need help choosing CPU for server

[Hydraathond]

Hey,

I need some help choosing a CPU for a media pc/NAS server build. This thing is going to be hooked up to my projector (1080p) running KODI (not as OS, it will just run win 10 so it can function as a normal pc when it needs to) and it is probabably going to be on 24/7 downloading stuff. It also needs to stream movies to other KODI devices in the house.

So i'll be honest I have no idea what kind of power a thing like that needs (I only have experience building high end gaming rigs)

at first I had an i5-6400 in mind but that may be over the top ?

other CPU's I found:
i3-6100
AMD A8-7600 ( I have no experience with AMD never owned one in my life. is their on board graphics decent enough ? this one uses more power, is this something I need to consider ?)

Or any other suggestions ?

I dont really have a budget for this thing, It just needs to do its thing, and do it well, for the best price.

Thanks in advance,

 

[Rookie_MIB]

I have a homebuilt NAS sitting at home, and it has a 5x2tb setup and has no issues running on a G3220 dual core CPU. To be clear, serving files doesn't take that much power at all, and as for just playing video files, most integrated solutions can handle that just fine. In fact, I have a HTPC driving my 1080p TV using the J1900 quad core Atom chip which is a 10w part.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Of your selections I would do something low power such as the i3-6100 but that is overkill, you could do a Pentium G4400 to have a new Skylake build but with a low power overhead processor. If all it will be doing is streaming video and hosting files, you don't need a lot of power. That and the fact it will be running 24/7 you want to keep the electric bills down too.

 

[USAFRet]

My house server/HTPC is running on a G840, 4GB RAM. Video from the integrated GPU.
For that use, it doesn't need a lot.

 

[bambiboom]

Hey,

I need some help choosing a CPU for a media pc/NAS server build. This thing is going to be hooked up to my projector (1080p) running KODI (not as OS, it will just run win 10 so it can function as a normal pc when it needs to) and it is probabably going to be on 24/7 downloading stuff. It also needs to stream movies to other KODI devices in the house.

So i'll be honest I have no idea what kind of power a thing like that needs (I only have experience building high end gaming rigs)

at first I had an i5-6400 in mind but that may be over the top ?

other CPU's I found:
i3-6100
AMD A8-7600 ( I have no experience with AMD never owned one in my life. is their on board graphics decent enough ? this one uses more power, is this something I need to consider ?)

Or any other suggestions ?

I dont really have a budget for this thing, It just needs to do its thing, and do it well, for the best price.

Thanks in advance,

Hydraathond,

From a cost /performance /reliability view, the best CPU today for your use is a used Xeon E5-2670. This is an LGA2011, dual-CPu capable 8-core @ 2.6 / 3.33GHz. There is currently an over supply of these and on Ebahhh, they are selling for $60-70. These cost $1,550 new and were used in fairly high end servers. With 8 -core /16.threads they are good VM or CPU rendering and have ultra-high reliability. The Passmark single-threaded rating is 1613 which is fast enough for 3D modeling.

The most economical way to set up a fast, reliable system is probably to buy a used workstation:

Dell Precision T3600 Xeon E5-1603 2.80GHz 4GB 500GB HDD W/ [FirePro V4900] > sold for $349 or offer

That example is a complete system and even the Firepro V4900 GPU is just fine for your use. I have a V4900 and the performance in CAD is not bad at all- similar to a Quadro 2000. Change the CPU to the E5-2670, add RAM to have 16GB and add drives. Run the system off of a 250GB SSD and add a couple of mech'l storage drives to the capacity you feel you need. Use 4GB as the size for a two hour HD movie and a music CD is 700MB. You can set up a domain or workgroup network in Windows and run to switches in room with more than one device.

Another candidate for this use is a used HP z420;

HP Z420 Xeon Workstation E5-1603 2.8GHz 4GB 1TB HHD NVidia Quadro 400 > sold for $280.

That one happens to have an E5-1620 a better CPU- a fast CAD CPU- 4-core @ 3.6./3.8 and the Quadro 400 is minimal, but would be fine for your use. I have two HP z420 (2013 and 2015) and these have very good performance, been 100% reliable and are very quiet-running.


Cheers,

BambiBoom

Modeling:

1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) > 32GB DDR3 1866 ECC RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555]
[Passmark V9.0 Beta Rating = 5019.1 > CPU= 14206 / 2D= 779 / 3D= 5032 / Mem= 2707 / Disk= 4760] 3.31.16
[Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Rendering:

2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > 2X Xeon X5680 (6-core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz), 48GB DDR3 1333 ECC Reg. > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > PERC H310 / Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z313 > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 / CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3550 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)

3.HP z420 (2013) > Xeon E5-1620 four core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz > 24GB DDR3 ECC 1600 RAM > AMD V4900 (1GB) > Seagate 500GB > Linksys WMP600N WiFi
[Passmark system rating = 2372 / CPU = 9001 / 2D= 712 / 3D= 1353/ Mem= 2261 / Disk= 712]

 

[Hydraathond]

Hey,

I need some help choosing a CPU for a media pc/NAS server build. This thing is going to be hooked up to my projector (1080p) running KODI (not as OS, it will just run win 10 so it can function as a normal pc when it needs to) and it is probabably going to be on 24/7 downloading stuff. It also needs to stream movies to other KODI devices in the house.

