Old Xeon Build for Plex

[Br3tt96]

I ran a plex server on a raspberry pi for awhile because it was all I could afford. I eventually updated my laptop for school and ran it in my old laptop with a fresh linux install, but it corrupted itself after running updates, and at this point I’m just done with it. 

 

What are some good Xeon chips from maybe a 1366 socket or something? I’ve got about 16 gigs of ddr3 that I throw in it at 1333mhz. Most likely I’ll buy used.

 

budet probably around $300 and I’ve got a harddrive already 

[Fullmental]

The x5690/990x is probably the fastest cpu in the 1366 socket series, but double check your motherboard is compatible first.

 

I've got a system with dual x5675's, it does ok but single threaded performance kinda sucks and it's pretty power hungry so I don't keep it on all the time. I can't do the 5690 because my server does not support 130w tdp processors. 

 

I could disable one processor and run a test using plex to see what kind of performance I get if you want.

[Firewrath9]

This looks good, 8c 16t 100$ seller looks legit

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-E5-2680-2-7GHz-8-Core-16-Threads-Server-CPU-SR0KH-TESTED/401496350371?epid=1107574225&hash=item5d7b0c1ea3%3Ag%3Ar94AAOSwUd9ajPTW&_sacat=0&_nkw=8+core+xeon&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1311.R1.TR6.TRC2.A0.H0.X8+core+xeon.TRS0

[KingTdiGGiTTy]

for a server single threaded performance probably wont matter much. If its just for Plex lower end stuff will still work well

[Fullmental]

1 minute ago, KingTdiGGiTTy said:

for a server single threaded performance probably wont matter much. If its just for Plex lower end stuff will still work well

It depends, for transcoding it can make a difference.

[Br3tt96]

19 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

The x5690/990x is probably the fastest cpu in the 1366 socket series, but double check your motherboard is compatible first.

 

I've got a system with dual x5675's, it does ok but single threaded performance kinda sucks and it's pretty power hungry so I don't keep it on all the time. I can't do the 5690 because my server does not support 130w tdp processors. 

 

I could disable one processor and run a test using plex to see what kind of performance I get if you want.

If you wouldn’t mind? I’m just trying to find something cheap and fast 

[Br3tt96]

28 minutes ago, KingTdiGGiTTy said:

for a server single threaded performance probably wont matter much. If its just for Plex lower end stuff will still work well

What type of chip would you recommend? 

[leadeater]

37 minutes ago, Br3tt96 said:

What type of chip would you recommend? 

I usually buy L5630 Xeons, runs my ESXi host well which has a Windows VM on it for Plex. Never had performance issues even with 4+ people watching stuff, other VMs run on that server as well. They're about $6-$9 USD.

[Fullmental]

41 minutes ago, leadeater said:

I usually buy L5630 Xeons, runs my ESXi host well which has a Windows VM on it for Plex. Never had performance issues even with 4+ people watching stuff, other VMs run on that server as well. They're about $6-$9 USD.

What kind of videos are you delivering on that? Not gonna lie, the passmark score on that is garbage. 4000 is pretty low and it only has about a 900 score on single-threaded, so if there's any one process within Plex that relies on single-threaded performance like transcoding certain audio formats/high bitrate content, it'll choke pretty easily. The rule of thumb Plex offers is 2000 passmark points per concurrent stream for 10Mbps 1080p and 4000 for a 60mbps 4K stream, so I'm guessing you have highly compressed videos and/or manage directstream on *everything* in order to achieve 4+ people watching at the same time?

 

Don't get me wrong, the CPU is definitely a value option given it costs basically nothing, great if you're really short on cash. But if you have a budget of $300 for the CPU I don't see why you'd settle like that. An X5670 will run you about $15-30 depending on your level of patience, and will easily give you 2x the relative performance. That's some good overhead for higher quality videos, plus you get two extra cores for concurrent streaming and other workloads. An X5690 can be had for $60-$80 and will get you even further, keeping the CPU relevant for other tasks like encoding or running a high amount of VMs.

[Br3tt96]

3 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

What kind of videos are you delivering on that? Not gonna lie, the passmark score on that is garbage. 4000 is pretty low and it only has about a 900 score on single-threaded, so if there's any one process within Plex that relies on single-threaded performance like transcoding certain audio formats/high bitrate content, it'll choke pretty easily. The rule of thumb Plex offers is 2000 passmark points per concurrent stream for 10Mbps 1080p and 4000 for a 60mbps 4K stream, so I'm guessing you have highly compressed videos and/or manage directstream on *everything* in order to achieve 4+ people watching at the same time?

