Move Plex server from NAS to Intel NUC

Plex Media Server
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1

Server Version#: 1.43.2.10687
Player Version#: latest
Currently, I’m running Plex server on a QNAP TS-453D

CPU: Intel Celeron J4125, up to 2700MHz (4 cores, 4 threads)

Firmware: QTS 5.2.9.3499
RAM 16GB
RAID5
Cache Acceleration on using two 1GB SSD’s.

HD’s, I have four Seagate ST8000NM0055-1RM112, with single storage pool and over 12TB available space.

The QNAP does an ok job as a Plex server, as long as no one else is using the NAS or backups running, or more than 1 person streaming from it.

I have this old NUC just sitting around collecting dust and was thinking maybe it would be a better Plex server than the QNAP. I installed Debian 13 on the NUC then installed Plex Server at which point I stopped and though to myself, I should ask the Plex community for advice.

Intel NUC specs:

CPU name: Intel(R) Core™ i7-8650U CPU
CPU size: 1x4.20 GHz, 4 Cores/8 Threads
GPU model: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 620
RAM: 16 GB DDR4
Disk: Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 250GB 250 GB SSD
NIC: Intel Corporation Ethernet Connection I219-LM (eno1)

I’m thinking the NUC would be the better option, especially when more than one person is streaming from Plex. Yes, the internal SSD is small but I could either point the NUC to the QNAP (where my media currently resides) or attached an external HD via USB to the NUC and store my media there. I’d buy a bigger SSD but man they are EXPENSIVE.

What do you all think would give me the best performance? Could I run both servers at the same time for testing? I have a lifetime Plex Pass.

2

The NUC is lacking the connectivity to attach the hard drives directly. So you will need to utilize the NAS as a file server.
The best performance will still be gained with a directly attached SSD for the Plex data folder and transcoding temp.

Yes. Just keep in mind to

  • NOT to copy the Preferences.xml from the NAS to the NUC
  • create a separate port forwarding (using a different WAN port number) in your router if the new server shall have remote connectivity
3

I have a external USB Seagate 2TB HD that I was going to store the media on. The cost of a 2TB SSD is out of my price range.

Roger that on the "Preferences.xml.

Is it possible to SYNC the two Plex servers so that the watch counts for movie, TV shows, etc., are the same? Not a big deal if this can’t be done.

4

I don’t think you’ll need 2TB just for the Plex data folder. At least not if you avoid storing thousands of photos on your Plex server.
The storage requirements of video preview thumbnails can be reduced or avoided altogether.

Using 2 for the actual media storage feels quite small. Media collections have the tendency to grow all the time. A NAS is certainly a better choice for that.