Hello,
Today I am running Plex Server on an old computer running on Windows 10. Everithing is working fine on my local network and outside it but this computer will not last a lot more and as I am using it only to run Plex Server I would like to replace it with a mini computer without screen that I would plug directly to my box in a closet.
I first thought about a raspberry Pi 3 but I read in the forum that I could face video transcoding issues, what I do not have right now.
Could you please advise me on a mini computer (Windows or Linux) that would allow me to run Plex Server withtout transcoding issues?
Thanks
@jambay25 said:
Hello,
Today I am running Plex Server on an old computer running on Windows 10. Everithing is working fine on my local network and outside it but this computer will not last a lot more and as I am using it only to run Plex Server I would like to replace it with a mini computer without screen that I would plug directly to my box in a closet.
I first thought about a raspberry Pi 3 but I read in the forum that I could face video transcoding issues, what I do not have right now.
Could you please advise me on a mini computer (Windows or Linux) that would allow me to run Plex Server withtout transcoding issues?
Thanks
You posted in the french forum and I will reply there.
I’d like to see the answer! 
I built a small PMS with a Gigabyte BRIX (Celeron N3150), 1 TB internal hard drive, 4 GB ram. I needed a small unit I can put in my luggage when on vacation etc, so some limitation were forced. The CPU is powerful enough to transcode a single 720p stream at moderate bitrate, I need transcoding mostly for old rips that are not in h264. The unit is silent although not fanless.
That is my server and it’s ok for my needs, but as an advice, try to buy a unit with a small SSD for the OS, and a second mechanical drive for media (unless you have your media on a NAS or external disk). If you install Linux (I have Ubuntu on mine) the OS will take up a handful of gigabyte and not much more, but you’ll need room for your library files, depending on the amount of media a 64 SSD could be enough or limited, 128 should be fine.
If you need transcoding for a single user and you need it for HEVC 1080p content at high bitrate a CPU with a passmark of 5000 and more should be enough, I don’t have enough data though. The suggestions on plex support page https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201774043-What-kind-of-CPU-do-I-need-for-my-Server- refer to h264 video with no subtitles. Old codecs require more grunt and usually only use one core, subtitles require more grunt, so if you don’t have noise issues put a good specced i3 or i5 inside.
