Best bang for the buck upgrades to my Plex setup?

Plex Media Server
1

I’m looking for advice about how to best spend my money to enhance my plex experience. My enjoyment of Plex has grown over time, but my system was not created with Plex in mind. It is a mishmash of old hardware. But everything works fine. It’s not very snappy and its noisy, with fans running 24/7 on “balanced” power mode.

I’m looking for ideas on how best to spend $600-800 to get improvement.

Here are some details of the current system:

PlexPass member
i7 930 (P6T SE motherboard)
GT 720 gpu
14 gb ram (2x3 + 8)
HDHR Dual OTA tuner connected to network (I finally got this old tuner working in Plex)
Wired Network connected to gigabit switch
To CenturyLink 140/20 service ($55/mo).

Storage:
256 gb ssd Toshiba (Windows 10, PMS, programs)
2 tb sata hdd (photos, documents) WDC…
3 tb sata hdd (music, mp3/flac) (Pulled out of a dead iMac)
5 tb USB3 external, powered hdd - WD My Book (movies, home videos, etc)
3 tb USB3 external, powered hdd - Seagate Backup+ (tv, dvr storage)
I remember seeing that one of these hdd has a non disable-able power save function needing 10-15 seconds to wake up.

One of the big new uses is the kids using PlexAmp on their phones. Sometimes the app seems flaky connecting to the server.

Thanks for any help!

2

I’d get a newer AMD CPU (Ryzen 7 2700x) and a decent motherboard. Even a lower end AMD CPU will give you lots more power and because you can upgrade the CPU later and use the same motherboard you still have future upgrade options without having to buy a new motherboard. I’d also recommend at a later date a better case (something inexpensive that will house a whack of HDD) Maybe a FD Define? My two cents…

3

Well, I went ahead and bit the bullet (within my budget) and ordered the following:

Part Model Price Tax Total
CPU Ryzen 3600 $ 174.99 $ 15.05
MoBoard MSI B450M Pro-VDH Max $ 79.99 $ 6.88
RAM G.Skill Aegis 32 DDR4 3200 C16 $ 134.99 $ 11.61
M.2 SSD Crucial P1 500 GB NVMe $ 68.95 $ 5.93
Case Fractal Define Mini C $ 78.99 $ 6.79
$ 537.91 $ 46.26 $ 584.17

Given the pandemic, it’ll likely be a couple of weeks before it all arrives. I’m planning to use the power supply, cords, and other hdds from the old machine. Hopefully, using the Crucial m.2 drive as the boot drive for windows and for PMS will go smoothly.

Should I also reinstall the GT 720 (and use hardware acceleration) into the new build or just leave it out and use the 3600 for graphics?

4

The Ryzen 5 3600 has no built-in graphics.

For hardware accelerated streaming, the GT 720 will not decode H.265/HEVC video. That will happen in software on the 3600.

If you want hardware accelerated decoding of HEVC video, you’ll need a GTX 1050 or better.

See Nvidia support matrix for details.

5

Thank you. In that case, a GPU upgrade is something I can think about down the line. Combined with the 3600, it sounds like the gt 270 will be fine for now.

6

If it was for Plex I would have bought an intel CPU since there is no need for an extra GPU then.

2 Likes
7

So I got impatient and have also ordered a GTX 1650 super ($175) which at half the price of the P2000 apparently has almost as good of performance (if unlocked).

8

Howdy…nice purchase. I’d just use the CPU. At some date get a better video card and you will be good for years…years…(:

9

What is the best resolution setting for my GTX 1650s, which is outputting to an Epson HC 4040 projector. It seems I have a choice between better color or better resolution. The Epson is a faux-K pixel shifting projector with 10 Gbps (not 18) HDMI 2.0 input. Therefore, the best it can take from the media PC is:

  1. 4k @ 4.2.0, 8 bits, or
  2. 1080p @ 4.4.4, 12 bits.

Part of the reason I recently purchased the projector was to upgrade from my prior 1080p projector, so I am somewhat motivated to send the Epson a 4k signal. But, it seems that the 4k signal has to be sufficiently dumbed down, that I’m not sure it’s worth it.

Thoughts?

10

looks like a non-hdr projector, so it really doesn’t matter much.

you are not gonna find much, if any, native 1080p 4.4.4 12 bit color content.

HDR is not just etra color, but also brightness/luminescence.

I’d send the projector back and get a real HDR capable one, 4k without hdr is not significantly better than regular 1080.

edit
if this is the projector, it says it accept 4k/hdr input
https://epson.com/For-Home/Projectors/Pro-Cinema/Pro-Cinema-4040-3LCD-Projector-with-4K-Enhancement-and-HDR/p/V11H715020MB

https://epson.com/faq/SPT_V11H713020~faq-0000530-plhc5040ub?utm_source=&utm_medium=van&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=us-hdrcompatibility

so you should be able to set your resolution to 4k/24p 10bit color/hdr

but you won’t get 4k/60p hdr (sdr only)

11

Yes, that’s the projector. I will try 4K hdr @24hz. Both of the resolutions in my prior post ran @60hz, but given that most of my watching is movies, I would think 24 will be fine.

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