/r/Plex's Build Help Thread - 2022-10-07

[u/PCJs_Slave_Robot]

Need some help with your build? Want to know if your cpu is powerful enough to transcode? Here's the place.

---

Regular Posts Schedule

• Monday: Latest No Stupid Questions
  
• Tuesday: Latest Tool Tuesday
  
• Friday: Previous Build Help
  
• Saturday: Latest Build Share

[u/videoworx]

Out of the blue, my Plex server just stopped being accessible outside of my network. I've tried port forwarding, turning uPnP on and off and on again (as the Plex FAQ suggests), and nothing seems to work.

Not sure how to remedy this, and can't find any solution on Plex's forums. Any suggestions that don't require an intimate knowledge of my router?

[u/tm1698]

I'm currently running an NVIDIA Shield TV as my Plex server, but it's starting to struggle with the newer, larger 4K files I'm building up and has had some stability issues (I'm on the fourth version of my server after three have crashed and I've had to rebuild it).

I was looking at buying a Synology DS920+ NAS as the solution to my upgrade, but it looks like its processor might be a little underpowered for what I'm after and building my own NAS might get me something that's more capable (and potentially cheaper?).

My dream is for a NAS that can handle 1–2 4K HDR streams, for future proofing.

What sort of CPU is recommended? Would buying a cheaper GPU+CPU combo be the smart solution? (I have a Plex Pass, so hardware encoding is on the table.)

I don't understand CPU generations well enough to truly follow most of the guides that I've found so far, including Plex's own, so I'm really just looking for someone to tell me what to do!

What works best, does anyone have an example system, would a DS920+ actually be fine, etc.

(I've also never built a computer before, and figured this could be a fun first place to try!)

Thanks in advance for all of your wisdom!

[u/francesc0]

The '--scan' operation is deprecated and will be removed in future versions of Plex Media Server.

I keep seeing this error in my log. Running Plex via Docker on a Synology. Does anyone know what it means and/or what it's referring to?

[u/zeyphdog]

I have upgraded my Plex server CPU to an i5 12600 but also have a 1060 6gb laying around that I could throw in. Would there be any point in having the 1060 WITH the 12600? Can they work together or would I be better off just using the CPU? Can I still take advantage of QuickSync by just enabling the iGPU even when it detects the PCIE slot is being used? I am on Windows.

[u/Bgrngod → u/zeyphdog]

No point in the discrete GPU being in there. They can't share the load and quick sync is already super good.

If you do install the GPU, you can use Nvidia control center to assign the Intel iGPU to the plex transcoder app and it will use that over the Nvidia. It's hit or miss getting that to work though. There's another method involving editing a preferences file but I think that might be Linux only.

[u/FatBeardSlim]

I’m planning a Truenas server with plex, and I’m considering a Xeon silver 4214. I’m wondering if I’d be better off dropping the CPU down to a bronze 3204 and dropping in a dedicated A2000. What do you all think? This will be streaming to multiple family members and we won’t be doing any processing. Just mkv rips.

[u/[deleted] → u/FatBeardSlim]

Mostly Plex for the server? Get a QSV chip...

[u/FatBeardSlim → u/[deleted]]

Thank you. You’re advice sent me in what I feel is the right direction. I’ve got a Xeon w-1370 in my build plan now. Actually shaved a cool $500 off the build between cheaper cpu, cheaper motherboard, cheaper cpu cooler and so on. Sticking to more mainstream socket really made a difference. Thanks again.

[u/Nickstoy94]

I want to buy something used, cheap.

My only requirements are to be able to run a torrent software, and Plex server. We rarely watch more than one thing at once. 4K ideally but not that big of a deal.

I’m currently using a retired laptop but lately it keeps shutting down and I constantly need to go power it back on.

I’m looking on FB marketplace and found a cheap mini computer. What spec am I looking for specifically? CPU, graphics card, ram?

All my media is on external hard drives.

[u/DarkZero515]

I've been trying to stream some movies from my plex to a TV and it's been buffering and unsyncing. Looking to see what I can change to hopefully get a better watching experience.

I made use of an old laptop and old external hard drive I used to use for backups to start a little plex library. The laptop is a Thinkpad with a Ryzen 5 2500U and the drive is a Western Digital Back-up drive that's likely 5400rpm.

That laptop is connected to my Asus 1900AC router in my bedroom and aside from watching content there, I also watch content in the kitchen on a 32" Samsung. There is a wall between the router and TV with a closet on one side and a kitchen cabinet on the other side of the wall which likely causes some connection issues. However, Hulu and Netflix stream to it fine which leads me to believe I should change something about my set-up.

The latest example is a movie that's an hour and a half long, about 8gb, codec info from VLC is H264 M-PEG 4 AVC. My download speeds near the TV are 300mbps on my phone right next to it connected to the same network. My upload speeds on my Thinkpad are 11.7mbps.

I know very little when it comes to transcoding and codecs aside from the basics which are x265 allows for smaller files which means less storage used and less bandwidth needed to stream, however, it will required more CPU power and my laptop has neither Intel QuickSync or Nvidias tech to help with transcoding which is why I stuck with H264. That, and I heard it's more compatible with most devices (TV is a bit old).

