Budget Ryzen 5 Server Build

[rene.teniere 17]

Hi All,

 

I am a recent convert from Plex, and am wanting to replace my current lackluster media server. Typically, I may have two Roku units running emby within the home network, and maybe one offsite tops. It is only on rare occasions that I would have two or more streams of 1080p max.

 

I have on hand the following:

• ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD B450 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
• Team T-Force Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000)
• Hanmi Micronics, Caslon II Series Power Supply 500W

I was studying your forum, and trying to find an AMD solution (locked-in to AMD). From what I have read, the AMD Ryzen 5 is an ok choice? My question is because of my relatively small budget, should I just go with the Ryzen 5 2400G, or the Ryzen 5 2600 + GPU, or even the Ryzen 7 1700 + GPU? Please let me know if anything above the Ryzen 5 2400G would be overkill in my application. If not, then would I go for the Ryzen 5 2600, or Ryzen 7 1700 (or any suggestions of any kind)? The problem for me would be the added cost of the GPU. How important is it in my application, and what can I get away with? I have read that the 

Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB and the Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 OC 2G are ok cards, or is that again overkill or not enough? I have time to wait until I buy (probably after Christmas) so hopefully something new will come out to drop the prices a bit? Not as much savings here in Canada as the US for the same product.

 

My final question would be once I set up my recommended server, is there anything else I should know to properly setup / tweak both hardware and software?

 

Thanks,

René

[mastrmind11 718]

It really depends on whether you're doing any transcoding.  If not, you can literally get away w/ a rPi3.  But if so, it sounds like it'll only be 2-3 streams, which any of those CPU's can handle.  GPU is entirely unnecessary for what you are describing.  RAM is pretty irrelevant too, I barely go over 250MB and I have similar requirements as you.

 

As far as software tweaks, Emby works great out of the box.

[SHSPVR 120]

No bad build but you really don't need 16GB

I recommend a good power supply like EVGA, Corsair or SeaSonic

You save a lot by going with i3-8100 and will not need and Video card

[rene.teniere 17]

Thanks for the responses. I also use it as a PC, no gaming though, so I will see about a better PSU and stick to the basics! As for the 16GB of ram, it is already on hand so that will just go in...

[SHSPVR 120]

Thanks for the responses. I also use it as a PC, no gaming though, so I will see about a better PSU and stick to the basics! As for the 16GB of ram, it is already on hand so that will just go in...

 

Ok then if you all ready have it on hand then that fine and it will be fine as NoN gaming as what my sister in-law has an i3 8100 she just love it and she can still play her game on even know mostly HOG (Hidden Object Games)

Go for at lease 80 Plus Bronze Certified or for better efficiency the Gold out breaking the bank

[rene.teniere 17]

Sounds good. Found this:

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139225

 

I don't really play games on the PC, but who knows what will happen when the kids get older.

[legallink 187]

If you are running roku apps and are willing to make sure your media is compatible, you will definitely not have any problems.

 

I run the 2400g, and I usually have anywhere from 3 - 5 streams going at any one time.  It is a mixture of roku, apple tv, ios devices and chromecasts.  I can transcode on the 2400g, easily 3 - 4 streams at a time, and can actually stream without transcoding more than my internet bandwidth will support, so you should be fine.

[SHSPVR 120]

If you are running roku apps and are willing to make sure your media is compatible, you will definitely not have any problems.

 

I run the 2400g, and I usually have anywhere from 3 - 5 streams going at any one time.  It is a mixture of roku, apple tv, ios devices and chromecasts.  I can transcode on the 2400g, easily 3 - 4 streams at a time, and can actually stream without transcoding more than my internet bandwidth will support, so you should be fine.

 

Just think of what a Ryzen 3 3300G or Ryzen 5 3600G would be able to do

[rene.teniere 17]

I would love the 3300G, but I don’t think I could afford it once it comes out!

[rene.teniere 17]

Any word on expected price?

[SHSPVR 120]

From what I have read R3 3300G $130 6c/12t/15cu to R5 3600G $200 8c/16t/20cu that USA dallor

[rene.teniere 17]

So probably 35% more here in Canada. Is the release Q1? If so, don’t know if I can wait till then. My SATA ports are failing and need to upgrade soon.

