Best plex server on Reddit

204 reviews from r/PleX, r/sffpc, r/DataHoarder and 6 more subreddits
204 reviews from
and
By Brand
/
By Product
#1

Apple

4.6
(30)
"They work really well as a plex server and can definitely handle your transcode needs."
·
"It will handle whatever you toss at it with low power usage and zero noise pollution."
·
"Works beautifully."
·
"Mac Mini + NAS. You will have no issues."
·
"It works like a charm."
·
"I got a refurbished 2020 Mac Mini (M1 chip) with a 1-terabyte HD and it’s been working great for me."
·
"Everything works really well along with all the arr programs."
·
"The newer M-series processors run super fast, cool, and quiet."
·
"This arrangement works really well."
·
"Thing is a champ. 4k transcoding without the slightest bit of struggle."
·
#2

Raspberry Pi

4.0
(20)
"I've ran a Plex server off of a $40 raspberry pi 4."
·
"Raspberry PI 4 with a external USB SSD for storage."
·
"Raspberry pi."
·
"Definitely if going for low power and just for music Rpi is the way to go."
·
"The Pi makes for an excellent low-load Plex server."
·
"I use a RPi, a 12v boost/buck converter for power."
·
"A Raspberry Pi 4 will work great if you don't have to transcode."
·
"Maybe one of these?"
·
"Could be a RaspberryPi (or similar), a NAS, a small PC, or a Shield."
·
"I recently put together a raspberry pi 3b with RaspAp and jellyfin."
·
#4

Intel

4.4
(16)
"If you have plex pass an Intel based system is “best” because of the quick sync for hardware transcoding."
·
"Going to be building (primarily) Plex server with i5-12600k for the UHD 770 graphics processor."
·
"If you are paying $400+ for a Intel NUC then you need to be getting the latest 13th gen model."
·
"I would recommend you go for one of the Intel CPUs recommended in other comments."
·
"Your best bet is a modern Intel CPU with integrated graphics."
·
"Build an Intel NUC."
·
"I use an inexpensive Intel NUC that sips watts like a hummingbird."
·
"I have a relatively old i7 Intel NUC running Ubuntu in this role."
·
"My 11th gen NUC Plex server runs at about 20 watts when it's balls out transcoding."
·
"I am running an N100 MiniPC since the summer and I am happy with it."
·
#5

Intel NUC

4.5
(11)
"Intel NUC and a synology NAS."
·
"I switched everything over to an 8th gen intel CPU NUC and its flawless."
·
"I used the exact same NUC for a Plex server at my dad's house since his internet is not good enough to stream content from my server at home."
·
"I run my whole Plex server on a headless nuc and couldn’t be happier."
·
"Get a NUC with a recent (8 - 9 - 10 - 11th gen Intel CPU), it's small and it'll works amazingly well."
·
"I just got a NUC10i1FNB and so far all the transcoding it's done has been by GPU."
·
"A gen 8 or newer NUC or similar USFF / SFF PC will be fine and well within your budget."
·
"Depending on how many TB's you need, I don't see why you can't use an Intel NUC."
·
"I guess you could get a NUC."
·
"Intel NUC maybe? I know that you said no small form factor but its powerful enough to run a single plex server."
·
#6

Dell

4.4
(9)
"Just putts away in my utility room 24/7."
·
"Get a used Dell Optiplex (or Precision) with a 10th gen or newer i5."
·
"I use an old, refurbed Dell Optiplex I got off of eBay for about $70."
·
"I run mine on a used Dell Optiplex SFF server."
·
"Very cheap. The Intel processors (most of them) can transcode without issue."
·
"Very quiet can transcode multiple streams."
·
"Buy a refurb dell sff. Can get for under 300."
·
"EBay is the way, you can find a lot of good stuff on there for less than $200."
·
"You can get this for $165ish depending on tax after the discount."
#7

Synology

4.6
(7)
"This NAS has been amazing!"
·
"Maybe look into Synology. Great options there."
·
"I just use a synology. Plug and play."
·
"I want to say that DSM (Synologys Linux based OS) works freaking flawlessly with plex."
·
"Buy a 423+ and sell the 923 would also have been an option. Most likely cheaper. Synology holds its value well."
·
"I've had at least three 4K streams, with two transcoding simultaneously."
·
"Why not use the DS918+ (it’s paid for after all) and see how that handles your needs before you spend any $? "
#8

