Plex Server - Pre-built server or build my own?

gee3000

gee3000

gee3000

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Hi all

I'm looking to move my Plex server over to a dedicated NAS so I can leave it on all the time in another room. It's currently running on my gaming PC;
  • i5-2500k @ 4.4ghz (Corsair H50 AIO cooler)
  • 16gb (4x4gb) DDR3 1600mhz
  • Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 (ATX)
  • Gigabyte 970 GTX 4GB G1
  • 500gb SSD (Windows 10 Pro x64, a few games and Plex Server)
  • 2 x 3TB WD Green (Documents and media, not in RAID)

Option 1: ~£150
  1. Buy a second-hand HP MicroServer
Questions:
  • Will it be powerful enough and any suggestions for models?

Option 2: ~£400
  1. Put together a new cheapy ITX build for the NAS.
Questions:
  • How much would you recommend spending as a minimum and any parts suggestions?

Option 3: ~£700
  1. Re-purpose my above gaming PC into a NAS - use the CPU, RAM, PSU and HDD's and buy a new ITX case and compatible ITX motherboard (hard to find old 1155 ITX boards though) ~£130
  2. Build a new gaming PC ~ £570
Questions:
  • I guess my CPU/RAM are powerful enough as it's running fine now, but is this an inefficient use of decent parts? Gaming is still fine on this tbh..

What would you do?
 
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If you ever want to transcode such as to your phone i'd recommend against a microserver due to cpu limitations but dropping the transcode quality may work for most things.

I previously used G3258 at 4ghz and it barely coped.
 
I went with Option 1 but an N54L (gen 7) can't transcode h265 and stream on a 500mbs powerline. Perhaps the latest generations 8/9 can?

Which OS do you intend to put on it?

I'd avoid 3 if the machine is competent enough for the games you play.
 
The G8 can be had for £164 at the mo with another £55 cashback on top of that. I currently have my own home built server that i am looking to downsize to just house an ssd that will host my plex server with all the data being on a nas. Not used a G8 microserver myself but heard good things about them, i just like the idea of building something from scratch and have it how i want it.

I am in the process of buying a Silverstone Sugo SG13B-Q Mini-ITX case and an Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 to go with my Intel Pentium G3420, Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply and my 16gb of Ram i already had to be my low powered always on server. All in all cost me £250 but for the long term and upgrade possibility it works perfectly for me.

Just an idea for you
 
G8s are great little machines once you get them setup, but the CPU upgrade choices are limited to the TDP and are pricey. Basically a Xeon 1220L or a 1265L (45w max) is your window, and cost around £150-200 because sellers on the bay are scalping them knowing what people are using them for.

The T20s have much better scope of CPU upgrade, in some respects I kind of wish I went for one of those when I upgraded the Gen7 but the Gen8 is transcoding stuff well with a G1610T for the moment so I can't complain too much.
 
Another thing to consider would be using a htpc with plexHT, plugged directly into an hdmi slot on your tv. This would let you fling media from any device to it. I can't do this with the plex for Samsung app, and it bugs me no end (it was part of the reason I paid a lifetime subs)
 
I have a N54L with Plex server running and runs straight to my Amp to the TV (Full 1080p HD Audio blu ray rips).
This also works spot on with my iPhone (through wifi) and Mac Mini streaming via Devolo 1200 adapters.
 
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I've got an N40L running Plex and can happy stream 1080p in my home. Also had success transcoding 720p, not tried ful HD with that.

I've got a 6450 in it connected to the TV, and 8GB of ram.
 
You could also look at transcoding on the target, something it seems not a lot of people do. As long as you've got a fairly decent phone/tablet/laptop it'll transcode on the target fine.
 
Personally I wouldn't repurpose a gaming pc to be a server - inefficient, power hungry and generally not server orientated in robustness; sure they can do the job but I can't say it'd be my first (or last) choice. Server grade commands a premium for it's robustness but there's a reason behind it.

If you were seriously considering a £700 budget then you could build a substantial home server that you wouldn't have to consider upgrading for a good long time and will do everything you want out of a media server including transcodes to multiple devices:

Intel Xeon E3-1226 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor or Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor (i3 may reduce number of HD streams)
Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
ASRock E3C224D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 ECC Memory
Lian-Li PC-Q25 Mini ITX Tower Case
Silverstone 500W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply

Estimated power usage Xeon:
Intel Xeon E3-1226 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor 10W - 84W
Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler 5W - 10W
ASRock E3C224D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard 7W - 30W
Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory 14W - 14W
Total: 36W - 138W

Estimated power usage i3:
Intel Core i3-4370 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor 6W - 54W
Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler 5W - 10W
ASRock E3C224D2I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard 7W - 30W
Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory 14W - 14W
Total: 32W - 108W

Can't link on here but from putting it together on pc part picker but that puts the above build in the ball park of £639.95 (or £561 if you went i3) (minus drives); you may prefer an alternative case but I like a small foot print with as many drives as possible and the PCQ25 can hold 7 + 1 ssd however I did cram 10 disks in by removing the floor plate and putting them on rubber feet and drive bay converters.

Now obviously that figure is beyond what a microserver will cost and even the T20 but both start to have their limitations in future expansion when you start playing around with prosumer stuff. The Asrock is a great starter board as it has all the connections (Intel gbe / LAN teaming / SATA ports etc.) you need as well as it's own on board igpu so no need to worry about the cpu having igpu. The pci-e slot you can leave free for later if you decide to start playing with raid cards, extra nics etc.

My TL:dr would be: If you're not going to expand and don't mind the footprint get the T20, if you think that you'll want to add to the server in the future; build it.
 
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I have a new HP Microserver, £109.99 after cashback currently. Plus drives. I'm running xpenology (Synology interface) with plex app running. I can download at my full 18mbps from newsgroups while streaming a blue ray rip to my TV with absolutely no issues at all.

That'd be my recommendation.
 
I'm currently using my gaming PC for the Plex. The files are stored on a NAS which the gaming pc (via Plex) uses, just mapped the drives. As I don't use Plex outside the house and as I have WOL enabled with an app on my phone, I can boot the PC up in seconds and start streaming. The NAS (RN104) runs 24/7 currently, again I can WOL that too if needed.

If I want to access Plex from outside the house, I can either leave the PC running or WOL via a laptop I have running in the house :)

If you have the power (from the gaming pc) and can use WOL I'd do that, save some money and just buy a NAS.

Just my 2 cents.

Anthony.
 
ant1298 said:
I'm currently using my gaming PC for the Plex. The files are stored on a NAS which the gaming pc (via Plex) uses, just mapped the drives. As I don't use Plex outside the house and as I have WOL enabled with an app on my phone, I can boot the PC up in seconds and start streaming. The NAS (RN104) runs 24/7 currently, again I can WOL that too if needed.

If I want to access Plex from outside the house, I can either leave the PC running or WOL via a laptop I have running in the house :)

If you have the power (from the gaming pc) and can use WOL I'd do that, save some money and just buy a NAS.

Just my 2 cents.

Anthony.
Click to expand...

WOL is a godsend for lazy people!
 
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