I need to make a decision on hardware and need assistance.

[PlasteredJedi]

Hey everyone, I was looking to expand the storage of my home server and came away with more questions.  I will get into what I use in a moment, but first, what I use it for.

Currently, it runs a small 2 map Ark Server Cluster and my PLEX Server.  I am not seeing any issues with any of these but I am rapidly running out of storage space.  I am using three 4TB shucked WD drives.
 

The decision I need to make is if I should replace the system with an Ebay server (something I can get around $300 or less) or if I should add more storage and then leave it alone or take a different path entirely.

My current setup - Old workstation

CPU - Intel Core i7 @ 3.33GHz Nehalem

Mobo - ASUSTeK Computer INC. P6T WS PRO (LGA1366)

Graphics - 768MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 (NVIDIA) (This is basically useless)

 

12Gb of RAM (I don't remember what RAM exactly but again, no problems)

I see a BUNCH of Dell Poweredge R710s on Ebay and hear people use them for similar purposes.

Any suggestions?  Am I thinking too much into it and should just add more storage and be done?

 

[PlasteredJedi]

I should clarify, that while I don't currently see issues, I do have trouble with some 4K files in PLEX but I am not worried about it yet and I would like to ensure smooth operation for years to come.

[maxderc00l]

I would try to locate the 4k problem and look into ways to fix it. If there isn't enough storage add more. No server can magically make more bits appear on your HDD. I think you should just go the route of lowest cost/running without huge overhead. The question is what would you have to invest additionally(sell what you don't need) and what would be the advantage. And never upgrade existing hardware because you may need better hardware later. The hardware is either going to be cheaper or more powerful.

[Lurick]

I'd, personally, go with an R720 or newer just due to CPUs you can install on the R710 being limited to X5500 or X5600 series CPUs which would max out at 6 cores each with the highest end X5600 just matching your 3.33GHz clock speeds but at probably much higher power draw. The R720 can use E5 and E5 v2 series CPUs which could put you up to 12 cores each with lower TDP compared to the X5600 series.

[Biomecanoid]

27 minutes ago, PlasteredJedi said:

I should clarify, that while I don't currently see issues, I do have trouble with some 4K files in PLEX but I am not worried about it yet and I would like to ensure smooth operation for years to come.

What trouble are you having with 4K files ? It might be a problem of the end device playing the files not PLEX

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to New Builds and Planning

[PlasteredJedi]

23 hours ago, Biomecanoid said:

What trouble are you having with 4K files ? It might be a problem of the end device playing the files not PLEX

On most devices I get so much buffering that it's unusable.

I ma not worried about it because I am fairly certain it's one of two things, either my current storage is too slow or I have some transcoding setting mucked up somewhere.  I am sure I can figure it out but haven't had the drive to do so yet.  I can watch things in 1080p (I have a second file of the same movie) with no issues and even though it would clear some space, it wouldn't be drastic so I haven't devoted any energy to it yet.

[PlasteredJedi]

23 hours ago, maxderc00l said:

I would try to locate the 4k problem and look into ways to fix it. If there isn't enough storage add more. No server can magically make more bits appear on your HDD. I think you should just go the route of lowest cost/running without huge overhead. The question is what would you have to invest additionally(sell what you don't need) and what would be the advantage. And never upgrade existing hardware because you may need better hardware later. The hardware is either going to be cheaper or more powerful.

I think I wasn't clear enough on my question.  I understand that I need to add storage either way, I am currently shopping for the right drives for me.  My thought was, "I have the capability to replace the whole thing now and I wonder if that would be prudent in order to save myself the trouble down the line"

[Biomecanoid]

7 minutes ago, PlasteredJedi said:

On most devices I get so much buffering that it's unusable.

I ma not worried about it because I am fairly certain it's one of two things, either my current storage is too slow or I have some transcoding setting mucked up somewhere.  I am sure I can figure it out but haven't had the drive to do so yet.  I can watch things in 1080p (I have a second file of the same movie) with no issues and even though it would clear some space, it wouldn't be drastic so I haven't devoted any energy to it yet.

Why do you need transcoding ? and not play the original files directly ?

[PlasteredJedi]

Just now, Biomecanoid said:

Why do you need transcoding ? and not play the original files directly ?

See, that's the thing.  I don't know if it's on or not.  I literally haven't spent any time on it yet.  I am deciding on what to do about upgrading, or updating first then I will spend more time and effort in making it "perfect".  I am also looking into the new Plex Arcade to see if it's worth it.

[Biomecanoid]

5 minutes ago, PlasteredJedi said:

See, that's the thing.  I don't know if it's on or not.  I literally haven't spent any time on it yet.  I am deciding on what to do about upgrading, or updating first then I will spend more time and effort in making it "perfect".  I am also looking into the new Plex Arcade to see if it's worth it.

What are your end devices ? I run Kodi on my devices, I don't need plex and you only need local storage for movies or SMB on a NAS.

 

Its less complicated and more reliable.

[PlasteredJedi]

1 hour ago, Biomecanoid said:

What are your end devices ? I run Kodi on my devices, I don't need plex and you only need local storage for movies or SMB on a NAS.

 

Its less complicated and more reliable.

My devices are 3 different Chromecast with Google TV's, a bunch of PCs and on a rare occasion a mobile device or two (Pixel 3, Moto G)
I don't think any of my friends try to watch in 4K, although I can ask a couple of them.

All of my devices use the Plex app or in the case of the PCs we use the web browser.

[Biomecanoid]

9 hours ago, PlasteredJedi said:

My devices are 3 different Chromecast with Google TV's, a bunch of PCs and on a rare occasion a mobile device or two (Pixel 3, Moto G)
I don't think any of my friends try to watch in 4K, although I can ask a couple of them.

All of my devices use the Plex app or in the case of the PCs we use the web browser.

I assume that you can install Kodi on Google TV. The PCs can play videos using samba directly. The only devices that would make sense to use plex are the mobiles devices everything else can be independent.