Hello there, I would like to upgrade my setup from a Raspberry PI 5 to something more capable of running Jellyfin properly. I also plan to host stuff like Nextcloud and some other small services.
The problem is I don’t know anything about choosing hardware. I’ve tried reading online about this stuff and come across many recommendations to buy an NUC, not knowing I would have to purchase every component individually.
I would like your comments on the setup I currently have:
- NUC Type: ASUS NUC 14 Pro Kit (RNUC14RVKI300000I)
- Operating System - Still haven’t decided yet, probably something easy like Ubuntu server
- CPU - Intel® Core™ 3 100U Processor
- Chipset - Integrated
- Graphics - Integrated - Intel® Graphics (C3)
- Memory - Adata 8GB DDR5 4800MHz CL40 SO-DIMM
- Storage - Western Digital Green SN350 1TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe WDS100T3G0C
- LAN - Intel®, 2.5G LAN
Edit 1
Some clarifications: I still haven’t bought anything, this is just what I am currently planning to buy.
I don’t live in the US, and none of my local shops have a pre-built NUC available to purchase.
I will probably upgrade the RAM to a “Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR5 5200MHz CL44” after reading some comments.
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My setup was about 500 USD if I had to guess:
Used i5 9500 (mainly for QSV but you can use any modern CPU as long as the iGPU is relatively recent)
32GB RAM (more RAM = more cache for file IO)
4TB HDD
256GB NVME boot drive (recycled from my steamdeck)
Node 804 case.
TrueNAS SCALE for the OS.
I’d recommend to get double or even triple the drives I did, maybe 3x 2TB or 3x 1TB depending on your budget. Only because that unlocks RaidZ1/RaidZ2 which can give you better RW speed and redundancy should anything go splat, and you can’t retroactively convert your drive into a Z1/Z2 pool without manually transferring the data later which might take a looooong time for you.
I dont think my route was the cheapest: IMO youd do better going AMD even despite the poorer support for HW transcode only because the motherboards are insanely expensive and hard to find, whereas that money couldve given me a better CPU and later you can add an intel iGPU if you’re really struggling.
Currently have a setup similar to yours, except the chip is N100 (12th gen Intel, 4 e-cores) and 16 gigs of ram. Running Jellyfin with hardware accelerated transcoding into VP9 and HEVC just fine. Nextcloud is ok too, kinda slow but I think that’s because of my networking.
It’s one of the cheapest pre made n100 mini PCs I could find on Amazon.
Just make sure that you have enough IO for your needs. Mine has only three usb ports, I plugged in two usb hard drives and a Zigbee dongle and now I’m out of ports. Gonna have to get a hub now.
If you have the money I’d recommend getting a mini pc with an amd ryzen apu.
I have an i5 9500 and for what its worth Nextcloud always seems to be the least responsive web app I’ve used. I think it’s just the nature of Nextcloud.
I have a similar set up; Intel n100 but in an Aoostar R1 so allows for 2 x 3.5HDDs and dual ethernet ports. The n100 has brilliant performance for the price and power draw, so I’d recommend that to OP.
I would recommed to use redundant storage, such as a RAID 1 (or 5 or 6, if you want a more advanced setup). This way your data doesn’t die with your SSD.
You shouldn’t have to pick it all separately. Some Nucs are “barebones” and others come with RAM, CPU, Storage, etc. This Amazon link purportedly claims to have RAM, SSD, etc. pre-built into the ASUS NUC.
That being said, any NUC’s integrated GPU is likely going to be far superior to the RPi5’s CPU encoding (which I assume was your previous setup).
If you want to spend ~$1000, you might be better off with just going straight for the dedicated NAS.
and others come with RAM, CPU, Storage, etc.
But won’t that just cost way more than building it myself?
That’s true for PC gaming but might not be true for these NUCs. I’m not an expert but I wouldn’t be surprised if they shaved costs with bulk purchases of RAM and SSDs for these devices. Regardless, I was just addressing a point you made about being forced to buy the components yourself which isn’t the case. Pricing is probably going to vary wildly depending on what you pick and you might be able to save money if you’re ok with less RAM or less storage.
