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Computer to do everything.

Urika
By Urika
in Servers, NAS, and Home Lab
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I am putting this thread here because most of the questions I have are vm or server related (if this is not in the correct spot please let me know). I was thinking about using unraid, but setting that up I think is beyond my ability and I would need a video card for each VM (I am assuming), granted the cards for the VM's would be something like a fanless 1030. 

 

Ultimately I want to replace 3 or 4 of my computers with 1. 

 

What I want to be able to do is run (at the same time):

My general use machine (linix mint) while being very fast and snappy (4k monitor or two without blinking an eye, along with light gaming)

Plex server, 2 transcoding 1080p streams at a time (Linux) 

File server (I might combine with my plex server) 

Blue Iris security system continuously recording with 4 cameras (windows) 

Blue ray drive for data (windows to be combined with Blue Iris) 

 

So here is my plan / idea. 

 

My main OS would be linix mint. 

 

Then I would have a VM with windows 10 running blue iris (4 cores and 4GB of ram). This would run on a separate 120GB SSD with a 2TB WD purple HDD. I have a blue ray optical drive and windows 10 pro licence already. 

 

VM with linix running plex (4 cores with 4GB of ram) running on a 120GB ssd and a 4TB hdd

 

Maybe a VM with a file server using 2 cores and 2GB ram. 120GB ssd and a 4TB hdd in raid 1.

 

But part of the catch is that when I use the normal full system I still want it to be blazing fast and not sound like a jet engine taking off (it is a new computer after all). My thought is that the other VMs would be effectively contained to only specific cores and RAM so no matter what they are doing it does not slow down the main system. 

 

For a cpu I am thinking 

thread ripper 2 (2920 12 core 24 thread) I would prefer a quiet air cooler over liquid cooling as I have never done liquid cooling and it makes me a little nervous 

1070 ti video card (or equivalent) quieter the better

32GB quad channel memory (for this application I presume the faster the better)

512 or 1TB nvme drive for my general use (plus a 4tb spinning HDD for general storage or steam games) Maybe a slightly lower capacity Optane drive?

Fanless power supply (80+ platinum because this system would be on 24/7

4TB HDD for plex storage

2TB HDD for blue iris

two 120GB ssd for VM operating systems

Battery backup (my laser printer is in the same room and it makes the lights dim)

And a case to go along with it. I dont care about cosmetics, but I would like a couple usb ports on the front of the tower)

 

I would like to have thunderbolt 3, I think linux still has issues with it but down the road I hope it would be sorted out. 

 

With all that said, what do you guys think? Am I asking to much of the hardware or is there a better way to set this up?

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Posted
4 hours ago, Urika said:

I am putting this thread here because most of the questions I have are vm or server related (if this is not in the correct spot please let me know). I was thinking about using unraid, but setting that up I think is beyond my ability and I would need a video card for each VM (I am assuming), granted the cards for the VM's would be something like a fanless 1030. 

 

Ultimately I want to replace 3 or 4 of my computers with 1. 

 

What I want to be able to do is run (at the same time):

My general use machine (linix mint) while being very fast and snappy (4k monitor or two without blinking an eye, along with light gaming)

Plex server, 2 transcoding 1080p streams at a time (Linux) 

File server (I might combine with my plex server) 

Blue Iris security system continuously recording with 4 cameras (windows) 

Blue ray drive for data (windows to be combined with Blue Iris) 

 

So here is my plan / idea. 

 

My main OS would be linix mint. 

 

Then I would have a VM with windows 10 running blue iris (4 cores and 4GB of ram). This would run on a separate 120GB SSD with a 2TB WD purple HDD. I have a blue ray optical drive and windows 10 pro licence already. 

 

VM with linix running plex (4 cores with 4GB of ram) running on a 120GB ssd and a 4TB hdd

 

Maybe a VM with a file server using 2 cores and 2GB ram. 120GB ssd and a 4TB hdd in raid 1.

 

But part of the catch is that when I use the normal full system I still want it to be blazing fast and not sound like a jet engine taking off (it is a new computer after all). My thought is that the other VMs would be effectively contained to only specific cores and RAM so no matter what they are doing it does not slow down the main system. 

 

For a cpu I am thinking 

thread ripper 2 (2920 12 core 24 thread) I would prefer a quiet air cooler over liquid cooling as I have never done liquid cooling and it makes me a little nervous 

1070 ti video card (or equivalent) quieter the better

32GB quad channel memory (for this application I presume the faster the better)

512 or 1TB nvme drive for my general use (plus a 4tb spinning HDD for general storage or steam games) Maybe a slightly lower capacity Optane drive?

