Help with a new Plex/NAS server build

[JackInTheCrack]

Budget: $500 - $750 (USD)

Country: United States, Texas

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Plex, Nextcloud and Home Assistant.

Other details: I have a very old computer that I used for many things over the years that has ended in being my plex/home assistant/proxy/everything server, but the bottleneck of running everything on an ancient computer is starting to have an effect. I am looking to build a new system that can hopefully have 20TB or more with expand-ability. I would also like to have the ability to transcode x265 encodes so that I can save storage space. I have been tinkering with computers for years and know a bit, but still have much to learn so any tips or help is appreciated. I have acquired all of my hardware from random things over the years so its very mismatched. My current specs are as follows.

 

Inspiron 3847

Operating System: TrueNAS Scale (Cobia)

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40GHz

RAM: 2 x 8GB DDR3

Graphics (for transcoding): NVIDIA QUADRO K1200

STORAGE: (12 x 2TB HDD) (6 x 256GB SSD)

 

I don't have any brand loyalties. My only loyalty is to reliability. Any help with this build would be appreciated.

Thanks all.

[Biohazard777]

49 minutes ago, JackInTheCrack said:

I am looking to build a new system that can hopefully have 20TB or more with expand-ability. I would also like to have the ability to transcode x265 encodes so that I can save storage space.

Yep, you won't be carrying over anything from that current build, except storage if you'd like, because:

49 minutes ago, JackInTheCrack said:

My current specs are as follows
Inspiron 3847

Operating System: TrueNAS Scale (Cobia)

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40GHz

RAM: 2 x 8GB DDR3

Graphics (for transcoding): NVIDIA QUADRO K1200

STORAGE: (12 x 2TB HDD) (6 x 256GB SSD)

No HW accelerated H.265 encoding with that hardware (as you already know).

GPU
https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-and-decode-gpu-support-matrix-new

CPU
https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Hardware/QuickSync

So 9th gen at least if you go Intel again.
And I'd ditch the dedicated GPU.

[JackInTheCrack]

So if I were to get an i9 what one should I get? Also, what would be an appropriate amount of ram for a mainly Plex server? I have scrapped by with my current build and if I go in on a new system I want to make sure I build it right. I hope to be able to utilize the capability of my internet speed and not to have a bottleneck because of my system. I am trying to keep an eye on the price, but I also want to make a smart long term investment. So if the ideal build for price to performance isn't exactly within my range I'd just like to know what I should be aiming for.

 

Thank you for any help.