Reducing power on a plex server setup

TheLastSeeker · January 30, 2022

I got a decent 8700k core to use but feel it's a little too beefy when only taking 1080p footage with only 2 users at most at a time. I'm trying to minimise heat as much as possible and was thinking is it better to undervolt and drop clocks to an older 6000 style processor so it can run on low power / heat output. The server is likely to be running drivepool currently till i get more drives to support the idea of raid 5 or such. Currently at 2 8tb drives and the data isn't exactly problematic to get back since i can fill such in 8 days or so.

leadeater · January 30, 2022

Simply find a stable vcore voltage, leave the core multipliers alone other than make sure they are set to default Intel spec (typically BIOS does not do this) then set a TDP limit either in the BIOS if they have the option or use Intel XTU. Intel XTU is actually a nice and safe way to do it as you don't risk having to clear all your CMOS/BIOS settings if you set vcore, memory or clocks wrong enough the system won't boot.

That said there isn't actually a lot to be gained on the CPU side so long as the Intel default specifications are being used, HDD idle spin down will save more power. Personally I'd just disable boost in Intel XTU, lower the maximum non turbo multiplier and then in the Windows Power Plan make sure you allow minimum processor state to be 10%, heck if you want set the maximum processor state.

More disks you add to the Plex server the less the CPU power draw is going to matter, relative to total power. That's why I say just set it to something sensible and easy and not worry about it too much.