looking for a good plex server

General Discussions
1

I have setup a plex server as a trial on my windows 7 pc. And I am using a rasplex client.
It works more or the less as expected.
So happy? Not quite.
The reason is that I would not like to use my overclocked gaming running at 24/7.
It uses around 150-200 watt per hour.
Considering the 7000+ passmark it can run up to 3, maybe 4 streams.
I have the data on a Qnap TS-239 II.

So, what am I looking for?
A device that can run 2 streams without a problem. Maybe a third.
Considering the 2000 passmark per stream, it needs at least 6000. But if I look at a list I made about possible servers then they all use a lot of energy. And that is something I would like to avoid.

I made a list to all the hardware that I still have in use or at dismantled somewhere, in order to see what they consume.
I only put up machines that could handle at least 1 stream. (And my Qnap).
The Normal is something I read on the internet as general usage. The Load and IDLE is something I had measured.
Perhaps due to the heavy videocards that are loaded in it.

Considering I would take the 2008 pc, it still consumes a lot. Say 120 watt/hour. Which is about 1051 kilowatts a year.
In money it is 250 euro.
You can imagine that I am considering something else.
But what?

List of present hardware.
Date Type Processor Memory Passmark TDP Normal Load IDLE
PC
2011 MSI board I7-2600K 16GB 7096 95w 77,19w 250w 100
2008 Gigabyte board Q9650 4GB 4270 95w 114,2w 220w 100
2010 AMD X3 445 4GB 2572 95w 77,14w 100w 50
2010 AMD X4 605E 4GB 2776 45w 130w 120w 50

Notebook
2008 MSI 15" Intel P8600 4GB 1556
2011 Samsung 13" Intel M460 4GB 2351

NAS
2010 QNAP TS 239 II Pro Atom D410 1.6ghz 1GB Rob Server 310 25 22

So I am considering Nvidia Shield. But can it handle 2 streams? At HD quality?
Why can the Nvidia do that at such a low watts? Where a regular pc needs much more?

On the otherhand I am considering a Qnap TVS-471, or an HP Microserver Gen 8, with an E3 processor in it.
But even these options cost around 125-150 euro per year.

Are there other options, or am I seeing something over the head?
I am open to Mac, NAS, HP serrver, Nvidia, regular pc.

Thanks ahead,

RobB

2

Hi, the same concern made me purchase a nvidia shield (low consumtion).
Frankly, that is an extremely bad investment as the Shield is far from being powerfull enough to handle even a simple library update without crashing all the time.
If Kodi activated together with Plex Media server, then it is just unsupportable.
Either on a Macmini or event on a Virtual server running win 7 does gives you much more power than the ■■■■■■ shield.
Virtual machine is handling 7 managed users without any problems and this for months
Cheers
Ork

3

If it’s within your technical ability, you can see my sig for an example of a build-your-own NAS+PMS solution that is low-power, silent, but plenty powerful. Like you I didn’t see anything off-the-shelf that met all these criteria so I built one myself. I also wanted something tiny and I wanted a singular box that handled both Plex and the NAS tasks.

4

Thanks for you sharing your experience.
With a Virtual Server, I guess that you mean a rented virtual machine? Else you need other hardware 24/7 to run, on which you can run the virtual machine.

Thanks,

RobB

5

Hello Sremick,

I build the pc’s myself. So I know what to expect when to delve into that.
I found these figures regarding the HP Gen 8
HP Microserver Gen 8 E3-1265L v2 Passmark 7682 TDP 45W Expected load 54W Expected idle 45W.
So I guess the 1271 is using a bit more, or am I not correct?
Double of my Qnap, but in case I am using 2 servers, the Qnap and another low-watt machine, consume about the same.

I have not looked into Freenas, that much, as I am more a windows guy (and old DOS…).
Though Syncback is slow compared to the Qnap (have a second Qnap at a remote place for my backups.).

In short, your build is an option. If the Energy consumption is within limits. On the otherhand, swithing on the Plex server late in the afternoon, and switching off somewhere when I to to bed, is an option as well, I think.

Thanks for your idea.

RobB

6

Hi Emisary,
I use my proper hardware, not a rented one. It’s a good solution for me, as I have to run a server 24/7 anyhow for other purposes, so I did dedicate part of the ram to have 2 plex servers running. Finally, I have also a Macmini running when needed with plex server and Kodi. My idea was to have the shield replacing the macmini and staying on 24/7. Following the crashes nightmare on shield, I’ve deactivated the plex server on the shield and use it to run kodi only … resulting in 95% less crashes.
Regards
Ork

7

Orkinet,

Clear.
This is a bit, how I tried to paint it myself.