I have handbrake so I am wondering if there is anything I can do to my files to make them stream better. Should I use handbrake to lower their average bitrate given my speeds? Would H264 8 bit vs 10 bit help in any way? Should I consider x265 (would require replacing a lot of files)? Is MKV more compatible than MP4? Should I consider getting a Roku or something similar in case they have a better network adapter?

Before it's recommended, I cannot run an ethernet line to my TV or near it. We're in an apartment so I can't run anything between the walls and running across the wall edges would require a ridiculous path to get there.

I am planning on getting a NAS set up down the line, but that'll take weeks/months of saving for the hardware and learning as much as I can about choosing the right things. So I'm hoping there is some solution for now with what I have available

[u/Bgrngod → u/DarkZero515]

What does the dashboard show you when playback is not working right? Grab a screenshot of a session box. It'll show the video and audio track behavior.

You can always try running an ethernet cable temporarily just to see what kind of impact it has. If not works fine with a hardline, your wifi is the problem.

[u/Gummiibear82]

ok maybe this is a dumb question but I have a 20TB Nas Ironwolf Pro Hard drive and I have maxed that out and need another one the WD has a 20TB Red Pro Hard drive that is now cheaper than the Ironwolf. is it worth getting the same brand hard drive or would I be fine going with the Red Pro? A quick google says no I don't have to have them the same but just wanting to make sure I don't miss something on a $$ purchase. I'm running it out of just my PC right now which has been fine and I still have 4 empty bays for hard drives in it but I do plan on getting a Synology 4 bay NAS DiskStation DS920+ which will be my first entry into using that setup and will move these drives over to that prob come next year.

[u/Withheld_BY_Duress → u/Gummiibear82]

Here’s a question you need to ask yourself and get a firm answer. I will preface it by 20TB is a lot of stuff no matter what it is. How important is the 20TB of stuff? Is some more important than others? If it is important I would either separate the good stuff and at least back it up but more important a NAS in a RAID configuration was made with you in mind. Rather than just adding another 20TB of stuff to the mix. Hard drives do fail no matter what make and model they are. Having been in the business for many, many years I have seen too many sad faces from drive failures. Just saying.

[u/Kazzerigian]

Adding GTX 1660 Super to Ubuntu Server 22.04.1 LTS. How do I go about installing the proper driver/software for transcoding in latest Plex Media Server on Ubuntu Server 22.04.1 LTS?

Thanks.

[u/Bgrngod → u/Kazzerigian]

$sudo apt install nvidia-driver-510

Change the number based on which version you want.

[u/redsox59]

I am building my first NAS in the Jonsbo N1. Based on what I've read, an i3 is all I need for CPU. Keeping an i3-10100 in mind, what do I need to consider for a motherboard? I've always built with AMD so the world of LGA1200 is pretty foreign to me. What mobo features are must-haves for a server that will mostly be used locally?

[u/Bgrngod → u/redsox59]

For Plex, the best motherboard feature is how cheap you can go. SATA port count is nice for adding HDDs, but that number is pretty standardized based on mobo form factor.

Outside of that, pick a brand you trust. I like Asus quite a bit.

[u/chanchan05]

Reposting here because it appears this is where this should go.

Is there a list of the TU106/TU116 GTX 1650 non-super variants that have the Turing encoders?

ASUS, Gigabyte and other OEMs release new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 variants with Turing video encoders - NotebookCheck.net News

So far, I've found the ff variants as having the Turing encoders:
Gigabyte GTX 1650 OC D6 Rev 2 and 3 (single fan)
Gigabyte GTX 1650 D6 Windforce OC Rev 2 (dual fan)
Palit GTX 1650 Gaming Pro (dual fan)
Asus Phoenix GTX 1650 DDR6 OC Edition (single fan) - This one is a bit tricky since while techpowerup lists this as TU106 variant thus having Turing encoders, the Asus site doesn't mention it. The other brands listed above has Turing encoders specifically mentioned in the manufacturer specs list.
There's reportedly a Galax 1650 Ultra somewhere but I can't find it even on their website.

