Choosing a PC for SABnzbd.

[Ludicrum]

I know this isn't exactly a tech support issue, but I'm on the market for a new PC. I'm upgrading from an aging Pentium 4 machine to something more current. Among my chief uses for this PC will be:

1) Downloading with SABnzbd
2) Streaming HD media to my HDTV equipped with a Popcorn Hour A-100

My internet connection was recently upgraded from a 3/768 DSL connection to a 20/5 Fios connection, and that has resulted in some issues with my current PC. It just can't keep up.

My question is, what kind of system would work optimally with SABnzbd with a Fios connection? How much RAM should I have? Should I run multiple hard drives, or one big drive? What kind of settings should I use? Ideally I'd like to be able to multitask while SABnzbd is running without any slowdown. I have my own ideas, but I would feel more comfortable getting a second opinion. Also, suggestions on any good PC vendors would also be helpful.

This is a very important investment for me, and I just want to make absolutely sure that the system I choose will perform optimally.

Thanks.

[shypike]

Anything above Pentium-IV (so any recent dual-core) is more than enough for SABnzbd.
The slower your ISP connection, the less CPU speed you need.
With very high ISP speeds, the bottleneck is often PAR2 and UNRAR.

Two disks will make UNRAR more efficient, but it's not essential.

Personally I can max out my 100Mbit ISP connection with a modest dual-code Intel E8400
running Vista (meaning 10.000KBytes/sec).
With my older Athlon single-core I can get to about 5000KByte/sec.

[jp73]

Hi
I just got some parts to build a pc acting as a server, because my synology ds207+ nas was gettting to slow for the job.
I use it to run squeezecenter for my squeezebox and to supply my Popcorn hour A110 over NFS.

I also want to get SABnzbd to run and a bittorent client. I choose an  AM2 AMD Athl64 X2 4850E 45W 2.50Ghz Processor because it's a dualcore with low TDP of 45 watt so it shouldn't be using too much electricity.

I have one older 80 GB disk that I will use for the file system and to download onto, when the files are complete I will transfer them to a data disk which will be A WD Green Power 2 TB. This disk is expensive at the moment but prices will drop and when the drive is full I will ad 2 more and set it up as raid 5 ( at leats that is the plan)
The idea is to have this data disk spin down all the time, only have it running when you are watching a movie.
So when it is downloading only just one disk should be spinning. This to keep the powerusage minimal.

The main board has a AMD 780 chipset which isn't using to much power as well. Other than that there are no components, everything else you put in only costs electricity and that's what I want to avoid since it is running 24/7

Now just get SABnzbd running.....

[markus101]

If you're looking for an Expandable RAID system check out unRAID http://www.lime-technology.com

I'm currently using their free demo which allows 2 data disks + 1 parity drive, it's been great. Especially if you're looking to go to RAID-5 at some point, you'll have to dump all 2TB of data to make the array. It runs off of a USB drive, but I have an old 40GB IDE drive that is my temp drive for downloads, then I dump the completed files to the array 1TB Parity + 1TB & 500GB Data drives 1.5TB space and I can upgrade at any time, the only downside is that the Parity has to be the biggest drive in the system (or equal to the biggest drive).

Just an idea if you're looking for an expandable system, you don't even need a parity drive to start out, just add one when you feel the need (or when 2TB drives drop).

I've posted a guide on the unRAID forums to get SABnzbd working and others have adopted and adapted as needed.

Also watch the spinning down of disks, if you do it too much it will wear out the drive faster than it should. I don't think unRAID supports NFS (yet, but I believe it's being worked on/might be in the latest beta).

Best of luck with whatever you decide and happy downloading.

-Markus

PS didn't mean to jack the thread (and I don't work with/for lime-technology, I just love the idea of unRAID).

[jp73]

Thanks, I will have a look, I'm not to advanced with Linux got the basics and with help on the forum I first need to get the bittorent client and SABnzb running before I continue.....

[Ludicrum]

Thanks. I was having a hard time making certain choices, such as whether to go dual or quad core. Since SABnzbd is one of the most demanding programs I use (the rest is word processing, music/video playback, web browsing, and media streaming), your reply has been very helpful.

I decided, for my budget, to go with a faster dual core rather than a slower quad core, so a 3.0ghz core 2 duo for me. Since my PC is mainly used for usenet and media streaming, that should do just fine.

[shypike]

Since SABnzbd is one of the most demanding programs I use

Actually, PAR2 is the most demanding program.
SABnzbd itself isn't so demanding...

[Ludicrum]

Since SABnzbd is one of the most demanding programs I use

Actually, PAR2 is the most demanding program.
SABnzbd itself isn't so demanding...

That's basically what I meant. Since Par2 is in the SABnzbd package I tend to think of the two programs, working in concert, as the same thing. It technically isn't, but that's how I tend to think about it.

My P4 machine gets max speeds in downloads, but drops to around 900 kbytes average once par2 kicks in.