Recommend a new server

[Marc_G 92]

Is it possible that when describing your setups, you can include the power usage if possible.  I don't have one of those fancy things that measures the wattage, but guess I should get one.  I cringe at the thought of running my 8 year old home made computer running when I am not at it.  I think this is an old age thing.

 

In the early 80's, we always covered our computer, monitor and keyboard, etc. every time we got up from using it.  As time progressed, it was determined that powering on and off was bad for the hard drives, so the consensus was to let the computer run 24/7 and no covers at all (of course I would have to shake the crumbs out of the keyboard occasionallly).

 

Now days (69 years of age), I cringe at using any electricity, not just the expense, but the waste.  I now think about what we leave for our next generations.  It uses resources to generate electricity, and most of these resources are not replaceable.  I even use cloth bags for groceries and shopping, have to save paper and especially plastic.

 

I don't have a Kill-A-Watt device, so I can't measure the power usage of my current i5-6600 server / overpowered displaybox.

 

However, I will say it uses MUCH MUCH less power than the Athlon X2 Kuma computer it replaced. Don't need a Kill-A-Watt to tell me that. Essentially, a computer is a device that turns electricity into heat (and generally, reduced entropy). My old Kuma machine always had warm air blowing out of it, even at idle. It had five fans: two small case fans, one large case fan, a power supply fan, CPU fan, and a GPU fan. The box never got hot but it was always warm, even when not doing anything.

 

The new server box idles at very close to ambient temp. It has only two fans total (CPU fan, one case fan). I put my hand in the minimal wash from those fans and felt just pretty cool air. The content drives spin down when not needed (I hear them spin up when I start using them, though they are nearly silent when at speed).

 

So, if I had to rate the idle power usage of this system I would say it is very low. I looked up some figures. The CPU (with integrated graphics) uses under 4 watts at idle. The fans probably draw more than that, and the RAM/Mobo some more... but this thing is probably idling using under 25 watts.

 

I too try to conserve power where possible. I switched all the bulbs in the house, just about, over to LEDs. Noticed the power drop.  I pay ~11 cents per kWh, which is pretty low, but why waste power?  My computer stuff has dropped below the threshold of meaningfulness on the power scale... new computers are more efficient.

[clarkss12 295]

Marc_G can you post some pics of your new server and something next to it so I can get some idea of the relative size?

 

thanks.

 

I have been looking at these tiny boxes, because I am not sure I can convince myself to run a full computer 24/7 anymore.  Hahaha,  guess I am being compulsive.

 

Oh, the fan noise from my computer is pretty loud, so peaceful when I power it down.  I have 3 or 4 case fans in it.  It is a power hog and noisy.

Edited January 3, 2017 by clarkss12

[Guest asrequested]

Marc_G can you post some pics of your new server and something next to it so I can get some idea of the relative size?

 

thanks.

 

I have been looking at these tiny boxes, because I am not sure I can convince myself to run a full computer 24/7 anymore.  Hahaha,  guess I am being compulsive.

 

Oh, the fan noise from my computer is pretty loud, so peaceful when I power it down.  I have 3 or 4 case fans in it.  It is a power hog and noisy.

 

You should use Noctua fans. The server box I just bought has four 80mm fans on the fan wall. I replaced them with Noctua fans. They are running at full capacity (2200 rpm) 24/7. They are very quiet And if you use a fan controller (I have this one), you can adjust them. The modern CPUs are very efficient, these days. A lot of them have dynamic frequencies, and even at peak, they don't use very much.

[clarkss12 295]

You should use Noctua fans. The server box I just bought has four 80mm fans on the fan wall. I replaced them with Noctua fans. They are running at full capacity (2200 rpm) 24/7. They are very quiet And if you use a fan controller (I have this one), you can adjust them. The modern CPUs are very efficient, these days. A lot of them have dynamic frequencies, and even at peak, they don't use very much.

What would you estimate your average power consumption to be?

[Guest asrequested]

What would you estimate your average power consumption to be?

 

Oh, well....my server has 12 hard drives, at present. They're always active. So that's probably not a god example. The HTPC has 3 drives, and the i5 6500, tops out at 65W. I've set the drives to spin down after an hour, so the consumption is pretty low.

