Server build for Emby - opinions?

[Mediahost 2]

Hey, I'm relatively new to Emby and I'm currently trying to set up a Windows server mainly  dedicated to streaming and transcoding media files. Best scenario would be to have the server running 24/7 but I have no idea if the energy consumption of my build would be too high for that (we pay a lot for electricity in Germany). :'D

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 (Intel UHD 730)
Mainboard: MSI B560M-A Pro
RAM: Crucial Ballistix weiß DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR4-3200, CL16-18-18-36
Power supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 500W ATX 2.4
SSD: Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD 500GB

Media is currently stored on a 14 TB HDD, so I'd use a Midi Tower with some space for 3.5" HDDs. Do you think that this system might be efficient for my use case? 4K transcoding with tone mapping could be a thing but I wouldn't base my decision on that since most of my devices can direct play 4K. Parallel streams would be not more than 2. I really can't tell if this system is overkill or not enough for what I have in mind. Maybe you can give me some advice.

[Q-Droid 642]

Intel CPUs do a good job of throttling down and have been getting more efficient. My guess is that your server itself would idle in the 50-70w range, possibly lower. It will definitely go up when busy but for short bursts.

Edit to add: Regarding the video workload you have nothing to worry about. This CPU can handle pretty much anything you throw at it and will easily do multiple transcodes of 4k without breaking much of a sweat.

 

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by Q-Droid

[KMBanana 84]

Why do you want it to run Windows?  It has a lot of overhead, poor software based RAID (or equivalent), and frequent reboots for updates.  

I'm running my server off unraid and have been quite happy with the ease of use and upgrading it over time.  I started just doing CPU based encodes, but recently added a 3060 as HDR and 4k media is becoming a lot more common.  I still try to get people to watch 1080p versions if the 4k file would result in a transcode.  

A popular option is to run a low power NAS that functions really just as a NAS, and then use a cheap $100-200 intel quicksync device with ubuntu to run Emby, taking advantage of the quicksync for HW based encodes.  

[Mediahost 2]

@Q-Droidsounds good, the energy consumption could be lower but maybe not for a Desktop CPU with some transcoding power.

@KMBanana I mainly want to use Windows to be able to use Remote Desktop features since the server will be in another part of the house. And to mount encrypted containers using Veracrypt. I only know how to do all this in Windows. Constant rebooting can be prohibited by turning off auto updates I think, so the updating process can be done in a more controlled environment. I'm also thinking that I might use the server at some point as a second workstation, not really sure about that now. RAID functions are not necessary since I do manual (local) backups and the data doesn't need to be available 100% of the time in case of a damaged partition/HDD.

And do you mean running a NAS and an Emby server as two separate devices? Or just that the purpose of the server is mainly being a NAS? The reason why I'm going for my own build instead of buying a Synology is mainly to have more transcoding power in the CPU (for a budget that doesn't kill me) and because the RAID features are not so important in my case.

[KMBanana 84]

Yes, the separate NAS and Emby server means having two separate devices, relying on the efficiency offered by Intel's quicksync on an extremely cheap device rather than needing a better CPU.  That's just an option to consider though.  

Using it as a 2nd workstation is a decent enough reason to use Windows, just be careful you're building this machine with this in mind and not just using this an excuse to justify building a server more powerful/expensive than you need.  

If your building a purpose built system for a media server I'd strongly suggest setting some kind of parity protection.  This doesn't function as or replace the need for a backup, but it's an extreme convenience when one of your hard drives inevitably fails.  

RDP I don't think is a reason to on its own use windows.  Any alternative would have some way to manage it remotely.  Most NAS options would be a simple web interface.  

[michaeltruncale 5]

@KMBanana I built an Emby server like 10 years ago, on windows 7 Pro. We just sold our house and are living tiny for a few years in a 5th wheel and I need to shrink my 10 year old tower build into something functional but small. Is there a guide on setting up what you were referring to about the Intel QuickSync and  NAS? 

[KMBanana 84]

1 hour ago, michaeltruncale said:

@KMBanana I built an Emby server like 10 years ago, on windows 7 Pro. We just sold our house and are living tiny for a few years in a 5th wheel and I need to shrink my 10 year old tower build into something functional but small. Is there a guide on setting up what you were referring to about the Intel QuickSync and  NAS? 

The serverbuilds.net forums and discord has a lot of good info on quicksync options and configuration.  They have a few different NAS guides as well, but with quicksync doing the heavy lifting just about anything will work.

[RanmaCanada 344]

On 05/10/2022 at 00:38, michaeltruncale said:

@KMBanana I built an Emby server like 10 years ago, on windows 7 Pro. We just sold our house and are living tiny for a few years in a 5th wheel and I need to shrink my 10 year old tower build into something functional but small. Is there a guide on setting up what you were referring to about the Intel QuickSync and  NAS? 

How many drives do you have?  Total space you are looking to migrate.  How much power can your 5th wheel provide you?  And lastly, what is your budget.  If you can answer these questions, I may be able to give you some great low power options.

[michaeltruncale 5]

1 hour ago, RanmaCanada said:

How many drives do you have?  Total space you are looking to migrate.  How much power can your 5th wheel provide you?  And lastly, what is your budget.  If you can answer these questions, I may be able to give you some great low power options.

I have one 60gb SSD for the Windows OS, two 3.5” 4TB internal and two external 4TB as backups of the internal drives. 5th wheel is plugged into 50Amp so I can hook up to a regular 110v plug. The motherboard I have is a micro-ATX, (9.6”x9.6”), it actually is pretty low power but the system is decently powered for what it was, ten years ago . The tower it’s all sitting in is like a regular large sized tower. As far as budget goes, ideally <$600, but depending on what I need to do/get I could go over if need be.

edit…

Silverstone SST-GD05B Case

Seasonic 400w Fanless Platinum

Intel DH67BL MB

Intel i3-2120T 2.6 Ghz

16GB DDR3 1333 RAM

60gb Sandisk SSD OS

4TB WD Green HD recordings x2

LG BH10LS30 10x Blu-ray r/w

Usb tuner (4 tuners total)

Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Edited October 8, 2022 by michaeltruncale
Added details

[RanmaCanada 344]

Oh well that is great.  Means we only need to upgrade your board, cpu and ram.  I would get a Pentium Gold 7400 then it's just a matter of finding a motherboard you like (with ddr4 support for costs) and then some ram.  The Pentium Gold 7400 will run circles around your current setup, uses 46 watts of power, and has the latest quicksync so any transcoding will also be done at extremely low power.  Total cost of this "build" is under $300.  You could splurge and buy yourself some new hard drives, or a Platinum or Titanium power supply.