Upgrading My PLEX Server - advice needed

[shftup]

Hi guys, thoughts needed please.

PLEX headless server up grade. Current setup is MITX and would like to re-build into a mATX, etc. The MITX case is full and need to go bigger and room to grow with.

Here are the items that I have:
CPU – i7-8700 (already have this)
PSU – already have a newer gen fully modular seasonic
HDD – have 4x8TB seagates (plan to purchase 3-4 more by end of year)
SSD – 500GB Sata (for OS)
location of my server is in the basement, near the furnance room.

Items needed:
Mobo – something with the latest gen intel chipset : 6 SATA on board, dual intel LAN, then a PCI-E sata add in card for additional SATA ports, etc. Goal is to house about 8-10 HDDs. (matx is my preference, but open to full ATX) budget $100-220. Really need something that allows for high acute control of Case fans at the software level on the OS (Win). Easy to work with, and good cable management. So something very durable is where I have no prob on spending money. Currently using an ASRACK server MITX mobo, and have used supermicro MITX aswell. Also, internal usb3.1 gen 2, and/or USB C would be a really nice to have, etc. Havent thought of RGB control...but I heard it makes your PC faster and quieter....

PCIE/Sata CARD: I use software, not hardware to create 1 large pool amongst all the HDD's - so I need a card (HBA) that still provides all of the pass thru info, ie SMART features, etc to the O/S. I have alarms setup for temps, failures, etc. Remember, this will be an always on item, etc.. less than $60?

Case – looking for something that is Quiet with superior dust filtering, and exceptional air flow to keep the HDDs cool. Something that easy to clean out(dust) every 3-4 months. Plan to purchase 3-4 more 8TB HDD shortly. Perhaps 8-10 HDDs in total, with 1 SSD. For the last 10-12 yrs, I have only purchased Lian Li all aluminum cases (last one bought about 4 yrs ago), and would prefer a case that does not weight a lot. Would like something that is primarily tool less, and at least usb 3.1 gen 2 on it and/or USB C. Would luv it if the HDDs are easily accessible, and even if they could be swapped out easily. Less than $200

CPU cooler – need something that is a great bang for buck. less than $40
CPU cooler thermal paste – mx-4? Or ? 10 bux?
Case fans: depends on the case I assume, but the goal is keep the HDDs at low temps as this will be an always on headless server. per fan, $15
GPU: nothing right now, but prehaps in the future a Quadro p2000 as the card does not limit transcodes. Will see how the 8700 performs with the external streams that I have with family, etc.

please let me know if i need anything else.

thanks

 

[sinisterDei]

So, I'll tackle... some of this.

Firstly, your i7-8700 for a PLEX server is super duper overkill, unless you've got a specific hard-on for software transcoding. Assuming you have a PLEX pass, PLEX can hardware accelerate transcoding using QuickSync on an i3. Software transcoding, an i7 8700 will handle 1080p and some 2160p content, but then again so will a 6th gen i3. You might want to check out this link regarding hardware transcoding, and this link regarding performance capabilities of different CPUs. That second one is talking about NAS devices, but you can see which CPUs are in the NAS devices and draw conclusions from there. Me building the same system? I sell the 8700 and use the proceeds to buy an i3 and fund the rest of the project.

If you stick with the 8700, since as you say you already have it, then you'll want a 300 series motherboard. Dual intel LAN... I mean, sure, maybe? You're not going to encode/decode at gigabit speed regardless, so maybe you can provide clarity why that would matter. You really shouldn't have to spend much money here, because one of your other requirements - 6x onboard SATA ports, is a bit nonsensical as well. Regardless, I like ASRock boards, and something like the B360M Pro4 looks decent. If you somehow have gigabit upload on your internet, then well you no longer need to transcode then do you, since you'd have the throughput to just direct stream everything.

The reason I say the onboard SATA ports don't matter is because you should attack the 'how to attach drives' problem with a killing stroke. I recommend an inexpensive LSI-based HBA coupled with a SAS expander. Something like the 9211-8i ($66) and the HP 468405-001 expander. You can find a whole 60 page thread on [H] regarding this SAS expander here if you like. Tie the two together and you'll be able to plug in 24 drives into your shiny LSI card. They'll be limited to 3 Gb/s SATA, but that's not much of an issue for a media server. You'd want to flash the 9211-8i into IT mode (non-RAID) so it's just a stupid controller. Personally I use a 9265-8i with the HP expander, but I run RAID6, so our situations are a bit different.

The case is where I recommend you spend your money. Get a 4U rackmount job with a backplane and hot-swap drive bays. The backplane really helps simplify cabling and power distribution; my server has a modular power supply and other than the motherboard and CPU leads, I've only got a single hard drive power cable connected. Likewise, despite supporting 24 drives I've only got 6x SFF-8087 cables plugged in. You can try and find a used Supermicro SC846 as probably your best option. I've got my system in a Norco RPC-4224.