# The best computer for a plex server?

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409>\
**Category:** General Discussions\
**Created:** [July 27, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409 "2017-07-27T18:48:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![PlexPower](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/plexpower/32/119706_2.png) [@PlexPower](https://forums.plex.tv/u/PlexPower)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409/1 "2017-07-27T18:48:38Z")

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Hello everyone.

I’m looking for the best computer to change my current computer (Laptop Asus G750JX).

I’m looking for something that the Plex server will be able to use to the maximum (Encoding with the CPU and GPU).

I thought about the Mac Pro.  
3.0GHz 8-core with 25MB of L3 cache  
16GB (4 x 4GB) of 1866MHz DDR3 ECC  
512GB PCIe-based SSD  
Dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM each

If you have ideas, they will be welcome. Aesthetics is also important.

Thank you.

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**Author:** ![\_JFLIX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/278dde/32.png) [@\_JFLIX](https://forums.plex.tv/u/_JFLIX)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409/2 "2017-07-27T21:00:07Z")

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I would start by looking at CPU performance as the primary attribute when shopping. [Passmark benchmarks](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html "Passmark") are a good way to rank CPUs by performance. The general rule of thumb is that each simultaneous 1080p transcode in Plex requires an additional 2000 Passmark score. (so 2x transcodes requires 4000 score or higher).

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**Author:** ![PlexPower](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/plexpower/32/119706_2.png) [@PlexPower](https://forums.plex.tv/u/PlexPower)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:24am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409/3 "2017-07-28T08:24:36Z")

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Thank you. If I understood correctly. It is not necessary to buy a computer with a powerful GPU?

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**Author:** ![Peter\_W](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/peter_w/32/6556_2.png) [@Peter\_W](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Peter_W)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:27am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409/4 "2017-07-28T08:27:58Z")

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Not now, but likely will be in the future since there is an Alpha release with hardware transcoding - [http://forums.plex.tv/discussion/250946/plex-media-server-hardware-transcoding-preview-3-1-6-0-3720#latest](http://forums.plex.tv/discussion/250946/plex-media-server-hardware-transcoding-preview-3-1-6-0-3720#latest)

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**Author:** ![NewPlaza](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/newplaza/32/128634_2.png) [@NewPlaza](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NewPlaza)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:36am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409/5 "2017-07-28T08:36:35Z")

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The Trash-80. Good, solid computer

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-best-computer-for-a-plex-server/200409/6 "2020-01-07T23:34:56Z")

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