Need help - affordable Ryzen NAS-Plex server

[plonka2000]

Hey man, maybe bringing feelings into this isn't the best idea. I'm looking for advice, and I'm trying to think and sound things out.

There's really no need to seem so angry about it. I'm here because I came to get help. I've said manh times that I'm confused.

I get what you're saying about future proofing, and it's limitations, but what does it matter so much? I've also been a Gigabyte board buyer for a long time, used to be Asus, but I keep hearing they have lost their edge. My current server is an old Gigabyte board that has lasted the ages.

Look, I really am seriously looking for advice on something I don't do regularly. Advice doesn't mean that's what I have to do, but I'm asking questions so I can make a decision.

There is a lot of conversation happening about what I shouldn't do and I'm looking for some actual recommendations, so I'm putting some out there. Gimme a break.

 

[Avalon]

No anger here, when you have a clearer idea of what you actually want throw up a post and i’m sure someone will be happy to suggest whatever is best at the time. I wish you the best of luck

 

[plonka2000]

I've not got any anger either.

I do have a clear idea of what I want, I put it in the first post. That's what I wanted to find out and discuss.

I'm trying to break down what CPU, board and Memory I need for this setup. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I'm also not looking to cheap out.

I stated around £400+ for these items, and that's no small amount for just those.

I didn't think that would be a difficult thing.

 

[Steveocee]

Quick glance across your OP I would say a 3700 with a B450 board, your choice of RAM depending on how much you want or will use and then you'd need a passive graphics card so it boots and clean up anything else with PCIe add in cards (extra SATA for example).

I appreciate I am not giving too much away in exact hardwares but you already sound to have your preferences so go with those if you're comfortable with them.

 

[TangoEchoAlpha]

I run an Unraid server with a X470 motherboard and Ryzen 2400G. Got some old drives in there plus 3x WD Reds for main storage, with one as parity drive. A M2 WD Blue takes care of the cache drive element. 16GB of 8Pack 3600 DDR4 seems more than ample in terms of memory. If you want to go for a non-APU solution, I had the GT710 recommended - you don't need anything powerful, just enough to get the PC to boot as Unraid will run in headerless mode and you do all admin via the GUI from your client PC.

It works great as a NAS, Plex works great in a Docker container - as do Pi-Hole and many other useful Dockers. It runs 24x7 with Shinobi in a Docker as well. So many Dockers available, feel like I am scratching the surface of what is available - for example, would quite like to see what the Home Automation Docker is like

Shares to my/the Mrs Windows PCs over SMB.

If you want even cheaper to hit your budget, a B450 motherboard would do the job but I wanted more 'on the motherboard' SATA ports, for future expansion.

 

[plonka2000]

Quick glance across your OP I would say a 3700 with a B450 board, your choice of RAM depending on how much you want or will use and then you'd need a passive graphics card so it boots and clean up anything else with PCIe add in cards (extra SATA for example).

I appreciate I am not giving too much away in exact hardwares but you already sound to have your preferences so go with those if you're comfortable with them.

Hey thanks, I looked at the 3700X (Is there even a 3700-non-X?) compared to the 3600, and its basically double the price.
I reckon I'll go for the 3600 at this time, and be very happy with 6C/12T goodness.
If I'm going to buy a new board at this time, I really feel like I want it to have everything I need though, without needing extra cards unless really required.
A RAID card would be nice, but if I can get 8xSATA onboard, then why not just do that now? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I run an Unraid server with a X470 motherboard and Ryzen 2400G. Got some old drives in there plus 3x WD Reds for main storage, with one as parity drive. A M2 WD Blue takes care of the cache drive element. 16GB of 8Pack 3600 DDR4 seems more than ample in terms of memory. If you want to go for a non-APU solution, I had the GT710 recommended - you don't need anything powerful, just enough to get the PC to boot as Unraid will run in headerless mode and you do all admin via the GUI from your client PC.

It works great as a NAS, Plex works great in a Docker container - as do Pi-Hole and many other useful Dockers. It runs 24x7 with Shinobi in a Docker as well. So many Dockers available, feel like I am scratching the surface of what is available - for example, would quite like to see what the Home Automation Docker is like

Shares to my/the Mrs Windows PCs over SMB.

If you want even cheaper to hit your budget, a B450 motherboard would do the job but I wanted more 'on the motherboard' SATA ports, for future expansion.

Hey thanks, this is almost exactly where I'm thinking.
I have been looking at getting one of the passively cooled PCIe1x GT710s also, as that frees up basically all other ports for anything I want in future.
Unraid is definitely where I'm heading, and I'm going to stick it out there for to see how well it works, I've seen good things from Unraid.
What you've described as 'on the motherboard' SATA is where I'm also looking.
Also, I run Home Assistant in Docker right now (in my old setup), to do my own extensive home automation, and I love it.

I've seen a lot of good B450 boards out there, but I think I'm going to bump the budget for a X570 and see how that goes.
I've also seen a lot of talk that a high end X470 board is roughly enough as a X570, but the dual m2 and PCIe4 makes me think it'll be good later.

I know I wont be doing any overclocking on this system, and I wont be getting a 3900X any time soon, but I'm looking at building as rock-solid a system that I can that has maximum upgrade potential.
I always have thought that comes from having a solid motherboard, even if the other components are lesser to begin with.

 

[TangoEchoAlpha]

Unraid is definitely where I'm heading, and I'm going to stick it out there for to see how well it works, I've seen good things from Unraid.
What you've described as 'on the motherboard' SATA is where I'm also looking.
Also, I run Home Assistant in Docker right now (in my old setup), to do my own extensive home automation, and I love it.

Thanks for the vote of confidence in HA. Unraid do a one month trial so you can try it out