Plex - Need Advice/Guidance

[isMink]

Hey all! I currently have a plex server i’m running off of my HTPC that consists of the following hardware:

 

i7-8700k 

16GB DDR4

Strix z370-G Gaming Motherboard 

GTX 1660 (patched for transcoding) 

500gb ssd boot

2x 8TB WD Blue 

w11 Pro

 

I primarily use the PC for Plex and playing games on the TV (Streams from my gaming PC). Now I’m not sure if i could repurpose this system and get something else to stream my games to the TV. Could I do this with an Nvidia Shield? 

 

I have about 15 people who stream. At most there is about 6 concurrent streams and it’s not currently an issue. I’m looking to add more storage soon and I really want to add some sort of fallback in case of a drive failure. Which brought me to unraid. I’ve never worked with linux based systems but i’m willing to learn! 

 

I’ve read that using an intel nuc and a DAS is a good route to go. I’ve also read that using a DAS with RAID isn’t a good idea. I’d love some input from the community! Also first time posting on the forums so I hope this is formatted okay. Thanks everyone!!

 

I was looking at picking up an intel arc card for more headroom on the transcodes. No idea if that’s necessary with having the 1660 patched. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

I'd guess the iGPU here is better than the 1660 in terms of transcoding, so I'd try it with no GPU.

 

10 minutes ago, isMink said:

 

I primarily use the PC for Plex and playing games on the TV (Streams from my gaming PC). Now I’m not sure if i could repurpose this system and get something else to stream my games to the TV. Could I do this with an Nvidia Shield? 

 

Is it all running windows now? I'd be tempted to keep windows and just add more drives if you want more storage. Then you don't have to get any more hardware.

[isMink]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I'd guess the iGPU here is better than the 1660 in terms of transcoding, so I'd try it with no GPU.

 

Is it all running windows now? I'd be tempted to keep windows and just add more drives if you want more storage. Then you don't have to get any more hardware.

I am running Windows 11 Pro. My biggest concern is adding some sort of redundancy/backup. I was looking at getting a Terramaster D4-300 and filling it with 16tb wd red in a raid 5. Then connect it over the USB C. I had read that this is a bad idea and just stumped on what to do/where to go from here. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, isMink said:

I am running Windows 11 Pro. My biggest concern is adding some sort of redundancy/backup. I was looking at getting a Terramaster D4-300 and filling it with 16tb wd red in a raid 5. Then connect it over the USB C. I had read that this is a bad idea and just stumped on what to do/where to go from here. 

Why not put the drives internally in the case and setup raid in WIndows? That seems like the best idea to me.

[isMink]

7 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Why not put the drives internally in the case and setup raid in WIndows? That seems like the best idea to me.

The case i’m using only lets me have 2 3.5” drives. When I built this pc it was primarily for couch gaming. Plex was a later idea. Might be worth case swapping? Any recommendations if so. Ideally smaller form factor. I am using a low profile noctua cooler on the cpu and have a sfx psu available. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, isMink said:

The case i’m using only lets me have 2 3.5” drives. When I built this pc it was primarily for couch gaming. Plex was a later idea. Might be worth case swapping? Any recommendations if so. Ideally smaller form factor. I am using a low profile noctua cooler on the cpu and have a sfx psu available. 

I'd probably get a bigger case here if it was me. Not sure about specific model thats would work best though with yoru parts. 

[isMink]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I'd probably get a bigger case here if it was me. Not sure about specific model thats would work best though with yoru parts. 

Didn’t even think of getting a different case until now. This seems like the most cost effective way. 

[johnt]

This is a really good time of year for a new case.