Home server hardware

[RampantAndroid]

Hey guys,

I'm in the middle of mulling over a home server (have been for a while, and a wedding took precedence in terms of cost. So does a honeymoon...)

I've been considering just getting a mini-ATX setup with a i5-4690, 16GB of RAM (which I have lying around now) and a decent case with at least 6 3.5" bays. I'd probably install FreeNAS and then run Windows as a VM under it if I need something that relied on Windows. Main reason to use FreeNAS is AFP support/backing up our macbooks to it. I suppose I could try forcing the macbooks to accept backing up to a Windows fileshare. Otherwise, the server would handle some webhosting for me in addition to handling plex duties.

Now, an alternative I've considered is instead getting an i7-5820 - I also happen to have a 32GB ram set lying around, so I can do quad channel already. I'd then instead move my 3770k over to server duty, and make the 5820 handle gaming/CAD/coding work. (I suppose a third option is to throw the 5820 at the server, but that seems a waste.)

My question is this: is going from a 3770k to a 5820k worth the extra cost in my main machine? I think it'd be around $200 more expensive than just getting a 4690. An extra thing to consider I guess is that the videos I stick on plex I compress, and that can be a pretty long process on a 3770k. It would probably be a bit faster with 2 more physical cores?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ken g6]

I also happen to have a 32GB ram set lying around

Of DDR4? If you have DDR4, I'd at least consider a 6500 instead of the 4690. Maybe even as low as an i3-6100.

An extra thing to consider I guess is that the videos I stick on plex I compress, and that can be a pretty long process on a 3770k. It would probably be a bit faster with 2 more physical cores?

Yes. Unless you use a third-party encoder and Intel Quick Sync.

Although I tend not to recommend a 5820 (over 4GHz quad-cores) unless you want to overclock. If you do that, then it would be quite a bit faster. 😉

 

[RampantAndroid]

Of DDR4? If you have DDR4, I'd at least consider a 6500 instead of the 4690. Maybe even as low as an i3-6100.


Yes. Unless you use a third-party encoder and Intel Quick Sync.

Although I tend not to recommend a 5820 (over 4GHz quad-cores) unless you want to overclock. If you do that, then it would be quite a bit faster. 😉

For some reason I was thinking that X99/Haswell-E was DDR3 - not DDR4. Yeah, I have a DDR3 set lying about...so the cost for X99 would rise by quite a bit. Thanks!