I’m runing Plex server on the HTPC which is based on:
I’d like to use h265 4K files in Plex.
Should I add a dedicated GPU like Nvidia 1030 or 1650 or switch the setup to something like Ryzen 5 3400G with ASRock Fatal1ty B450 mini-ITX mobo and 16 GB of DDR4? Or something fourth?
How many concurrent H265 4K streams do you intend on serving?
The GTX 1030 is out, it only has a decoder chip.
If you have enough space (in your case) and power for a dedicated GPU, this will probably be the least costly approach to update your system for 4k HEVC files. Especially since you can get a used GPU at a lower budget.
@pl_5309 I usualy use only one, but in the future it might go up to three.
@Coxeroni thanks. Which GPU would you suggest? If I’ll go that path I’ll get a new one (in my country used-market is low and too much trouble to find a reliable seller).
I’d prefer to keep my HTPC silent and cool.
Go with this overview:
https://www.elpamsoft.com/?p=Plex-Hardware-Transcoding
In the second last column you see H265 support (you might need to check whether both NVDEC and NVENC is supported). The consumer GPUs (GeForce) all have “session limit” of 2 concurrent transcodes. This can be overwritten by “hacking” the driver (linked further down on that page), while the Quadro GPUs do not have this limitation. (I don’t know why the Quadro P<1000 are displayed also with a session limit of 2).
So e.g. a GeForce 1050 Ti 4GB could do 14 transcodes hardware wise, but is locked to two transcodes by default.
So I would see how much space there is in your case (those GPUs can be long) and if there are some which come in a silent variant. Apart from that your budget decides. A GTX 1050 (non Ti) costs 130 € in my country and is available in ITX compatible sizes.
Which OS are you running your server on?
@Coxeroni The server is based on the Windows 10 Pro (64-bit).
Based on the manufacturer website the case should fit a 320mm GPU. There are two slots, so I’m not forced to go with a single-slot design.
In that case I’m thinking of getting the MSI GTX 1050 Ti GAMING X 4G for 174€ (ordered from Germany + shipping). I was considering the Palit 1050 Ti KalmX but based on the review I think that my specific scenario (small case and tight space with poor airflow) could be an issue for the card.
Should I go for the MSI or some other option?
You could put it in silent mode, but then there is no reason to buy a gaming variant. Get a standard one with 4 GB memory. The OC and gaming variants are virtually the same as the standard ones,but with higher core speed. You don’t need that imho.
Does the case have a fan or the chance of installing one? Then you should be fine with heat dissipation I think
Well, the case does have two 120mm fans (one front and one top) plus the PSU fan and bottom mesh, but I’d hardly call that a hood airflow. Front fan is mostly for HDD’s anyway (that’s by the case design), since it’s cramped between solid front panel and HDD cage (there are only two side entrances for the air). Top fan is positioned above the CPU, so that is ok. But GPU has no fans around it. Only bottom mesh. The space is rather cluttered with MBO, PSU, CPU fan, and 6 HDD’s.
I thought that if I go with the MSI the card would (by default) have the fans off until it reaches 60C and then the fans would kick-in. So that would be if and when needed.
I’ve been looking at regular 1050 cards (non Ti), but they come with 2 GB of RAM and do not support 0dB (their fans are always on). This is also the case for the “non-gaming” Ti versions. So, for saving 20-30€ I lose two features. I think I’ll go with the 1050 Ti. Thank you for the help.
a gtx 1660 would be the most future proof, it has the newer ‘turing’ decoder/encoder chips.
see also @ Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you this may or may not have useful information for you.
@TeknoJunky Ok, that’s an option too. The card costs a bit less than 270€ which brings me much closer to replacing the whole system with Ryzen 5 3400G (that would cost 400 €). I’m not sure if I should try and cramp the two-slot GPU in the tiny case and how will that affect the noise. Also, my PSU would be pushed to the limit with 1660 (although I think it wouldn’t be used to the max since I don’t plan to game on the PC nor using anything else that would fully utilize the card).
sure, understandable, just wanted to make you aware so you didn’t find out later and have buyers remorse.
if you want cheapest, look for a used gtx 1050/1060.
plex doesn’t use any of the gaming functions of the gpu.
for linux, the most important thing is video ram (this will be a hard limit on the number of 4k transcodes). Windows uses video ram differently though, and I have not heard any direct comparisons between linux/windows using the same card for plex transcoding.
One thing that wasn’t mentioned is that you would need to pick up a Plex Pass to gain access to HW trans-coding.
If you do go the full replacement route, the value proposition is a new Intel 8xxx,9xxx, 10xx CPU with QSYNC. Windows/Linux OS support at low noise/power provided you don’t get a i7/i9.
Ok, I’ve spent half an hour rearranging cables in the Lian Li. Damn, the case is tight space, but at the end I managed to free space for two slots and approximately 260mm in length.
So, “the million dollar” question is - should I add a dedicated GPU to the HTPC or switch the platform to Ryzen APU? If I’ll go with the GPU I’ll go with the MSI 1660 ARMOR 6G since it supports Zero Frozr technology which stops fans completely until the GPU goes over 60C. Other solution is Ryzen 5 3400G. Now I have to search the house for spare PSU cables which I unplugged to have more free space in the case. Hope I’ll find them. Damn…
@TeknoJunky please help decide 
@pl_5309 So you say going Intel is better than Ryzen for this case? Which CPU with iGPU would you recommend?
if you go with ryzen, as far as I am aware you will HAVE to get a GPU.
so either get an nvidia gpu for your existing system (or ryzen system)
or do what tiebierius said above, and get an intel 8/9/10 cpu with quicksync (no external gpu required).
also don’t forget you need PLEX PASS for gpu transcoding.
if you do not want to pay for plex pass, then your only option is to get the beefiest cpu that will meet your expected type and number of transcodes.
see @
if I were to build a new basic system for plex, I’d get an i3-8xxx with igpu 6xx, 16gig of ram, and 500g ssd/nvram drive.
or you can go big.
Lol you don’t get tired of posting that 1 PB build
Ok, so I have a choice of going for 1660 + Plex Pass which would add up to 390€ or go with Intel (i3 9100, ASRock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming-ITX - need it for 6x SATA and optical out, 16GB DDR4) which would be ~400€.
So the price is the same. What’s better of the two?
@TeknoJunky LOL at going big That one is way too big for me 
You also need the Plex pass fur iGPU Transcoding
well, when people ask what kind of plex server do I need without providing any details on how they are going to use and what kind of user load they expect…
I use Plex Server in a werry simple way. I have Plex Server and HTPC client on the same machine connected with HDMI cable to a 4K TV. I have several TB of content and don’t plan on going over 24 TB. If possible I’d like to keep my setup within the HTPC range because I really don’t want and don’t need another full PC in the house. For now this is the only client which is using the server. In the future that number might increase to three. That’s the limit. For the content, most is FHD, while I’m starting (planning to) move to 4K for sources I see they’ll benefit from the 4K and I really like. Also, most of the content is h264, while a few FHD sources appeared as h265 and here is where the trouble started for me.
I don’t need a fish, nor big nor small one.
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