So i'll be honest I have no idea what kind of power a thing like that needs (I only have experience building high end gaming rigs)

at first I had an i5-6400 in mind but that may be over the top ?

other CPU's I found:
i3-6100
AMD A8-7600 ( I have no experience with AMD never owned one in my life. is their on board graphics decent enough ? this one uses more power, is this something I need to consider ?)

Or any other suggestions ?

I dont really have a budget for this thing, It just needs to do its thing, and do it well, for the best price.

Thanks in advance,

Hydraathond,

From a cost /performance /reliability view, the best CPU today for your use is a used Xeon E5-2670. This is an LGA2011, dual-CPu capable 8-core @ 2.6 / 3.33GHz. There is currently an over supply of these and on Ebahhh, they are selling for $60-70. These cost $1,550 new and were used in fairly high end servers. With 8 -core /16.threads they are good VM or CPU rendering and have ultra-high reliability. The Passmark single-threaded rating is 1613 which is fast enough for 3D modeling.

The most economical way to set up a fast, reliable system is probably to buy a used workstation:

Dell Precision T3600 Xeon E5-1603 2.80GHz 4GB 500GB HDD W/ [FirePro V4900] > sold for $349 or offer

That example is a complete system and even the Firepro V4900 GPU is just fine for your use. I have a V4900 and the performance in CAD is not bad at all- similar to a Quadro 2000. Change the CPU to the E5-2670, add RAM to have 16GB and add drives. Run the system off of a 250GB SSD and add a couple of mech'l storage drives to the capacity you feel you need. Use 4GB as the size for a two hour HD movie and a music CD is 700MB. You can set up a domain or workgroup network in Windows and run to switches in room with more than one device.

Another candidate for this use is a used HP z420;

HP Z420 Xeon Workstation E5-1603 2.8GHz 4GB 1TB HHD NVidia Quadro 400 > sold for $280.

That one happens to have an E5-1620 a better CPU- a fast CAD CPU- 4-core @ 3.6./3.8 and the Quadro 400 is minimal, but would be fine for your use. I have two HP z420 (2013 and 2015) and these have very good performance, been 100% reliable and are very quiet-running.


Cheers,

BambiBoom

Modeling:

1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) > 32GB DDR3 1866 ECC RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555]
[Passmark V9.0 Beta Rating = 5019.1 > CPU= 14206 / 2D= 779 / 3D= 5032 / Mem= 2707 / Disk= 4760] 3.31.16
[Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Rendering:

2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > 2X Xeon X5680 (6-core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz), 48GB DDR3 1333 ECC Reg. > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > PERC H310 / Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z313 > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 / CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3550 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)

3.HP z420 (2013) > Xeon E5-1620 four core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz > 24GB DDR3 ECC 1600 RAM > AMD V4900 (1GB) > Seagate 500GB > Linksys WMP600N WiFi
[Passmark system rating = 2372 / CPU = 9001 / 2D= 712 / 3D= 1353/ Mem= 2261 / Disk= 712]

bambiboom,

I really like the idea of having a 1500 dollar CPU in my HTPC 😀. However those older high end xeons have a really high power requirement ( according the specs ). This doesnt seem like a very good idea for a system that is going to run 24/7...
or is it ? Will there be a large difference in power consumption compared to a skylake CPU?

 

[Rogue Leader]

bambiboom,

I really like the idea of having a 1500 dollar CPU in my HTPC 😀. However those older high end xeons have a really high power requirement ( according the specs ). This doesnt seem like a very good idea for a system that is going to run 24/7...
or is it ? Will there be a large difference in power consumption compared to a skylake CPU?

JMO, I read his post and sighed.

First off the PC setups will use FAR FAR more energy than building yourself a lightweight skylake based setup like I mentioned (pentium G4400 is only 65w max), and you can build it quiet using noctua coolers which is important if its going to be in the same space as where you are using it.

These systems on the other hand will sound like fighter jets in the room in comparison. If you wanted to make the whole deal quiet you would spend almost as much money re-casing it, new coolers, etc (plus its initial purchase price). If you're stuffing it in a closet and not in the room you're using it, its no big deal, but if its going to sort of be a hybrid HTPC/Server, which it sounds like, that noise will get annoying.

If you just got the Xeon processor you'd need to dig out an LGA 2011 server board, cooling, ECC memory, its not as cheap as he makes it sound. And it uses WAY more energy.

They can be good deals, but its way overkill for what you need, and depending on the setup, end up costing you more..

 

[Hydraathond]

bambiboom,

I really like the idea of having a 1500 dollar CPU in my HTPC 😀. However those older high end xeons have a really high power requirement ( according the specs ). This doesnt seem like a very good idea for a system that is going to run 24/7...
or is it ? Will there be a large difference in power consumption compared to a skylake CPU?

JMO, I read his post and sighed.

