Sorry for the long post. I recently purchased an HD Homerun 4 Tuner and got a plex server running on my gaming laptop I no longer used. So far its worked pretty ok. A little slow here and there, due to it having an SSHD. But Im running out of space. While I could buy an external hard drive, I prefer something more integrated. So I begun looking at building my own server. I just dont know where to begin with hardware. I see everyone saying the transcoding takes a lot of CPU power and Im not sure where to start. Worst case for my server will be 3 streams at a time. Most likely on Amazon Fire Sticks, Roku sticks and Chrome Web Browser on Windows 10. Most of my Movies are DVD’s, though I do have some Bluray and I will eventually get a drive to digitize them. I have been using Make MKV to get my disks digitized. I just use the default settings and I have been removing the extra languages and sub titles to help keep the file sizes down, though DVD’s run to about 6.5 Gb per movie. I also have content in FLV, MP4, AVI, and OGM.
So what do I need in terms of CPU, RAM, GPU, etc? Or is there like a resource that shows what you need based on # of streams and Resolution of content? Also will an SSD make an noticeable difference with Plex, at least in terms of OS and the server software? As all my media will be on mechanical disks. I know Windows works for plex, but I wont be investing in another copy, so what Linux distros work the best with Plex Server?
Thanks for your curiosity! No worries about the long post, the more details we have, the easier this will be.
Let’s get the big question out to the way though: What’s your budget? Hardware is relatively inexpensive, but there’s a lot of options out there, so let’s get this out of the way and move on to the (hopefully?) fun stuff!
As for operating systems, you can run almost anything as long as it supports everything you want.
Since you want to build something yourself, I would personally suggest building something similar to a NAS. Of course, the exact recommendations are going to change based on what else you’d like to do (automatic media management, torrents, etc.), not to mention your comfort level with linux/docker/any non-Windows environment.
That said, three streams at a time isn’t too bad if you don’t rely heavily on transcoding. For this sort of application: an SSD isn’t critical – focus on the CPU and RAM, and having lots of storage space in the beginning.
For a deeper look into what a Plex server needs, check out this reddit thread where I solicited advice for my own server.
And of course, please reply if you have any questions; I’m happy to help!
Half the battle with budget building is properly encoding your media… Find a container and both video and audio codecs that all your clients will support… If you encode all your media so it will direct play, it takes a lot of the load away…
MCEBuddy for recorded TV will do commercial cutting and make perfect mkvs for you. Just set it to run during the time of the day when recordings aren’t usually happening. Of course you need to set it up to watch Plex’s recorded tv folder, and other parameters based on your personal needs.
Handbrake of course is great for ripping Blue-rays and DVDs.
I have had this setup running on an old Pentium 4 with 6 gigs of ram as well as a Core i5 with 16 gigs and was reliable in both instances.
More is usually better of course on the server side but getting the files ready to be served takes the load off of the server.
Basically if the files are made into mkvs you could run the server from even the most bare-bones system. But, for recently recorded files that need transcoding as the server is streaming, a faster processor and more ram are better.
My current set-up is a follows:
Shield TV running Plex server
Core i5 desktop (my main desktop running MCEBuddy watching folders on the Shield.)
1 HD Homerun Dual (really old but still working), 2 HDHomerun Extends
To give just an example of what the Shield is capable of I can Max out all of my tuners(6) by streaming to six separate devices all at once both wired and wireless in full HD.
Too bad Plex recently has been deleting my recent recordings though. But this is a Plex issue not a Shield issue.
I do use Make MKV, I take out extra language tracks as well as sub titles. As far as Handbreak is concerned, I have not a clue how to use. Because I want to keep the original quality, as some of these DVD’s you can tell are not the highest quality.
Now as far as transcoding is concerned Im not 100% when this happens. I would assume only if the device does not work with the Video Format, but thats another thing Im not an expert when it comes to video and audio file formats. All I know under normal circustantces I will be streaming to Roku’s and Fire Sticks and also to my web browser on my gaming rig.
Part of me thinks it might be better if I do an upgrade to my gaming rig and use the current parts I have for the plex server.
Current Gaming rig:
i5 3570K Stock clocked
16 Gb DDR3
1x 500 Gb Samsung 850 EVO (Probably will use this in the new gaming computer)
2x 1TB seagate HDD (might use one or both of these in the new gaming rig)
HD7950 (Probably use this in the new gaming rig, at least until I can afford a new GPU)
DVD burner (Want to upgrade to a Blu ray drive so I can digitize my Blu rays)
CM600 Corsair PSU
I think that might be enough. I could always get a 4TB hard drive and small SSD for the plex server. I prefer to have OS’s on separate drives from my data. Because if I have video files on the Plex server, I wont need them on my desktop.
