Right now I am running plexserver on windows on an Intel NUC (5I3RYH). But my NUC is making a lot of ventilation noise. I have 8Gb memory .
So I was wondering if it is the best way to host my plexserver ?
What are you using right now ? Are you satisfied with it ?
Does anyone have found a “silent” solution ?
Do you think that upgrading to a newer NUK would solve the problem ?
What are my options ?
I also have another problem I described here of my Plexdatabase taking a lot of harddrive space, not sure how you deal with that on other devices.
Thanks in advance for your feedback
Z.
My config: INTEL NUC 5I3RYH Intel Core i3 5010 U CPU, 8Go Ram, W 10 64 Bits
There are thousands of ways to host a Plex server, and it’s really not possible to know why your NUC is running its fan without knowing how you are using Plex. For example, if you are transcoding video streams constantly then you might need a computer which has the ability to do that more efficiently. The age of the NUC is not an issue, you could buy a brand-new one which is still underpowered for the way you use Plex and that wouldn’t solve anything.
Also, the NUC running its fan is not a problem unless you are in the same room with it
People without Tinnitus always say that. People with Tinnitus (50 Year Veteran) don’t mind being in the same room with The Big, Nasty, Powerful PC Gaming Rig/Plex Server.
When the blowers kick in that tells me something is transcoding - then The Chinese Fire Drill begins as I find out why - and fix it.
I once moved the server into the closet and closed the doors. An hour with Ms. Tinnitus and I moved it back. I like fan noise…lol
I cannot even sleep without a fan running in the background.
I also cannot understand the desire most people seem to have to hide wires. I find it very comforting to see as well as know that I have things all connected. It also makes modification and troubleshooting easier. I seems that every time I take steps to hide or bundle my wiring I have to take it all apart to fix or change something.
Wow I didn’t know there were thousands of ways… What is your way ?
Do you know where could I learn more about other ways to use Plex.
Should I build a computer instead of my NUC or use a different device ? Do you recommend any ?
Well let’s talk about usage: usually I use Plex in my projection room so I am close to it, and I despite the sound , I can hear the NUC making a lot of noise which anoise me but now I have gotten used to it… Just didn’t know if I could do better…
Sometimes I think it maybe because of the coding or the size of a file. I have tried to use VLC instead but then what’s the use of using Plex
I was also concerned by saving my database for backup purpose but when I saw the size I changed my mind lol
Z.
PS: I too have a cat which leaves a lot of hair and grass everywhere
1st rule of business with Plex: don’t think of server and player as a unit.
You can (and should, IMHO) separate server and storage from the player. Separate not only into different devices, but also different rooms.
Once you do that, you mainly have to care about the noise of the player.
I assume that your NUC is still making an excellent player and is keeping relatively quiet if it only has to play back (instead of having to host the server as well).
So you could keep the NUC near the projector.
Then you’d need something else to work as server.
I tend to build it custom. Use a bigger case, because these can be cooled silently (bigger fans need less RPM’s to achieve the same air flow than small fans).
If you use the DVR feature, have room for 1 – 2 additional hard drives within the server itself.
Depending on the size of your media collection, I’d use an SSD for the Plex data folder if it’s exceeding a few hundred items.
Here is my setup
° Modem going throug CPL to living room
° Living room CPL going to Gigaswitch
° Gigaswitch going to Synology 415+ NAS (ethernet)
° Gigaswitch going to NUC (ethernet)
° NUC going to DENON amplifier (micro HDMI to HDMI)
° DENON amplifier going to projector (HDMI cable)
° DENON amplifier going to speakers (audio cable)
That is the reason I can’t put the NUC in another room (because of the denon and speaker)
I once tried HDMI wireless, it used to work but finally went out of order and went back to normal cables but this is a little of topic.
Well the weird thing is that the fan makes a lot of noise even when I am not watching a film and doing nothing, so I guess I should maybe track what is causing the CPU to work that hard. Suggestion on how to do that ? Opening the task manager ? A software ?
Could it be W10, Plexserver in the background ? An antivirus ?
So if I understand well you tell me to use the NUC as a PLAYER and put the Server on a different machine, is that it ?
When you say “I tend to build it custom” can you explain ? Do you put it on a PC machine ? When you say bigger case you mean like a big tower case ?
So I should build a PC just for plex server with 2 ssd and put it somwhere else on the network is that it ?
I could also put it in my personal computer but also I am not sure on what would be the best way to migrate the database.
On Windows use the task manager, yes. CTRL+Shift+Esc “More details”
You can let it sort by cpu load, which should make it easy to identify the worst offenders.
Yes. I’d pick a case with enough room for a big cpu cooler (“tower cooler”) and 1 or two hard drives (additionally to at least one m.2 slot for a NVMe SSD).
If both your PC and the NUC are running Windows, it is relatively easy.
The “how” is best answered in a separate thread, though.
Of course a regular, (e.g. “gaming” or “office”) PC is not ideally suited to be a Plex server.
It must run all the time
if you are running cpu-intensive applications on it, it can affect Plex playbacks
if the PC is itself not silently-cooled, it can produce too much noise for you when you sit in front of it and are trying to concentrate on work
You could also just keep the NUC as your server, put it into a different room (where the noise won’t matter), and use a Roku Ultra as your player. Totally silent, small, and very capable.
I will track the CPU as described and keep you updated… weird though that it makes so much noise like a plane is going to take off ahaha
thanks Otto I didn’t think about the fact that it could be annoying when working glad you talked about it
kpfleming intersting idea also since I use NUC mostly for plex…
I will check this Roku Ultra Player on the web if they have that in Europe , I will look for tests, is that what you are using ?
It might also just be that the NUC has accumulated dust&fluff on its cooler and air inlet.
Those small fans are pressing a lot of air through relatively small ducts and because of that dust is accumulating much faster.
You might want to take a look at that and clean it, if necessary.
I am also running Plex SERVER on a Win10 NUC (i5/16Gb RAM). The NUC has SSD and isn’t doing anything else…it’s silent 90% of the time unless I kick off a sync to a client that requires heavy transcoding.
My Plex CLIENT is an AppleTV 4.
There are so many variables, I definitely suggest using the NUC OS (Win?Linux?) to monitor CPU and other stats…
So I guess I will try and look to how to clean it then maybe you are right.
Otherwise I can still change it from another room.
I know this is a little offtopic but I just tried to load a movie from the PLEX app on the box of my internet provider and the movie didn’t load, it just went loading and loading. Any idea why ? Is it because the file is several Gig and is on a NAS drive ?
Any suggestions on how to improve that ?
Some NAS comes sometimes with a streaming technology like synology DS218play. I was wondering if this is useless with Plex already transcoding the video or if on the otherhand this can be better for Plex playing the files?
Last: do you think the NAS is not a good idea for hosting Plex files, could “normal” disks inside a computer fasten the read access to the files ?
I recently upgraded to a Synology DS918+ and couldn’t be happier. I consolidated an old HTPC and a Raspberry Pie down to just the NAS with 16tb of space. I admit it’s not the cheapest option but it runs Plex/Sonarr/Radarr and my laptop backups all smoothly. The hardware transcoding keeps the CPU usage low or it automatically direct streams to my Samsung TV running the native app. I’m not the heaviest Plex user, but this setup has been working great for me.
It looks like the NUC is a very small and under-clocked machine.
Definitely get rid of the Avira package. It doesn’t improve anything. The integrated antivirus of Windows is just as effective and doesn’t eat as much resources.
?
glad you talked about it
