Lithium

Thanks very much, I'll have a look into both CPUs and GPUs in that case. Thanks again for the advice!

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! I was being dumb and assuming all devices were direct playing because all the devices in my home do but after checking, there are a few external users with hardware that wasn't direct playing - probably why my CPU is having a hard time. I think I can safely make the assumption that the split between direct playing and transcoding is 50/50. Thank you for the advice about the passmarks - I'll use that as a rough guide in future! With those updated requirements though, do you think it would be better to upgrade the CPU or to install an Nvidia graphics card? I've heard transcoding can be problematic on graphics cards, even if they are supported? And apologies for going slightly off-topic but as you mentioned 4K content, I've only got a few media files that are 4K but this is something I'd like to start getting more of. The main TV in my house can direct play it but other devices probably can't. Would you recommend created "optimised versions" of these from within the Plex server GUI or have something like Handbrake create 1080p versions?

With the current state of the world, my Plex server is getting more attention than it used to and it's time to upgrade. Currently it can handle about 3-4 1080p streams but I'd like it to be able to handle about double the amount. I'd also like to run a VM or two but just to play around with - nothing intense. I've currently got a AMD Ryzen 5 2400G running on a B450 AORUS M motherboard. Ideally, I don't want to change the motherboard so I'm hoping you can recommend something last-gen that's compatible and will allow more Plex streams. I was also wondering if it's necessary to put a graphics card in the system. Most people are watching the content at it's native quality so hardly any transcoding takes place (if I'm understanding the terminology correctly) so I don't think it's needed? Lastly, I've just got 16Gb of 2133 MHz DDR4 memory installed. I haven't noticed this being a bottleneck but do you think there would be any benefit to upgrading this that I can't see?

I bought a Codegen V2 500mm the other day and it worked out great for my needs. It's got 9x3.5" bays and can fit a regular ATX motherboard. In the attached pictures, I've currently got a mATX motherboard. The fan it comes with isn't great and has a molex connector so I'd recommend purchasing a separate one. I've also got 2x80mm fans on order for the back. Please forgive the fact that it's plugged into a Google Wifi router and is sitting in my son's room, this isn't its final place - I'm looking for a small rack (9-12U) that will just fit this case and isn't too much longer - any suggestions? Edit: the parts originally started life in an old rig and evolved into the slight mess you see here. I'll be ordering some better components when I work out which ones I need.