[Guide] Remote Gaming on Unraid

Builds Unraid Gaming
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6

5. Hardware Recommendations & Guide Setup

1. CPU Comparisons (click me)
  • Encoding Quality ranges from Poor, Sub-par, Average, Great, to Excellent.
  • Encoding Quality only matters if:
    1. You don’t have a GPU and want to use Parsec
    2. You want to encode via CPU while rendering games on your GPU with Rainway.
      Otherwise, I wouldn’t worry about it.
  • Single Core Passmark is a relative score to determined how well a CPU can handle gaming.
  • Recommended Remote instances is per physical CPU. (double it if you have dual sockets!)
  • This is by no means an exhaustive list of compatible or suggested CPUs, just something to reference.
Brand Socket Model (link) Cores / Threads iGPU Encoding Quality Rec. Remote Instances Turbo Clock (GHz) Single Core Passmark Multi-Core Passmark Expected Price
AMD AM4 Ryzen 9 3900X 12/24 No N/A 3 4.60 2722 32775 $439.99
AMD AM4 Ryzen 7 3700X 8/16 No N/A 2-3 4.40 2684 22767 $293.98
AMD AM4 Ryzen 7 2700X 8/16 No N/A 2-3 4.30 2440 17691 $260.64
AMD AM4 Ryzen 5 3600X 6/12 No N/A 1-2 4.40 2661 18309 $204.99
AMD AM4 Ryzen 5 3600 6/12 No N/A 1-2 4.20 2575 17805 $174.99
AMD AM4 Ryzen 5 2600 6/12 No N/A 1-2 3.90 2274 13391 $119.99
AMD AM4 Ryzen 5 1600 (AF) 6/12 No N/A 1-2 3.60 2087 12366 $85.00
AMD AM4 Ryzen 3 3200G 4/4 Yes Great 1 4.00 2260 7261 $99.99
AMD AM4 Athlon 3000G 2/4 Yes Great 1 3.50 2076 4613 $54.24
Intel 1151-2 Core i9-9900K 8/16 Yes Excellent 2-3 5.00 2990 18944 $504.99
Intel 1151-2 Core i7-8700K 6/12 Yes Great 1-2 4.70 2768 13918 $387.99
Intel 1151-2 Core i7-9700K 8/8 Yes Excellent 1 4.90 2900 14757 $369.99
Intel 1151-2 Core i5-9600K 6/6 Yes Excellent 1 4.60 2849 11178 $219.99
Intel 1151-2 Core i5-9400 6/6 Yes Excellent 1 4.10 2518 9460 $184.99
Intel 1151-2 Core i3-8100 4/4 Yes Great 1 3.60 2277 6280 $118.85
Intel 1151-2 Pentium Gold G5400 2/4 Yes Great 1 3.70 2277 3779 $62.34
Intel 1151-1 Core i7-7700k 4/8 Yes Great 1 4.50 2777 9823 $320.00
Intel 1151-1 Core i5-7600K 4/4 Yes Great 1 4.20 2505 6592 $250.00
Intel 1151-1 Core i7-6700K 4/8 Yes Average 1 4.20 2563 9116 $200.00
Intel 1151-1 Core i5-6600k 4/4 Yes Average 1 3.90 2377 6488 $150.00
Intel 1150 Core i7-4790K 4/8 Yes Subpar 1 4.40 2499 8241 $200.00
Intel 1150 Core i5-4690K 4/4 Yes Subpar 1 3.90 2151 5577 $95.00
Intel 1155 Xeon E3-1270 V2 4/8 No N/A 1 3.90 2136 6569 $70.00
Intel 1155 Core i7-3770 4/8 Yes Poor 1 3.90 2058 6400 $70.00
Intel 1155 Xeon E3-1265L v2 4/8 Yes Poor 1 3.50 1649 4869 $55.00
Intel 1155 Xeon E3-1230 V2 4/8 No N/A 1 3.70 1980 6224 $40.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2687W V2 8/16 No N/A 2-3 4.00 2032 16478 $180.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2667 V2 8/16 No N/A 2-3 4.00 1994 16120 $130.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2680 V2 10/20 No N/A 3 3.60 1812 15746 $130.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2670 V2 10/20 No N/A 3 3.30 1650 15031 $85.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2637 V2 4/8 No N/A 1 3.80 1968 9465 $25.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2690 8/16 No N/A 2-3 3.80 1829 13980 $68.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2680 8/16 No N/A 2-3 3.50 1657 12654 $49.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-2643 4/8 No N/A 1 3.50 1794 8479 $15.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-1650 V2 6/12 No N/A 1-2 3.90 1992 12691 $75.00
