You seems to have low needs and you can't reed the question. The guy need to transcode video. The N54L is not a good choice. For a file server there's no problem but if you ask more to your server like Plex it's good enough but considering the price difference, the 1610T is a better choice. If he need more power, he can upgrade to a xeon. If you look at the quality build, there's a huge difference between G7 and G8.
I really don't care about your needs and nobody cares here. rs6mra ask a question and I answer it. You only write about you and you are not the subject here. Considering the rs6mra's needs, the G7 is NOT a good choice at all. When the Gen8 was twice more expensive it was a good value but now it's not anymore.
Access to a monitor? You kidding right? A server has never a monitor attached in. If it is, it's simply a desktop computer. And ILO is free when you stay on boot process. You can get one free licence as you want so it's not a problem for a non professional user.
It should be interesting that you separate your need and other's when someone asking for advice.
You have poor installation, great for you but everyone hasn't your simple needs. And transcoding is really not in your needs...