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PenguinMaster

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  1. PenguinMaster
    Hi I am in need of a new UPS for my server rack as I have outgrown the old one I had. I predict I need a 1500VA UPS. My budget is $300 and I am trying to get a pure sine wave if possible. Does anyone have any good suggestions as I see some people are reporting bad switch over times for UPS' at this price point. Thanks
  2. PenguinMaster
    I narrowed down the search to these. Are any of these decent?
  3. PenguinMaster
    Hi all, I was wondering what the best "gaming" monitor options are at around $500 (or less preferably). Right now I have an MSI G24C monitor and an LG UltraWide (not sure on model but its 29" 2560x1080, and 60Hz). I am looking to replace the MSI G24C because its my main display and its only 1080P. I just got an RTX 3070 so I would like to make the upgrade to 1440P. What I do like about the MSI monitor is the 144Hz refresh rate and I do like the curve even though it is subtle. I would prefer these specs if possible: At least: >24" or more >1440P >G-Sync >5ms Response time or lower >120Hz or more >Curved if possible I would be willing to compromise on the curve if it saves a decent amount of money. The current monitor that I think meets my qualifications is the Samsung Odyssey G7 but I'm not sure if I can justify the $550 price tag. Thanks all! EDIT: I would only spend $550 if it had the curve otherwise I've seen decent flat monitors for around $350 or less.
  4. PenguinMaster
    Hi all - I ended up opting for the EVGA Supernova G6. Thank you!
  5. PenguinMaster
    Hi all, I need help picking a PSU for my system: CPU: Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor (Purchased For $216.74) CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler (Purchased For $62.21) Motherboard: MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI ATX LGA1200 Motherboard (Purchased For $216.75) Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $59.60) Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($57.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($229.99 @ B&H) Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB GAMING OC Video Card ($797.00 @ Amazon) Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $102.95) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM 64-bit ($139.98 @ Newegg) - lol who pays $140 for windows Case Fan: Noctua F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 109.89 CFM 120 mm Fan ($27.95 @ Amazon) Case Fan: Corsair iCUE SP120 RGB Pro 52 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack (Purchased For $43.34) Custom: TP-Link TX401 10GbE PCIe x4 Adapter (Purchased For $59.61) Here is what I narrowed it down to: Thank you all
  6. PenguinMaster
    Hi all, I was wondering what the best GPU to pair with a 3700X is? I was thinking 2060 super or 2070 super but I am not sure. I am also open to the newest RTX 30 series cards. Feedback is appreciated!
  7. PenguinMaster
    Hi all I am in the market for either one or two (depending on capacity) battery backups for my home lab. I want to buy them used and just put new batteries in them. Does anyone have any good recommendations for UPS units? I am open to new ones too if they are cheap enough. Do I need a sine wave UPS? Would like to be around $1000 max including batteries if I can Here is the list of devices I will have connected >Mac mini (2014 i5, 4GB Ram, SSD) >Arris Modem >2x Apple Time Capsules >Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro >Ubiquiti Switch Aggregation >Ubiquiti Switch Pro 24 >Ubiquiti Switch Enterprise 8 PoE (all ports in use) >A mini PC (i3, 16GB ram, SSD) >A NAS, which is the next project to build but I am guessing it will have an i5 and between 6-8 HDDs I want a decent amount of room to expand for the future. I would prefer if they’re rack mountable UPS’ but if I am paying a lot extra for that feature I can always use a shelf in the rack. input and recommendations are greatly appreciated!
  8. PenguinMaster
    Thanks for pointing this out I did not even think about that. I just checked this switch can support a maximum of 4 of the SFP+ to RJ45 modules with a maximum of 3W per port, so the 2.3W the FS.com adapters take should be ok. The latency should be ok. I am only using this for my home. All devices are going to be on the same network also. Thanks for the rest of that information on the other SFP+ modules. I only need them for the full 10G spec though. I think I will go with the FS.com standard modules, not the industrial ones as they have been well recommended. Also I've bought cables from FS.com before and I thought the quality was good.
  9. PenguinMaster
    Hi all I have a couple of questions about my ubiquiti setup and about some SFP+ to RJ45 adapters. I wired my house for 10GbE (Cat6A) and for some of the devices I want to be able to utilize the full 10GbE connection. I recently bought a Ubiquiti USW-Aggregation which has 8x 10Gb SFP+ ports on it. I also have 2 other switches, a USW-Enterprise-8-PoE and a USW-Pro-24. My router is a UDM Pro. I plan to use the Switch Aggregation to connect the switches together as well as use 4 of the ports for computers I want to have 10G on and also one port for a NAS. My original plan was to aggregate 2x 10G SFP+ ports together to connect the other two switches together which would use up 4 of the ports, 2 10G links for each. The other 3 would be used for desktops around the house and the last one as I said would be used for the NAS. Is there any reason the Dream Machine Pro would need to be connected through 10G rather than just 1G? My internet connection is only 1G so the only reason I could see the need for 10G would be for the NVR access to the drive in the Dream Machine Pro but I doubt you'd need 10G for a mechanical HDD. Let me know if I'm wrong My other question was about these 10Gb SFP+ to RJ45 adapters. I need these to connect a few desktops to my Ubiquiti Switch Aggregation. Is there any difference between these? Are any brands better than others? FS.com option 1 Amazon option 2 Amazon option 3 Amazon option 4 There's also this "Industrial" one from FS.com. Thanks for anyones input!
