I am wanting to build a server (moving from using a Odroid and wanting to avoid having a dedicated graphics card) and just had a few questions and wondered if anyone had some advice:
the server will also be used as a file server and a minecraft server
1.I am wanting to go with the ryzen 3400G is there any down sides to going with AMD over Intel when it comes to transcoding does the hardware limit transcodng certain file types, I will probably only have a single stream transcoding at a time.
What about linux vs Windows are there any audio or video types one can deal with better than the other?
Is hardware acceleration supported on the Ryzen platform?
Can I leverage the Vega graphics to HW transcode if supported leaving the CPU to deal with other things?
Sorry if I have worded them poorly, any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Hey welcome. Some quick thoughts. Even though transcoding via hardware is epic, it only handles video, and almost always if the video wasn’t right, the audio isn’t either. Audio transcodes happen only in software, meaning 100% cpu, stutters and whatnot unless you have pro gear.
A server holding Plex data will grow to contain an enormous number of support files that give you the experience you bought into Plex to get. Because of the sheer number of small files, be sure you build something with at least one SSD. If running another db (Minecraft?) then seriously consider several SSDs and maybe a 7200rpm drive in there.
GPU based hw transcodes are just entering beta testing on Plex afaik, probably Nvidia based.
Avoid transcodes. Plan your hardware to match your players to match your videos.
Hi Nibbles thanks for the response,
I am only planning for it as my partner requires subtitles and some of my devices dont like them and force the system I have been testing on to transcode, I dont really want to have copies of the same media as I sometimes like to turn subtitles off when its just me.
Just out of curiosity why multiple SSDs I am planning on using at least one and I have a 10TB IronWolf drive that i believe is 7200RPM.
While there is nothing actually tangible and viable right now,
Intel and the VA-API are working on trying to put subtitles in the iGPU. The ASIC does have enough registers for it. I don’t know if/when this might become reality for us but discussions are ongoing and actively being tried.
For now, pre-burning subtitles, if using a lesser (non Intel Core-class CPU), is probably the best option. Examples of systems which suffer the most are Synology DS series (J3455 CPU and below. Xeons are usually ok). QNAP x53 series are also impacted (same processor).
Any system with a lesser-capable processor will have even greater difficulty just dealing with the audio.
SSDs are only really of benefit when they are physically addressable volumes. As cache, they help some but best performance (the Plex metadata & DB) is when you can relocate that data to the DB). Transcoder cache buys nothing.
The main reason I was looking at the 3400G was for the price to performance and the power draw and with the fact that I wont be having a ton of users makes it a little more reasonable to me, would it be more beneficial for me to consider an older CPU platform from Intel?
Just so I can gather as much info as possible before making a decision if I were to forgo transcoding and direct play everything would intel still be the best for a single stream or would ryzen be able to handle this fine the platform wouldn’t prevent the direct play of say dolby master audio format or anything like that
I was thinking a 500GB SSD is fairly cheap and the speed is outrageous.
I was also envisioning thousands of Minecraft users, sql databases, logins, lots of busy work, you know, the worst xD
About how many Minecraft users does it take to put 50% load on a linux system like yours?
I was actually thinking of putting a 512GB M.2 that I already have. I don’t currently run the Minecraft server on Linux I do it on Windows but obviously that would make a difference but it would be on the same system that I am playing on which would skew things a little
Ah I see that’s well spread out. I realize I never tried to answer your questions. I hope someone else did. While I don’t know our Ryzen platform, Plex is making great progress towards GPU transcoding for NVIDIA supported chipsets.. Would a used NAS be a good option?
My biggest problem with a pre built NAS solution is there isn’t really a way for me to change out hardware for example if I were to want to add a GPU for use later for transcoding if that does become a common practice or the motherboard and cpu
yes the downside is there is no support for plex hardware assistance, plex will utilize only the cpu, unless you have an nvidia gpu.
from the server side, linux or windows the file support is the same. Linux will let you run as a service in the background. Windows will require to be run as a logged in user.
yes with an nvidia gpu. not with the integrated gpu.
no.
TLDR >
ryzen alone = no hardware transcode
ryzen + nvidia gpu = yes hardware transcode
intel + integrated gpu = yes hardware transcode, no video card needed
so, best supported = intel kaby lake or newer cpu with integrated gpu (600 series or newer).
do note, there are newer intel cpus that do not have the igpu. Make sure you pick one with a gpu if you want hardware transcoding.
