Hi everyone,
The Windows Plex server that I built almost 10 years ago is starting to get a little quirky. So it’s time to put together a new one.
(on a different topic, ever since I upgraded Linux to the current edition, Plex has refused to recognize .mp4s. if anyone has any suggestions on that, I’d appreciate it.)
So anyway, back to the Windows Plex server, what recommendations do you have regarding mother boards, ram, CPUs, M2 memory cards, etc. I’m pretty well set of hard drive space, having only 4Tbs of videos and about 40 Tbs of HDD and SSD space.
Thank you very much in advance.
JH
It depends entirely on what the server needs to do. Is it just you? Or are you serving a family of 10? Do you ever need to do transcoding, or HDR to SDR tone mapping?
But, in general I think the best value is a semi-recent Intel CPU with GPU, for Quick Sync transcoding and tone mapping.
Thank you for your response. We have 4 TVs, a couple of laptops and a couple of desktops, but there are usually only one or two of us using Plex at any one time.
I try to avoid transcoding whenever possible. Maybe my CPU doesn’t have the horsepower, but even dropping to the lowest playback quality, the video still hangs up. Sometimes we use Plex through a laptop while traveling and transcoding rarely seems to work in that situation.
If your server is really almost 10 years old, that is certainly why transcoding is tough. With an Nvidia GPU or a semi-modern Intel CPU/GPU you can do quite a bit. My server is a 7th gen i3 and thanks to Quick Sync in that GPU, I can transcode + tone map at least 3 simultaneous 4k HDR to 1080p SDR streams. For sources less demanding than 4k HDR, I can transcode more than I need.
I’m not saying you gotta embrace transcoding, but I am saying you don’t necessarily have to fear it if you are buying new hardware! It actually works.
Though, for hardware accelerated transcoding, you gotta have Plex Pass, of course. Without hardware acceleration you could do a little transcoding with a new CPU, but you probably cannot do any HDR->SDR tone mapping.
To learn more about transcoding I recommend this article.
And these threads discuss inexpensive Intel computers that make good Plex servers. A cheap Intel Celeron CPU can have the same GPU and Quick Sync power as their big brothers.
If you have any interest in making your Plex server do other stuff, like running your security cameras or something, then I would suggest a more muscular CPU. Something like an i3 or higher, generation 9-10, would a really nice general purpose box for tinkering.
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