Build for a Plex server

[ED209]

Hello All,

So, I have been playing around with Plex on my current system (I7 9700k\32GB of ram\4070Ti) and while it all works on here I do not really want to me leaving the system on all the time.

I was thinking of building a PC purely to be a Plex server and wondered if anyone had any suggestions.

Devices that would be streaming to would be a tablet, 3 x phones and 2 x LG TVs.

Any suggestions\tips would be great.

no real budget but I don't want to spend more than needed

 

[Tetras]

What about if you upgraded the i7-9700K and took the 4070 Ti out, for your gaming PC and then used the i7-9700K (with integrated graphics) for your Plex server? 8th/9th systems usually have pretty good idle power (especially when using the IGP) and depending on exactly what you're doing with your server, the UHD 630 can be pretty effective.

 

[ED209]

What about if you upgraded the i7-9700K and took the 4070 Ti out, for your gaming PC and then used the i7-9700K (with integrated graphics) for your Plex server? 8th/9th systems usually have pretty good idle power (especially when using the IGP) and depending on exactly what you're doing with your server, the UHD 630 can be pretty effective.

Could do, the PC is currently an ATX system.

Only thing it would be doing is being a plex server and possibly used for downloading content for the server.

 

[Tetras]

Only thing it would be doing is being a plex server and possibly used for downloading content for the server.

I'm not really up with the different aspects of Plex enough to say e.g. "you'll hit the limit IF you do x", but there are quite a few videos on YouTube that might help, e.g.:

i5-10400 #PLEX UHD 630 TRANSCODE TEST #4K #INTEL #CPU #GEEKSHHH

In this video i will do a hardware and software Plex 4K transcode test of Intels #UHD630 via i5-10400. This video is being made so people can make an informe...

www.youtube.com

I suppose you could just take the 4070 Ti out and see if it can still cope.

The i7-9700K is still a decent gaming CPU, but a newer CPU like a 14700 or 7800X3D are much faster.

 

[ED209]

I'm not really up with the different aspects of Plex enough to say e.g. "you'll hit the limit IF you do x", but there are quite a few videos on YouTube that might help, e.g.:

i5-10400 #PLEX UHD 630 TRANSCODE TEST #4K #INTEL #CPU #GEEKSHHH

In this video i will do a hardware and software Plex 4K transcode test of Intels #UHD630 via i5-10400. This video is being made so people can make an informe...

www.youtube.com

I suppose you could just take the 4070 Ti out and see if it can still cope.

The i7-9700K is still a decent gaming CPU, but a newer CPU like a 14700 or 7800X3D are much faster.

Thanks, I will take a look.

 

[Wing-Man]

my last plex server had a i5 4400, i just started an upgrade and i plan to use a 10100t.
its not very CPU demanding as long as your not running total rubbish.

ran is not really needed but if you have it use it its not like there is a running cost. i had 8gb but in the new system i will run 16gb just because i have it.
GPU is really not needed. i had a GTX 770 in my old one just because it was in a water loop that i didn't want to strip. my new system will use the iGPU

i also run timers on my system, so at 2am it went off and 1pm it would come back on. any other time we are working or sleeping

 

[ED209]

i also run timers on my system, so at 2am it went off and 1pm it would come back on. any other time we are working or sleeping

Timers would be a good idea.

My wife can be up quite late but will set it to a time where she is asleep.

 

[Wing-Man]

when he gets to 8 x 4k and the CPU is at 19% hahah i love how light plex is it also make me happy i went 10100t i would thinking about a 10400.
both chips have the same iGPU

 

[Wing-Man]

Timers would be a good idea.

My wife can be up quite late but will set it to a time where she is asleep.

i just figured if it can be off for X hour's it not a bad thing.
if you set the system up right and pick the right handwear it will pull next to nothing at idle, your 9700k you could underclock and volt down to the 9700t sort of spec's and it would chop through plex no problems

 

[jigger]

Could do, the PC is currently an ATX system.

Only thing it would be doing is being a plex server and possibly used for downloading content for the server.

That’s how it starts…

For multiple streams a later generation CPU or a CPU (just about anything DDR3 or above) and something like an Arc a310.

An Arc a310, Xeon e3-1220l v3 and C222 board with 8-16gb of ECC memory should cover for how, start and it.

 

[ED209]

That’s how it starts…

For multiple streams a later generation CPU or a CPU (just about anything DDR3 or above) and something like an Arc a310.

An Arc a310, Xeon e3-1220l v3 and C222 board with 8-16gb of ECC memory should cover for how, start and it.

Cheers, Having a look it seems that quicksync is meant to be a good option which is in the newer Intel processors.

I do have a spare AMD 2200G sitting on the side when I upgraded my son to a 3600 a few years ago

I had a quick look at HP micro servers but they all seem to come with either an AMD Trion or a Celeron

 

[jigger]

Cheers, Having a look it seems that quicksync is meant to be a good option which is in the newer Intel processors.

