Budget CPU - Am I asking too much ?

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xpd

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#190965 18-Jan-2016 14:38

Would I be asking too much from a budget CPU such as an Intel G4400 to run the following 24/7 :

* Plex (primarily for local media access)

* VirtualBox - running a VM of Ubuntu server delivering my website (basic WordPress) and also running mail server for my domain.

Would throw 8GB at it (maybe more depending on finances). Host OS would probably be Windows 10.

Yes, I could just go Linux from the start, but I'd need my wife to be able to access the system occasionally to run her MYOB stuff remotely, and I don't want to have to troubleshoot WINE issues from work :-p I could go the other way with the VM, run Windows on it instead, but Im not experienced to a high level with linux if anything went wrong and Plex etc failed to start - wife would kill me for a lack of media when the kids are home.

Ive currently got a G3258 in my desktop at home, and surprised how well it handles everything I throw it at.

TIA

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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davidcole

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#1473900 18-Jan-2016 15:41

What is the clock speed (number of cores) of that G4400?

As long as you did very little transcoding you might be able to get away with it for plex. Unsure about your virtualisation aspect.

I run about 3 ( 2 x windows 1 x linux) permanent and floating 1 - 2 VMs on a Windows 7 host with 32 GB ram on a AMD A10 - 4 core 3.8 Ghz. They run ok, they're not fast Vms by any stetch - but they all run.

Occasionally Plex will stutter with there's some CPU contention, but I can normally set the plex transcoder process to high priority and it'll sort it.

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ubergeeknz

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#1473905 18-Jan-2016 15:45

I'm doing almost this on a C2D with 8Gb RAM. Linux VM in Virtualbox running a few different things and using roughly 3Gb of RAM and most of a core. Plex is on Windows 7 which is on the bare metal (I haven't got around to upgrading yet). Virtualisation overhead (ie from Virtualbox et al) is basically zero, it is the resources used by the guests that matter, mostly RAM. Plex struggles to transcode some things but that's not surprising with half of a C2D to work with.

Edit: here's a CPU comparison of what I'm using and what you're looking at (tldr the G4400 is about 50% faster in general). TBH I would rather have 2 more cores and a bit more RAM to give Plex more headroom. But it should do the job. http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/386/Intel_Core_2_Duo_E8400_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_G4400.html

michaelmurfy

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#1473968 18-Jan-2016 16:36

I'm doing that on an old HP Microserver. I run XenServer which has support for Windows 10 (with GPU pass through also). Currently running 3x Linux VM's and 1x Server 2012R2 machine and they work fine.

The Microserver is not at all powerful but if you use a decent hyperviser (like XenServer) you can get far more out of your hardware instead of having Windows run free with all your resources as it pleases.

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timmmay

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#1473988 18-Jan-2016 16:59

That CPU doesn't rate so bad, 3300 Passmark. Transcoding might be slower, but I don't really know why that's necessary - something like the R.Pi or R.Pi2 plays anything so not sure why others can't.

Kiwifruta

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#1474001 18-Jan-2016 17:17

I believe MYOB can be done through the browser now, like Xero. So Windows isn't a necessity for MYOB.

toyonut

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#1474066 18-Jan-2016 18:58

Any reason for running virtualbox over running Hyper-V if you are running Windows 10? Hyper-V is really performant running Linux VM's and no need to install v-box additions. It is also tightly built in to Windows and I personally have never had an issue with it. You can also apply simple limits to RAM, CPU and disk access if you need to cut down the VM resource usage.

I would put the VM on a separate non system disk (or SSD) and run it. I would also try for 16GB ram, but 3-4GB for a VM is reasonable especially if it is a server edition. Even though it is only a dual core, as long as you are not expecting 100's of concurrent visits to your site, I don't see that the CPU is going to be a problem.

You could also get a separate pci or pci-e NIC and dedicate that to your virtual switch for VM traffic. Will keep home and VM traffic separate.