First off the PC setups will use FAR FAR more energy than building yourself a lightweight skylake based setup like I mentioned (pentium G4400 is only 65w max), and you can build it quiet using noctua coolers which is important if its going to be in the same space as where you are using it.

These systems on the other hand will sound like fighter jets in the room in comparison. If you wanted to make the whole deal quiet you would spend almost as much money re-casing it, new coolers, etc (plus its initial purchase price). If you're stuffing it in a closet and not in the room you're using it, its no big deal, but if its going to sort of be a hybrid HTPC/Server, which it sounds like, that noise will get annoying.

If you just got the Xeon processor you'd need to dig out an LGA 2011 server board, cooling, ECC memory, its not as cheap as he makes it sound. And it uses WAY more energy.

They can be good deals, but its way overkill for what you need, and depending on the setup, end up costing you more..

Alright, so if I go G4400 would it be powerfull enough to download torrents at 10 mbyte, play a 20 gb bluray rip and stream the same movie to another PC all at the same time ? ( thats about the maximum stress it would ever be under)

 

[Rogue Leader]

bambiboom,

I really like the idea of having a 1500 dollar CPU in my HTPC 😀. However those older high end xeons have a really high power requirement ( according the specs ). This doesnt seem like a very good idea for a system that is going to run 24/7...
or is it ? Will there be a large difference in power consumption compared to a skylake CPU?

JMO, I read his post and sighed.

First off the PC setups will use FAR FAR more energy than building yourself a lightweight skylake based setup like I mentioned (pentium G4400 is only 65w max), and you can build it quiet using noctua coolers which is important if its going to be in the same space as where you are using it.

These systems on the other hand will sound like fighter jets in the room in comparison. If you wanted to make the whole deal quiet you would spend almost as much money re-casing it, new coolers, etc (plus its initial purchase price). If you're stuffing it in a closet and not in the room you're using it, its no big deal, but if its going to sort of be a hybrid HTPC/Server, which it sounds like, that noise will get annoying.

If you just got the Xeon processor you'd need to dig out an LGA 2011 server board, cooling, ECC memory, its not as cheap as he makes it sound. And it uses WAY more energy.

They can be good deals, but its way overkill for what you need, and depending on the setup, end up costing you more..

Alright, so if I go G4400 would it be powerfull enough to download torrents at 10 mbyte, play a 20 gb bluray rip and stream the same movie to another PC all at the same time ? ( thats about the maximum stress it would ever be under)

I don't think you can rip and play a blu ray at the same time. But yes downloading, playing a blu-ray, and streaming a file at the same time would definitely be possible.

EDIT: I'm an idiot, you mean playing the rip and streaming it at the same time. Yes that would work no problem.

 

[USAFRet]

Alright, so if I go G4400 would it be powerfull enough to download torrents at 10 mbyte, play a 20 gb bluray rip and stream the same movie to another PC all at the same time ? ( thats about the maximum stress it would ever be under)

I see no reason why that would not work.

 

[logainofhades]

Personally, I wouldn't go below an i3. Pure dual cores I just don't feel are adequate anymore.

 

[Rookie_MIB]

Personally, I wouldn't go below an i3. Pure dual cores I just don't feel are adequate anymore.

I think you'd be surprised. The lowest geekbench rating for the G4400 is 3500, highest is 10,000. Even if your average is 5,000 or so, thats still plenty of power for playing media files and serving out files on a network. Those are more disk/network/graphics oriented and don't require a ton of processing power.

His point was that for the most part, the Xeon build previously suggested is serious overkill. WAY overkill. It's not that they can't be made quiet - I have a Xeon X3470 build, 16GB ECC, P7F7 quad SLI motherboard for $200 in parts. It's also very quiet, and uses a Hyper 212 Evo, and very very fast. But I also use it for gaming, runs a VM NAS, etc.

Build the right machine for the job, and in this case IMHO a G4400 would be appropriate, as would possibly an i3 if he wanted a bit more power. A Xeon quad core hyperthreaded would be too much.

 

[logainofhades]

Yea the E5 Xeon suggestion was crazy. For HTPC type use, I tend to recommend A8 7600. Its 45w power mode isn't far behind its standard wattage setting.

 

[madmatt30]

seriously overthinking it imo,just use the i3 6100 - its $50 more than the g4400 & its worth the extra should you ever need that system to do a little more than originally planned.
ignore the higher tdp ,its probably only going to be dragging 30w max for what youre using it for - the reserve grunt is there for transcoding full hd bluray shoudl you need it whereas the g4400 would struggle a bit imo.

 

[Rookie_MIB]

seriously overthinking it imo,just use the i3 6100 - its $50 more than the g4400 & its worth the extra should you ever need that system to do a little more than originally planned.
ignore the higher tdp ,its probably only going to be dragging 30w max for what youre using it for - the reserve grunt is there for transcoding full hd bluray shoudl you need it whereas the g4400 would struggle a bit imo.

No doubt, the i3 would transcode better, but my NAS only serves files so the G3220 is the right piece for my setup. Since it's hooked into my basement network and tied to my web servers, and those both have full blown Xeons, I just run ffmpeg via cron'd scripts and they chew through video files like nuttin.