DIY Plex Server

Associate
Joined
6 May 2020
Posts
4
Hi there,

I currently have a Seagate Personal Cloud for running Plex - it's low power but has been fine for 4 years, but now I'm thinking about an upgrade. I'd like to build my own server, but servers are completely new to me other than dealing with my NAS. I've been googling, but so much of the info is either years out of date or just affiliate sales pages for various OTS devices, so I'm hoping someone here can point me in the right direction :)

My setup at the moment is a 4k smart TV and 3x chromecasts elsewhere in the house. I don't currently use Plex remotely but might do in the future. My library is entirely x264 (had to be for the Seagate NAS) but the new system needs comfortably handle x265/HEVC. Only needs to be able to handle 2-3 concurrent streams.

I also have a CCTV system but it's not IP cameras. In the future I'll upgrade this, so the ability for the server to run 2-3 IP cameras as well would be ideal.

In terms of budget, it'd need to be under £1k but i'd prefer nearer the £500 mark. I'm not in a rush to upgrade so the cost isn't the primary consideration, I just want to get the system right.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,506
Location
UK
Your first decision is whether you want to buy off-the-shelf or build your own at this price point. If you prefer the ease of setup of off-the-shelf then, while I don't have any personal experience, I'd suggest a QNAP or Synology solution. They're pretty much the only two universally well regarded options. I think it is important to get the right model though, so if it appeals then hopefully someone will be along to recommend a particular model.

If you're comfortable building a PC then you can build a server. Really it's a PC maybe with some special considerations and a different Operating System to what you're used to. Most people who run a Plex server at home don't buy server grade components so just look for a CPU/Mobo/Ram combination you like, perhaps paying attention to the requirements you have with future transcoding compared with Plex's reference: https://support.plex.tv/articles/201774043-what-kind-of-cpu-do-i-need-for-my-server/

Personally I think it is worth spending a bit more on an efficiently rated power supply since it is going to be on all the time, a quiet case/fans for the same reason and buy NAS optimised hard drives like Seagate Iron Wolf or WD Red.

As for Operating System then you have lots and lots of choices. My personal preference, even though it isn't free, is UnRaid. It's parity protection makes efficient use of the drives and performance is adequate for me. The docker system and app store means Plex was a breeze to get up and running and as a bonus all my downloads can be automated and secure using the docker system. There are several CCTV monitoring systems available for it.

If you went down a home build route I guess maybe £7-800 would get you 4x4TB disks in a nice chassis with appropriate components and UnRaid. That would give you 12TB usable storage with single parity protection and the ability to add more disks easily enough as and when required.

Other OS that could run Plex include a straight up hypervisor like ESXi or more NAS orientated offerings like FreeNAS, both of which people successfully use. if it's really only Plex then PMS will run just fine on a Windows PC potentially.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
6 May 2020
Posts
4
Thanks for your reply :) Apologies in advance for the number of questions below!

Your first decision is whether you want to buy off-the-shelf or build your own at this price point
My intention was to build my own, primarily due to performance being better for the money. I'm comfortable building PCs but an OS other than Windows will be new for me.

just look for a CPU/Mobo/Ram combination you like, perhaps paying attention to the requirements you have with future transcoding compared with Plex's reference: https://support.plex.tv/articles/201774043-what-kind-of-cpu-do-i-need-for-my-server/
Thanks for this link, it's exactly the sort of information I've been looking for.

I'm happy with the 2nd gen Ryzen 5 in my PC, so my first thought is a Ryzen 3 3200G (Vega 11 onboard graphics) - I'd prefer to use onboard graphics rather than a discrete GP. I've read that transcoding is a lot harder on a CPU and more efficient through a GPU, but how much difference does it make in practice taking into account onboard graphics? Thinking about it, I do have an old GTX 760 card in an old PC - would it be worth using that or? Is any of this overkill?

The 3200g has a passmark of 7283, so would that stop me transcoding x265/HEVC? Just to check I've understood transcoding correctly, if I have a file thats x265, that'll play through my 4k smart TV, but if I put it through a chromecast onto a 1080p TV, that requires transcoding to lower the quality for that equipment (and presumably is where this processor would be underpowered?)? Is the sensible option to address this then to use a discrete GPU?

As for Operating System then you have lots and lots of choices. My personal preference, even though it isn't free, is UnRaid.
I've seen a lot of good things about UnRaid and don't object to the cost. I've not looked into OS's much, but my main consideration here is ease of installation and use.

If you went down a home build route I guess maybe £7-800 would get you 4x4TB disks in a nice chassis with appropriate components and UnRaid.
Am I correct in thinking that UnRaid would be a good choice for adding hard drives later on? I have 1TB free (out of 4) on my current NAS, so to spread cost I was thinking of starting with 2x 4TB (mirrored), and then adding another 2x later once I need the space. Do you have any preference between WD Red or Seagate Ironwolf (or others)?
 