 

Don't get me wrong, the CPU is definitely a value option given it costs basically nothing, great if you're really short on cash. But if you have a budget of $300 for the CPU I don't see why you'd settle like that. An X5670 will run you about $15-30 depending on your level of patience, and will easily give you 2x the relative performance. That's some good overhead for higher quality videos, plus you get two extra cores for concurrent streaming and other workloads. An X5690 can be had for $60-$80 and will get you even further, keeping the CPU relevant for other tasks like encoding or running a high amount of VMs.

I have a lot of 720-1080p videos. They’re all mostly x264 with MP4 or mkv. 

 

Ive got a friend that’ll sell me his i5-3570k, 16gb of ram, Asrock Mobo, and 750w psu for $200, and a 120gb ssd. So I’m really debating that lol

[Fullmental]

6 minutes ago, Br3tt96 said:

I have a lot of 720-1080p videos. They’re all mostly x264 with MP4 or mkv. 

 

Ive got a friend that’ll sell me his i5-3570k, 16gb of ram, Asrock Mobo, and 750w psu for $200, and a 120gb ssd. So I’m really debating that lol

If you've got the motherboard for a Xeon 56xx series already, you can get better performance out of the X5670 and higher. Not to say that isn't a bad deal (I honestly don't know, and consumer parts sometimes hold their value a little longer for some reason), but I wouldn't do it myself. 

 

Are those 720p-1080p videos uncompressed? Do you ever use subtitles, or stream to a lower bitrate to mobile or other devices? How many devices do you need to deliver to at once, worst case? That's going to be the real indicator of what sort of relative performance you need. If you're doing DirectPlay or DirectStream compatible video streams on all devices, you are probably more limited by your storage medium than anything else. As soon as you start using transcoding to different bitrates, for subtitles, or a different format entirely, that's when the CPU gets taxed. 

 

It's entirely possible you don't need any more than the L5630 @leadeater mentioned, if DirectPlay and DirectStream are all you will ever need. It only becomes relevant once you move to transcoding.

[leadeater]

3 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

What kind of videos are you delivering on that? Not gonna lie, the passmark score on that is garbage. 4000 is pretty low and it only has about a 900 score on single-threaded, so if there's any one process within Plex that relies on single-threaded performance like transcoding certain audio formats/high bitrate content, it'll choke pretty easily. The rule of thumb Plex offers is 2000 passmark points per concurrent stream for 10Mbps 1080p and 4000 for a 60mbps 4K stream, so I'm guessing you have highly compressed videos and/or manage directstream on *everything* in order to achieve 4+ people watching at the same time?

 

Don't get me wrong, the CPU is definitely a value option given it costs basically nothing, great if you're really short on cash. But if you have a budget of $300 for the CPU I don't see why you'd settle like that. An X5670 will run you about $15-30 depending on your level of patience, and will easily give you 2x the relative performance. That's some good overhead for higher quality videos, plus you get two extra cores for concurrent streaming and other workloads. An X5690 can be had for $60-$80 and will get you even further, keeping the CPU relevant for other tasks like encoding or running a high amount of VMs.

I stick to higher bitrate stuff, mostly run native so not often transcoding but I don't believe you ever should unless you absolutely have to transcode and those situations are rare.

 

Example:

 

Native playback:

 

Transcode down from 19.1Mbps to 720p High (4Mbps) (smooth playback)

 

ESXi host usage during test:

 

As mentioned though you only ever have to worry about CPU load if transcoding which I never do.

[Fullmental]

2 minutes ago, leadeater said:

I stick to higher bitrate stuff, mostly run native so not often transcoding but I don't believe you ever should unless you absolutely have to transcode and those situations are rare.

 

Example:

 

 

Native playback:

 

 

Transcode down from 19.1Mbps to 720p High (4Mbps) (smooth playback)

 

 

ESXi host usage during test:

 

 

As mentioned though you only ever have to worry about CPU load if transcoding which I never do.

