Hey everyone,
I’m diving into a new server build project and could use some advice from the community. I’ve got a few components in mind, but I’m unsure if they’ll work well together or if there’s something I might be missing.
Here’s what I’m looking at so far:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero
- RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4
- Storage: 1TB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe SSD
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (for any GPU-based tasks)
- Case: Fractal Design Meshify C
- PSU: EVGA 750W Gold
I’m planning to use this server for a mix of virtualization, media streaming, and a few light gaming sessions. while I was searching for this I found these resources/articles First build - Multi-use home server - Need help with hardware servicenow tutorial useful, but I wanted to learn more from community members. Does anyone have experience with these components, or are there any tweaks or upgrades you’d recommend? Also, any tips on cooling or cable management would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks a bunch for any help or suggestions you can provide. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Best Regards.
While this seems like much more of a PC/gaming build than a server build, it’ll work for you just fine. I have nearly identical components in my main PC, though I use a Phanteks case there. I use a Meshify 2 XL for my server though, so I can talk a bit about building in that case.
My primary question would be how much media streaming vs. anything else you’re planning on doing. Older Intel chips with QuickSync are the gold standard for streaming if you need transcoding. It just works, and it works well. The 3060 will work too, though it may encode less streams (see https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/11ih0gs/plex_hardware_transcoding_explained/ for more details) than a QuickSync CPU and will definitely consume more power. But you’re going to be consuming that power anyway, as you also want to use this machine for gaming.
Last two things about your components, and this is a personal preference. You might want to consider more storage and eventually more RAM. Games aren’t small. Most disks for virtual machines will hang out at a few GB each, and some that I run are pushing 60GB. Media to stream takes space, and it likes to take a lot of it. that 1TB drive will fill quicker than you think. Same goes for the RAM. I’m guessing you’re going to run Windows (for the gaming sessions) and that alone is a RAM hog. Take away a few GB for each VM. You’re going to consume it all quickly, then need even more of that storage for a swap. With 64GB, you’re probably not going to fill it all. You can always add that on later though.
The case is fun to build in. Immensely quiet and easy to set up. A lot of it pulls away to make accessing certain components easier. That can make putting it back together a pain at times. The biggest issue you’re likely to run into is routing power cables through the bottom if you have any hard drives in the bottom front. It’s just a really tight fit to reach in there, bend things around it, etc. But if you don’t, there’s a massive hole in the front you can shove power cables up through for the GPU, and routing cables along the side is simple enough to get it to the motherboard and hard drive through those generous and nicely angled, grommeted cable holes. Plenty of zip tie spots and cable stays. Personally, I’d pick up two 140mm fans or 3 120mm fans to cover the front of the case. Note that if you use 140mm fans you might achieve a generally quieter build for the same amount of airflow, though you also won’t pull air in across the entire surface area of the front. There will be gaps at either the top, bottom, or middle (or all three) depending on how you seat the fans. Just something to consider when you think about where you want to move air. I swapped from 3x140 to 4x120 fans in my Meshify 2 XL because of that gap, as I have hard drives completely filling the front and I had some that didn’t have air getting blown across them.
Good luck with your build!