Spec me a server build for unRAID...

[StevieP]

I currently have a HP Gen 8 microserver running unRAID but it's starting to struggle slightly and so was wondering about building my own.

The only problem with this is I have no idea about server CPU's in terms of a good balance between power draw and performance.

My existing server has an Intel Xeon E31260L and 16GB RAM - and its the RAM usage that seems to be nearing max usage!

I use it for hosting 2-3 game servers (in Docker containers), Plex and the odd bit of torrenting - in addition to general "NAS" usage to store family photos and videos etc.

Is there a generally regarded "best bang for buck" spec for servers that gives a nice balance between performance and power draw?

 

[StevieP]

could you not add more memory if that's the only issue ?

Apparently it's not possible with the system I've got - I think 16gb is the max!

Unless you specifically need features only available in server processors (generally just ECC), then any desktop CPU you can currently buy will offer triple the performance of your old Sandy Bridge based Xeon.

Intel Xeon E3-1260L vs i3-12100F vs AMD Ryzen 3 4100 [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software

Personally I'd go for an Intel chip, as the majority have integrated graphics which is supported by Plex/Emby for hardware accelerated transcoding if needed.

A decent DDR4 motherboard with 4 dimm slots, also offers cheap/easy access to 64GB RAM (via 4x 16GB DIMMs), which isn't possible on the Gen8 microserver.

The only thing the Microserver has in it's favour, is it's form factor, but there are NAS style or small form factor cases available e.g. Fractal Node.

Thanks for the ideas - I'll have a look at some "normal" options and go from there!

Just as an aside, what is the benefit of ECC RAM? (I should probably know this but don't!)

 

[StevieP]

I seem to remember doing some reading and it was either the CPU or the chips etc didn't play well with more than 16GB!?!?

Either way I'm inclined to look at a small form factor alternative - any suggestions as to a mid-range CPU that isn't overly power-hungry?