PLEX Server/Home Theater Build

[j.brian.mcnatt]

Goal: 4k video playback to my Sony XBR55X800E (HDMI); Video Data Streaming Outputs to 5 other local network devices; Video Data Streaming output to a minimum of one user to outside the local network; Audio output to 2 Onkyo 5.1 receivers running a set of Biamped Polk Audio Rti towers, Csi Center w/duel subs (each speaker gets two identical signals, one from each amp.)

Current Equipment:
Audio package is complete & needs 2 digital signals (optical or coax) one for each audio receiver.

The display is connected through HDMI and is capable of 3840 x 2160 @ 60p non-3D.

Display Specs:
https://www.sony.com/electronics/televisions/xbr-x800e-series/specifications

All devices receive their media on their PLEX Media Player application which connects to the PLEX Media Server (the Build). Currently using WiFi

The Build:
PLEX is a very greedy program when it comes to CPU usage and when video transcoding is required for internet streaming output the CPU demand can be very high. Their general guide is based on CPU Passmark score and to stream data to 4 local devices (same network), 1 remote device thru the internet, and watch a movie on the local display ALL at the same time the general guideline is a minimum score of 4,000pts. My current rig just isn't getting it done and the only components I plan on reusing for the new build is the server storage. The storage is a 4TB WD Red w/a 4TB WD Blue as the backup.

With all that said,
I purchased a AMD FX-9590 8 core 8 thread processor for just under $60 & it scores over 10k on the benchmark. This will be my starting point. Here's a link to the benchmark and the specs.

Benchmark: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-9590+Eight-Core&id=2014

AMD Installation Guide:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ost_T_VdOUaMWEZY1sor6ETZW4XoSBBE/view?usp=drivesdk

So now to the point: My next several purchases are going to be critical. I need a board, graphics card, audio card, network card and a TV tuner. I believe I have all the other components under control.

The motherboards I'm looking at are the Asus Crosshair or Saber and the Gigabyte 990. I'm honestly stuck and can't seem to make a final choice. I'm hoping someone here might have some advise or experience. Here's the specs on the 3 and I'm open to other options it just has to handle the AM3+ 220W CPU and do what I need.

Specs:
Asus Sabertooth: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_990FX_R20/specifications/
Asus Crosshair V: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/CROSSHAIR_V_FORMULAZ/specifications/
Gigabyte 990 board:
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-990FXA-UD3-rev-41#sp

Next will be the graphics card. My ONLY plan was for it to be an AMD Radeon because it's what's recommended by AMD for the CPU, but I want what's best for my application. WE DO NOT HAVE A TV PROVIDER. We stream all our media content in the house.

Then the audio is pretty straightforward I've just not seen a card with dual digital outputs. The way I achieve this now is a Y-Connector attached to the digital coax at the receivers. It works but if there's a better way...

The TV tuner will be hooked to a channel master 30dB amplified outdoor antenna for local channels and DVR across the entire PLEX network.

Lastly is the network card and here's the plan. I will have two provider drops that are independent from each other, one for in data & one for out. I plan for this build to handle the network traffic so I'm thinking I'll need a 3/4 Port card that can do the data handling. I'll run the two drops from the modems directly to the network card an then have a Ethernet cable to the internet slot on my TP-Link Archer c3200.


All info and suggestions are welcome
-James

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the 9590 is a very hot, poorly optimized chip, a factory overclocked cpu that has been known to set lesser motherboards *on fire*. The basic architecture is 6, almost 7 years old, and is thoroughly outclassed by all more modern chips

What is your total budget for this system? Id suggst an AMD Ryzen 1400 (4C/8T), 1600 (6c/12T) or 1700 (8c/16T) as your best bang for buck CPUs for this HTPC build. Alternately, the intel i5-8400 (6c/6T) would make a good system as well

 

[j.brian.mcnatt]

I know it's issues with heat and it will be getting a nice liquid cooling system with plenty of fans. I'm not overly concerned there.

The budget is a concern and that's why I'll be using either used or referb parts that have been tested. I can't touch a Good Intel CPU for what I paid. The only other chip I was trying to find was the 1700 Threadripper but no dice there, not used an in my budget anyway. The noise an heat aren't really a issue and for under $50 to my door, I'd say this thing is a beast at 5Ghz...

I have a personal Brand preference toward Asus but that isn't based on much so I'm wondering which way to go on the board an video...

 

[ScrewySqrl]

give the 9590 is already overclocked you wont push much more out of it. I''d stick with the sabertooth for this build.

as for the GPU, for 4K video (not games) you'd want at least a 6GB GTX 1060 or a 4 GB RX 570 or greater. For games, a 1080ti or greater

Go wth a top flight gold PSU

 

[j.brian.mcnatt]

With any luck I have finally wrapped this build up AND gotten all the bugs out. The biggest problem that I ran into wasn't even hardware related, it was with the spinning pinwheel of death. I was originally running Windows 10 Pro and once the latest update installed it would lockup randomly and then freeze on reboot before reaching the login screen. The first time I fixed this problem I deleted the update from safe mode and then turned off the fast boot in Windows power options. I didn't worry about turning off the auto update because we were moving and the internet was already off... Fast forward 6 months, we get Xfinity at the new house and ooops. I finally decided I'd had it with Win 10 and I decided to just roll back to Windows 7 Pro. All this PC does is direct media traffic around the house and to my phone when I'm at work, which is A LOT of the time. So far I've not had a single issue since and I was able to use some extra hardware I had since 7 was the last supported OS for a good bit of the parts in my Extras Tub...
So here's where the build finished up at and while I would like to make a few improvements, it's already doing a fanominal job. It NEVER buffers no matter what I throw at it. Here's the rundown...

CPU: AMD FX 9590 @ 4.7Ghz
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 R3.0 ($30)
RAM: OEM Style Samsung 4G ddr3 in all 4 slots 16G total (free)
OS Drive: Samsung 660 EVO 120G ($30)
RAID 5 Array: Contains 3 Hitachi 3.5" 3TB HHDs for media storage, primarily MP4 files ranging from 720P to 4k. All streamable on or off home network.
Data Backup: Seagate 8TB Portable HDD 3.0 USB during backup function & disconnect and boxed while not in use. ($58 total)
Graphics Card: ASL GT1030 SS ($75)
PSU: Corsair Bronze Edition 750W hope to upgrade wattage to a 1300W. ($75)
CPU Cooler: Capitan 240 EX with 4 radiator fans. 2 pushing, 2 pulling. Top mounted radiator. ($45)
Additional Cooling: 120mm Fans - 1 rear exhaust, 1 side intake mounted over VRM, 2 front mount intake, stock PSU fan ($20)
MISC: PCI 2 port lan switch for dedicated data routing, Wireless Trackball Keyboard 2.4Ghz USB

She ain't gonna win any races but this thing is a work horse.

 

[j.brian.mcnatt]

Also, I ended up using Windows Media Center to publish the Media Library to the network. Nothing against PLEX really, I just don't like being tied to a bill. Doesn't matter if it's cable or Internet and PLEX just won't get the job done without a internet provider. I do miss their interface though. Especially when I'm trying to figure out what I wanna watch and all you've got to go on is file names. That becomes Impossible when your pushing nearly 3,000 movies, 150 different TV Shows with every episode, and then top it off with music videos starting around 1920 to current..