[Marc_G 92]

Marc_G can you post some pics of your new server and something next to it so I can get some idea of the relative size?

 

thanks.

 

I have been looking at these tiny boxes, because I am not sure I can convince myself to run a full computer 24/7 anymore.  Hahaha,  guess I am being compulsive.

 

Oh, the fan noise from my computer is pretty loud, so peaceful when I power it down.  I have 3 or 4 case fans in it.  It is a power hog and noisy.

 

Hi @@clarkss12, I can take a picture tonight, but I don't know if it will help. My computer is currently housed in a huge ATX tower box, because I had one laying around. The mobo is actually microATX, so it could fit in a much smaller enclosure, but I left the old HTPC together for my kids to use as a second computer now and then (their main one is a NUC i3). Keep in mind it's serving as both the server, htpc front end, and holds a bluray drive for ripping.

 

So, to get a sense of scale of the system I'm running, just google "microATX enclosure" and you would see lots of pictures of what it would be like. Here's a slim one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108109

 

And I guess I lied, there are three fans in my system. CPU, case, and power supply. I forgot about the PSU fan because it is so quiet.

 

Marc

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

If you want a smaller server, you can look at the Intel Nucs and Gigabyte Brix style computers. Though your storage may need to be in an external housing if you have more than a drive or two.

 

I went the other way myself. My server is decently powerful and in a large case. It has ten drives in the case currently. It is there to work. My clients are small power sippers. Mostly roku devices that use around 4 watts of power when idle and never turn off. Have a couple chromecasts as well that pull power from the monitor's USB port. Other non-server computers in the house are all laptops with lower power needs as well.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Koleckai Silvestri

[clarkss12 295]

All my media is stored in my NAS's, one older Synology and newer WD MyCloud, so on board storage is not an issue.  Right now, I have converted one of my $40 Android boxes into a Linux server.  For whatever reason, I can get Plex server to install but not Emby server.  Of course, I am a Linux newbie.

[all4dom 73]

@Kole, thats what i have been thinking of. I large case that holds 10 drives, but note sure about the OS and processor. I have whs 2011, but with no more support and issues trying to install the connect software on my windows 7 and 10 computers, I'm thinking its getting to be time to do something new. For my server I would only look at maybe an I3 even though the I5 is better for power reasons. I want to keep the cost for running my server cheap as possible. Pennies a day as the other person posted. 

 

Now if I were to make a desktop server combo then i would go worth an I5 since I will need to replace my desktop also. 

[all4dom 73]

Was talking to a friend of mine in IT. He said to go with a nas. I was looking at a few on amazon and they mostly come with a celeron quad core processor. Would this be enough for transcoding  between 1 & 3 media files if necessary? I was looking at an I3 nas and that thing was 900 or more. I will say this has been very frustrating on what to do. 

[mastrmind11 717]

Was talking to a friend of mine in IT. He said to go with a nas. I was looking at a few on amazon and they mostly come with a celeron quad core processor. Would this be enough for transcoding  between 1 & 3 media files if necessary? I was looking at an I3 nas and that thing was 900 or more. I will say this has been very frustrating on what to do. 

Doubtful.  Easiest way to check CPU capabilities is to go to https://www.cpubenchmark.net/, search for the CPU, look at the bold red number on the right and divide by 1000.  That's roughly how many simultaneous transcodes it's capable of.

[mastrmind11 717]

@Kole, thats what i have been thinking of. I large case that holds 10 drives, but note sure about the OS and processor. I have whs 2011, but with no more support and issues trying to install the connect software on my windows 7 and 10 computers, I'm thinking its getting to be time to do something new. For my server I would only look at maybe an I3 even though the I5 is better for power reasons. I want to keep the cost for running my server cheap as possible. Pennies a day as the other person posted. 

 

Now if I were to make a desktop server combo then i would go worth an I5 since I will need to replace my desktop also. 