EDIT: Forgot to add budget. I was thinking $400 ish maybe a little more.
Pretty much, yeah. Your current gaming rig looks like a great Plex server – most likely all you’d need to do is swap the storage for HDDs.
Using a GPU is somewhat optional; put your HD7950 back in if you experience performance issues. Directly playing compatible formats (e.g., MP4/MKV on a Fire Stick) should not require transcoding in most cases. A GPU would simply help with transcoding by taking the work off of the CPU – for instance, if you ever want to transcode multiple streams at once (convert two videos to watch on to two TVs).
If you want extra storage capacity at a relatively low price, take the storage out of your PC and grab some (relatively inexpensive) Western Digital 8TB EasyStores as a replacement.
EasyStore drives were originally intended as external HDDs, but if you get rid of the plastic enclosure and USB controller, they typically have NAS-grade (i.e., slower, longer lasting) drives inside, which makes them a popular choice for bulk media storage.
Using repurposed EasyStores is called “shucking”, and I would definitely recommend it; since you already have the computer, you can get 2-3 8TB drives and stay within your budget.
Although these supposedly have an MSRP of $300 each at Best Buy, they get discounted often. I’d wager you can expect to pay around $160 per drive – roughly $100 less than an official WD Red.
Of course, using shucked drives means you might not be eligible warranty support on the drives themselves. However, I’ve been running four of these in my NAS for years, and I have no complaints.
Learn more about using EasyStores in this Reddit post. Find them at Amazon or Best Buy online (search “WD EasyStore 8TB”).
Just looked on Amazon, they are under $200, which is good. Because I recently picked up a new phone Ill have to wait on buiding of the plex server, but that drive could at least help now with getting more storage for the current plex server. So thanks.
Seems like a nice capable machine. My issue is every time I build out a new gaming computer in PC Parts Picker its like $1,500 or so and I have a hard time justifying the cost. Dont get me wrong I have the money, I just have a hard time spending it. Plus I my have over looked the elephant in the room. I have to find a place to put the server. Currently everything runs in my bed room. The modem, Router, gaming computer, HD Homerun, Current plex server, etc. My house is not wired for Ethernet so I have to either find a corner to stick it in or use some method like Moca to put it in another location. My room has older wiring as well and its going to get real sketchy when I put the Window AirConditioner in the room this summer.
I understand completely, I’m not made of money either! It is of course possible to spend $1500 on PC parts, but it’s just as viable to spend $300-600, too. You might need a $1500 PC for gaming on Steam, but a Plex server can be built for significantly less. As an example, here is the part list for my current PMS box, which came out to just over $600 when I built it (I got some parts on sale):
Although this build includes a cheap SSD for Unraid’s caching system (to keep browsing times fast in Plex) you can use the SSD you already have to save some cash. Keep in mind that you’d still need to add bulk storage – start with an EasyStore or two.
The elephant (of) your room
This should be priority one, IMO You don’t even need to rewire your house. In fact, if you have Ethernet coming out of your modem, you can probably achieve this for less than $100. Grab any unmanaged (plug-and-play) gigabit switch like this $20 GS308 from Netgear, and connect it to one of the ports on the back of your router. Then, connect your devices to the switch with some premade ethernet cables (just search for CAT6 cables on Amazon or wherever). No MoCA necessary.
I have to find a corner to stick it in.
I can’t speak for the layout of your room, but these builds can be tiny. For instance, my server was built inside Fractal Design’s Node 304 case, which is significantly smaller than an ATX mid-tower like the average gaming PC.
Im currently plugged in to the router. Im worried about over loading the circuit breaker. Gaming machine + Air Conditioner = large power draw. Thats not adding in the old LCD TV I have, The 2 monitors, UPS, Raspberry pi, current plex server, modem, router, fire stick, antenna amp, Nintendo Switch, and my LED ceiling light. Im just tyring not to burn the house down. I put a new plex server that is more powerful Ill be drawing even more power. I got an idea however, but I gotta look at it from all angles.
Another thought I had was getting an Xbox. That would give me Bluray play back, Plex and other streaming and do games. Then I turn my current desktop in to the server. Use my current laptop to browse the internet until I can afford a better one. I don’t do much gaming due to the fact my hardware is getting to the point that it’s minimum system requirements or not enough, the only real reason I still use it is I like dual screens. My laptop only supports 1 screen via HDMI. I’ll just hook the second screw to the Plex Server for now, and only turn it on when I need to configure something.
Sounds like a perfectly viable plan. If that works for you, go for it! Something to keep in mind is that a PS4 can also do basically everything an Xbox can; check out which exclusive games you like more, and buy the console that suits you best. (I love the latest Spider-Man game, so I went with the PS4 pro).
