Plex Geeks? I need a hardware setup for Plex.

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Deleted member 63558

Hello, I'm looking to have Plex Server for myself. Please recommend me the best Plex Server (not using the PC) but something like RasberryPi or something which is compact in size and uses very low electricity.

Thanks.
 
Pi is probably underpowered for Plex.
 
VivekA said:
I have a cheapo Synology NAS (214j) that runs a plex server pretty well. Look for a budget NAS.
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Hi, Please let me know the Price you've paid for this NAS (with and without Disk)?

Also, Does it support other apps too apart from Plex if you could mention?

Thanks.
 
ajgamer said:
Hi, Please let me know the Price you've paid for this NAS (with and without Disk)?

Also, Does it support other apps too apart from Plex if you could mention?

Thanks.
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I don't think this particular model (215j) is available now but FYI, it cost me $300 about 3 years ago (got it from USA through a relative). But a 2 bay NAS like mine should cost in the range of 16000-18000 Rs. from Amazon or suchlike. I purchased a 3TB Red WD to go with it which costs around Rs. 8000 these days but iirc cost around 7000 at that time. Hard disk capacity and brand is, in any case, your individual choice. I shucked an old 2TB seagate from an old Blackarmor nas I had and added it to the 2nd bay. Regarding your second question, Synology NASs have a variety of packages available. I'm currently using Plex and Drive. But in the past I've used Download Station and a couple other. You'll find a full list of syno packages here: Packages | Synology Inc..
 

Thank you for the reply @VivekA

According to you Synology is better than WD in terms of NAS? (I already own WD NAS My Cloud which doesn't support Apps or Plex).

Secondly, I have 2 choices in front of me:

DS218Play
DS218J

Which one would you suggest?
 
Synology has far more features than WD because of its OS. When I first bought it, I barely used any of its advanced features but my use has evolved over time. The different models you have listed differ mostly because of RAM. Depending on your budget, you can go for 218Play or if you are short on the budget, the 218J. Of course, if budget is not a constraint, 218 or 218+.
 
Okay, Thanks for the reply and just to make sure each unit is disk less it means I'll have to buy the Disk offline/online myself and it won't come with the unit?

Secondly, Do you recommend buying online or offline (Disk) and Which Disk?

Third, Can I use the Single Disk and keep the other disk empty or is it mandatory to have both?

Fourth, How do you clean the fan of the NAS?

Thanks.
 
I think it would also depend on what you expect from it. If you need it to transcode video, a basic NAS is not going to cut it. But If you just need it to stream videos as is (provided your client/player supports it), then any basic NAS device should work.

For transcoding, you'd need a device with good CPU. A sufficiently powered NUC as @Anurag Bhatia suggested world work. If you want cheaper options, you can look at Mini PCs on AliExpress. I use one myself, it's a low end Celeron N3150 model. I have Plex installed and it works great in most cases, but the moment it needs video transcoding, it starts to slow down.

Probably a newer gen i3 or i5 based Mini PC would work great.
 
@varkey I don't need transcording. Could you tell me more about the MiniPC you're talking about? And what was the price of your's?
 
@ajgamer Mine is similar to this -- US $73.6 35% OFF|Mini PC Intel Celeron 3965U 4K UHD Intel HD Graphics 610 Windows 10 Dual Core 2.20GHz HDMI VGA Wireless WiFi Fanless Minipc-in Mini PC from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I paid 7-8k or so back in 2016, it has an Intel Celeron N3150 processor. I got it barebone, and added the RAM and storage separately. It was shipped by regular registered post, luckily didn't have to pay any customs duty.

It's essentially a full blown x86 computer, and I run CentOS on it, and keep it headless, just connected to network. I find it really VFM, its compact, energy efficient, offers good performance.

Interesting article on similar MiniPCs -- The Scooter Computer
 
How do you add the storage to it (for OS)?

And do you have any installation steps for plex on it?
 
You could attach a 2.5 inch HDD or use a SSD which can be connected directly to the main board (I think its PCI-E mSATA, there maybe newer ones now). I just got a 16 GB SSD and use that for the OS.

As I said its just a normal PC, so you install the OS how you'd install it on any PC (use a USB flash drive or external CD/DVD drive etc). On CentOS, Plex provides an RPM package, so its just a matter of downloading that and doing an RPM installation.

For the initial installation and configuration, you'd need to connect to a monitor (I used a TV, connected over HDMI), after that mine remains headless, just connected to my network. I added external hard disk drives to use as a NAS and that's where my Plex videos are stored.
 
Okay. Do you face any lag or any issue with this low power CPU Intel Celeron N3150 processor ?

Because I'm discussing other places too. They say to go with NUC8i3BEH and some say to go with NUC7CJYH.

Confusion: I am just not experienced with Plex on such compact setup. I use my 4Ghz 4 Core PC right now for the PMS and it's overkill for Plex. But going to such small compact setup, I want to be sure I'm investing right and buying best so that I don't have to regret later on.

Since, once bought, can't be returned or modified with better CPU.
 

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