NUC vs. NAS for Plex Media Server

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Hi. I am new to PMS and I am looking to make myself a Plex Media Server with dedicated hardware which I can run whenever I need to watch some stuff without using too much of electricity.

Hardware I already have:

NAS: WD MyCloud Generation 1 (2TB) which doesn’t support Plex Media Server directly.
Player: Amazon FireTV Stick and Google ChromeCast Gen 1.

I have 3 ways to achieve the Plex Media Server and I want you expertise to help me decide which should be the route.

Case 1:

I buy Synology DS218Play and install PMS on it and stream to FireTV Stick.

Will cost me around 600 USD for DS218Play and HDD WD 2TB RED NAS Drive.

Case 2:

I buy Intel NUC, Get a RAM, Install SSD (I already have one spare SSD) and run Ubunutu or Windows on it, Install Plex Media Server.

Connect this NUC with my already having WD MyCloud NAS (2TB)

And then stream to AmazonFireTV Stick or GoogleChromeCast.

Will cost me USD 600 (NUC + RAM)

Case 3:

I buy Rasberry Pi 3 B+ or some other similar alternative, install Plex on it, Connect to the WD NAS and stream to AmazonFireTV Stick.

Will cost me USD 250-350

Requirements/Usage:

Number of Streams Simultaneously: Averagely 2 Streams of 1080p.
Number of Users: 2-3 Users.
Number of hours daily: 2-3 hours.
What kind of stuff to watch: Movies (1080p) with .SRT Subtitles, Shows (1080p) with .SRT Subtitles and Songs (Any MP3 Quality).
Transcode: I am not sure about this since I don’t know what’s the use of it and why it would be required.

P.S.: I want a stable setup (as much as possible) so that the system doesn’t throw too much of bugs or plex crashes/errors.

Thank you.

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I have a WD MyCloud gen 1 as well. I have a couple of servers in the house that work for my needs. I have an old laptop i7 that I keep running all the time and an Nvidia Shield. Transcoding I believe occurs anytime subtitles are used, not playing the original quality or anytime the client can not play the format the file is stored in and needs to encode it into the format that the client can play the media. I see you don’t currently have a Plex Pass which means your server will not be able to utilize hardware transcoding. However there are special devices that still utilized it such as the Nvidia Shield. Nvidia Shield run under $200 for the 16GB version and i attached an SSD to help with any transcoding needs. Below are some info on the Shield.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-using-hardware-accelerated-streaming/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/221099648-limitations-when-running-plex-media-server-on-nvidia-shield/

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Thank you for your reply. But sadly, Nvidia Shield is not available here in my country. :frowning:

Can’t go with that.

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Go with the NUC due to a better CPU => better to transcode

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Thank you. Do you have any specific NUC Model Advice in your mind?

Thanks.

6

Not a NUC dude, so sadly nope

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