i5-8600 works perfect with stock cooler. 70-72C at high load.
Yes, this would replace the existing fan. Both are pretty straightforward once you open it up.
Hereās how I got two 3.5" drives in.
-Removed bracket that carries the DVD drive. Drilled out the spots it was connected at and cut off the rest of it with some tin snips
-Made some quick brackets to attach the drives to one another. My drives are 1" tall and i left 1/8" between them. This works out just so to leave space to the sata connectors below and room for the lower drives cables to clear the HP bracket
-used a SATA power splitter to power 2nd drive
you have to give up a ram slot or somehow find really short ram.
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I sent this to @JDM_WAAAT but thought it might be best to post here for others with similar needs. I discovered this thread and then read tons related to it for hours this weekend. Iāve ran my own Plex for many years but still need a little guidance on the best PC to purchase for my Plex needs.
Currently use a Synology DS920+ for all my media and run my PMS from it along with nzbget, rutorrent, and all my arrs (prowlarr, bazarr, and multiple sonarr & radar instances).I have Nvidia Shields & Firesticks on my TVs, 95% wired ethernet. I want to use the DS920+ as a NAS only and run my plex needs from the new PC. Unless itās recommended otherwise.
Should I go with the HP 290 or HP S01 but add more ram and beef up other components? Or is there a completely different build I should pursue? Thanks!
@JDM_WAAAT sorry to be a pain but need to pull the trigger today to have before the weekend. I know you always say ask before you buy. Any guidance? Thanks!
Thanks, saw and appreciate those from earlier in thread. It doesnāt quite address my questions. Itās why I asked only after spending hours in this thread and others. 
I linked you searches for systems that are ready to go for a QuickSync Plex server, if there was another question in there it was written in invisible text.
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Really all you need is a 7th-gen or higher CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.
Riggi has some excellent searches set up on ebay. You might have to change or add an SSD, but that should be about it.
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Appreciate it guys! And maybe I wasnāt clear, my apologies as I wasnāt trying to be difficult. I thought those were the stats for a Plex-only box with no other overhead/programs. If adding in nzbget, rutorrent, and all the arrs would you recommend 16 or 32g ram, will all these CPUās be beefy enough for that extra lift? I know unpacking and other media related tasks can change the needs. Thanks!
File management programs should be on the NAS, not on the QSV box. Otherwise youāre going back and forth with data needlessly.
Some people move file management programs to a separate device entirely (read: 3rd server) but thatās really unnecessary.
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Exactly what I was missing. Thanks again, off to order!!
I just posted this in the discord:
Donāt have a mini-QSV box yet? What are you waiting for?
HP ProDesk 600 G3 DM w/ Core i5-7500T CPU @ 2.7GHz - 8GB RAM - No HDD or OS
$85 OBO, free shipping
No power adapter is included, but you can snag a cheap one here:
https://ebay.us/cHe3Bb
I am using the HP290 with proxmox and AM running 32GB RAM. Have anyone confirms 64GB works?
Quick question. Iāve been using an HP 290-p0043w for a few years now as a Plex server. Iāve finally hit that point where I should more seriously think about a proper nas setup as opposed to having several external drives. Iām not against putting together a new box just for that, but Iām wondering if I can throw a SATA card like this: https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX00120961 into the 290, connect a bunch of drives (would have to make some sort of external enclosure for them) and then setup unraid and Plex?
Iām very unfamiliar with unraid or making a nas so if this is a completely preposterous question, thatās why.
There isnāt enough power from the PSU of the 290.
How big is your library?
About 30TB. Thinking that a better plan would be to convert an older gaming pc into a NAS. I think it would be cheaper anyway as I would just have to buy unraid and the drives.
The HP 290 is not a NAS, nor will it ever be. Build one yourself, such as a NAS Killer 5.0.
Well, itā¦ ācouldā be, in a very limited fashion. Run Unraid off a usb, or Truenas from the sata port, then use the nvme and pcie slot for mirrored nvme drives. The most youād realistically affordably have is 2tb in a Raid 1 with Truenas. Or 4tb in Raid 5 if the sata is the parity in Unraid. Itās not the best way to go, unless you have random shit laying. For a media nas, no, the HP 290 is not that.
bitzie: use the old computer with either Truenas, Freenas, OMV, Unraid, orā¦ xpenology (which is the least reliable option/recommendation). I have the 290 with an nvme as the OS, Plex, and transcode drive, then a Mellanox 40gbe NIC with direct connect to my NAS. The HP290 gigabit Nic goes out to my network. The 40gbe is simply because āI canā and not because of any actual real life gain.
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Does anyone have a solid benchmark of a fast NVMe SSD in the M.2 slot? I have a 1TB Inland SSD, capable of 5,000 MB/s read and 4,300 MB/s write. In this 290, Iām getting a max of 1,600 MB/s for both. I swapped it out with another brand SSD with even better specs and I got the same 1,600 MB/s. Iām thinking at this point thereās a bottleneck that canāt be overcome. Iāve already put 16GB RAM and an i5-8600 in this thing so itās going to be a very capable machine for several years regardless, but Iām planning to give this system to my father-in-law for Christmas and he tends to use PCs for many years. I want to make sure I have it running at peak performance before handing it over. Any info is appreciated!