NAS for Plex With some transcoding

[Fred_Mc]

Hi!

I had better first mention that i am a novice when it comes to servers, and my only experience comes from a teamspeak server i once hosted for a day and Windows Homegroup. My aim with this server is to hold all my DVDs in one place as MKV files, and be able to view them on my PS3 downstairs, without having to physically get up and insert a disk. I have tried this hosting the server on my Gaming Rig, but I am not so keen on having that on all the time, and feel that having to go upstairs to turn it on to watch a movie defeats the point. I was hoping to do this on a budget, and was therefore wondering if anyone knows any good budget components for this? I was thinking more of the AMD path, but i dont mind, as long as its functional and cheap. I would only need a couple of 720p video streams, as i have an older TV. If someone could help me, that would be much appreciated.

 

EDIT: Here is a link to a PCPartPicker I have put together. I am really liooking to be cheap here. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/bFKgD3  As i said though, i have no idea what is good, so i came on here.

[Mohenjo]

26 minutes ago, TheBlackDove said:

Hi!

I had better first mention that i am a novice when it comes to servers, and my only experience comes from a teamspeak server i once hosted for a day and Windows Homegroup. My aim with this server is to hold all my DVDs in one place as MKV files, and be able to view them on my PS3 downstairs, without having to physically get up and insert a disk. I have tried this hosting the server on my Gaming Rig, but I am not so keen on having that on all the time, and feel that having to go upstairs to turn it on to watch a movie defeats the point. I was hoping to do this on a budget, and was therefore wondering if anyone knows any good budget components for this? I was thinking more of the AMD path, but i dont mind, as long as its functional and cheap. I would only need a couple of 720p video streams, as i have an older TV. If someone could help me, that would be much appreciated.

 

EDIT: Here is a link to a PCPartPicker I have put together. I am really liooking to be cheap here. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/bFKgD3  As i said though, i have no idea what is good, so i came on here.

slight edit 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/4rqysY

 

The fx doesn't have integrated. but the intel does. 

[Fred_Mc]

2 minutes ago, Mohenjo said:

slight edit 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/4rqysY

 

The fx doesn't have integrated. but the intel does. 

Probably should have put this in the origional PCPartPicker, but i have a Geforce card, which i believe is a GT620 or something similar which i can put in. Would having the Quad Core CPU provide any advantage if i were to use that and this GPU?

Thanks.

[Mohenjo]

3 minutes ago, TheBlackDove said:

Probably should have put this in the origional PCPartPicker, but i have a Geforce card, which i believe is a GT620 or something similar which i can put in. Would having the Quad Core CPU provide any advantage if i were to use that and this GPU?

Thanks.

Oh, yea then go for the AMD quad core, should be able to handle multiple streams better. Do you have a Power supply? 

[Fred_Mc]

9 minutes ago, Mohenjo said:

Oh, yea then go for the AMD quad core, should be able to handle multiple streams better. Do you have a Power supply? 

for the moment i am undecided on the power supply. i dont really know whats good for what i need.

[Mohenjo]

3 minutes ago, TheBlackDove said:

for the moment i am undecided on the power supply. i dont really know whats good for what i need.

a decent 400w PSU would be good even though its overkill. 

[Mohenjo]

4 minutes ago, TheBlackDove said:

for the moment i am undecided on the power supply. i dont really know whats good for what i need.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100w10430kr

 

This should be more than enough 

[Fred_Mc]

7 minutes ago, Mohenjo said:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100w10430kr

 

This should be more than enough 

Great. Thanks for all your help!

[d3sl91]

3 hours ago, TheBlackDove said:

Hi!

I had better first mention that i am a novice when it comes to servers, and my only experience comes from a teamspeak server i once hosted for a day and Windows Homegroup. My aim with this server is to hold all my DVDs in one place as MKV files, and be able to view them on my PS3 downstairs, without having to physically get up and insert a disk. I have tried this hosting the server on my Gaming Rig, but I am not so keen on having that on all the time, and feel that having to go upstairs to turn it on to watch a movie defeats the point. I was hoping to do this on a budget, and was therefore wondering if anyone knows any good budget components for this? I was thinking more of the AMD path, but i dont mind, as long as its functional and cheap. I would only need a couple of 720p video streams, as i have an older TV. If someone could help me, that would be much appreciated.

 

EDIT: Here is a link to a PCPartPicker I have put together. I am really liooking to be cheap here. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/bFKgD3  As i said though, i have no idea what is good, so i came on here.

One thing to consider is 24/7 operation and power usage. Using an Intel chip is more power efficient, in general. Then also not having a GPU using power is also more power-friendly. 

 

If you don't mind, or are not paying the bill - the AMD would work fine. 

 

Since you will be streaming primarily to your PS3, rip your videos in such a way that they do not need to be trans coded. Plex only trans codes if it needs to. 

[79wjd]

7 hours ago, d3sl91 said:

One thing to consider is 24/7 operation and power usage. Using an Intel chip is more power efficient, in general. Then also not having a GPU using power is also more power-friendly. 

 

Since you will be streaming primarily to your PS3, rip your videos in such a way that they do not need to be trans coded. Plex only trans codes if it needs to. 

Pretty much this.

 

Although, I would prioritize quality over PS3 friendly as transcoding 720p isn't exactly hard (a pentium can handle like four transcoded 720p streams).