MP 1,1-5,1 Plex Server On 5,1 2.66 W3520

[Dolphins1972]

Hello all,

My son wants to set up a dedicated Plex media server on my old cMP that I no longer use. I don't know anything about a Plex media server. Are the following specs sufficient or will he need a faster CPU with more cores?

MacPro (Early 2009) 4,1 flashed to 5,1 with a single 2.66 Quad-Core W3520, 48GB 1066GHz
500GB SATA SSD drive bay 1, MLOC Monterey .

I have a GTX 680 4GB flashed for Mac or a Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB

I plan on installing a large capacity NAS drive. I may also pop in a Sonnet M.2 2x4 with a 970 EVO Plus in PCIe slot 1 or 2.

 

[kitKAC]

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200375666-plex-media-server-requirements/

 

[Dolphins1972]

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200375666-plex-media-server-requirements/

I did read the requirements before posting this, but was hoping I'd get a response from someone who has or is using a cMP as a Plex media server.

Requirements say Intel i3 or faster. I think the W3520 Nehalem is slightly faster than an i7 920. So it should be able to handle 1080p without issue?

I guess the GPU does not matter at all because it uses the TV display to render video. So I only need a GPU for the UI on the server with a Desktop monitor.

I can see 48GB RAM is more than enough, but I'm wondering if the SATA SSD will be a bottleneck? And for that matter an even slower NAS HDD that will be the main storage.

How much does a media server rely on the OS and the HDD?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I did read the requirements before posting this, but was hoping I'd get a response from someone who has or is using a cMP as a Plex media server.

Requirements say Intel i3 or faster. I think the W3520 Nehalem is slightly faster than an i7 920. So it should be able to handle 1080p without issue?

I guess the GPU does not matter at all because it uses the TV display to render video. So I only need a GPU for the UI on the server with a Desktop monitor.

I can see 48GB RAM is more than enough, but I'm wondering if the SATA SSD will be a bottleneck? And for that matter an even slower NAS HDD that will be the main storage.

How much does a media server rely on the OS and the HDD?

If you're only using Plex on a local network then the GPU won't matter. By default it's set to play as original.

But outside the local network, transcoding might be an issue without the GPU. You'll have to play around with the transcode settings and see which bitrate and res play smooth. Or if bandwidth is not a concern, just set it to play as original, if your talking 1080 or below.

A GTX 680 should be more than good enough for transcoding even 4K with hardware acceleration enabled. I have no clue if multiple current streams will be an issues though.

 

[mcnallym]

A Mac Pro like that is massively overkill for a Plex Server.
To allow hardware transcoding then will need a Plex pass.
I have my Plex on a Terramaster NAS with Sata HDD and no SSD and streams fine. Have 8Gb RAM and also run a HDHomeRun Docker and can record and stream to the NAS at the same time without issue.

I don’t have a Plex pass however my Plex Folder is actually my Apple TV app folders so the files already in correct format for streaming to my Apple TV, so no transcoding required for my 1080p format. As such simply stream the file to my AppleTV which has the Plex App installed and barely breaks a sweat on my NAS.

have something like Nvidia shield as client then it can do the transcode at the client.

I can also be streaming YouTube to my iPad at same time on the same Wi-Fi so not a problem.

However Plex is a complete system and really depends upon combination of server and client and the media.

If concerned about the server then can either transcode the media so is correct format for the client before add to server.
Can alternatively use a client that can transcode instead.
In those cases the server hardware less important.

 

[latweek]

https://forums.plex.tv/ much faster.

 

[Dolphins1972]

https://forums.plex.tv/ much faster.

Are you linking to a specific topic?

 

[SDAVE]

Honestly better off running a raspberry pi if you want plex

5,1 eats too much energy