Nvidia Shield

4.7
(6)
"Nvidia Shield is the best overall."
·
"I’d go for the Shield Pro and the Portable External Hard drive."
·
"Nvidia shield."
·
"I'd just grab an NVidia shield (It can act as both a plex client and a plex server)."
·
"I normally don't really like the nvidia shield as a server, but I think it makes by far the most sense."
·
"The shield will probably be a lot more power (read: cost) efficient in the long run."
#9

NUC

4.3
(6)
"Works like a charm, been serving our media for 2 weeks now and transcoding is amazing."
·
"I've got a NUC 13 i5-1340p running Ubuntu as my Plex server."
·
"Buy a NUC."
·
"4x 1080p streams is like nothing."
·
"A cheap used nuc."
·
"I've been running Plex on an NUC5i5RYH."
#10

NVIDIA

4.3
(6)
"The Nvidia Shield Pro works well for me for his purpose."
·
"Nvidia shield pro comes with a plex server."
·
"Nvidia shield Pro tv 4k. We can rip 3 or movies to it at once while also streaming to 5+ devices and have zero issues."
·
"Those will all work well. A 1050ti would also be fine."
·
"It works great for me."
·
"In normal times I'd say a 1050ti but gpu prices are terrible right now."
#11

Nvidia

5.0
(5)
"It has an excellent low-power profile."
·
"Why not use the Shield as your Plex server, and attach the external HDD to the Shield?"
·
"Honestly the shield will be best....so long as any encodes are below 20mbps 1080p even 4k will be fine."
·
"Honestly the shield will be best....so long as any encodes are below 20mbps 1080p even 4k will be fine"
·
"Plex server on your nas, kodi with plexkodiconnect plugin on your shield."
#12

Unraid

4.8
(5)
"Unraid certainly checks this box for me."
·
"I recommend researching unRaid."
·
"I run plex on unraid with a 14th gen intel as cpu."
·
"I built an UNRAID box primarily for Plex and the \*arr apps. I can transcode at least five 4K HDR videos simultaneously."
·
"Building my own server and using unraid has been pretty reliable for me."
#13

Synology NAS

4.0
(5)
"I run a synology nas in my RV. Has been working great for the last 3 years."
·
"Did you consider a Synology NAS? They can run Plex and even transcode."
·
"Synology NAS. Lots of options well below $1k even after adding storage."
·
"I would say a low power NAS from someone like synology."
·
"Just make sure your NAS has got the power to run Plex."
#14

Jellyfin

4.0
(4)
"I have this exact model in 8G/256 and while I don't use plex it works really well with Jellyfin on a Debian install over Proxmox, no buffering at all."
·
"Seems like JellyFin might be the better solution for this application."
·
"Jellyfin and fire stick might be a good alternative."
·
"If Plex doesn't work (which I doubt), then your best bet is Jellyfin."
#15

Plex

4.3
(3)
"I have Plex, ErsatzTV and JDownloader running on a very tiny low spec PC and it all works beautifully."
·
"Yea Plex will run on just about anything even a potato."
·
"My primary is still Plex."
#16

Lenovo

4.0
(3)
"Getting an old Lenovo Thinkcentre and adding some hard drives is WAYYY cheaper."
·
"For $200 you can buy a Lenovo ThinkCentre with an 8th Gen i5."
·
"You can get the i7 version with more ram and storage for less."
#17

Western Digital

4.0
(3)
"I have one of these for such trips: https://support.plex.tv/articles/221104248-western-digital-my-passport-wireless-pro/"
·
"I've had the WD Passport Wireless PRO for about 4 years and have been pleased with the results."
·
"I have a western digital I use for offline use. It worked out well I would get the SSD version if it's affordable."
#18

Nvidia Shield Pro

4.5
(2)
"Nvidia Shield Pro can be a server. Just go with that."
·
"I have a Shield Pro which I use as my Plex server and it works great, with caveats."
#19

Mac Mini

4.5
(2)
"I have been using a 2012 Mac Mini for 11 years and it has been almost zero maintenance."
·
"I have been using a 12/13 mini for my plex server for almost a decade now."
#20

NAS

4.5
(2)
"I would go with a nas as that will be a server and handles all your plex needs."
·
"If electricity cost is a big factor for you, have you considered a NAS as a plex server?"
#21

Mini-PC

4.0
(2)
"You can get a mini-PC that has space for an SSD."
·
"Get a mini pc and just run kodi."
#22

Kodi

4.0
(2)
"I'd honestly recommend not using Plex for in home viewing. It's great to share with friends but Kodi is the far far superior device for in home viewing."
·
"I also recommend Kodi as it was what Plex spawned from."
#23