Intel 2011 Xeon E5-1620 v2 4/8 No N/A 1 3.90 1957 9498 $24.00
2. GPU Comparisons (click me)
  • Encoding Quality ranges from Poor, Sub-par, Average, Great, to Excellent.
  • Encoding Quality is very important. The difference between “Great” and “Excellent” isn’t huge, but it is noticeable.
  • HEVC Encode support is highly recommended. It minimizes network bandwidth usage while retaining quality. Newer cards have better HEVC support that use less resources and provide higher levels of detail.
  • Maximum Recommended Resolution is simply a recommendation, not a limitation. For 1440p, you must be on a wired connection. 4K is only really possible on the highest end setups.
  • Maximum Recommended Detail is the level of detail you can expect your games to run at. Remember, if you’re encoding on the GPU, you can expect slightly lower performance on average compared to a bare metal gaming setup.
  • This is by no means an exhaustive list of compatible or suggested GPUs, just something to reference.
Brand Model (link) JDM’s Advice Encoding Quality HEVC Encode Max Rec. Resolution Max Rec. Detail Expected Price
AMD RX 470 4GB Good value. Average Yes 1080p Medium $65.00
AMD RX 480 4GB Average Yes 1080p Medium $90.00
AMD RX 480 8GB Average Yes 1080p Medium/High $115.00
AMD RX 580 8GB Average Yes 1080p Medium/High $115.00
AMD R9 Fury 4GB Good value. Average No 1080p High $120.00
AMD R9 Nano 4GB Average No 1080p High $165.00
AMD Vega 56 8GB Flash Vega 64 BIOS Average Yes 1440p High/Ultra $200.00
AMD RX 5500 XT 8GB Average Yes 1080p High $200.00
AMD RX 5600 XT 6GB Great Yes 1080p High/Ultra $270.00
AMD RX 5700 8GB Great Yes 1440p High $330.00
AMD RX 5700 XT 8GB Great Yes 1440p High/Ultra $350.00
Nvidia GTX 970 "4"GB Average Yes 1080p Medium $100.00
Nvidia GTX 980 4GB Average Yes 1080p Medium/High $150.00
Nvidia GTX 980ti 6GB Average Yes 1080p High $210.00
Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB Great Yes 1080p Medium $115.00
Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB Great Yes 1080p Medium $150.00
Nvidia GTX 1070 8GB Best under $200. Great Yes 1440p High $200.00
Nvidia GTX 1080 8GB Best under $300. Great Yes 1440p High/Ultra $280.00
Nvidia GTX 1080ti 11GB Great Yes 1440p Ultra $440.00
Nvidia GTX 1660 6GB Excellent Yes 1080p Medium/High $215.00
Nvidia GTX 1660 Super 6GB Best value! Excellent Yes 1080p High $229.00
Nvidia RTX 2060 6GB Excellent Yes 1440p High $290.00
Nvidia RTX 2060 Super 8GB Excellent Yes 1440p High/Ultra $375.00
Nvidia RTX 2070 8GB Best high end. Excellent Yes 1440p High/Ultra $360.00
Nvidia RTX 2070 Super 8GB Excellent Yes 1440p Ultra $460.00
Nvidia Quadro P400 Great Yes 720p Low/Medium $85.00
Nvidia Quadro P2000 Don’t waste $$. Great Yes 1080p Medium $400.00
3. Sample CPU + GPU Configurations (click me)