And… ya off.

EPYC 73F3 256gb of RDIMMs ,Intel Flex 170 and optane SSD’s, lots and lots of optane drives!

You’re welcome!

 

[decto]

See here for a list of capabilities. Nvidia GPU Encode Decode

I use a quadro P2000, though had a P1000 before (only supports 3 streams). I don't encode to AV1 so not an issue so far.
Intel iGPU is well rated through I'd look for 10th Gen or better if relying solely on the CPU though AV1 is only on Intel 13th Gen or Nvidia 4xxx .

I'd aim to have native to the TV's if possible, then transcoding to a phone for bandwidth saving is less of an issue as small screen is less noticable.

 

[jigger]

See here for a list of capabilities. Nvidia GPU Encode Decode

I use a quadro P2000, though had a P1000 before (only supports 3 streams). I don't encode to AV1 so not an issue so far.
Intel iGPU is well rated through I'd look for 10th Gen or better if relying solely on the CPU though AV1 is only on Intel 13th Gen or Nvidia 4xxx .

I'd aim to have native to the TV's if possible, then transcoding to a phone for bandwidth saving is less of an issue as small screen is less noticable.

Silly prices now. You can get the A310 new for less and it’s better hardware.

 

[keyser van someone]

Curve ball, but why don't you want to leave PC on all the time? With monitor off and only the PC going it'll be around 50-100 watts idle. If it's noise then maybe look at replacing fans/case/psu.. just a thought.

If it's the HDD is the noisy thing put that in a NAS. Most NAS will also run Plex, but not sure about the performance of those. How much storage to you use/need?

 

[ED209]

And… ya off.

EPYC 73F3 256gb of RDIMMs ,Intel Flex 170 and optane SSD’s, lots and lots of optane drives!

You’re welcome!

Is this 1 of them can of worms you open and wish you didn't? lol

See here for a list of capabilities. Nvidia GPU Encode Decode

I use a quadro P2000, though had a P1000 before (only supports 3 streams). I don't encode to AV1 so not an issue so far.
Intel iGPU is well rated through I'd look for 10th Gen or better if relying solely on the CPU though AV1 is only on Intel 13th Gen or Nvidia 4xxx .

I'd aim to have native to the TV's if possible, then transcoding to a phone for bandwidth saving is less of an issue as small screen is less noticable.

Cheers, ill take a look. Currently the content is only 1080P but I do have some 4K movies on an external HDD (this is what I used to do before hand)

Curve ball, but why don't you want to leave PC on all the time? With monitor off and only the PC going it'll be around 50-100 watts idle. If it's noise then maybe look at replacing fans/case/psu.. just a thought.

If it's the HDD is the noisy thing put that in a NAS. Most NAS will also run Plex, but not sure about the performance of those. How much storage to you use/need?

I could but as its my gaming PC I assumed it would use a lot of electric due to the hardware in it.

As this PC is used for gaming\browsing etc I was unsure how Plex running on it with people streaming would impact this.

Was looking at getting something low powered without a dedicated gpu to lower the running costs.

 

[Tetras]

Was looking at getting something low powered without a dedicated gpu to lower the running costs.

I have a wall meter and have ran around with it quite a lot

8th-9th gen PCs are usually very good, especially without a graphics card. Less than 20-25 watts when idle is not uncommon, even without doing much to optimise them, or buying a power efficient motherboard.

Mini/SFF PCs or Pico-PSU powered can easily be less than 10.

 

[jigger]

I have a wall meter and have ran around with it quite a lot

8th-9th gen PCs are usually very good, especially without a graphics card. Less than 20-25 watts when idle is not uncommon, even without doing much to optimise them, or buying a power efficient motherboard.

Mini/SFF PCs or Pico-PSU powered can easily be less than 10.

6th gen are better at 4 cores, but the E3 1220l v3 dual core is a bit of a champ.

 

[jigger]

Is this 1 of them can of worms you open and wish you didn't? lol


Cheers, ill take a look. Currently the content is only 1080P but I do have some 4K movies on an external HDD (this is what I used to do before hand)

I could but as its my gaming PC I assumed it would use a lot of electric due to the hardware in it.

As this PC is used for gaming\browsing etc I was unsure how Plex running on it with people streaming would impact this.

Was looking at getting something low powered without a dedicated gpu to lower the running costs.

Since you have already paid for it and it’s pretty much what you’re looking for use the Ryzen 2200.

 

[Boo_OS]

If your current PC has enough cores you could honestly just run it from that, it's not that demanding. I can understand now wanting to keep your PC up and running 24/7 though, not very power efficient.

Edit: Just realised I didn't read your post what so ever lol my bad. Maybe look into getting a secondhand Optiplex? Would definitely be sufficient, bonus points if you have a NAS.