[jammyb]

You'll struggle with that processor running plex. Should be i3 as a minimum. I got i3 running in mine. Tis perfect for transcodes, SMB and SAB duty!

[Netix]

The HP N54L Micro-server would get my vote...

Just set one up for my parents running unRAID pretty much perfect for what you want. I paid $228 for the server here in Australia with no HDD's

Read through this post for inspiration...
http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.p...ic=11585.0

Wow again.. that would've been nice.. but the cheapest one in Canada is 360$ on Newegg.ca with 20$ Shipping :/

You'll struggle with that processor running plex. Should be i3 as a minimum. I got i3 running in mine. Tis perfect for transcodes, SMB and SAB duty!

I don't plan to transcode to alot of device at the same time.. maybe one or two max. The Celeron gonna struggle ? Cheapest i3 is 120$ that's way more over my budget. Would AMD be a better choice ?

[jammyb]

You'll struggle with that processor running plex. Should be i3 as a minimum. I got i3 running in mine. Tis perfect for transcodes, SMB and SAB duty!

I don't plan to transcode to alot of device at the same time.. maybe one or two max. The Celeron gonna struggle ? Cheapest i3 is 120$ that's way more over my budget. Would AMD be a better choice ?

You don't plan to transcode a lot, then say one or two max. So you will be transcoding. I start my post saying "you'll struggle with that processor running plex" you ask if the celeron gonna struggle?

D'uh yeah!!!!!

[cwide]

I'm not sure where people are getting their information.

I ran a Plex server with a G1620 for a long time. I never had super high bitrate 1080P files, but it could handle multiple HD transcodes at the same time no problem. That was running SAB, sickbeard, and couchpotato on Win 7.

[Netix]

You'll struggle with that processor running plex. Should be i3 as a minimum. I got i3 running in mine. Tis perfect for transcodes, SMB and SAB duty!

I don't plan to transcode to alot of device at the same time.. maybe one or two max. The Celeron gonna struggle ? Cheapest i3 is 120$ that's way more over my budget. Would AMD be a better choice ?

You don't plan to transcode a lot, then say one or two max. So you will be transcoding. I start my post saying "you'll struggle with that processor running plex" you ask if the celeron gonna struggle?

D'uh yeah!!!!!

I was asking because of that post :

However, I can't say that sabnzbd, high number of torrent dls, and Plex media server will be very at home on a G1610. I'd recommend bumping up to an i3 or maybe i5 depending on how many PMS transcodes you'd like available at once

A G1610 can handle a full-bitrate-mkv transcode with Plex, as well as good download and unraring speed in sabnzbd, but it will struggle doing all of those things at the same time. If you aren't really using Plex to transcode, then that is a non-issue. Also, if you are only using it to transcode 1 stream at rare occasions, then it's probably fine as well. It doesn't hurt to go haswell i3 if you want more performance. It wouldn't use anymore at idle than the celeron ivy, and with the right psu you could "supposedly" make good use of the lower power states when the server idles (though I've not seen many reports that this lowers power consumption for desktop architectures)

If I understand plex transcoding, it's only when the device can't play the file naturally then the server transcode it ? I plan to use Plex on a Samsung Galaxy S4 and a Iphone 5 so I don't think i'm gonna have alot of transcoding to do ?

---

I'm not sure where people are getting their information.

I ran a Plex server with a G1620 for a long time. I never had super high bitrate 1080P files, but it could handle multiple HD transcodes at the same time no problem. That was running SAB, sickbeard, and couchpotato on Win 7.

Thanks for the input.. that's what im planning to do.. I don't have any high bitrate 1080p files anyway

[jammyb]

It will transcode to your phones. Period.

If you don't mind waiting a minute or five for your player to complete "retrieving" enough from your PMS every time you watch media content, then sure. The Celeron processor you want will be fine.

If you want instant media retrieval, transcoded or not. It's i3 minimum or equivalent. .

Edit

My apologies. I swear I read the processor as G1620T!!!!! T series processors struggle with Plex.

So ignore me! Long day today! Sorry!

[Dark_Slayer]

If I understand plex transcoding, it's only when the device can't play the file naturally then the server transcode it ? I plan to use Plex on a Samsung Galaxy S4 and a Iphone 5 so I don't think i'm gonna have alot of transcoding to do ?

