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Windows Optimization

Windows Optimization

Section titled “Windows Optimization”

Maximize your Plex server’s performance on Windows with these optimization techniques.

Hardware Transcoding

Section titled “Hardware Transcoding”

Intel Quick Sync Setup

Section titled “Intel Quick Sync Setup”
  1. Verify CPU supports Quick Sync (Intel 6th gen+)
  2. Enable iGPU in BIOS (even with dedicated GPU)
  3. Install latest Intel graphics drivers
  4. Settings → Transcoder → Enable hardware acceleration
Terminal window
# Verify Intel GPU is available
Get-WmiObject win32_VideoController | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*Intel*" }

NVIDIA NVENC Setup

Section titled “NVIDIA NVENC Setup”
  1. Install latest NVIDIA Game Ready or Studio drivers
  2. Verify GPU supports NVENC (GTX 1050+)
  3. Settings → Transcoder → Enable hardware acceleration
Terminal window
# Check NVIDIA driver and GPU
nvidia-smi

Database Optimization

Section titled “Database Optimization”

Move Database to SSD

Section titled “Move Database to SSD”
  1. Stop Plex Media Server
  2. Copy %LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server to SSD
  3. Set PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR environment variable
  4. Start Plex
Terminal window
# Set new database location
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(
    "PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR",
    "D:\PlexData",
    "Machine"
)

Optimize Database Manually

Section titled “Optimize Database Manually”
Terminal window
$plexDB = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Plex Media Server\Plug-in Support\Databases\com.plexapp.plugins.library.db"


# Stop Plex first
Stop-Process -Name "Plex Media Server" -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Start-Sleep -Seconds 5


# Optimize
sqlite3 $plexDB "VACUUM;"
sqlite3 $plexDB "REINDEX;"


Write-Host "Database optimized"

Network Performance

Section titled “Network Performance”

Gigabit Network

Section titled “Gigabit Network”
  • Use wired Ethernet for server
  • Avoid Wi-Fi for high-bitrate content
  • Consider 2.5GbE for 4K HDR streaming

Quality of Service (QoS)

Section titled “Quality of Service (QoS)”

Configure router QoS to prioritize Plex traffic on port 32400.

Transcoder Temp Directory

Section titled “Transcoder Temp Directory”

Move transcoder temp to fast storage:

Terminal window
# Create RAM disk for transcoding (advanced)
# Or use SSD path
$transcodeDir = "D:\PlexTranscode"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $transcodeDir -Force


# Set in Plex Settings → Transcoder → Transcoder temporary directory

Memory Optimization

Section titled “Memory Optimization”

Increase Process Priority

Section titled “Increase Process Priority”
Terminal window
# Run Plex with high priority
Get-Process "Plex Media Server" | ForEach-Object { $_.PriorityClass = "High" }

Windows Memory Settings

Section titled “Windows Memory Settings”
  • Disable memory compression for media drives
  • Ensure adequate page file size (system managed)

Power Settings

Section titled “Power Settings”

Prevent sleep during operation:

Terminal window
# Set power plan to High Performance
powercfg /setactive 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c


# Prevent sleep
powercfg /change standby-timeout-ac 0
powercfg /change hibernate-timeout-ac 0

Monitoring Performance

Section titled “Monitoring Performance”

Task Manager

Section titled “Task Manager”
  • Monitor Plex Media Server CPU usage
  • Check GPU utilization (Performance tab)

Resource Monitor

Section titled “Resource Monitor”
  • Network activity for streaming
  • Disk I/O for transcoding

PowerShell Monitoring

Section titled “PowerShell Monitoring”
Terminal window
# Monitor Plex resource usage
while ($true) {
    $plex = Get-Process "Plex Media Server" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($plex) {
        Write-Host "CPU: $([math]::Round($plex.CPU, 2))% | Memory: $([math]::Round($plex.WorkingSet64/1MB, 2)) MB"
    }
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
}

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”