I’m in the market for a new CPU to upgrade my home server, and I’m hoping to get some recommendations from the community. Currently, I’m running an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X in a TrueNAS setup, but it runs incredibly hot, even when it’s not under heavy load, making it feel like a space heater. I’m looking for a cooler and more efficient option that can handle the following tasks:

  1. Plex Media Server
  2. A Minecraft server for approximately 6-8 players during peak hours
  3. Network Attached Storage (NAS) functionality
  4. Potentially running Home Assistant

I’d appreciate your suggestions for CPUs that strike a good balance between performance and value, with an emphasis on temperature control. Any recommendations for compatible motherboards and coolers are also welcome. My budget is flexible, but I’m looking for the best bang for my buck.

  • I_Dont_Have_Corona@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I run all of this minus home assistant on a Lenovo IdeaCentre 310S with a Celeron J4005 and 4GB RAM. To be fair this is running Minecraft Bedrock but we run with the same number of players (4-8 players typically).

    For Minecraft Java, it’s going to be all about the IPC. On the cheaper end, grabbing an OEM SFF with something like an i3 8100T would be great for your purposes whilst still being relatively cheap and low on power consumption.

  • MrHakisak@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    TrueNAS as OS, apps for plex, mc and ha.

    hardware:

    • intel 12 or 13th gen cpu i3 is good, just not an “f” cpu as you need igpu for plex transcode
    • cheapest mobo you can find
    • 120gb sata ssd as boot os
    • M.2 ssd for apps
    • 16gb of ram is enough, but get lots more if you have lots of HDD’s

    there is a misconception around cooling and power usage. let me clarify; power(watts) = heat, less power means less heat. if your system has lots of hot air coming out then its either doing intensive tasks or its inefficient and taking lots of power to do basic tasks. if the cpu is hot or cold but its doing the same task and drawing the same power then its going to put the same amount of heat in the room. ie a better cooler is not going to prevent the room heating up (technically its the opposite since cpu’s can boost).

    edit: you can search for n100 alder lake mini-pc 16gb (or 32gb) of ram, they’re pretty good for the price. but you’d have to get all external HDD’s for your plex library.