in play.
By the time I get a new rig in place - you know - it’ll be time to start shopping again, but that’s something that’s been happening for about 40 years anyway, so I got it covered.
i think intel would be the choice … lots of HEVC 720p/1080p files, some AVI still transcoding … depending on devices - so i7-i9 8 core around 20000-25000 would do the job then for long time i hope.
Now just to find decent tower to fit 8 drives so its nicely cooled / quiet - any recommendations please?
If you decided to go with a full case, a 10th Gen Intel i3 (10100) or i5 (10400 non-F) would be a lovely upgrade and still fairly low power/noise, the stock CPU fan should be fine for your needs.
I realized I didn’t actually explain this properly, sorry! I’m currently using a SFF with USB drives: An ASRock DeskMini, with a QNAP USB 3.0 external 4-bay for the data. But if I was going to do a full machine, I’d use the Fractal case I linked above.
just been looking for motherboards for intel processors socket 1200 … any idea for one with 8 sata slots there’s plenty for ryzen … haven’t seen / found one for intel i5 / i7
thats the question 
