Want to build a Nas + Server + off-main Rendering PC

[phongle123]

I am looking at a NAS with at least 5x Slots for 4xHDD + 1xRedundancy but they are costing anywhere from 600$+ and I could build pretty good PC for that much. But I will be spending more for the rendering aspect.

 

I don't really know where to start. Like the title says, I want something that can be a NAS, a server for online game hosting, and be able to render so I don't have to do it on my main PC so I can use my main.

 

This is the build I am planning, none have been bought except for 2 hard drives, planning to get 3 more during the upcoming BF.

CPU: Ryzen 7 1700 --- Great price and power for rendering aspect of the PC

GPU: 1060 3GB(?) --- I want to know if extra VRAM helps with rendering or is it is just all CUDAcores that matter.

RAM: 16GB(?) --- I've seen my rendering hit 8GB at the most and a 1x8GB stick wouldn't be enough.

PSU: 550W G3 --- I am sticking to G3 as they are the smallest full size PSU on the market.

CPU Cooler: Don't know yet. Never bought a non liquid CPU cooler. But since it will be running 24/7 I'm going to be getting a quality air cooler so an AIO won't die on me from running 24/7.

Case: I can't decide whether I want a case with 4x5.25" bays to do a 3x 5.25" bay to 4x 3.5" HDD + 1x5.25" bay to 1x 3.5" HDD. Or if I want to put all the hard drives inside the case. HDDs inside the case will have more room to breath compared to a quick disconnect 5.25" bay (lower temps this way?).

 

1) I also would like the get an estimate of how much watts it would be drawing from the wall during normal operations, not doing anything just idle. I've seen that prebuilt NAS are about 15watts idling. What would a PC like this idle? Site calculators are only estimating load.

 

2) Can a prebuilt NAS also be a server for hosting games or is it just a NAS alone?

 

3) I have also read that some prebuilt NAS can only hold a certain maximum capacity is that true?

 

4) If I install a rendering software on both the NAS and my Main and have the models/files on the NAS and I render over the NAS from my main PC. Is it limited to the network speed and does that slow down renders?

 

And anything you might think a noob thinking about prebuilt NAS vs DIY NAS needs to know.

[Dark_Llama]

If it was me, I would get a used dell prebuilt server, something like r710, and throw in your drives. You can get dual 6 core w/ hyper threading xeons moderately cheap. If you do get the Ryzen, can you let me know as I am going to build a editing pc with almost the exact same specs.

 

EDIT - I am by no means any expert, this is just my personal opinion and what I would do if I had that kind of budget.

Edited November 14, 2017 by The_Audtior

[paddy-stone]

When you say rendering, you might want to say with which software. It can make a hell of a difference. jayz2cents has done rendering differences on some of his vids, with a 1800x I think it was, but the 1700 would be very similar, as it's the same chip just higher clocks on the 1800x at stock, overclocked they would perform pretty much identically.

I think the 1700 would be great for a NAS, but the power draw compared to say an HP microserver would be quite substantial. But on the other hand, for rendering and transcoding etc for plex for example would be much better with the 1700 and a 1060 IMO.

My advice, work out a test scenario, with a workload you're likely to use on the server.. pop the 1060 into your rig and run some tests. See if it's using the GPU mostly for rendering. If you have a test file, not too big of course, maybe a couple GB, I don't mind performing the test for you on my 1700 with a 1050 to see CPU/GPU usage etc. A 1060 would be faster of course, so bear that in mind.

[Dark_Llama]

4 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

When you say rendering, you might want to say with which software. It can make a hell of a difference. jayz2cents has done rendering differences on some of his vids, with a 1800x I think it was, but the 1700 would be very similar, as it's the same chip just higher clocks on the 1800x at stock, overclocked they would perform pretty much identically.

I think the 1700 would be great for a NAS, but the power draw compared to say an HP microserver would be quite substantial. But on the other hand, for rendering and transcoding etc for plex for example would be much better with the 1700 and a 1060 IMO.

My advice, work out a test scenario, with a workload you're likely to use on the server.. pop the 1060 into your rig and run some tests. See if it's using the GPU mostly for rendering. If you have a test file, not too big of course, maybe a couple GB, I don't mind performing the test for you on my 1700 with a 1050 to see CPU/GPU usage etc. A 1060 would be faster of course, so bear that in mind.

Just letting you know, in your system specs, you have a capital I in Displays so it looks like DIsplays

[paddy-stone]

3 hours ago, The_Audtior said:

Just letting you know, in your system specs, you have a capital I in Displays so it looks like DIsplays

Ahh nicely spotted, thankyou,will fix now 

[Jarsky]

On 11/15/2017 at 12:19 PM, The_Audtior said:

If it was me, I would get a used dell prebuilt server, something like r710, and throw in your drives. You can get dual 6 core w/ hyper threading xeons moderately cheap. If you do get the Ryzen, can you let me know as I am going to build a editing pc with almost the exact same specs.

 

EDIT - I am by no means any expert, this is just my personal opinion and what I would do if I had that kind of budget.

 

2 x E5540's (2 x 4C/8T) render at the same rate as my i7 3770K - so i imagine rendering with 2 x X56xx's is still slower and less efficient than a more modern CPU like KabyLake or Ryzen. 

 

As for GPU's, more cores (CUDA / Stream) is more important than VRAM. 

 

As for memory, more memory is better. I can easily saturate my 32GB when im rendering videos. I'd go at least 16GB

 

PSU, Case, Cooler, etc...doesn't really matter