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

http://www.vultr.com/?ref=7033587-3B

xpd

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#1474069 18-Jan-2016 19:10

Kiwifruta: I believe MYOB can be done through the browser now, like Xero. So Windows isn't a necessity for MYOB.

Not if youre already using an existing license for an older version unfortunately...... will try to convince her boss to switch to the online version or Xero, but until then, itll be a local install.

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xpd

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#1474070 18-Jan-2016 19:10

toyonut: Any reason for running virtualbox over running Hyper-V if you are running Windows 10? Hyper-V is really performant running Linux VM's and no need to install v-box additions. It is also tightly built in to Windows and I personally have never had an issue with it. You can also apply simple limits to RAM, CPU and disk access if you need to cut down the VM resource usage. I would put the VM on a separate non system disk (or SSD) and run it. I would also try for 16GB ram, but 3-4GB for a VM is reasonable especially if it is a server edition. Even though it is only a dual core, as long as you are not expecting 100's of concurrent visits to your site, I don't see that the CPU is going to be a problem. You could also get a separate pci or pci-e NIC and dedicate that to your virtual switch for VM traffic. Will keep home and VM traffic separate.

Never thought of HyperV, never actually touched it before, just been used to Vmware or VirtualBox on workstations etc :)

Will look into it :)

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davidcole

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#1474189 18-Jan-2016 21:48

xpd:

toyonut: Any reason for running virtualbox over running Hyper-V if you are running Windows 10? Hyper-V is really performant running Linux VM's and no need to install v-box additions. It is also tightly built in to Windows and I personally have never had an issue with it. You can also apply simple limits to RAM, CPU and disk access if you need to cut down the VM resource usage. I would put the VM on a separate non system disk (or SSD) and run it. I would also try for 16GB ram, but 3-4GB for a VM is reasonable especially if it is a server edition. Even though it is only a dual core, as long as you are not expecting 100's of concurrent visits to your site, I don't see that the CPU is going to be a problem. You could also get a separate pci or pci-e NIC and dedicate that to your virtual switch for VM traffic. Will keep home and VM traffic separate.

Never thought of HyperV, never actually touched it before, just been used to Vmware or VirtualBox on workstations etc :)

Will look into it :)

Is hyper-V still annoying for copying, backing up vms? I tried it a few years ago, and you couldn't just copy a vm, you had to export/import even on the same machine.

Gozer

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#1474272 19-Jan-2016 00:01

The newer versions of MYOB can be painfully slow, but a lot depends on the company file.

Other than that just the trans-coding as other have mentioned, but this can be somewhat optimised.

darylblake

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#1474698 19-Jan-2016 14:47

Just an FYI,

I got a pc with 4 HDD's and HDMI to the TV. It has windows 8.1 and predominantly acts as a file server mainly for media in the house. Its in a small box in the TV Cabinet.

It runs plex server and has vagrant/virtualbox running a VM with 512MB ram on it. I wont host websites on it permanently but I use it for testing a bit. I put all mine in Digital Ocean.

The CPU is an Intel G620 Dual core 2.6 (cheap at the time) Micro ATX 4GB Ram. The motherboard originally came with a 100mbit card and it was frustrating as hell. So got myself a 1Gbit over the break and it was playing a 1080p movie last night with the VM running in the background and getting about 300-400mbps copying files over the network. So you dont need too much.

I would get a CPU off trademe.

xpd

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#1474739 19-Jan-2016 16:03

Ive had a bad run with 2nd hand parts lately, hence why Im looking new. :)

And this wont be able to sit in the lounge unfortunately, already a PC there, and it gets damn hot in our house so a system running 24/7 would cook or the noise from cooling it would be nuts ;)

It'll be housed downstairs out of the sun :)

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networkn

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#1474788 19-Jan-2016 18:42

I wouldn't suggest it. what is the difference between this and an i3 or i5? Processors tend to be reasonably safe second hand, and I'd buy a second hand i5 over a new G4400, every day of the week and twice on Sundays!