Question MSI Z77A-G43 and 16gb memory modules....advice

[Ronstang]

I realize this is an old setup but I am using it as a media server and it has more power than I need. I am trying to do a fresh install of Windows 10 and it keeps failing and I ran Memtest86 and the RAM is toast so it needs to be replaced. It currently has one 16gb stick in it and I want to make sure before I order any that I can get 2 sticks of 16gb RAM for a little upgrade. The documentation says the mobo is limited to 32gb and has 2 sets of dual channel slots so I know 4X8gb would work but I prefer 2X16gb if it will work.

Thanks

 

[Tech Junky]

Should work fine.

Just go to PCPartPicker.com add your mobo and then go to add ram and it will filter valid options. Then just pick speed and timings.

I just do 2*8gb though and it uses ~25% most of the time with Linux. Of course windows is a hog when it comes to ram with extended uptime.

 

[Ronstang]

The only reason I want 32 is because although it is mostly a server I do have a Turin based GeForce in here for running ffmpeg with Nvenc for encoding my movies and it runs smoother and faster with more RAM, especially since I do 2 encodes at a time minimum.....I have several 4TB drives full of movies that need encoding and that can take months and I have about 4000 discs to image and encode and that will take a long time too so speed helps here.

 

[zir_blazer]

16 GiB DDR3 module??? As far that I know, UDIMM DDR3 maxed out at 8 GiB and never saw something bigger.

 

[Tech Junky]

@Ronstang

I use my laptop to convert files since it's a beefier setup or was for awhile. I use a program called mcebuddy that monitors the folders for new files and then automatically processes them.

So, you could use the server to rip the files and then have another PC process them at the same time. I convert things to MP4 to ease playback and reduce the size by 80%.

The conversion on the laptop is faster with the dgpu than relying on just the CPU though some of them only invoke the CPU.

The process doesn't need a ton of ram it's all CPU/GPU.

 

[Ronstang]

Well I used MCEBuddy for years but it is too hard to customize the settings which are important to me because while most people think their cable TV is interlaced.....most of it is actually 2:3 pulldown also known as telecined if a movie channel....and the settings in ffmpeg to inverse telecine do not run in the GPU and they are CPU and RAM dependent....hence why I want more RAM.

I added 12 gigs that doesn't match and was just laying around to my other machine which does most of my encoding and my speeds increased by 20%. I also use 10 bit color because it either eliminates or greatly reduces banding in dark scenes and I and the wife like horror movies plus it is better overall quality and a smaller file size to boot.

FFmpeg Batch AV converter is what I use because I don't want nor need something that monitors folders because I edit all files before I encode them to strip out the fluff. The developer of this software worked with me personally to add features to it like automatic unattended restart after a power failure like MCEBuddy does so I can run hundreds of files through when I am out of town....plus it is much better than MCEBuddy for what I do and the developer doesn't want to address it's shortcomings like the INANE way it renames files and I cannot get to leave my filenames alone as then enter the software named the way I need them.

 

[Tech Junky]

Hmm... Well, a lot has changed with MCE over the past few years. It might still be worth checking out again since you already paid for it. If you didn't then the free version absolutely is like molasses in comparison. I do wish they would develop it for Linux as then I could just do it all on my server automatically. Though my server just has the iGPU and thus might be slower in comparison. I can usually convert shows in under 10 mins. Some stuff goes within 1-2 mins though for a 1/2 hour show. Depends on the format as well whether it's coming from Plex in .ts or if it's some other source that's mkv/avi/etc.

Tweaking the settings is a must though if you don't want to lose features of a particular file. The defaults strip quite a bit off both audio / video. However I'm curious about what you're using with ffmpeg since it's native to linux and wouldn't take much to setup a cron or something. MCE is just easy and have been letting it do its thing for years now. I don't think RAM plays into it as much as ffmpeg which has more direct access to resources. MCE runs 2-3 different programs to convert things though through its script so....

The only thing that bugs me right now is Plex doesn't have an audio codec for ATSC3 streams but, that's a licensing issue with Dolby.

 

[zir_blazer]

I'm still waiting for confirmation of that 16 GiB DDR3 stick brand and model, or CPU-Z SPD info. As far that I know, such thing doesn't even exists in the realm of UDIMM DDR3 for consumer systems. So what on earth is he using?

 

[Ronstang]

I'm still waiting for confirmation of that 16 GiB DDR3 stick brand and model, or CPU-Z SPD info. As far that I know, such thing doesn't even exists in the realm of UDIMM DDR3 for consumer systems. So what on earth is he using?

The reason I ask things here is because I know just enough to be dangerous when it come to some of this stuff. I was mistaken. There are 2 8GB sticks in the machine in question. I have not had it open in 8 months so my memory failed me....no pun intended. I was just searching for 16GB sticks and there are plenty available but they are all SERVER memory and ECC so I cannot use them

My mistake

 

[Ronstang]

However I'm curious about what you're using with ffmpeg since it's native to linux and wouldn't take much to setup a cron or something.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean here, are you talking about settings or application to run it? I use FFmpeg Batch AV Converter because it is powerful, feature rich and I don't need anything that monitors folders since I edit all my files before I encode them and thus my file names are exactly as I need them to identify them quickly at a glance for my own personal control over my library and MCEBuddy will not retain my file names it insists on renaming my files and I don't have time to manually rename all my files, especially since they were fed into MCEBuddy with the proper names which it destroys.

I asked several times in several different ways how I could retain my filenames and Goose either didn't answer or just ignored me so I stopped using the program. I don't miss it. Yes, I paid for it a long while back in 2015 which is why Goose probably doesn't care...I don't subscribe to software and I am not giving more money when the program does not suit my needs.

The default profiles in MCEBuddy are not sufficient for my requirements and editing them is tedious and I had to do lots of testing to get custom ones to work correctly but the renaming feature killed my interest so I stopped messing with it a couple years ago.

As for your problem with PLEX, I don't like it and don't use it. When I was looking for a WMC alternative back in 2019 I first installed PLEX and played with it for a couple hours. I hated it's look and feel so much I looked further and found emby that evening.....installed it, loved it and have been using it exclusively ever since. I love emby and it's no wonder because it was born out of Media Browser which was a WMC plugin that I had used a decade earlier and loved it.

 

[Ronstang]

Just and FYI

I put the 32GB of memory in my other server because once I opened up the machine I bought the memory for it would not POST consistently and I don't have time to figure out what is wrong. The memory in the other server was mismatched so I threw the new stuff in there.

Memory does make a difference with ffmpeg encoding when you use my settings. Going from 20 to 32GB resulted in another boost in encoding FPS by another 15-20% at a minimum. I haven't run enough files for a good average but I have never seen FPS this high when encoding with these particular settings.