  10. PenguinMaster
    I bought a network tester (Klein VDV501-851) that will tell me fairly accurate cable lengths of the ethernet runs. If some of them are under the 100ft maximum for using the SFP+ to RJ45 adapters I will get the Ubiquiti Switch Aggregation which has 8 10G SFP+ ports on it. I would dedicate 2 of the ports to the new USW-Enterprise-8-POE switch I bought and 2 to the 24-Pro switch I already have. That leaves me with 4 ports for 10G devices which is enough for today. Much better than spending the $1299 on the one switch
  11. PenguinMaster
    @Falcon1986 I think I might not have been clear as what I meant with the PoE / 10GbE switch. For the WiFi Access Points I only need either 1GbE or 2.5GbE and for devices that don't require PoE I would need 10GbE for some of them. I guess I was asking for a switch that doesn't exist as most of them are either all 10GbE with no PoE or PoE but with only either 1GbE or 2.5GbE ports on them. I did look at the USW-Enterprise-8-PoE and I think that might be the path I go as I am currently powering 3 Switch Flex mini's with PoE but I can switch them to using a power adapter instead so that would free up an additional 3 ports and then if we ever added cameras in the future that would give us the ability to add 4. Thank you!
  12. PenguinMaster
    @Sir Asvald Thank you for those product recommendations. I would prefer to have more than 5 10G ports on my switch though just so I don't have to go about replacing it again in a couple of years. I need to stay away from using SFP+ to RJ45 Adapters because I believe the maximum distance on those is 100ft or 30m and some of the 10GbE runs exceed the 100ft maximum. For the 10GbE switch I was looking at a MikroTik CRS312-4C+8XG-RM as this has the perfect amount of 10GbE ports and I like the price a lot more. The price is way more reasonable compared to the Ubiquiti Switch Enterprise XG 24 ($659 vs $1299). The only thing I don't like is I would be using multiple interfaces instead of just having the one to control everything in my network. I'm not sure if that feature is worth almost double the price though. For the PoE switch I think I will either stick with just using the PoE injectors or I would sell my Ubiquiti Switch Pro 24 and replace it with the Ubiquiti Switch Enterprise 24 PoE.
  13. PenguinMaster
    Yeah hopefully. I'm still trying to get my hands on a G4 Doorbell. Interestingly enough the Ubiquiti store on Amazon still has them in stock and is regularly restocked, and the price is usually about an extra $100 more than what Ubiquiti sells them for on their site. It seems like maybe they've been trying to get the higher price for the doorbell on Amazon rather than sell them at MSRP on their own site. Thank you for the product recommendation, but these switches seem to be more expensive than the Ubiquiti ones and what I was willing to spend (like $2000 tops). I am trying to stay in the one ecosystem if I can for the most part.
  14. PenguinMaster
    I am moving into a new house in a few weeks and we wired for 10GbE. My current network switch is a Ubiquiti Switch Pro 24 with no PoE or 10G other than the two SFP+ ports. I predict as of now that I'll only have maybe 5 10G devices but in the future that number could change to 10 or so. I was looking at selling my switch and buying the Switch Enterprise XG 24 for future proofing, but this switch doesn't have any PoE ports on it either and in my new house I have 7 PoE devices (also Unifi). Two of them need PoE+ and the other 5 only need standard PoE. I could just use PoE injectors which was my original idea or I could settle for a PoE switch and the Enterprise XG. I am not sure what to do. I have a NAS that is also 10G capable so I would like to be able to use the 10G capabilities of the networking in my home since I already have the wiring for it. What do you guys recommend? Feedback is greatly appreciated. Also why is some of the used Ubiquiti gear selling for more than new on eBay? That doesn't make any sense??
  15. PenguinMaster
    Update: we went with conduit so we can change out the HDMI cables in the future if we had to. Also this means I don’t need “in-wall” rated cables anymore just regular HDMI cables will still be buying either HDMI 4k @120hz or 8k @60hz cables though
  16. PenguinMaster
    Update: we bought 14AWG for low powered speakers and went with 12AWG for the subwoofer and tower-style speakers
  17. PenguinMaster
    @dilpickle @tikker Thanks for the help. I will be going with conduit! The wires do not need to be in wall rated in that case since they are in conduit, as per code. Got any recommendations for NON in-wall HDMI cables?
