Hey everyone! I'm new here and looking for some advice on turning my old PC into a home server for streaming movies using Jellyfin. I built this PC about ten years ago with my dad's help, and while it served me well for a long time, my GPU finally gave out. I've recently built a new PC just four months ago, but I'm considering repurposing the old one. I have a few questions:
1. Do I need to buy a new GPU to use this PC as a home server?
2. It's currently running Windows 8.1. Is it feasible to switch to Linux?
3. If I do need a new GPU, what kind should I look for?
4. Would it be cheaper to use a Raspberry Pi instead of my old PC?
5. I may have more questions later, but that's all for now! Thank you! I'm just getting started, so any help is appreciated!
1 Answer
1. Nope! You can definitely use your PC as a home server without a new GPU. If you want to do some video encoding, maybe look for a used Nvidia 30 series to save some money.
2. Switching to Linux is totally doable. Just make sure to back up your files.
3. You don’t need a fancy GPU unless you want to upscale to 4k or use certain codecs.
4. A Raspberry Pi can be great for power efficiency, but your old PC would likely give you better performance overall without the added costs.
Thanks for the advice! I've been stressing over these questions. My last GPU was an R9 290X, would Nvidia be a good upgrade for me?