Permabanned
Joined
23 Apr 2014
Posts
23,553
Location
Hertfordshire
I just have an old i5-3570k in a desktop box with 4 or 5 hdd in it stuck in a cupboard. Runs windows 10. Not fussed if it crashes or lose anything. It just serves movies/tv and does my downloading. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
3,506
Location
UK
I'm happy with the 2nd gen Ryzen 5 in my PC, so my first thought is a Ryzen 3 3200G (Vega 11 onboard graphics) - I'd prefer to use onboard graphics rather than a discrete GP. I've read that transcoding is a lot harder on a CPU and more efficient through a GPU, but how much difference does it make in practice taking into account onboard graphics? Thinking about it, I do have an old GTX 760 card in an old PC - would it be worth using that or? Is any of this overkill?

The 3200g has a passmark of 7283, so would that stop me transcoding x265/HEVC? Just to check I've understood transcoding correctly, if I have a file thats x265, that'll play through my 4k smart TV, but if I put it through a chromecast onto a 1080p TV, that requires transcoding to lower the quality for that equipment (and presumably is where this processor would be underpowered?)? Is the sensible option to address this then to use a discrete GPU?

I’m not best placed to answer these questions as my demands on Plex are pretty limited. My old i5 transcodes three 1080p streams without really breaking a sweat. Maybe dedicated Plex forums on reddit can comment on your hardware choice better.

I've seen a lot of good things about UnRaid and don't object to the cost. I've not looked into OS's much, but my main consideration here is ease of installation and use.

Honestly, I’m a Windows user with next to no Linux knowledge and found Unraid really easy to install and use. The support community is great and I followed a lot of YouTube videos by SpaceInvader One and found it very clear.

Am I correct in thinking that UnRaid would be a good choice for adding hard drives later on? I have 1TB free (out of 4) on my current NAS, so to spread cost I was thinking of starting with 2x 4TB (mirrored), and then adding another 2x later once I need the space. Do you have any preference between WD Red or Seagate Ironwolf (or others)?

It really excels in this respect. You can mix and match drive sizes and add and remove later with no hassle. The only rule is that your parity drive must be your largest. Start off with 2x4TB and you will have a 4TB protected array. Add a third 4TB drive later and you’ll have an 8TB array. Then a 4th and you’re up to 12TB with protection of the loss of any one drive. Remember that you’re not ever actually mirroring (its not RAID) - you have transparent data drives that can be read plugged into any PC if you wanted and then a parity drive that doesn’t mirror anything - it holds parity data to allow the software to emulate a failed disk.

I have used both WD Red and Ironwolf. I’ve never had any issue with either but I think most of the internet prefers WD. If you’re brave you can ‘shuck’ larger drives out of USB enclosures to get more capacity for your money.

Oh I’d also very strongly recommend an SSD to use as a cache drive. You’d install your dockers on it too (which means Plex) and it speeds everything up nicely. This is particularly true of Plex as a cache means all the metadata like cover art etc. can be displayed in the client UI without needing to spin the HDD data array up.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2002
Posts
7,176
My personal view on an efficient Plex server is 6th gen i3 or newer (I personally go with an 8th gen i3/i5), the UHD630 is capable of transcoding tens of streams if required, it's power efficient and scales better than a Ryzen in this specific usage case, Ryzen APU and AMD GPU's suck for Plex when it comes to transcoding. The other option if you have older hardware or are set on Ryzen is a Nvidia GPU, consumer cards are restricted to two transcodes officially, but driver patching is a thing. As Big-T suggests, use a SSD, AHCI SATA and NVMe are largely interchangeable if it's just for basic OS + Plex.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
6 May 2020
Posts
4
My personal view on an efficient Plex server is 6th gen i3 or newer (I personally go with an 8th gen i3/i5), the UHD630 is capable of transcoding tens of streams if required, it's power efficient and scales better than a Ryzen in this specific usage case, Ryzen APU and AMD GPU's suck for Plex when it comes to transcoding. The other option if you have older hardware or are set on Ryzen is a Nvidia GPU, consumer cards are restricted to two transcodes officially, but driver patching is a thing. As Big-T suggests, use a SSD, AHCI SATA and NVMe are largely interchangeable if it's just for basic OS + Plex.

Thanks for the suggestion re: Intel and iGPU, could I ask your opinion on this build? https://uk.*****(dot)com/list/MqBNjp

^pc part picker (why wont it let me post a link them?)
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
10 Jul 2008
Posts
7,684
A game changing thing occurred in recent times with unraid/plex; GPU Hardware transcoding. This puts even less importance on having a capable CPU which can do multiple simultaneous streams. You can use low end nvidia GPUs to stream more than most people would need simultaneously. There is a catch...well two.