Fanless power supply (80+ platinum because this system would be on 24/7

4TB HDD for plex storage

2TB HDD for blue iris

two 120GB ssd for VM operating systems

Battery backup (my laser printer is in the same room and it makes the lights dim)

And a case to go along with it. I dont care about cosmetics, but I would like a couple usb ports on the front of the tower)

 

I would like to have thunderbolt 3, I think linux still has issues with it but down the road I hope it would be sorted out. 

 

With all that said, what do you guys think? Am I asking to much of the hardware or is there a better way to set this up?

To be completely honest. This is a very small setup and the parts you've choosen should work good. However, i do wonder what hypervisor you'd use for this? is it VirtualBox or VMware Workstation? My knowledge on Type 2 hypervisors are very limited.. Hopefully someone have more knowledge here than me.

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7 hours ago, Urika said:

 

But part of the catch is that when I use the normal full system I still want it to be blazing fast and not sound like a jet engine taking off (it is a new computer after all). My thought is that the other VMs would be effectively contained to only specific cores and RAM so no matter what they are doing it does not slow down the main system. 

 

For a cpu I am thinking 

thread ripper 2 (2920 12 core 24 thread) I would prefer a quiet air cooler over liquid cooling as I have never done liquid cooling and it makes me a little nervous 

1070 ti video card (or equivalent) quieter the better

32GB quad channel memory (for this application I presume the faster the better)

512 or 1TB nvme drive for my general use (plus a 4tb spinning HDD for general storage or steam games) Maybe a slightly lower capacity Optane drive?

Fanless power supply (80+ platinum because this system would be on 24/7

4TB HDD for plex storage

2TB HDD for blue iris

two 120GB ssd for VM operating systems

Battery backup (my laser printer is in the same room and it makes the lights dim)

And a case to go along with it. I dont care about cosmetics, but I would like a couple usb ports on the front of the tower)

 

I would like to have thunderbolt 3, I think linux still has issues with it but down the road I hope it would be sorted out. 

 

With all that said, what do you guys think? Am I asking to much of the hardware or is there a better way to set this up?

 

A couple of thoughts.

 

- Don't aim for a fanless PSU. Aim for one that will turn the fans off when not under load. Better to have cooling available for when it is under load. 

- Same applies to the graphics cards. Gigabyte have models with 'Fan Stop' where the fans won't spin unless necessary. I'm sure other vendors have similar.

- Go for a large case with good airflow. Gamers Nexus does a lot of case reviews with noise and airflow considered. With all the hardware, giving it room to breathe will help keep the noise down. 

- For storage a possible option may be to go with a NAS. You can throw a few large drives in it (4 x 4TB for example), create shares to whatever size you want (or leave the size limits open). I have a Netgear NAS with bonded gigabit nics. This is where the majority of my VM's reside for my hypervisor. Speeds aren't incredible, but not bad considering it's running the VM's off external storage. Would be a handy way to have a large storage pool without multiple mechanical drives in your case and doesn't lock you in space wise. 

- Wouldn't be concerned about using AIO liquid coolers. They are easy to install and don't require any special knowledge. Lots of videos you can watch on the subject. Helps with the noise levels also. 

 

Considering you are running multiple VM's, an option like Unraid or a different KVM hypervisor may be a good option. Yes, unraid has a cost, but its not high. It would also allows for better allocation of the computers resources avoiding the main system (Linux Mint) having any overhead on performance. Likewise you could dedicate the 1070 TI to just your main system so the others have no impact on it. Grab any old graphics card for hypervisor management. I got a cheap GT710 for mine (fanless, low power, small footprint). 

 

Hope this helps. 

 

 

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I think you might be right. The super computer might not be the most efficient solution (but cool if it would work).

 

For Blue Iris quick sync does not work in a VM of on AMD. 

 

But I can make an i3-8100 total system for $350 (already have an extra windows key. Heck might be better building a second one for a NAS...

 

The a NAS would be $250-$500 depending upon the selection. 

I could use a VM on demand with windows in the linux computer to use the blue ray drive (to add movies to plex).

Continue to use my HP laptop (8460p Elitebook w/ Linux) for a Plex server but would use the NAS for data (currently using an external 3.5" drive and I dont like that system). 

 

Build a very nice i7 system and the cpu costs half as much as the threadripper and uses less power (and does not need to be on 24/7). 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
Type Item Price
CPU Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor $124.79 @ OutletPC
Motherboard MSI - H310-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard $69.99 @ Walmart
Memory G.Skill - Value 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory $48.99 @ Newegg
Storage Kingston - A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $25.99 @ Amazon
Case Thermaltake - Versa N21 ATX Mid Tower Case $29.51 @ Newegg
Power Supply SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply $45.29 @ Newegg
  Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts  
  Total (before mail-in rebates) $389.56
  Mail-in rebates -$45.00
  Total $344.56
  Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-11 18:17 EST-0500  

 

 

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