I have a small Ryzen-based server that’s functioning as my NAS as well as hosting various docker services. However, I wanted to start doing more with Jellyfin and my server doesn’t have a GPU for transcoding. I was consider getting an Intel NUC anyhow because I wanted to have some dedicated hardware to run a hypervisor like Proxmox, so I figure I’ll run Jellyfin as a VM and it can pull from my NAS server where the video files are stored.
I’m curious what kind of specs I should be looking for on a NUC and which generation? Here’s some of my rough requirements:
- Running Proxmox with maybe a handful of VMs
- Jellyfin transcoding for no more than 3 simultaneous users, and in reality, 1 on average
- Typically prefer more modern, power-efficient hardware
I’m running 6th, 7th and 8th gen nucs, all i3s, in a cluster with about 9 vms between them. I’ve run plex and jellyfin off of both the 7th and 8th without any issues. I’ve only had two transcodes happen simultaneously since I don’t really share my server outside of my household but based on usage I don’t think 3 would be an issue.
If it was me, I would be looking at an 11th gen i3 (tnh-i3000 I think). The taller chassis models have space for an m.2 and an SSD so you can mirror your drives, have 2.5g Ethernet, and have add-on modules to add another 2.5g port.