1: You must run nvidia unraid (modified unraid base version with bundled nvidia drivers)
2: If you want to run more than 2 (or in some cases 4 depending on GPU) streams simultaneously, then nvidia want you to buy an expensive pro quadro card where these features are not locked down. There is a workaround to this even though via a hack you can look up yourself.

I just thought I would mention it in the case it affects decisions early on on purchasing or re-purposing older hardware. A super duper CPU is not a requirement you need to worry about anymore necessarily. Depends on what you want/need. If it is just plex, then you may not even need to transcode hardly ever if all your devices can direct play/stream without transcoding. So check what your usage will be in terms of whether your devices will direct play at native res etc.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2002
Posts
7,176
That site you mention links to competitors for purchase, that’s why it’s not allowed.

One of my Plex server builds is broadly along the same lines - ASUS B360-ITX (Was supposed to be ASROCK), i5 8400, 2x16GB DDR4, 2TB NVMe all in a Lian-Li Q09b. I run Ubuntu on it bare metal at present (NIC was HCL on ESXi, but 6.7 install restricted it to earlier HW revisions), storage wise I mount cloud based storage for media. It sips power, has more than enough CPU/RAM and local IO/storage to handle anything I throw at it without breaking a sweat and is near silent while capable of HW transcoding way more streams than I have local or remote clients for, let alone the uplink to handle (35Mbit).
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
6 Sep 2006
Posts
6,249
Location
London
I just put together a £600~ server build in the Node 304 last weekend:
Fractal Node 304 case) £40
Asrock B450 AM4 Motherboard £109.99 AMD Ryzen 3200g £78.98
Crucial Ballistix 3000mhz 2x8gb DDR4 £69.99
Corsair 350W 80+ PSU £43.71
Sabrent 512gb NVME £69.99
Seagate Ironwolf 4tb HDD x2 £209.98

Working great so far, the case is lovely to work in, managed to keep the cables neat. The 3200g has been shown to be able to handle several hardware transcodes at once. I don't have that enabled but even so it hits just 80% on one core so should handle 4 fine. Unraid has been a breeze to set up with sonarr radarrr etc
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2002
Posts
7,176
I suspect you’re going to be disappointed with AMD’s APU assisted hardware transcoding, especially if you try H265. The CPU itself is 7.25k of CPU Mark, using Plex’s published metric (2K/10Mbit 1080 H264) that’s 3-4 1080p H264 transcodes max (it’ll vary by bit-rate and whatever else you have eating CPU cycles such as Radarr/Sonarr/NZBGet/Tautulli/Ombi etc.), but 4K and HEVC isn’t happening. If those are local streams, then you wouldn’t normally be transcoding anyway (other than perhaps audio) unless you make bad format/client/connectivity choices.
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Sep 2006
Posts
6,249
Location
London
You might be right but I doubt it'll ever need to stream to more than 3 or 4 clients at a time and mostly without the need for hw transcoding. I have the option of putting in a gpu but that would mean no SAS adapter.
 
Associate
Joined
7 Jan 2011
Posts
32
I've had good luck buying 2nd hand Xeon processors. I have an E3-1235L v5 (Skylake with iGPU) which I got for cheap.
I just tried transcoding two 1080p -> 1080p streams in Plex and it handled it fine. Two 4k (HVEC Main 10) -> 1080p streams was a bit too much, there was some stuttering.

If you haven't thought about it, you'll need a plex pass to get hardware transcoding. https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-using-hardware-accelerated-streaming/
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2002
Posts
7,176
Transcoding 4K isn't a great idea, it just outputs 1080p at low bit-rate anyway, you may as well keep a 1080p version and just remove the 4K library from search results/use one of the automatic ways to prevent 4K transcoding. Transcoding 4K HDR is a horrible idea, tone mapping is still broken and it'd look worse than a properly encoded 1080p rip unless you like really washed out colour?

Example: https://i.redd.it/we72idsnu5r31.png
 
Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
25,289
Location
Lake District
Fairly sure you don't need an Nvidia specific build of unraid these days to use it for Plex hw acceleration.

Even a cheapie p400 is a worthwhile investment if you're going to be transcoding a few streams.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2002
Posts
7,176
Fairly sure you don't need an Nvidia specific build of unraid these days to use it for Plex hw acceleration.

Even a cheapie p400 is a worthwhile investment if you're going to be transcoding a few streams.

If HW AV transcoding is your focus (and realistically you shouldn’t need to transcode locally unless it’s audio/subs related), then you are likely better looking at a modern intel CPU+iGPU than a P400 aka 1050/2GB. A cheapish 8th+ gen i3 or i5 is likely capable of doing more concurrent transcodes than a friends/family set-up will ever need in software already, let alone your average uplink can support for offsite clients.
 
Back
Top Bottom