BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 Okay, I've been considering handing down the CPU from my desktop (Ryzen 7 1700) to replace my server (Xeon E3-1271) My server is basically: Xeon E3-1271 Supermicro X10SL7-F 16 GB - ECC Unraid It handles most things very well for what I need. It pulls double duty as my file and media server. Recently, I've added a couple of 4K media files and it seems that the Xeon just struggles if any transcoding needs to take place on them. I realize that it's more complicated than that, but I get buffering on anything other than a direct play/stream. I recently got a small bonus from work, and I was considering an upgrade for my normal gaming/workstation rig to a 3700X, keeping everything else the same. The question is, is it worth it to upgrade my server by passing down the Ryzen 7 1700? Basically that would involve the purchase of a new MB and ECC RAM to make the switch. At the moment I'm considering: AsRock Rack X470D4U - $260 2x16GB ECC UDIMM - $180-200 I like to use server grade components wherever possible. I realize I could do it cheaper with consumer grade stuff. So that's a pretty expensive upgrade for ~+4000 Passmark. I'll also gain a lower TDP and double the physical cores. The question is... will that CPU handle 4K content? Or is it also borderline? Of course there is also the "@ Approved" nuclear option which is to get the 3900X or 3950X for the server as well.... but at least this would put me part of the way there. Thoughts?
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 There's another option which I thought of. I could get a cheap 1050ti or 1650 and play around with passing that to my Emby docker. I would probably never need more than 2 transcodes at a time. There are some pretty good tutorials for doing that with Unraid.
PenkethBoy 2066 Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) If it was me.... why not install a test emby server on your desktop which i think has your 1700 installed - if reading the above correctly and test a 4k transcode to see how you go? if the above is not up to it - then get a gpu - for the xeon last resort go the doofus route Edited January 13, 2020 by PenkethBoy 1
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 If it was me.... why not install a test emby server on your desktop which i think has your 1700 installed - if reading the above correctly and test a 4k transcode to see how you go? if the above is not up to it - then get a gpu - for the xeon last resort go the doofus route Run Emby on Windows? Absurd!!
Guest asrequested Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 Not sure how well a 1700 would handle 4k. It would be interesting to find out. 1
PenkethBoy 2066 Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 Run Emby on Windows? Absurd!! you have no idea what you are missing
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 you have no idea what you are missing I could say the same for those not running Linux/Docker.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 Not sure how well a 1700 would handle 4k. It would be interesting to find out. I may give it a shot on the current desktop (Ryzen 7 1700) just to see how it goes as @@PenkethBoy suggested. I'm currently in the @ camp of CPU > GPU though.
PenkethBoy 2066 Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) I could say the same for those not running Linux/Docker. true - but all i see is people having permission issues - for the inexperienced although i do have a QNAP nas for when i feel the need to go to the dark side Edited January 13, 2020 by PenkethBoy
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 true - but all i see is people having permission issues - for the inexperienced although i do have a QNAP nas for when i feel the need to go to the dark side I think I may have figured all of that out back in the dark days of Plex when I was running Docker with OMV. I already had the permissions knowledge when I moved to Emby. Unraid makes all of that even easier with the templates.
Guest asrequested Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 I put Linux on a mini PC for the purposes of experimenting with it. But I can never get enough time to actually do anything with it.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 I put Linux on a mini PC for the purposes of experimenting with it. But I can never get enough time to actually do anything with it. Too much time spent troubleshooting the bleeding edge in Windows? Speaking of which... I was triggered into thinking about all of this when I was in a local Micro Center yesterday.... they had two Ryzen 9 3950X CPU on the shelf. I was less tempted to leave with one of them at $720. But the $299 Ryzen 7 3700X is tempting.
Guest asrequested Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 Some time this year, I'm planning to get my hands on new Ryzen.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 Some time this year, I'm planning to get my hands on new Ryzen. Ryzen 9 3990X? 64-Core 128-Thread
Guest asrequested Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 Maybe, but by the time I buy one, they may have new stuff. Then I can get frustrated with all the bugs
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 Maybe, but by the time I buy one, they may have new stuff. Then I can get frustrated with all the bugs I predict that they have a 128-Core 256-Thread TR by Q1 2021.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 Ha! Yeah, a 350 watt blazer! That wouldn't be too bad considering the 3970X is 280W.
Guest asrequested Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 I imagine they'll reduce the architecture, in future. The Threadripper is a beast.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 @@PenkethBoy @ I ran a quick test using the portable version of Emby on my desktop. It is marginally faster, but still not ready for real 4K content. H264 4K was handled fine, but HEVC content stuttered. My test was mostly unscientific.... I downloaded several demo "4K" files for testing. Then I created a folder on both systems for them. Certainly not worth spending that much for a marginal upgrade.
Guest asrequested Posted January 13, 2020 Posted January 13, 2020 That's along the lines of what I expected.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) That's along the lines of what I expected. Yeah... me too. But I was hopeful. There was one HEVC file it handled... but it was a movie with a lower framerate 24 fps or so I think. Most of the demos I downloaded were 30 or 60 fps. ETA: It might be a little better if I take away the overhead of windows... but not enough to justify. Edited January 13, 2020 by BAlGaInTl
Jdiesel 1333 Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 What GPU is in your current gaming PC? Maybe you could upgrade that and loan the current one to your server.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Posted January 14, 2020 What GPU is in your current gaming PC? Maybe you could upgrade that and loan the current one to your server. It's a GTX 1070ti That being said... I put my key in and tried that, and it didn't keep up any better. Probably something with my overall setup I'm sure. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it at the moment.
BAlGaInTl 280 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Posted January 14, 2020 It's a GTX 1070ti That being said... I put my key in and tried that, and it didn't keep up any better. Probably something with my overall setup I'm sure. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it at the moment. It's bugging me now... I've tried several files and I only get 22-26 fps transcoding regardless of what I try to transcode to. I've confirmed that the dashboard says I'm using NVENC.
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