Hey guys,
sorry if this is the wrong place for hardware questions. But, I’m looking for some advice on a new MB/CPU setup for my Micro-ATX server. Currently have a P8Z68-M Pro with a i5 2400. but its a few years old now and getting a little long in the tooth, so looking for suggestions.
H170 for the mob type.
What are your needs for the concurrent streams at once ?
Hey thanks for that,
3 concurrent streams 1080p, 4 would be great. What part does the trans-coding, I thought it was CPU, but I was looking @ the specs for my current MB and it talks about the trans-coding being done by the integrated GPU?? Also I have Plex installed on server 2012 VM running off Hyper V
Thanks
@1liminal1 said:
Hey thanks for that,3 concurrent streams 1080p, 4 would be great. What part does the trans-coding, I thought it was CPU, but I was looking @ the specs for my current MB and it talks about the trans-coding being done by the integrated GPU?? Also I have Plex installed on server 2012 VM running off Hyper V
Thanks
Plex only does the transcoding via the CPU and none via GPU.
With three streams being transcoded in 1080p, you are looking at a passmark necessary of 6000.
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201774043-What-kind-of-CPU-do-I-need-for-my-Server-
The i5 from the skylake generation would meet your requirements i5 6600
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-6600+%40+3.30GHz
If i may suggest, keep your existing setup, this would be a perfect client to install Plex Media player.
Hi there,
Yeah passmark is 3600, looks like its time for an upgrade.
Thanks for all that info, its great 
Hi guys,
Still looking for a Micro ATX Motherboard for the new setup, something with solid RAID, 1151 CPU, doesn’t really need any fancy features other then RAID support.
So what are peoples thoughts, Z170 or H170 chipset?
@1liminal1 said:
Hi guys,Still looking for a Micro ATX Motherboard for the new setup, something with solid RAID, 1151 CPU, doesn’t really need any fancy features other then RAID support.
DO NOT USE the fake-RAID on your motherboard !!!
It is a recipe for disaster !!!
In addition, RAID is not backup.
My opinion is you would be better off having a usb drive to do your backups.
If you still want to go with a RAID for availability of service, go with software RAID.
The Z170 chipset is for overclocking.
An H170 is perfect for Plex.
This one should meet your needs
@starbetrayer said:
@1liminal1 said:
Hi guys,Still looking for a Micro ATX Motherboard for the new setup, something with solid RAID, 1151 CPU, doesn’t really need any fancy features other then RAID support.
DO NOT USE the fake-RAID on your motherboard !!!
It is a recipe for disaster !!!
In addition, RAID is not backup.
My opinion is you would be better off having a usb drive to do your backups.
If you still want to go with a RAID for availability of service, go with software RAID.The Z170 chipset is for overclocking.
An H170 is perfect for Plex.This one should meet your needs
Thanks for that, not sure what you mean by fake raid? Ive been using the software RAID on the Z68 for the last 4 years, works a treat. I agree its not backup, but I wouldn’t use USB for backup. Cloud backup is best, I use CrashPlan and its great with the NBN here (100Mb/s fibre) on Australian backup servers.
And thanks for the motherboard recommendation, thats what ive been looking @ as well.
@1liminal1 said:
@starbetrayer said:
@1liminal1 said:
Hi guys,Still looking for a Micro ATX Motherboard for the new setup, something with solid RAID, 1151 CPU, doesn’t really need any fancy features other then RAID support.
DO NOT USE the fake-RAID on your motherboard !!!
It is a recipe for disaster !!!
In addition, RAID is not backup.
My opinion is you would be better off having a usb drive to do your backups.
If you still want to go with a RAID for availability of service, go with software RAID.The Z170 chipset is for overclocking.
An H170 is perfect for Plex.This one should meet your needs
Thanks for that, not sure what you mean by fake raid? Ive been using the software RAID on the Z68 for the last 4 years, works a treat. I agree its not backup, but I wouldn’t use USB for backup. Cloud backup is best, I use CrashPlan and its great with the NBN here (100Mb/s fibre) on Australian backup servers.
And thanks for the motherboard recommendation, that’s what ive been looking @ as well.
The RAID controller on the motherboard is not a true RAID controller, this is why it is called fake-RAID.
If your motherboard dies, you have lost your DATA.
Like I said, this is an accident waiting to happen.
Yeah I agree, always have a backup!!
But it has saved me from a few disk failures I have had in the past few years. I just wish there was a consumer lvl solution. I did look into hardware raid controllers when I moved away from the iSCSI SAN and VMware, but its just far too expensive.
@1liminal1 said:
Yeah I agree, always have a backup!!But it has saved me from a few disk failures I have had in the past few years. I just wish there was a consumer lvl solution. I did look into hardware raid controllers when I moved away from the iSCSI SAN and VMware, but its just far too expensive.
That’s why software RAID is the way to go.
