Right now I’m running a TrueNAS SCALE server that handles the data and Plex, but it’s having some stability issues that appear to be hardware related so I’m planning out a replacement.
I plan on getting a TrueNAS Mini R to handle all bulk storage with TrueNAS Core and running a separate system for handling Plex. I understand that a Raspberry Pi can run Plex, but I’m wanting something has has enough power to transcode a couple simultaneous 4K HDR Blu-Ray rips.
Here’s what I was thinking of using:
Case- Sliger CX3150a
Motherboard- ASRock Rack X470D4U2-2T
CPU- Ryzen 5 5600
RAM- 64GB ECC 2x32GB DDR4-3200
Cooler- Noctua NH-L12S
PSU- SeaSonic Focus SPX-750
SSD- SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus 1TB
GPU- Nvidia Quadro P4000 (Used)
AiC- USB 3 w/ Type E header (Would love a good recommendation)
Some of my thoughts and notes:
I want to rackmount the system.
This system isn’t at my house so I would like IPMI.
ECC RAM is nice, but not strictly a requirement.
Since this is running 24/7 I’m wanting it to be relatively efficient. Both PSU and CPU-wise.
My local Plex data is currently under 300G, transcoding will be on /tmp so 1TB should be enough.
I’m currently using a P400 for transcoding, I’m looking at upgrading to the P4000.
I’m tempted to go to an Intel CPU for the iGPU and QuickSync, but I was struggling to find a a CPU/Mobo combo that had an iGPU, IPMI, and ECC support. This could just be my lack of knowledge with Intel’s offerings.
I’ve heard this and just figured this was recommended because it was the simple route.
I’ve done some more research and I’m now reconsidering. I’ve seen several people report the Intel N100 chip can transcode over a dozen 1080p streams while pulling around 22W or less. This has me looking at some basic mini PC like the Beelink Mini S12 Pro.
Yep, Intel Quicksync is the #1 choice for Plex transcoding because you get lots of streams with very little power. The 13th gen CPUs with “Xe” graphics have basic AV1 support transcoding as well for Quicksync.
RTX4000 is too old now. If you have one already then great (I actually do as well. lol), but no one should buy a new one today. While it will provide a few more streams than an Intel CPU, it loses out on newer quality improvements and transcoding formats. If anything, an Intel Arc Alchemist GPU should be used, since they also support QS and have support of all codecs currently capable on any device including full AV1 support.
In addition to what everyone else has been saying about GPU/QuickSync, NVidia Tesla P4 is another one to consider: Encode/Decode capabilities and VRAM are the same as P4000 at roughly half the cost.
You’ll need to consider active cooling, which should be pretty straight forward if you have access to a 3d printer.
It can, but last I checked it has to do HDR tonemapping on the CPU and only supports a few transcode sessions. Source
I know Plex supports this and there are also solutions like tdarr. This could be a solution, but with these $200 NUCs being able to transcode dozens of 1080p and several 4K streams at the same time I don’t think it’s worth the storage space used.
I may rip the 1080p discs that come with the UHD versions. I haven’t been a huge fan of how Plex’s tone mapping looks, but I’m holding out for when multi-gig fiber is available at this address (which should be in the next 24 months).