Jump to content

Server Overhaul


cvananden

Recommended Posts

cvananden

Hi everyone - 

I've been running a media server for a while (originally it started on PLEX, and I migrated over to Emby a few years ago - glad I did). Currently, I have my setup with an Intel NUC NUC5i5RYH (16gb ram, Intel® Core™ i5-5250U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.70 GHz)) running windows 10 pro. Emby server is installed on here, along with things like Sonarr, Radarr, etc.. My media is currently connected via USB to a MediaSonic Probox enclosure (https://www.newegg.com/p/14G-028N-00001?Description=probox enclosure&cm_re=probox_enclosure-_-14G-028N-00001-_-Product&quicklink=true) that has a few decently sized hard drives in it.

For the most part, the system works fine as I typically stream to my Nvidia Shield (2015) and it direct plays. However, I'm finding that i'm slowly updating my content to h265, including more 4k, and streaming out of the home more often (typically to either my Pixel 6, or a chromecast w/google tv). I'm also slowly starting to have more than one local stream playing at a time and I expect this trend to continue to the point where I may need to support three streams at once. I'd like to make sure I can handle a minimum of 3 streams with 4k in home, and something that can handle transcoding to things like chromecasts when I'm away. I don't need it to stream in 4k remotely, as I know I can't rely on internet connections always being great.

 

What would be the best way to go about doing this? Is there another updated machine like the NUC I should look at replacing it with? Should I be looking at a NAS setup instead? I do kind of like having the NUC as once in a blue moon I do use the computer to connect directly to the TV - but this isn't a make or break for me. I'd like to minimize the form factor as much as I reasonably could. I don't know what spec information to really look for but would be happy to hear someones "good", "better", "best" recommendations.

 

Thanks!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GrimReaper

For 4x4, I've been running NUC8i5 (i5-8259U, Iris plus) as my portable server for the last few years, and it's still a beast, happily serving 10ish-15 clients (mostly browsers) with at least half of them transcoding at any given time (>90% of my content is HEVC), never tested upper limit. I can only imagine what do later-gen NUCs do. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

cvananden
6 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

For 4x4, I've been running NUC8i5 (i5-8259U, Iris plus) as my portable server for the last few years, and it's still a beast, happily serving 10ish-15 clients (mostly browsers) with at least half of them transcoding at any given time (>90% of my content is HEVC), never tested upper limit. I can only imagine what do later-gen NUCs do. 

I was wondering if I should just look into buying a new NUC and calling it a day as I've used mine for almost 8 years now. Just wanted to make sure that made sense as I don't keep up with the tech nearly as much as I did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GrimReaper

I'm basically in-love with those boxes so I'm likely biased, but that's the one I'd be going with, I reckon any 8-th gen or later (as for some future-proofing, there was a notable jump-up between 7-th and 8-th gen) should more than serve your purpose, what with your existing setup, it'll likely come cheaper than an entry level NAS, let alone capability-comparable one. Then again, as I said, I'm likely biased, so you might wanna wait for some more input from other users. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cvananden

Considering my luck with mine, I have no reason to second guess it. Glad to hear they're still holding up. I was just checking out the Simply NUC Emerald (11 gen). Kind of dig that flatter form factor.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

GrimReaper

SimplyNUC had few interesting models over the last few years, but AFAIAC vanilla Intel NUCs are still kings. 

 

 

ezgif.com-gif-maker.jpg

Edited by GrimReaper
Link to comment
Share on other sites

heciruam

While I don't use a NUC because I have bigger storage requirements. I would recommend 11th gen or higher to get AV1 decoding support.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...