That's pretty good. Unfortunately I'm stuck transcoding personally, as I have subtitles that need to be burned in sometimes (I have some family that are hard of hearing, and some content which is dual language and dual-subtitle like anime). I also sometimes have to deliver content to a mobile device, which required a resolution downscale and a severe bitrate downsize. Those are the main situations where you *would* need that extra power.

[leadeater]

Here's another example using a lower bitrate TV show.

 

 

1.9Mbps to 1.5Mbps

 

Short 100% load as it preps the buffer then drops way down to short spikes of CPU load to keep the video buffer full.

 

Same story with a higher bitrate TV show, 10Mbps to 4Mbps, however takes longer to drop down in CPU usage.

 

I'd say for a L5630 you'd be fine with two 10-12Mbps transcodes but it'll be a bit dicey if you start them at exactly the same time.

[leadeater]

7 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

That's pretty good. Unfortunately I'm stuck transcoding personally, as I have subtitles that need to be burned in sometimes (I have some family that are hard of hearing, and some content which is dual language and dual-subtitle like anime). I also sometimes have to deliver content to a mobile device, which required a resolution downscale and a severe bitrate downsize. Those are the main situations where you *would* need that extra power.

Yea, it's only the really high bitrate stuff that hurts though but it's generally the only stuff I like to put on Plex. Fortunately TV and Anime don't generally come in 20Mbps unless you rip it yourself but even then I stick to 10Mbps for that type of content, a lot of my stuff is DVD anyway. Movies I leave on blu-ray and watch directly off those, bit of an AV snob so yea lol.

[Fullmental]

2 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Yea, it's only the really high bitrate stuff that hurts though but it's generally the only stuff I like to put on Plex. Fortunately TV and Anime don't generally come in 20Mbps unless you rip it yourself but even then I stick to 10Mbps for that type of content, a lot of my stuff is DVD anyway. Movies I leave on blu-ray and watch directly off those, bit of an AV snob so yea lol.

Yeah I rip my own content that way I can stick all the blurays in a box in the closet lol. I buy the blurays to show my support for my favorite shows and movies, but I hate dealing with the discs themselves and don't like the idea of possibly scratching them.

 

I do compress the videos myself though, so that reduces the hard drive strain for multiple streams (I use 5400 RPM drives for that, so they're kinda slow), and allows me to fit more content into less space.

[Br3tt96]

1 minute ago, Fullmental said:

Yeah I rip my own content that way I can stick all the blurays in a box in the closet lol. I buy the blurays to show my support for my favorite shows and movies, but I hate dealing with the discs themselves and don't like the idea of possibly scratching them.

 

I do compress the videos myself though, so that reduces the hard drive strain for multiple streams (I use 5400 RPM drives for that, so they're kinda slow), and allows me to fit more content into less space.

Yeah I understand that. I ripped a lot of my own collection. I had a super easy blow off semester and gave me tons of time to build a up a library. I’ve got around 2.5Terabytes and it’s growingish. 

 

I mean I am generally the one who only streams in my house, and my brother will tag on every once in awhile, so maybe 2 1080p streams at once. 

 

I don’t have a 1366 board. I was just looking at that platform because it was cheap 

[leadeater]

11 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

I do compress the videos myself though, so that reduces the hard drive strain for multiple streams (I use 5400 RPM drives for that, so they're kinda slow), and allows me to fit more content into less space.

Mines sitting on tier storage of 2SSD and 6 HDDs . It's actually a really compact server.

 

 

Managed to jam 2 H55's in there, can't see 2nd CPU as it's under HDD cage. Front bottom has the 2nd rad mount, VERY tight fit lol.

 

Edit:

Chassis is an Intel SC5650DP for anyone interested.

[leadeater]

9 minutes ago, Br3tt96 said:

I don’t have a 1366 board. I was just looking at that platform because it was cheap 

 

41 minutes ago, Br3tt96 said:

Ive got a friend that’ll sell me his i5-3570k, 16gb of ram, Asrock Mobo, and 750w psu for $200, and a 120gb ssd. So I’m really debating that lol

 

This seems like a fairly good option to me considering ease of access of getting the parts etc. Only downer is that i5 not having HT, would be faster than an L5630 by a lot posibbly better than 2 of them for Plex.

[Fullmental]

18 minutes ago, Br3tt96 said:

Yeah I understand that. I ripped a lot of my own collection. I had a super easy blow off semester and gave me tons of time to build a up a library. I’ve got around 2.5Terabytes and it’s growingish. 

