AMD FX 6300 + R9 270. Running 4k on linux question

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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My windows install is getting bloated and I want to install linux, but I’ve heard that there is no hardware encoding for AMD devices. I’m wondering if that is just video cards or does that include the processor. If I need to upgrade both, then I also need to upgrade my motherboard and that’s a cost I cannot afford right now and I’ll just stick with windows. If it’s just a video card issue, that’s doable.

Edit: I don’t want to transcode 4k. I want to be able to run 4k on the machine directly, but transcode other media with hardware acceleration.

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No AMD processors or cards are supported at this time.

Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) and Nvidia are supported.

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bummer, so that’s an entire system build if I want linux. That sucks.

Thanks though. Now I won’t buy a new video card and realize it doesn’t do what I need

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Just drop in a GTX-1050. Less than a full build. you can still use the Ryzen

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You can still use amd cpu for transcoding, it just won’t be hardware accelerated.

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Oh really? So an AMD processor and a Nvidia video card will allow hardware accelerated encoding on linux?

Because the FX6300 is absolute garbage at encoding on its own.

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Much more info @ [INFO] Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you - aka the rules of 4k

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Sorry, I guess I didn’t make it clear. I don’t want to transcode 4k. I want to be able to play 4k but cannot on windows because the OS is taking up so much of the resources by just being on. Which is why I want to switch to a lightweight linux distro. But I want to be able to transcode the other media (mostly AVI to the roku tv the kids watch) with harware acceleration.

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Playing 4K is entirely dependent on the client, more so than the server.

Use a client that can direct play, no transcoding required.

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I can’t even play 4k videos on my computer using VLC, which I should be able to. That’s why I think it’s a windows using up resources issue. My computer is at like 30% idle and literally nothing is installed but a VPN and PMS. That’s why I want to go to something that requires less resources.

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That’s your first mistake. 4K isn’t easy or simple.

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You may still be able to stream 4K video, as long as the video direct plays.

Direct playing video uses very little resources. It is essentially just reading the file from the disk and streaming it over the network. Unlike transcoding, there is no modification of the stream.

Install Plex Media Server on your PC and see what happens. It might work just fine.

Regarding transcoding:

Transcoding can occur in software or in hardware. Software transcoding uses the CPU. Hardware transcoding uses the GPU which may be integrated with the CPU or a discrete GPU add-in card.

Hardware accelerated transcoding in Plex also varies by the operating system:

  • Windows: Intel Quick Sync Graphics (integrated GPU), Nvidia GPU cards, and AMD GPU cards.
  • Linux: Intel Quick Sync Graphics and Nvidia GPU cards. There is no support for AMD GPU cards at this time.

Regarding your current setup:

The FX 6300 has no integrated graphics. Therefore, there is nothing Plex can use for hardware acceleration, irrespective of the OS.

With Windows, you may be able to use the R9 270 video card for hardware accelerated transcoding. It depends on the capabilities of the card. From what I can find on Wikipedia, it appears the card supports transcoding of H.264 video but not H.265 video. References below.

As previously mentioned, when running Linux, Plex does not support hardware accelerated transcoding using AMD GPUs.

So, with your current system:

Windows: You should be able to direct play any video. You can software transcode one or two 1080 streams. You can most likely hardware transcode H.264 video, but not H.265 video (references below).

Linux: You should be able to direct play any video. You can software transcode one or two 1080 streams. No support for hardware accelerated transcoding.

If you want to use hardware accelerated transcoding for H.265 video, including 4K, with your system, you need a different video card. A Nvidia GTX 1050 supports hardware transcoding of H.264 & H.265 video. The card is supported for both Windows and Linux operating systems. You can use a more recent AMD GPU card for hardware accelerated streaming, but only when running Windows.

Suggestion:

Install Plex Media Server on your current system and see how it performs. If it meets your needs, then you’re done.

If you need additional transcoding support for H.264 video, try a Plex Pass to enable hardware acceleration. You can try the $4.99 USD/mo subscription and not renew it if it does not meet your needs.

If transcoding H.265 is required, consider acquiring a Nvidia GTX 1050. They are available on ebay for under $150 USD.

If the Windows OS puts too much load on your system you can move to a Linux distribution. If you want hardware accelerated transcoding you can add an Nvidia 1050 or better GPU.

References:

What kind of CPU do I need? Note 1080p software transcode needs Passmark of 2000.

FX 6300 Passmark. Passmark = 4111

Using Hardware Accelerated Streaming

Nvidia Encode/Decode Matrix - look for cards that decode H.265 12-bit video.

Wikipedia: Radeon R9 270. Note use of Hawaii Pitcairn XT chipset

Wikipedia: AMD Unified Video Decoder. Note UVD 4.2 / Hawaii UVD 4.0 / Pitcairn has no H.265 decode capability.

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Thank you for the write up! I really appreciate it. I’ve had plex installed and Plex Pass for many years now so I’m familiar with it, but you gave me a lot of information I didn’t know.

I actually figured out what my problem is a few hours ago after troubleshooting for a few months. The reason Windows is so bogged down and things hang isn’t because of the CPU and GPU or even windows. I realized I’m using an old laptop HDD from 2006ish as my OS drive. I don’t know why - I know I threw this computer together with spare parts and I guess I just forgot to upgrade the HDD. I just bought a SSD online for like 25 bucks and it’ll be here tuesday. I’ve already cloned my drive and I’m just waiting until it shows up so I can copy the IMG over. Hopefully that fixes the problem I’ve been having.

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