Pro-tip: To save some money, track game prices and wait for sales. Despite the name suggesting otherwise PSDeals is a great tool for tracking the prices of games for most of the modern consoles – PS4, Xbox One, Switch, etc.
This should mean that it supports two displays: the laptop’s built-in display, plus the HDMI one. It’s not ideal, but hopefully it can satisfy your multi-monitor inclination. (I do agree, though, the more monitors, the better!)
Im turning my current gaming computer in to my plex server. The Fractal Design R4 case I have has quite a few 3.5 Bays I could use for drives. I think I can scrounge together 3 1TB drives for right now. Then at a later date, I can upgrade as I need. I just gotta figure out if I want to change out the OS, to Linux or maybe Free NAS. Windows 10 some times is IFFY on this machine, I think due to the age of the hardware and the lack of driver support from some of the hardware manufactures. @andrewjmetzger gave me some ideas for hardware I could use in the future.
You also may want to check out XigmaNAS… This project is also born out of the original FreeNAS code before iX Systems bought the rights… It also has a PLEX plugin so you can run it right from the NAS…
Ive been doing research and looking at prices and looking in to my crystal ball. I looked in to Free Nas, just poking around and seeing what it would take. Well Min they want 8 Gigs of ECC RAM, well thats getting in to a territory that costs tons of money.
Another option I was looking at, well its kinda like two options. 1) Buy a NAS that supports Plex, though after research it sounds like Transcoding could become an issue as the most NAS hardware is not up to snuff for that type of work load. 2) Buy a NAS for storage but use my current laptop for now and build something more power efficient later.
1.So how well does Plex do with its library’s being stored on Network storage vs local storage?
2. What kind of strain will this put on my network? BTW I have a Synology RT2600 AC router.
3. If I do move my library’s over to the NAS and use my laptop as the “Server” would adding an SSD make the experience more responsive? Wouldn’t have to be a big SSD either, I could probably do with a 120 Gig and I seen those for cheap.
4. I will probably end up hooking at least the NAS up to my UPS, the issue is my PC is connected via USB, are there commands I can issue to the NAS to shut down safely. Or do I need to find a UPS that works with a NAS? I dont want to screw up any hardware and unfortunately DTE has not been the most reliable with in the last year.
Part of the reason I thinking NAS is I want Network storage. It gives me options for when I A) Buy a new laptop that supports dual external monitors, B) build a new desktop, but then Id be able to go small as I wouldn’t have to worry about mass storage.
That’s the reason I went with XigmaNAS… While EEC RAM is suggested, it’s not a deal breaker… I have it running on an old Intel DG33FB with a Q9300 2.5GHz Core2 Quad processor and 8GB non-EEC RAM… I have 8TB of drive space over eight drives on a HBA… Works like a dream!!!
Both my PLEX servers (one Windows based and one FreeBSD based) also run on the same motherboard with a slightly better Q9650 3.0GHz processor in each with 4 and 8 GB RAM respectfully (Windows 7 32 bit)…
Everything except the drives, RAM, and power supplies were bought used off E-bay or stuff I already had (cases, ) and may have a total of $800 invested in all three servers… I have no problems with my setup because I took the time to rip my media into files that will direct play to all my clients…
Again, the trick is figuring out what kind of files will direct play on your client devices and ripping your media accordingly so you don’t need the latest and greatest processor to transcode everything…
The only issue is im not using old hardware. I would want something more power efficient. We have dont a lot in the last year to bring our electric usage down. So Im trying to be efficient where I can. The other issue is finding a case at the size that I want. That has been a challenge, mainly because you cant find any with hot swap drive bays. Because as it stands I dont want another large tower in my room. Id use my desktop as the server, but I just cant give up dual 23" monitors, as my laptop only has HDMI out and no other ports.
To be honest my laptop has been holding its own as the server, which is why I was looking at a NAS instead. I figure Id just store the Plex library on 1 disk and use the other drive bays for sharing data across the network. Then I could upgrade the laptop with a small SSD, just to make it more responsive. In the future when I want to replace that laptop I can build a very small form factor machine but not have to worry about mass storage. As least that was the way I was looking at it.
The main point I was trying to make was you don’t need the latest, greatest, most powerful systems, or server grade hardware for a PLEX or NAS server.
I go based on recommend system requirements. Which is why Free Nas is not an option. Also I have my own requirements.
Small case with hot swap bays (4 bays min)
As power efficient as I can get it
Easy to use and works with multiple OS’s
I haven’t found any cases with in my price range. Mini ITX motherboards are not cheap. Plus I need powerful enough hardware for some transcoding. Because I can’t say that every piece of hardware I have or will have will support the file formats that I’m using.
(I do agree, though, the more monitors, the better!)