These are just some sample configs that I threw together to get you thinking. Generally speaking, this is a guide where you can “run what you brung” and upgrade later based on your needs.

Cheap 1080p System Budget Build

Brand Model (link) Encoding Quality Rec. Remote Instances Max Rec. Resolution Max Rec. Detail Expected Price
Intel Xeon E5-1620 v2 N/A 1 — — $24.00
AMD RX 470 4GB Average — 1080p Medium $65.00
Generic 16GB DDR3 ECC REG — — — — $32.00
— — — — — Total $121.00

Dual 1080p System Budget Build

Brand Model (link) Encoding Quality Rec. Remote Instances Max Rec. Resolution Max Rec. Detail Expected Price
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (AF) N/A 1-2 — — $85.00
AMD RX 470 4GB Average — 1080p Medium $65.00
AMD RX 470 4GB Average — 1080p Medium $65.00
Generic 16GB DDR4 RAM — — — — $68.00
— — — — — Total $283.00

High Performance & Quality 1080p Build

Brand Model (link) Encoding Quality Rec. Remote Instances Max Rec. Resolution Max Rec. Detail Expected Price
Intel Core i5-9600K Excellent 1 — — $219.99
Nvidia GTX 1660 Super 6GB Excellent — 1080p High $229.00
Generic 16GB DDR4 RAM — — — — $68.00
— — — — — Total $516.99

High Performance & Quality Dual 1440p Build

Brand Model (link) Encoding Quality Rec. Remote Instances Max Rec. Resolution Max Rec. Detail Expected Price
Intel i9-9900K Excellent 2-3 — — $504.99
Nvidia RTX 2070 8GB Excellent — 1440p High/Ultra $360.00
Nvidia GTX 1080 8GB Great — 1440p High $200.00
Generic 32GB DDR4 RAM — — — — $139.99
— — — — — Total $1,204.98
4. Accessories (click me)
  1. Controllers
    Ideally, you’re looking for something with X-Input that has 4 buttons, 4 triggers, dpad, dual analog sticks, L3/R3, and select/start.
    Controllers listed below are all X-Input, and [Full] or [Partial] button support.
    My main recommendation will be 8bitdo controllers. They have by far the best analog sticks and triggers of any controller and triggers, and button quality on part with the rest. They also serve multiple purposes, with most featuring Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, MacOS, Linux, and of course Windows compatibility. Most feature USB-C as well.
    I personally use the SN30 Pro+ Wireless and I cannot recommend it enough.
    1. 8bitdo controllers
      1. SN30 Pro+ Wireless [Full]
        Modern/Classic combo style, all black + classic color schemes
      2. SN30 Pro Wireless [Full]
        It’s like the Pro+ without the handles
      3. SN30 Pro Wired [Full]
        Same as above, but wired.
      4. N30 Pro Wireless [Full]
        Compact style controller, Genesis/Gamecube color schemes
      5. Lite Wireless [Full]
        Dual D-pad instead of Dual Analog, and super cheap. I love this little thing!
      6. Zero 2 Wireless [Partial]
        Tiny Boi - great for games with limited control needs like 2D platformers
    2. Xbox Style
      1. Official Xbox One Wireless [Full]
        It’s the standard controller! You can’t really go wrong with it.
      2. PowerA Xbox One Wired [Full]
      3. VOYEE Xbox 360 Wired [Full]
        If for some reason you want a 360 style controller…
    3. Nintendo Switch Style
      1. Official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Wireless [Full]
      2. PowerA Enhanced Wireless [Full]
      3. PowerA Wired [Full]
    4. Playstation Style
      1. Official Playstation Dualshock 4 [Full]
        Not native X-Input, you need to use DS4 windows
  2. Mouse and Keyboard
    1. Logitech K400/K400 Plus - Couch/TV use
      USB wireless with unifying receiver
    2. Logitech K830 - Couch/TV use
      USB w/ unifying receiver and Bluetooth wireless
    3. Microsoft Wireless AIO - Couch/TV use
    4. Amazon Basics AIO - Couch/TV use
5. Guide Setup (click me)

This guide is less about what hardware to use, and more of how to set it up. Take my hardware with a grain of salt, you definitely don’t need anything this high end. It just really depends on what your goals are.
This setup below is what will be referenced in the rest of the guide.

  1. CPU: AMD R9 3900X
  2. CPU cooler: AMD Wraith Prism LED
  3. Motherboard: ASUS Prime X570-Pro
  4. RAM: 64GB DDR4 3000
  5. GPU 1: Zotac RTX 2070 Mini
  6. GPU 2: Nvidia Quadro P2000
  7. Fans: Arctic P12 PWM PST 5-pack
  8. Case: Cooler Master N400
  9. Cache drive: 1TB Silicon Power 2.5" SATA SSD
  10. Storage: 5x12TB WD Easystore, 3x10TB WD Easystore
  11. VM SSD: Intel 660p 2TB NVMe SSD

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