Regarding the CPU, you can pick up a xeon e3-1225 v3 for like $200, and has a passmark of 7000.  Overkill for you, but spend some time on cpubenchmark.net and look for better bang for the buck that fits your budget, then build out your system around the CPU.  I picked up a Dell PowerEdge T20 for $300 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011ZB45LM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and and added 16GB of RAM  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091LG13O/ref=dp_cerb_1 (for total of  24GB).  Thing's a beast for $400.  Add your OS of choice (I chose Ubuntu 16.04), and a couple drives (it holds an additional 4), and you're well on your way.  Can always buy a low powered NAS or build your own when you outgrow the box.

 

Edit:  the T20 is 30W at idle, so basically pennies a day.

Edited January 4, 2017 by mastrmind11

[all4dom 73]

I like pennies for a day. Where Im stuck at is an OS that is user friendly. I'm not an expert at all so I need simple.

[all4dom 73]

Ubuntu does not look user friendly.

[Koleckai Silvestri 1150]

I like pennies for a day. Where Im stuck at is an OS that is user friendly. I'm not an expert at all so I need simple.

 

You probably want something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/ASUS-VivoMini-Barebones-i7-6500U-UN65H-M061M/dp/B01EZGZ5AE/

 

It uses a mobile i7 processor at a lower bandwidth. Has a 4400+ PassMark and should is relatively low power. It is only dual-core though. Your server doesn't need to display video, just render it into bytes. That is a barebones machine so you'll need to add RAM and an OS drive. Your NAS would handle your media storage. Use Linux or Windows 10 on the server. Connect to it using TeamViewer, VNC, or Remote Desktop.

 

Here a write-up on the Processor - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i7-6500U-Notebook-Processor.149431.0.html

 

Desktop processors will be more power hungry since desktops can dissipate the heat better.

[mastrmind11 717]

Ubuntu does not look user friendly.

User friendly in what sense?  The user friendly part really only applies to the initial setup of emby server, which can be 90% mitigated by following the multitude of tutorials here and on the internet for setting it up, as well as the user base here helping out if necessary.  Once you've got emby server installed, it's simply a matter of pointing your favorite browser at emby server's config page, which has a wizard to walk you through all the steps, and is about as user friendly as can be.

 

All non-commercial versions of Linux are free.  If you're worried about having to type things in on the command line vs clicking icons and menus, then most flavors of Linux have a GUI that's very similar to Windows.  But again, you won't even need a GUI since the installation of emby server is literally 3 commands and it's up and running.  And free is better than not free which would be the deciding factor for many.

Edited January 5, 2017 by mastrmind11

[all4dom 73]

I knoiw emby is user friendly. I mean a user friendly os with a gui and ability to tinker with it beyond emby to use for other things. I am thinking about doing security cameras for my home and using a drive in my server as the local storage.

[Marc_G 92]

I bought a Win 10 Pro license from an eBay store that sells unused OEM licenses. Less than $10. I'm not a fan of the MS data mining approach but it runs everything I need it to and was easy to install and get Emby configured when I moved servers.

[clarkss12 295]

Right now, for testing purposes, I have installed Linux on my $40 Android box to see how Emby server runs on it.  I have not had any luck so far getting Emby server installed, but got Plex server installed.  It is actually working very well for a $40 Plex server, but it obviously does not do any major on the fly transcoding.

 

I will be back later for some help on getting Emby server installed. 

 

This is the device I am testing.

 

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/X9-TV-BOX-Android-6-0-Amlogci-S905X-TV-Box-369327.html

[Marc_G 92]

It's always fun to see these new little boxes...

[all4dom 73]

I was looking at the motherboards that can hold 8 or more hard drives and they are expensive. If I get one that does less and in the future I wanted to add more internal hard drives, how could I do that.

[legallink 187]

A lot of people use the LSI cards that add SATA ports to your motherboard through the PCI slot.

[mediacowboy 438]

This is a current build I am working on if you want to get ideas.

 

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/43169-Future-build-and-gaming-system-rebuild

[all4dom 73]

For me, I want to future proof for storage. I would start out with to 4tb for media storage, 1 is for media and other is for a backup but that can grow real fast. If I can get Ota in the summer....depending on reception I would need more.

[mediacowboy 438]

My build is for current and future needs. Plus with hotswap bays you can grow on demand. And if you do a drive pooling solution you can even mix and match drives. Remove them and add in bigger.

Edited January 6, 2017 by mediacowboy