It really depends on a few things,

First, I get my information from my personal use. I've used more than just an i5 for Plex, and I can tell you what a g1610 will be capable of. I have no 1080p movies that aren't full bitrate mkv rips. I only use plex outside the house

If you don't have full bitrate rips, then a g1610 can more than likely handle it. If you are only really using Plex inside your LAN/wLAN then a g1610 can surely handle things. When using Plex for remote access, other factors come into play. You'll likely have to combat a bottleneck in either your internet provider's upload speed or your remote locations download speed. 3g/4g with verizon often is the bottleneck for me. While peak dl speeds are high, consistent speed on the other hand typically requires me to select a lower profile for the Verizon pipe to handle it. If you are thinking of only using remote wifi, and the dl speed is consistently good enough to use a profile that matches that of your source content (and your upload speed can handle it) then it becomes less and less of an issue.

It's an issue for me because the bitrate of my source files has to be transrated way down to fit the speed I receive on my SGS4 over 4G/3G, and this is so taxing for a g1610 that it is able to do nothing else at the same time. More than one of these at a time is a hard no. Unraring in sabnzbd at the same time is also a hard no. I also might have a family member who uses Plex Home Theater in their house as well I wanted plenty of headroom, and like I mentioned a g1610 isn't going to save you power when it's sitting their doing nothing (idle) but it will limit what you can do as a maximum. However, it can do all those things one at a time, and shouldn't have issue at that

Also AMD would be worse. Transcoding is not hardware accelerated, so the better GPU of AMD will have nothing to do. The better raw cpu of Intel will run circles around AMD for Plex transcoding

[Netix]

Bumping my thread,

I need advice on a new thing. My brother's friend is changing his computer and I can buy his old one for 100$. It's a HP p6133f

Any thoughts on that computer ? Would I be able to do everything I want with this ?

Specs sheet : http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docum...30732#N199

- He changed the PSU for a 550w and added a graphic card.. He still have the original 250w PSU would it be better for power consumption ? (I plan to remove the graphic card and use the on board gpu)

- There's enough room in the case to fit 5 x 3.5 and I could try to fit an SSD somewhere to run windows 7

Thanks guys !

[explosivebeer]

I'd recommend the Lenovo TS140 which can be found on Amazon for $250 right now, mine just arrived last night. Even comes with a Haswell i3!

Note that this system is classified as a server, so it needs ECC ram.

Also, you didn't really specify which NAS OS you were thinking of running. Mine will be using freeNAS should be able to easily handle your requirements though there's definitely a learning curve. Note that if you go the ZFS route, ECC ram is HIGHLY recommended.

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread and to Joelmusicman for the heads up on that Lenovo. I just purchased one and am psyched to have a server on the way. I have a 3TB drive to put in it to serve as an XBMC/Plex server for 4-5 users. I've never worked with server software. Should I possibly look at more user-friendly options than freeNAS or will any server OS take some work to configure? And should I definitely upgrade to 8GB RAM or do you think the installed RAM handle my needs?

[nickr]

Ubuntu server should met your needs. You may want to look at a SSD or other small drive to put the OS on. Kepp your data away from the OS, then the data is truly portable and the OS upgradeable.

[Netix]

Bumping my thread,

I need advice on a new thing. My brother's friend is changing his computer and I can buy his old one for 100$. It's a HP p6133f

Any thoughts on that computer ? Would I be able to do everything I want with this ?

Specs sheet : http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docum...30732#N199

- He changed the PSU for a 550w and added a graphic card.. He still have the original 250w PSU would it be better for power consumption ? (I plan to remove the graphic card and use the on board gpu)

- There's enough room in the case to fit 5 x 3.5 and I could try to fit an SSD somewhere to run windows 7

Thanks guys !

Any input guys ?

[nickr]

Bumping my thread,

I need advice on a new thing. My brother's friend is changing his computer and I can buy his old one for 100$. It's a HP p6133f

Any thoughts on that computer ? Would I be able to do everything I want with this ?

Specs sheet : http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docum...30732#N199

- He changed the PSU for a 550w and added a graphic card.. He still have the original 250w PSU would it be better for power consumption ? (I plan to remove the graphic card and use the on board gpu)

- There's enough room in the case to fit 5 x 3.5 and I could try to fit an SSD somewhere to run windows 7

Thanks guys !

Any input guys ?

10Base-T networking.

You will need a network card with at least 100M networking.

You will need spacers to fit your 3.5in drives in the 5,25in CD slots.

It'll chew more power than a more modern equivalent, and may be noisy.

But it should work.

---

Actually looking again, the network details say:

LAN: 10-Base-T

Interface: Integrated into motherboard
Technology: Realtek 8111C
Data transfer speeds: up to 10/100 Mb/s
Transmission standards:10-Base-T Ethernet

So it may be OK.

[explosivebeer]

Ubuntu server should met your needs. You may want to look at a SSD or other small drive to put the OS on. Kepp your data away from the OS, then the data is truly portable and the OS upgradeable.

Right on. Thanks for the advice.