# Hardware accelerated

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated/698181>\
**Category:** Plex Media Server\
**Tags:** server-windows\
**Created:** [March 8, 2021, 4:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated/698181 "2021-03-08T04:56:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![111174](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/a5b964/32.png) [@111174](https://forums.plex.tv/u/111174)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 4:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated/698181/1 "2021-03-08T04:56:53Z")

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Server Version#: 1.21.4.4079  
Player Version#:

cpu: i5-4570t  
Can it be hardware accelerated?  
I installed plex servers, but when watching 4K video, I found that hardware accelerated transcoding was not used;  
Is it not supported or what needs to be set?

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**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 7:19am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated/698181/2 "2021-03-08T07:19:49Z")

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From what I can find this particular CPU generation can only deal with h264. You won’t be able to get any HEVC/h265 hw accelerated transcoding from it.

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**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated/698181/3 "2021-03-08T19:10:42Z")

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Short Answer: You need an Intel 7th gen processor (-7xxx) or later or a Nvidia GTX-1050 or later GPU (AMD _should_ work as well, but I cannot find a reference for their capabilities).

Long Answer:

4K HDR movies are HEVC 10-bit video.

A transcode consists of two parts: decoding from the current format and encoding to the target format.

To use hardware transcoding in Plex for 4K HDR movies, you need a GPU that can decode HEVC 10-bit video. The video will be encoded to H.264 8-bit video. Any GPU that can decode HEVC 10-bit can also encode to H.264 8-bit.

With Intel, you need a 7th gen (-7xxx) or later processor with integrated Intel Quick Sync graphics (not all Intel CPUs have a GPU).

If upgrading your CPU is not an option, you could add a Nvidia 1050 or better GPU to your system if it has available expansion slots.

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References:

Plex: [Using Hardware-Accelerated Streaming](https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-using-hardware-accelerated-streaming/). Note the comment, “Support for AMD GPUs is provided “as is” and your mileage may vary.”

Wikipedia: [Intel Quick Sync Video - Hardware Decoding & Encoding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Quick_Sync_Video#Hardware_decoding_and_encoding)

Nvidia: [Video Encode and Decode GPU Support Matrix](https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-and-decode-gpu-support-matrix-new)

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated/698181/4 "2021-06-06T19:11:26Z")

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