Thanks for your inside.
Especially for the Shield.

Except for the Raspi 3 I have are there other interesting microcomputers that can serve as a plex client?

RobB

8

I have found a test about an Intel Nuc.
Good for 2 streams http://www.legitreviews.com/intel-nuc-nuc6i5syk-skylake-mini-pc-review_181093/4
Good for 4 streams http://www.legitreviews.com/intel-nuc-nuc6i7kyk-skull-canyon-mini-pc-review_181416/4

What I have seen sofar, I could even use my Surface Pro 3, for that purpose. Just over 4000 passmark.
Good for 2 streams. I think I am going to look into measuring energy from that thing and installing the Plex server on him.
Data stays on my Qnap. That is doing its job for data hosting only.

RobB

9

Hi Rob
Shield is ok to run Plex client (not the server), Although I do prefer Kodi interface from local network.
When travelling, I love Plex client interface running on tablets or smartphones.
Bye
Ork

10

You’ve got to remember that the 2000 passmark score is per stream transcoded. If you are direct playing your video over your LAN to a device (like your Rpi) that is capable of direct play then you can get away with a much less powerful server.

Also some basic bare bones server deals are to be had out there. Take for instance this Dell T20 for $228. Add hard drives and you’re all set and it won’t use a lot of power since it will be sitting idle most of the time.

11

@emisary@gmail.com said:
I have found a test about an Intel Nuc.
Good for 2 streams Intel NUC NUC6i5SYK Skylake Mini PC Review - Page 4 of 5 - Legit Reviews
Good for 4 streams Intel NUC NUC6i7KYK Skull Canyon Mini PC Review - Page 4 of 5 - Legit Reviews

What I have seen sofar, I could even use my Surface Pro 3, for that purpose. Just over 4000 passmark.
Good for 2 streams. I think I am going to look into measuring energy from that thing and installing the Plex server on him.
Data stays on my Qnap. That is doing its job for data hosting only.

RobB

I am about to run up an i5 NUC as a server for a test. I will report back as to how it went.

12

Thank you all for your insides.
I do not completely understand what that transcoding means.
When I rip one of my DVD into an MP4. And put that on my Plex server. That is not transcoding, is it?
Is it so, when you click the option, to create special versions for tablet and smartphone, that this is the transcoding?
And if you do not do that on the fly, that you then only have some data to give through.
Which means, is that my laptop, which is now being used for a mysql backup, can host plex? Has around 2000 passmark.
To the max I have 2 streams. Mostly 1. Or even nothing.

RobB

13

@Stephen3001
I curious enough. Please let me know.

Thanks all. I keep plex running in the background of my mainpc for the time being.
Just as a test.

RobB

14

Raspi 3 performs very well in general. Easy to set up, low power usage.
3 streams in parallel with stepping forward run flawlessly (even with 2 stream sessions on the same file). However, one shouls consider 2 things which I found out so far (by tweaking the options/infrastructure and investigating various forums)

  1. Do not use official Plex client on smart tv (especially on LG). The app is a crap, made me waste few days of my life totally senseless. It lacks of direct stream/play (despite of the settings somehow), which forces the server to transcode every content (see problem belove). Solution: Use any other third-party clients like XPlay (!).
  2. Transcoding movies is unsolved at the moment (at least in my understanding). I have been digging deeper in why transcoding will burn raspi 3 (even in case of enabling “non-soft” subtitles). Currently, it seems like transcoding needs a higher read rate on the server as an usb 2 connection can serve. Which is unfortunate since raspi is uncapable of usb 3 (it reads that though but on usb 2 speed)

In summary, I am now hesitating whether to buy another hardware because of the transcoding capability (because I need subtitles usually) but if you stream content in the same format as the file itself, you won’t see raspi lagging ever.

15

Long time ago I have posted this.
Things went forward, and I have bought the Nvidia Shield Pro.
Works good, except 1 annoying issue. It closes the connection to my nas at 23:15. Everyday.
I am going to find out, if the Shield is closing it, or my NAS.

@fradihet
From my knowledge so far, if you want to transcode with 2-3 streams, you need a pretty heavy computer.

RobB