Qnap

4.0
(2)
"I have a Qnap with 6 hard drives of 16.37TB."
·
"Qnap? This might help:"
#24

Intel i3

4.0
(2)
"You can get a Core i3 Intel Mac mini for less than $300 and it will be able to transcode a stream of 4K."
·
"8GB Ram is good enough, and a modern i3 will do transcoding just fine."
#25

Raspberry Pi 4

3.5
(2)
"The Pi 4's are beefy and a good deal."
·
"Works excellent especially for low power consumption."
#26

N100

3.0
(2)
"IT CANNOT TRANSCODE WITH SUBTITLES ON."
·
"N100 should do for £99."
#27

Laptop

5.0
(1)
"Works brilliantly. Sits closed on the bottom shelf a sidetable."
#28

Topton

5.0
(1)
"I have a topton nas board with the N5105 chip, running unraid with 8 drives."
#29

ARR

5.0
(1)
"If you havent heard of the ARR then you need to look it up cause its a fucking game changer."
#30

Symbology

5.0
(1)
"Symbology + Apple TV and you will never need anything else."
#31

Apple Mac Mini M2

5.0
(1)
"The M2 Mac mini by far is the best for me so far it’s been bullet proof."
#33

Apple Mac Mini M1

5.0
(1)
"I currently use a Mac mini M1 16GB ram (2020) and 2 14TB WD external drives."
#35

Apple M1 Mac

5.0
(1)
"I have the M1 with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD and I couldn’t be happier with it."
#36

WD My Passport Pro

5.0
(1)
"I like my WD My Passport Pro wireless 2 TB drive. Works well with my iPad and iPhone playing 4k content on Infuse Pro or nPlayer Plus."
#37

Zotac Mini PC

4.0
(1)
"I run Ubuntu with plex server on an older zotac mini pc with a gx420 cpu."
#38

Dell Optiplex

4.0
(1)
"I am running a USFF Dell Optiplex that I got for $125. It’s an i5 with 32GB ram, onboard GPU and 512GB SSD."
#39

Mini PC

4.0
(1)
"The CPU in there has Intel Quicksync, so it's actually perfectly fine for hardware-accelerated transcoding."
#40

Intel NUC 11 N5105

4.0
(1)
"Love the n5105 for my plex server although it was a bit tricky to get the hardware accelerated transcoding working"
#41

WD

4.0
(1)
"The WD really is perfect for this if you use a client that can direct play."
#42

Geekom

4.0
(1)
"Reformatted with Ubuntu because Linux supports HDR tonemapping."
#43

HP

4.0
(1)
"You can get a enterprise refurb like hp mini g5 with 10500t for like £200 or less."
#44

Zidoo

4.0
(1)
"I suggest that you look at Zidoo Z9X or Z9X Pro."
#45

Nvidia Shield TV Pro

4.0
(1)
"I loved the 500GB Nvidia Shield TV Pro, but the drive in it died."
#46

CWWK

4.0
(1)
"If you want a good value mini PC off of Ali get it from CWWK."
#47

Intel Gen 14

4.0
(1)
"A NVMe drive, Intel gen 14, quicksync hw coding of course."
#49

Dell Optiplex 5050

4.0
(1)
"I run a Dell Optiplex 5050, i7 with a 1TB NVME boot to Windows 10."
#50

Dell Micro

4.0
(1)
"I use a Dell Micro of similar concept to that HP."
#51

Synology DS418+/420+

4.0
(1)
"Didn't realize DS418+/420+ were so capable. Go that way to start."
#52

Intel 7th Gen or Newer

4.0
(1)
"Find a used office machine on eBay that has a 7th gen or newer Intel."
#53

HP EliteDesk 800 G3/G4

4.0
(1)
"Get an refurbished SFF PC like an HP EliteDesk 800. G3 or G4 should be sufficient."
#54

Apple Mac Mini

4.0
(1)
"You can honestly get away with a used Intel Mac mini or better yet, a used M1 Mac mini."
#55

Synology DS920+

4.0
(1)
"I moved from running my plex server from my shield pro 2017 last summer to a Synology DS920+."
#56

Celeron J 4000 Series

4.0
(1)
"I'd suggest buying a mini system with a recent quad-core Celeron J 4000 series processor."

Discover your audience

GummySearch is an audience research toolkit for 130,000 unique communities on Reddit.

If you are looking for startup problems to solve, want to validate your idea or find your first customers online, GummySearch is for you.

Sign up for free, get community insights in minutes.

Tell me more
Get started
Audience Research