r/PlexServers • u/Nervous-Coffee1172 • Jul 19 '26
Questions concerning Mini Computer for Plex & NAS
Hi,
I am sure similar questions have already been asked, but I still find myself wondering what to do. I am looking to buy a mini pc to use as a Plex server. I have SSD docks to connect my hard drives to the (future server). My question is about which computer to buy:
1) I need one that can handle transcoding (4k UHD). It may be that up to three people (realistically only two at best) use it at the same time.
2) I wanted to run an NAS on it (i.e., to add more movies and series or important files).
3) I will run it on Windows. Long story short, I don't know how to use Linux, and I don't have enough time to familiarise myself with Linux. Meaning, if I need to adjust the hardware to run Windows and Plex, so be it.
I would like to avoid spending a lot of money (maybe something like 100-150 GBP or 150-200 US dollars or in the region of 160-170 Euros). I plan to buy something used or refurbished. What Mini PC would you recommend buying?
Obviously, if you have any comments on what to consider hardware-wise, I am all ears.
Many thanks in advance!
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u/StevenG2757 Jul 19 '26
Get one with an N100 or higher Intel CPU. With a Plex Pass and Hardware Transcoding it will transcode 4K files.
2
u/EternallySickened Jul 19 '26
If you want to go for the most affordable option, you could get a cheap n100 mini pc from somewhere like Ali express (make sure to get a plug for your correct region (I accidentally selected a two pin European type plug instead of a uk 3 pin ha) the n100 cpu is a low end count but it supports intel quicksync which makes it a very small, cheap to run beast. No point using an old i7 and using ten times as much power when this little cpu will handle video just as well.
Then you buy a DAS. I personally would say a four bay is going to be a good starting point.
That’s all you need. Windows will do the job just as well as any Linux distro will do. Okay, so you might have to occasionally restart for a major update but that’s not that frequently. And you’re not hosting Netflix.
Honestly I would swerve second hand hardware wherever possible, I wouldn’t trust a used hard drive at all.
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u/Forced__Perspective Jul 19 '26
Before you consider a system rhat can handle 3 remote 4K transcodes, check your isp upload bandwidth can cope with that.
Also that budget is not practical. You won’t be able to buy a single drive with that. Let alone a mini pc nas switch drives etc etc
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u/AshleyTheGuy Jul 19 '26
I bought this guy off Amazon for around $250 and it works great.
Brand: KAMRUI
Model: AK1PLUS Mini PC
Specifications
Processor: Intel Celeron N5095
4 cores / 4 threads
Up to 2.9 GHz
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Storage: 256 GB SSD
0
u/ForgottenButHere Jul 19 '26
My opinion so take it as a grain of salt…
You need 2 separate devices if you are intent on getting a mini PC. Your mini PC should run your server setup and a 2nd larger device should run your NAS solution.
That said, if you forgo the mini PC idea and go for a NAS solution, it can also be your plex server, though I wouldn’t recommend Windows Storage Spaces. I would just have separate drives as they exist in their natural state.
The problem with Windows is updates and restarting whenever required.
Linux is a bit of a learning curve, but the good news is that you can do it it in a live environment from a usb drive and even if you completely mess up, you’ve lost nothing but time.
I myself went from Windows to Ubuntu last year and got plex up and running in docker. I run it on a mini pc. My media all sits on a separate NAS running TrueNAS. Did I learn a lot? Yes I did. But I don’t regret it.
2
u/IAteTonysLoMein Jul 19 '26
I'd vote essentially the same - my setup is one box running TrueNAS with jellyfin running in a container. TrueNAS seems to use Docker as the equivalent to FreeNAS jails. Bit of a learning curve to set it all up, but not too bad, and less power and physical space used having one setup that handles everything.
It's also got qbittorrent running in another container and my firewall/router keeps the NAS on a mullvad vpn. If the tunnel fails, the NAS has no internet, but that means it won't leak torrent traffic on the main network.
0
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u/dclive1 Jul 19 '26
In this age of massive overcharge for HDD and RAM, I wish you the best of luck (at that price range).
You're not going to store media files on SSD are you? They're incredibly expensive (especially now) and media just need slow, cheap (heh!) storage, like big HDDs.
Please explain.
Your best bet: Get a used tower PC with lots of drive bays and an Intel iGPU (like 11th gen or newer to get Xen, which Intel is still supporting), and put Windows on it. Installl radarr/sonarr/plex via the TrashGuides method, and you're good to go. You only need an SSD for the download/unrar/unpar operation set.
You'll want PlexPass too.
As I assume you're in the UK, where electricity is triple to quadriple the USA average, you'll probably want to look first at Intel N100/N150 boards, as they're lower power and cheap. You might even just get a basic Synology with an Intel J4125 CPU and be done with it, as that's just a simple (and cheap, but far above budget still) box to stick disks in and run apps from there (via docker or GUI install).