[SHSPVR 120]

Next year 3Q

So it go with 2200G or 2400G you still be able to upgrade

Here all info

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-ryzen-3000-everything-we-know,38233.html

Edited December 19, 2018 by SHSPVR

[rene.teniere 17]

Yeah. Too long. Looks like the 2400G will suffice thanks to legallink’s experience. I guess there will always be something better coming out...

[SHSPVR 120]

Yeah. Too long. Looks like the 2400G will suffice thanks to legallink’s experience. I guess there will always be something better coming out...

 

For money the 2200G ever bit as fast as 2400G from what read and heard

Edited December 19, 2018 by SHSPVR

[legallink 187]

For money the 2200G ever bit as fast as 2400G from what read and heard

Depends on use case. 2400g gives you quite a bit extra in graphics if you are using it as a desktop.

[rene.teniere 17]

I heard also that it is a smarter move to go with Ryzen 5 for longevity?

[SHSPVR 120]

Depends on use case. 2400g gives you quite a bit extra in graphics if you are using it as a desktop.

 

Not at stock clocks and stock 2400Mhz memory clocks and not for $70 more when it only has 3cu more over the 2200G

[legallink 187]

Not at stock clocks and stock 2400Mhz memory clocks and not for $70 more when it only has 3cu more over the 2200G

Who does stock clocks and 2400hz memory?

 

Also 8 vs 4 threads in an emby server could be impactful. Pure single threaded clocks, you are right. But if you aren’t buying a new cpu next year (3300g), then 2400g makes more sense in my opinion.

Edited December 24, 2018 by legallink

[SHSPVR 120]

Who does stock clocks and 2400hz memory?

 

Also 8 vs 4 threads in an emby server could be impactful. Pure single threaded clocks, you are right. But if you aren’t buying a new cpu next year (3300g), then 2400g makes more sense in my opinion.

 

Cost of 2400Mhz is half as much 2933Mhz or faster and is only going be mostly beneficial in games any way so there for it doesn’t justify the extra expense in cost as a server.

Very doubtful as 4 thread are (SMT) Hyper-Threading which shared the same core resources so in reality you see very little beneficial any way unlike say higher clock speed north of 300Mhz above stock or more but you want maintain longevity not fry two week later so I don't recommend it as more likely to run in to more issues, I currently have A10 7850K that running bone stock that come up on 5 years old and it being power by 10 years old Corsair VX450W and it served me well but it time for upgrade and like rene.teniere I been studying the best low cost option with at lease 4/6 steam at most 2 will need be hardware trasoncder for out side the network to our Tables.

I'm look at i3-8100 or 9100 or AMD Ryzen 3 2200G then as future upgrade to 3300G depend which ever come first as I save up for new system parts and being that AMD is good about keeping backwards compatible with it previous generation motherboard unlike Intel by going with AMD setup maybe be the better option right now and upgrade to 3300G resale the CPU to recoup some of cost to get a way better CPU.

 

But if want a small footprint build then something like this which easy do 4 HW steam

ASRock J5005-ITX

Hauppauge Quad-HD ATSC Tuner or HDHomeRun Connect Quatro

DDR4 2400 2x4 8GB SODimm memory

ARK WT02 Black Mini ITX Server Case with 250W Power Supply

ToughArmor MB607SP-B Rugged Full Metal 4 Bay 2.5" SATA HDD & SSD Backplane Cage for External 5.25" Bay

The reason for the Icy dock is because it only that can except 15mm thick drive in one 5.25 bay and you easy add 3TB, 4TB all way to 5TB drive

Toss in 128GB or bigger SSD Boot drive and 3 reg harddrive and you have very nice little TV media server.

And need look in to a Drivepool software

[rene.teniere 17]

Cost of 2400Mhz is half as much 2933Mhz or faster and is only going be mostly beneficial in games any way so there for it doesn’t justify the extra expense in cost as a server.