 

I mean I am generally the one who only streams in my house, and my brother will tag on every once in awhile, so maybe 2 1080p streams at once. 

 

I don’t have a 1366 board. I was just looking at that platform because it was cheap 

OK, in that case you may want to consider that $200 offer. If you're set on 1366 though, you could probably get a Precision T3500 with a Xeon X series for $100 easy if you'd rather save some cash.

 

17 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Mines sitting on tier storage of 2SSD and 6 HDDs . It's actually a really compact server.

 

 

Managed to jam 2 H55's in there, can't see 2nd CPU as it's under HDD cage. Front bottom had the 2nd rad mount, VERY tight fit lol.

 

 

Nice! I can easily fit 3 3.5" drives and 3 2.5" drives in the case I just bought for my plex system (an i5-7600 build - I'm doing a build log on it, actually), but right now I'm just using two drives I shucked from some external enclosures. Currently have 8TB but as soon as it's viable I'm going to replace them with NAS drives and run them with PrimoCache or something similar to reduce overhead on the drives and speed up general and fileserver operations. I figure three 8TB NAS drives, two 4TB 2.5" drives, and one 1TB SSD cache would be nice, and it'd give me plenty of storage for my upcoming 4K collection - 32TB total sounds pretty sweet :).

 

I'm definitely sticking with air cooling on my system though, the drives are separated from the main system with a cube design so airflow alone should be plenty to keep them cool.

[Jarsky]

This is 3 x 1080p DTS 5.1 streams (10Mbps) with 2 x E5540 CPU's. 

 

[Br3tt96]

23 minutes ago, Fullmental said:

OK, in that case you may want to consider that $200 offer. If you're set on 1366 though, you could probably get a Precision T3500 with a Xeon X series for $100 easy if you'd rather save some cash.

I mean the 3570k is a bit faster, and I do have 16gb of ram lying around, so I’m sure I could easily sell the ram he had for maybe $50 bucks. Least I’d have a newer chip and a ssd. I’d have to buy a case and probably a WD red drive and I’d be set 

[Fullmental]

1 minute ago, Br3tt96 said:

I mean the 3570k is a bit faster, and I do have 16gb of ram lying around, so I’m sure I could easily sell the ram he had for maybe $50 bucks. Least I’d have a newer chip and a ssd. I’d have to buy a case and probably a WD red drive and I’d be set 

It's totally up to you what you want to do. Either option will fit your needs as you've described them so far. I don't think you can go wrong either way, unless you get really unlucky with reliability.

[Br3tt96]

17 hours ago, Fullmental said:

It's totally up to you what you want to do. Either option will fit your needs as you've described them so far. I don't think you can go wrong either way, unless you get really unlucky with reliability.

So I don't have a spare windows key or anything. I can get an upgrade key to win 10 education for $5, but can that be upgraded as a clean install? I mean I could run linux i guess with Ubuntu. Or are there better options?

 

Edit: I just remembered... My friend had windows 10 on it and a bought a new key for his build, and so the fresh install should just activate to his motherboard

[kingmustard]

20 hours ago, Br3tt96 said:

I ran a plex server on a raspberry pi for awhile because it was all I could afford. I eventually updated my laptop for school and ran it in my old laptop with a fresh linux install, but it corrupted itself after running updates, and at this point I’m just done with it. 

 

What are some good Xeon chips from maybe a 1366 socket or something? I’ve got about 16 gigs of ddr3 that I throw in it at 1333mhz. Most likely I’ll buy used.

 

budet probably around $300 and I’ve got a harddrive already 

Here are the 4 and 6-core Socket 1366 Xeon chips and their PassMark CPU scores (above 7,000):

 

Xeon W3690 - 9,195 (£32 on eBay UK)
Xeon W3680 - 9,098 (£70 on eBay UK)

Xeon X5690 - 8,955 (£90 on eBay UK)

Xeon X5679 - 8,845

Xeon X5680 - 8,605 (£57 on eBay UK)

Xeon X5675 - 8,479 (£55 on eBay UK)
Xeon W3670 - 8,152 (£53 on eBay UK)

Xeon X5670 - 7,939 (£40 on eBay UK)

Xeon X5660 - 7,640

Xeon X5650 - 7,429

Xeon X5687 - 7,091