i7-7700K vs Ryzen 7 2700X

General Discussions
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Looking for recommendation on the 2 CPU’s for my plex server. Will need to be able to transcode at least 1 4K 30mbps H.265 video at a time. 2 would be best but can settle on one. I currently have the i7-7700k but I’m looking to move it out of a gaming rig into a small ITX platform for convenience so finding mini itx motherboards for that is difficult.

I also have a gtx 1080ti that I currently do not use as gaming is no longer a part of my life. Would it be best to use it paired with the 7700 or sell both and go with the 2700X?

Thanks for any input.

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you should be able to transcode with the intel gpu built in to your i7-7700.

Not sure what the total cap is on number of transcodes, but it should be able to handle a few.

What OS?

It should be supported on both windows or linux, but both have their own quirks.

alternatively, the 1080 should be able to transcode a few as well, irrespective of the cpu.

you have plex pass already, go into your server settings and ensure that hardware transcoding is enabled.

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if you have an old version of PMS (you did not specify), you may want to update.

the ryzen does not support any hardware transcoding, so unless you also use the 1080 or other supported gpu, that would not be recommended.

this may or may not have some helpful info (including cpu/gpu links etc) @ Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you

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what TeknoJunky says :slight_smile:
also…
https://www.cpu-monkey.com/de/compare_cpu-intel_core_i7_7700k-664-vs-amd_ryzen_7_2700x-876

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Thanks for the response. I’ve been using Windows 10 Pro 64-bit as my OS. I recently, last week, converted to running XPEnology because I hate windows for Raid but I didn’t think about hardware accleration when I did this. Now I think I just need to buy a Synology NAS and keep my windows box for my plex server.

I’ll do some testing with and without the GPU to see if one way is better than the other.

In reference to the “Plex, 4k, transcoding and you” link. I’ve read that before, it is comical. I do have an issue that with my main TV as I use the built in apps for Plex and not a separate player. It is limited to 100mpbs hardwired so I’m using wireless over my google wifi mesh. This could be a choke point too and may move one of my apple tv 4K’s back in there.

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not sure if you mean that is good or bad, if either way if you have any feedback or corrections or other related info you would like to provide, please feel free to reply to that thread.

as far as smart tv, the 2 top issues are HD audio (ie truehd+atmos) and subtitles, which can cause unnecessary transcoding, but you can work around by using a different audio stream (ie dolbydigital/dts 5.1 or stereo), and disabling any subtitles.

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I meant comical in a good way. 3 steps of “don’t do 4k”. Made me chuckle.

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I know I marked this as solved but I had one more questions. Do you think the 1080ti is worth keeping in my build? VS just using the i7-7700k for transcoding. Thanks!

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Since you already have the hardware, I think only you can decide that.

Try it without the 1080, see if the quality and number of transcodes is sufficient.

Then try it with the 1080 (you might have to disable the intel gpu via the bios), compare the quality and number of transcodes.

On linux, the 1080 would be limited by video ram, but on windows manages video ram differently I believe.

So, try both, come back and tell us what worked best for you.

If the intel works good enough, you can sell your 1080 or use it in a different machine for something else.

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Thanks for the reply, I guess I was looking for a way to force Plex to use the GPU instead of the CPU and you answered it by stating to disable the intel GPU in the BIOS, if that is an option. I’ll look/test tonight.

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if you mean force plex to use the nvidia gpu, yes disable the intel GPU.

but to be clear, the intel cpu has a GPU, and if not equal, is similiar to the nvidia, so again try them both.

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So I did a little testing last night. I don’t have a lot of time in my life for computers these days with kids so I only tested the processor and Windows. With the results I had I didn’t see the need to test the graphics card due to its limitation of only 2 transcodes at once.

OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Build:
-Gigagbyte Z270X Gaming 7 Motherboard
-16gb (2 x 8gb) Corsair DDR4 3000MHz
-Core i7-7700K water cooled but stock speeds
-750W Silverstone PSU
-250gb EVO 850 SSD.

Source file: Aquaman 4K HDR 10-bit 36mbps H.265 / Audio - TrueHD 7.1

Verified on both videos transcodes that it was using hardware acceleration with the “(hw)” next to “Transcoding”.

I had 3 streams going at once.
-First on my laptop transcoding video and audio, forced down to 720p 2mpbs/AAC 2.0
-Second on a Galaxy Note 10+ transcoding vidio and audio down to 1080p (max bandwidth) / AAC 2.0.
-Third Samsung Q70 75" TV (using Plex app on the TV, not a streaming box) direct stream video / transcode audio down to AAC 5.1.

I had zero issues or buffering on any of the devices. At least as far as I could catch. Hard to watch all three devices at once. I’m happy with just the 7700K and will sell the graphics card. The source file was on the SSD for testing but I doubt a hard drive will make a difference. Wifi connection strength is important, I started testing on my laptop in a location that my mesh is weak (yep, need to add a puck) and was forced to the 2.4 band. It would constantly buffer. Once in a good zone back on 5GHz it world fine.

I want to try on Ubuntu one day but my Linux knowledge is lacking and will need some time at home to install/test. I think I have a spare 60gb SSD somewhere to use. I’ll update this post once I have the time to test.

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