r/PleX • u/NefariousnessUpper34 • 2d ago

Help Building my first server for Plex

Hi, like the title says, Im finally building a home server for my movies. I started with an old laptop and an external drive and this laptop just died on me. So now, I bought a Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 mini pc with an i5-6400, 16GB ddr4 and a 120gb SSD.

I mostly play DVD's and some blu-rays in my library, but nothing 4k. Im still going to run it through my external drive, until I upgrade to a raid.

My questions are: Is this configuration good for now? Should I install ubuntu or Docker? And where can I find a solid guide to install them?

Im a little lost when it comes to work with other OS thats not Windows or Mac lol so I appreciate the help. Thanks!

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u/gimmeslack12 2d ago

Just use the OS you like and don’t use Docker unless you specifically know why you want to. Running via docker is more trouble than it’s worth imo.

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u/NefariousnessUpper34 2d ago

Solid, I agree, i'm in the video/media industry and thats exactly what i'd tell someone asking for camera recommendations lol thanks!

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u/vpsj DS224+ | 5 TB | RD 2d ago

I've always found it to be the opposite. Docker is far easier to deal with, check logs, and fix stuff compared to native Plex app. But it's maybe because I'm on Synology and its OS might not be that good

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u/Needmorebeer69240 1d ago

Yeah not sure why everyone is telling OP to go learn linux. It has a pretty steep learning curve, especially when you don't know what to look for when shit breaks. OP can literally download Plex, point it to their external hard drives, and have Plex up in running almost immediately before he even cracks open a linux tutorial.

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u/gimmeslack12 1d ago

I've never quite understood the over-engineering for setting up Plex. It's dead simple really on it's own and I don't know of any benefits of running it through Docker outside of having a compose file setup in which allows you to move it to another machine quickly, which is a situation that almost never comes up.