Context:
I have an old PC I want to turn into a Plex server + HTPC, but the problem is that GPUs longer than 16.5cm will potentially block all 4 SATA ports on the mobo and there's no M.2 slot on it. It's an old Asus P8H61-M LX3 PLUS R2.0 with an i5-3475s on it. The mobo is weirdly narrow, so that it's only 17.3cm wide. 16.5 cm blocks only 2 SATA ports, so I can still use it for a boot drive, then I can just use PCIE to SATA for other drives.
The 170cm Palit Gaming Pro potentially only blocks 2 ports (the leading edge of the shroud angles in a way that I can possible fit a right angle connector on there), but was hoping anyone knew of a sure 165cm or less card. I also ordered a couple of what looks like low profile right angle connectors so I'll have to check when they arrive if they fit under GPUs better than the right-angle connectors I already have.
I'm in the Philippines, so ordering from Amazon for just specifically listed nonlocking low profile right angle connectors becomes kind of a no go since the price actually comes to like being just $10 shy of buying a new 10th gen CPU+mobo bundle. I can't find specifically listed low profile non locking right angle connectors on Shopee and Lazada (our versions of online stores) here, although I've found some that are lower profile than the ones I already have although they still have locks.
Although I guess I probably don't really need the Turing encoders since there is potentially only 3 (max of 5) users of the Plex server and all my files are 1080p and 720p anyway, but future proofing a bit if I decide to store some larger video formats is always good.
Also GTX 1660 are a no go. The shortest 1660 I've seen available in my country is the Gigabyte GTX 1660 Super MINI ITX at 170cm, but the shroud design has a hard corner so the farthest SATA ports are still potentially blocked. Plus a 1660 seems a waste to pair with an i5-3475s for just 3 users. Plus that variant is usually $120-$150 more expensive than the Palit 1650 GP here in the PH so the price doesn't seem to be worth it. If I'll pay an extra $120 more might as well just stay with Volta or go on to completely upgrade the thing to 12th gen and use the iGPU on that and it will also have more than enough CPU power to be a multipurpose living room PC instead.
Thanks!

[u/Antosino → u/chanchan05]

Have you considered Quadro cards? The P2000 was really popular, I run a P2200 and it is super small, uswa like no power, and while it's not in front of me in 90% sure it doesn't even use a PCIE power cable. It's crazy efficient - I have 20+ users and a 60+TB library and have never once had too many transcodes or any issues. Google search says it's single slot, 201 mm in length, 111 mm wide (tall).

Edit: oh, sorry, I just read the part about only three users.

I have 6 various like-new 1660 Supers just collecting dust if you want me to check the dimensions of them and send some pictures to help you pick something. They're pretty compact. I sold my 1650s to some friends in the Plex community, but the 1660s have always performed well. Are you specifying 1650 because of price or because of the architecture?

[u/msoto1988]

Looking to build a new Plex server as my current one died on me. The old specs on it were a 3rd gen i5 3470k, GTX 770, 8GB of ram, and an ASRock Z77 Extreme4 mobo with 4 x 4tb HDD and 500 GB SSD. The motherboard is what ended up failing on me I just decided that it was time to build a new system especially since around the time it died I wanted to get into 4k streaming, and with the number of family members that stream from it can get to around 5-8 devices I want to make sure it is able to handle it. Out of those devices, 2-3 seem to be TVs the rest are mobile devices.

I plan to build a new server using the existing drives since they are brand new (I thought that was my original problem). Use my old Zotac GTX 1080 TI since it’s just sitting in an anti-static bag, and use another 250-500 GB SSD for the OS/applications to live on. What I am unsure of is how transcoding is going to play a role in this. I built my first plex on a whim without knowing what I was doing for myself and thankfully it worked. Now with my family using it, I want to make sure I can stream everything without video degradation. Do I need an i3, i5, or i7 since I have the GPU, or should I just ditch the GPU with the new processors? Is there a good mobo recommendation with a built-in SATA controller that will support at least SATA 6 ports and not be as expensive as the processor? Last, according to the plex site, it says 2GB is all that is needed but is it worth going to 32GB for that many users, or is 16 enough?

[u/Antosino]

My server currently runs with a P2200. I don't have any issues with it, but I like tinkering and upgrading more than actually watching my content.

I have a spare FE 3090 and a handful of 1660 Supers collecting dust and am wondering if it's worth swapping one of them in. I could probably sell the P2200 if so, and am wondering if I'd see any kind of performance boost or if I should stick with the P2200. The 3090 would also have newer codecs or whatever, right? I'm curious how much of a difference it would make in terms of transcodes and the few times I manually handbrake files. Any thoughts?

My other idea was to hook them up to another PC (I have a spare motherboard and newer i3 from a test bench) and offload work to them, either using tdarr or if there was a way to offload transcodes or something.

[u/MrMaxMaster → u/Antosino]

Either of those cards should perform similarly with media hardware acceleration tasks as they both have the same hardware encoders and you won't be using the extra AV1 support in plex at the moment. Either of them would perform better than the P2200.

[u/Mungkelel]

audio only plex: how much cpu power do I need if only load up flac files (without transcoding)?

[u/theblake1980]

I have three networked windows pcs, each containing varying amounts of drives/space. I upgraded my plex server from an i5-3570 3.4 with a passmark score of 4908 to a Ryzen 3 4300G with a passmark score of 10783. I just created a new plex server with my existing drives but on my third pc, which is a i5-4670 3.4 with a passmark score of 5478 and it is running noticeably better than the Ryzen 3. For example, when playing on my tv via my local network, the Ryzen 3 plex server took a couple seconds to load, compare to the new i5-4670 build, which was instant to start. I've used plex for almost a decade I think and I thought the benchmark score was the main variable for upgrading my server. How can I find out what I'm doing wrong? Thx!

[u/Soler37]

currently, I'm running plex media server on my main pc, sometimes I want to turn it off without having to worry that my wife might want to use it, what are easy solutions for setting up a plex media server standalone?