If all you are worried about is running Plex and getting the most/best possible transcoding. I believe that the most commonly recommended advice on this forum is to use a dedicated Plex transcode box. The options that are currently being recommended a lot are the HP 290, HP ProDesk 400 G4 SFF, or a DIY build that is equivalent.
[HP 290-p0043w | Resistance is Futile]
Intel Celeron G4900 (2C no HT, 3.2GHz max, AES-NI, 8th-Gen QuickSync)
500GB SATA HDD
DVD-RW slim drive
2 SATA ports
1 NVMe M.2 2242/2280 SSD slot
Realtek GbE NIC (add an Intel dual or quad port for pfSense)
AC-WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0
80+ Gold PSU
~10W idle power consumption
about 2U wide
1x80mm fan (quiet)
Mouse and Keyboard included
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Even under sustained 100% load, CPU temps never went above 52C
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[JOIN THE DISCORD]
OTiS - Off The Shelf
All of the components in this guide are readily available from your favorite retailer(s)!
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serverbuilds legend says this is the last thing you see before you die.
Overview
Since the HP 290 is often going out of stock, and there is still quite a demand for it, I thought I would put together a simple guide on building your own! (with more options for expansion, of course)
Software
You really only have a few options to get Plex’s HW Transcodi…
Whichever way you decide to go you can read the following guide that describes how to setup a dedicated Plex transcode box to get the most out of the hardware.
Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to give an overview of hardware transcoding with Plex. The guide will also provide recommendations for adding hardware transcoding to your existing setup.
Ultimately, the recommendation will be to add a dedicated transcoding box that uses Intel QuickSync.
The hardware portion of this guide assumes:
You have an existing NAS with all of your media on it (this guide will use Unraid as an example)
You run Plex Media Server
You’re looking for more transcod…
I hope that helps.
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