  18. PenguinMaster
    Hi all My family is wiring our new house for TVs and in some spots we need a 15ft HDMI cable (the shortest length it can possibly be). I wanted to put in HDMI 2.1 cables because they are the latest and I know I am only getting one chance at wiring this house so I want to use the newest standard. Does anyone have any recommendations for a REAL HDMI 2.1 cable as a lot of the ones on Amazon are snake oil and don't actually meet the HDMI 2.1 standard. I know Linus did the HDMI cable test video but he didn't give model numbers for the cables and also I think I need "In wall" rated cables to pass inspection. Thanks all
  19. PenguinMaster
    Hi all- My family is in the process of building a new home and in addition to running ethernet cables my dad wants to run speaker wire for his stereo in the wall. We are hoping to use either 14 or 12 AWG wire since some of the runs could be quite long (up to 80-100ft). We only need 2 wire cable instead of I see some are 4 wire. What cable brands have you guys had luck with? There are so many options it is almost overwhelming. We need a 500ft spool. I was trying to stay away from the CCA cable since I know that is not as good as pure copper, but the listings for the wire has that information buried so you don't notice it. Thanks all
  20. PenguinMaster
    Hi all - Me and my family have had 1080P TVs for the longest time and never really saw a need for a new TV until one day we were walking through our local PCRichards for appliances and saw the 4K LG OLED TVs and they definitely convinced us to upgrade. We are NOT looking to spend OLED money however as we don't have $1300+ to spend on a TV unfortunately. We would like to be around $650 maximum for the TV. We would prefer LG as the brand but if you guys have better recommendations please let me know. Some preferred specs would be: >4K >55+ inches >integrated speakers that are decent would be nice but are not a must Thank you for any Information
  21. PenguinMaster
    @LIGISTX Thanks for the input! I think you're right about the RAM being overkill. I think I am going to stick with the i5 and at least 16GB of ram, although I'd prefer 32GB just for future sake. Most of my content is already in 4K so it would be annoying to change everything over to 1080 so there would be some transcoding possibly from 4K to 1080P occasionally. For the most part not though. Do you think a GPU is necessary at all or will the CPU be able to handle all of that?
  22. PenguinMaster
    Also just for reference here are the specs of the HPE DL380 Gen9 Server I have: 2x Intel Xeon E5-2650L v4 (14 cores each) 64GB DDR4 ECC memory Dual Redundant 800w 80+ Platinum Power Supplies Dual-port HPE 10GbE Network card All the drives listed above
  23. PenguinMaster
    @BondiBlue @LIGISTX @Blue4130 I am planning on using this for more things in the future. I need this server to be able to handle at least 3x 4K Plex streams simultaneously but I wouldn't mind if it was slightly overbuilt. I already have the cache drives so I also don't mind using them since I can't really return them. For the Seagate drives, I can return those for different drives if you guys think that would be a better idea. The 4 and 6TB options seemed like the sweet-spot for price / capacity to me though. I also planned on using this as a game drive so I could save a game from one PC and pick up where I left off on another PC. This was the main reason for the cache drives and the faster CPU. There is a chance where the system would need to transcode for PLEX and also be used to access game files at the same time which I would think would put a lot of strain on the system, but let me know if I'm wrong about that. Also for the drives Im looking for speed over capacity for the most part which is why I wanted more smaller drives instead of less larger capacity drives.
  24. PenguinMaster
    Hi all, I am looking to build a custom rack mount computer that will act as my home Plex / NAS Server. I am new to this stuff so I greatly appreciate feedback. Originally I was going to use an HPE DL380 Gen9 but after having it on for a while, I decided to sell it because it is unbearably loud. I already have some items purchased for the new server that I would prefer to re-use. I already have an UNRAID license for UNRAID Plus, I would be open to upgrading to Pro if I needed to though. I also already have 2x WD RED 1TB SSDs as cache drives. I also have 6x 4TB Seagate EXOS drives, 4 for storage and 2 for redundancy. I never officially had the Dell HPE server up and running just because it was so outrageously loud that I couldn't keep it on. This is the new computer I proposed to replace it with: PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cDNscb CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($279.99 @ B&H) CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S 46.44 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.95 @ Amazon) Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Amazon) Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($274.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Western Digital Red SA500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($124.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Western Digital Red SA500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($124.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate EXOS Enterprise 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($110.00 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate EXOS Enterprise 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($110.00 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate EXOS Enterprise 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($110.00 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate EXOS Enterprise 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($110.00 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate EXOS Enterprise 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($110.00 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate EXOS Enterprise 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($110.00 @ Amazon) Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DUAL EVO OC Video Card ($674.49 @ Amazon) Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ Amazon) Wired Network Adapter: Intel X550-T2 PCIe x4 10 Gbit/s Network Adapter ($362.00 @ Amazon) Total: $2931.38 Not included in this list I need an HBA card because I can't find a motherboard with enough SATA ports and a 4U rack mount case. The graphics card I did not purchase yet, and I also do NOT plan on purchasing at $700! That is so outrageous!!! The total budget is $1800-$2000 excluding drives. I am open to purchasing things used Thanks!
  25. PenguinMaster
    @Blue4130 @jaslion Update: this closet is going to be in a separate room that is totally closed off from the seating area. There is a wall separating the two areas that will be insulated for sound between them. If it still ends up still being a problem I will sell the server and make a custom 4u rack mount computer. Other than that what do you guys think about the 20A circuit? Is that going to be enough?
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