Very doubtful as 4 thread are (SMT) Hyper-Threading which shared the same core resources so in reality you see very little beneficial any way unlike say higher clock speed north of 300Mhz above stock or more but you want maintain longevity not fry two week later so I don't recommend it as more likely to run in to more issues, I currently have A10 7850K that running bone stock that come up on 5 years old and it being power by 10 years old Corsair VX450W and it served me well but it time for upgrade and like rene.teniere I been studying the best low cost option with at lease 4/6 steam at most 2 will need be hardware trasoncder for out side the network to our Tables.

I'm look at i3-8100 or 9100 or AMD Ryzen 3 2200G then as future upgrade to 3300G depend which ever come first as I save up for new system parts and being that AMD is good about keeping backwards compatible with it previous generation motherboard unlike Intel by going with AMD setup maybe be the better option right now and upgrade to 3300G resale the CPU to recoup some of cost to get a way better CPU.

 

But if want a small footprint build then something like this which easy do 4 HW steam

ASRock J5005-ITX

Hauppauge Quad-HD ATSC Tuner or HDHomeRun Connect Quatro

DDR4 2400 2x4 8GB SODimm memory

ARK WT02 Black Mini ITX Server Case with 250W Power Supply

ToughArmor MB607SP-B Rugged Full Metal 4 Bay 2.5" SATA HDD & SSD Backplane Cage for External 5.25" Bay

The reason for the Icy dock is because it only that can except 15mm thick drive in one 5.25 bay and you easy add 3TB, 4TB all way to 5TB drive

Toss in 128GB or bigger SSD Boot drive and 3 reg harddrive and you have very nice little TV media server.

And need look in to a Drivepool software

 

Wish I had started this thread earlier. Christmas is a bad time of the year to plan a build. In such a hurry to get things before they sell out, and here in Canada we had a postal strike that backlogged packages for weeks. Am I in danger of frying the DDR4 3000 ram I bought? Little worried now... All I have left to buy now is the APU. That will be a 2019 purchase, so I will let everyone duke it out on this post for APU supremacy 

 

Seriously though, this is all good info. Debating leads to better info all around for us trying to make an informed decision. There is so much misleading info and marketing hype out there when all you want is a basic server / desktop to serve media to Roku devices in your household!

[SHSPVR 120]

Wish I had started this thread earlier. Christmas is a bad time of the year to plan a build. In such a hurry to get things before they sell out, and here in Canada we had a postal strike that backlogged packages for weeks. Am I in danger of frying the DDR4 3000 ram I bought? Little worried now... All I have left to buy now is the APU. That will be a 2019 purchase, so I will let everyone duke it out on this post for APU supremacy 

 

Seriously though, this is all good info. Debating leads to better info all around for us trying to make an informed decision. There is so much misleading info and marketing hype out there when all you want is a basic server / desktop to serve media to Roku devices in your household!

 

 

What kit make and model do you get at most it may or may not reach that speed in default auto memory setting with what motherboard so what did you settle on make and model ?,  you can check this in CPU-Z under the SPD tab you may need to enable XMP profile in the bios it just depend and I refer CPU over clocking as memory is real pain to get the timing just right which can be a lot of trail and error in make it stable across the board when doing both even getting the exact same parts and match the same setting of some else build your mileage may vary because no two silicon die are the same even from the very same disc platter.

[rene.teniere 17]

Got the ASRock B450M Pro4 and Team T-Force Vulcan 2 x 8GB DDR4 3000. The specs say it maxes out at 2400 for Ryzen Ridge... Got the ram because it was same price as the 2400. I don’t mind going stock. Don’t see the need to overclock?

Edited December 24, 2018 by rene.teniere

[SHSPVR 120]

Got the ASRock B450M Pro4 and Team T-Force Vulcan 2 x 8GB DDR4 3000. The specs say it maxes out at 2400 for Ryzen Ridge... Got the ram because it was same price as the 2400. I don’t mind going stock. Don’t see the need to overclock?

 

The Actual the max stock speed spec is 2933 and right OC memory would have been 3200.

Just be sure to update the bios on it when you get it.

Edited December 24, 2018 by SHSPVR

[rene.teniere 17]

Ok, thanks. No overclocking then. Like I said, it will be at idle 75% of the time...