When I was straightening up the other day, I stumbled across my very first Plex server. I have since upgraded my Plex server two more times, and it got me to thinking: when should you upgrade your Plex server? In my latest monthly sponsored Plex video, I step through what servers I’ve used and why I upgraded them.
My first server was a Sony Vaio laptop that I had originally reviewed back in 2013, and at some point it ended up becoming my main media server. It was running Windows 7 with Windows Media Center, and I used it alongside my HDHomeRun tuners back before they had their own software. And of course I ran my Plex server on it too. Surprisingly, after years on a shelf, the laptop powered right back on.
The laptop worked fine for a while because it had an Intel processor with QuickSync support, which Plex has long taken advantage of for hardware transcoding. It was an efficient and cost-effective way to run a server at the time. But as my library grew to include more HEVC content, the limitations of that generation of Intel hardware became clear. Without hardware support for HEVC encoding, the laptop had to fall back on software transcoding, which bogged down quickly when more than one person tried to stream.
In 2017, I retired the laptop and moved over to a WD My Cloud PR2100. That device also ran with an Intel chip, this time from the Braswell family of processors. It expanded the range of formats I could work with, including hardware decoding of HEVC, though it couldn’t encode HEVC or handle HDR tone mapping. As more of my library shifted toward HDR content, the inability to perform tone mapping in hardware became a significant bottleneck.
Earlier this year, I moved to a Beelink NAS with an Intel N150 processor, part of the Twin Lake/Alder Lake-N generation. That change brought me modern hardware transcoding features, including tone mapping, which made a big difference. While some older formats dropped off in support, the trade-off has been worth it because the server is now better equipped to handle contemporary video.
Over time, the way I’ve hosted Plex has also evolved. The original laptop server ran Windows, the WD device had its own Plex server app, and now I run Plex in Docker on Unraid. Docker has proven to be the easiest to back up and migrate. Shutting down the container and copying over the metadata folder is all it takes to preserve everything. Moving to new hardware is as simple as pointing Docker at the same files and starting it up again.
For those looking to set up a Plex server today, inexpensive Intel-based mini PCs are worth considering. I’ve had good luck with small GMKtec systems that cost under $150 (compensated affiliate link). They handle Linux, run multiple Docker containers without issue, and can perform hardware transcoding and tone mapping. If you have an older Intel server, adding a GPU can also extend its usefulness. Plex officially supports Nvidia cards, and I’ve seen encouraging reports about Intel Arc GPUs as well.
Looking back at this progression, each upgrade was less about overall system performance and more about keeping up with changes in video formats and transcoding demands. The servers I left behind were still functional, but they couldn’t keep up with the evolving needs of my library.
Disclosure: This video was a paid sponsorship from Plex, however they did not review or approve this content before it was uploaded. All opinions are my own.