Temporary Plex server...

farscapesg1

2[H]4U
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Aug 4, 2004
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We are preparing for a possible move and I'm toying with the idea of building a temporary Plex server since I currently run everything virtualized on an R710 with a separate storage server in a Norco 4220 case. 6U of equipment is a little more difficult to move around :p

I have a couple options available to to me in the form of an HP 800 G1 USDT (i5-4570s), HP 800 G2 tower (i5-6600) and an HP 800 G2 mini (i5-6600t). Passmark scores for all are pretty close, so it really comes down to form factor for this use and storage.. which is my real question :p

If being used for Plex storage (including transcoding of existing files and manual encoding of ripped files), how much difference would USB3 speeds be vs internal SATA? I purchased a 8TB WD external drive with the plan to use it temporarily and then move it to my storage server after we get settled and I pick up another 1-3 drives to shuck. So I have the option of shucking the drive now and tossing it in the HP 800 G2 tower as internal storage drive.. or leaving it as an external and using it on any of the systems since they all support USB3 (would probably go with the USDT or mini in that case).
 
Hmm just my 2c but moving from USB to sata will probably trigger a reformat. That being said those drives can do 100 MB\s plus over USB so unless you are doing some crazy transcoding I would not see why they would not work well.
 
That was my thought with USB3, just trying to plan this out. I currently also use the Plex DVR feature, which might be a factor if this was a long-term solution, but by the time we are getting settled somewhere with Cable or OTA again I'm sure I'll be ready to move back to my virtual environment. Not worried about the reformat as any data would get copied to my regular storage after settling down.

Now to figure out which system I want to use.. or maybe even an older HP 8470p laptop I have laying around and would make things even more portable with built in keyboard/mouse and using a DisplayPort to HDMI cable we could hook it if we land at an "extended stay" hotel place for a bit.
 
To add another 2c if you go the laptop route it might be less hassel to go the Kodi route at least in terms of initial setup and hassel. Basically install and point to your external drive... You could maybe even do the goodie channels to not have to mess around with managing your media too much
 
The speed of USB3 is definitely not a problem. It's the reliability that has plagued me. Windows 7, Windows 10, OSX, I have experienced issues with all the big OS's specifically with USB3. Ports or hubs go to sleep, devices stop being able to be recognized until replugging or rebooting, read/write errors. It's still a new protocol.

Speed wise it's fine though, USB2 is fine really. 20-30MB/s comes out to 160-240mb/s which is about 10 times what a h264 is encoded at. Just copying to USB2 sucks :mad:
 
Thanks, decided to just go internal using an HP 800 G1 SFF. 120GB SSD for the OS, 8TB WD Red for the storage, external 8TB WD Red for backup since I had to move over everything from storage, including family photos, documents, etc.
 
Thanks, decided to just go internal using an HP 800 G1 SFF. 120GB SSD for the OS, 8TB WD Red for the storage, external 8TB WD Red for backup since I had to move over everything from storage, including family photos, documents, etc.
By installing one of them, it's one less physical item to pack up and move. Moving sucks as you start to see all the crap you own that has not been touched or seen for years and having to figure out what to do with it or why you still have it.
 
I've had a USB3 drive go to sleep on me mid stream... seriously wtf.
 
To add another 2c if you go the laptop route it might be less hassel to go the Kodi route at least in terms of initial setup and hassel. Basically install and point to your external drive... You could maybe even do the goodie channels to not have to mess around with managing your media too much
Hmm I have used both and Plex is just as easy to setup as Kodi. Just point to your media and it is done. Added 1000+ movies and 200 tv shows without a hitch....
 
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