MicroServer Gen10 vs Shield + Gen10 vs NAS as PMS

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Hi folks, I just discovered Plex a few days ago and I’m so excited about it. Now I have used to how it works, I start to think about how I build a system around that. It would be nice if I can reuse my existing hardware but I’m also open to new purchases.

My setup:

  • HP MicroServer Gen10 w/ AMD X3421 CPU and GCN3 WX2100 graphic core, Passmark 4953 (It is the threshold of noise and heat for our server) , capable of graphic card expansion as PMS

  • Intel 8th Gen NUC with i7-8650U, supports quick sync as PMP in living room

Tasks (and I have highlighted the questions)

  1. Manage a media library of 10TB movies, some of which are 4K remux with HEVC, each 2hr movie ranges from 20GB - 80GB

  2. The NUC streams 4K content from PMS via direct play , which should be the least problematic

  3. Occasionally Macbook Pro and the new iPad streams 4K content (direct play and client decode?)

  4. A Roku TV with Plex app streams 4K content (direct play and client decode?)

  5. Toughest one: remote access to the 4K content while transcoding into 8Mbps 1080p, I know it’s almost impossible with software transcoding, so would APU able to do hardware acceleration? If not maybe NUC as PMS and wirelessly connected to Gen10? Would a higher end QNAP or Synology or Shield + Gen10 serving this purpose better? Or maybe all I need is to add a NVidia GT1030 to my server.

Thx ahead,

James

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Watching this thread as I have this exact server and thought I was planning to use openmediavault plus Plex plugins, however I’m not sure it’s the way to go.

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Also watching, since my current Shield setup is too unstable atm.

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@thezman007 @Kampvognen I did quite a few testing and wrote a summary here: 5+ Devices Tested as PMP / PMS / transcoder for high bitrate 4K

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