I wanna have more powerful Plex server, and these are the options that i’m considering (On a budget). I want my server to be able to Transcode at least one 4K HEVC 10Bit stream (Bitrate at least 30Mbit/s), the more the better. Can someone please tell me which device will handle this task (and how much at the same time)? I will be using HW Transcoding of course.
If you’re using a NUC to do the heavy lifting, you don’t need a big NAS. Anything which can serve up the files NFS/SMB will do the job.
An i3 is a huge class step above a Celeron (J3455) and will offer better software transcoding for the audio components.
The 7xxx family is KabyLake. The J3xxx family is ApolloLake and in-between SkyLake and KabyLake as I understand it. Look at the HD xxx Graphics numbers. 5xx is SkyLake and ApolloLake. 6xx is KabyLake.
The GPU is 620 (So it is Kaby Lake), but I am trying to save as much money as I can. So ideally I would like to know how much streams could handle the NAS alone (918+), or the NUC. If the NUC can do 2 streams of 4K 10bit HEVC i am going with that, but if the nas can handle at least one that would save me a lot of money. Hope you understood this 
I can’t tell you how many streams of your media it can handle. I don’t know how judiciously you ripped your media.
I can speak to myself. I rip all the bits and then only remove those streams I don’t need/want (language tracks and subtitles). Everything else it kept. All of my big stuff is 30 Mbps or better for 1080P. Most 4K runs into the 50-60 Mbps average bitrate range (peaks over 100 Mbps)
The Skylake (i7-6700) can stream 6 HW transcodes (4K -> 2K) of SDR (it is incapable of HDR / UHD) and convert the audio. It does this without blinking because the i7 can convert that much audio in software. That’s the trick. Look at the passmarks at this point. The i7-6700 @ 3.4 Ghz pushes 10038 Passmarks. That’s a lot of audio
You need to look up the specific Passmarks for the variant of NUC you’re looking at. Pay attention to the series -7xxx number. That will tell you everything.
so in theory i can get away with the i3 model, because I am the only one who uses the Plex server, occassionally 2 streams occur when someone is watching on TV. (Both streams would be transcoded because my media is so High quality that my Chromecase 2 and my Macbook Pro 2014 cannot handle to play them natively :D)
Did you do the passmark math? It’s not rocket science
I did not, because I don’t know how to
- HW transcoding: The -7xxx can do more than the -6xxx so that’s a given
- (i3_passmarks / i7_passmarks) * 6 i7_streams = number of audio streams you can do with audio transcode based on same bitrate video
This will help you find the passmark scores you need
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/
I do not quite understand how to calculate it still, what do you mean by the i3_passmarks etc.?
Algebra:
i3_passmarks = The passmark score of the Intel i3 being compared
i7_passmarks = The passmark score of the Intel i7 being compared
So I can get 2,2 simultaneous Audio streams.
But what about the GPU? Can it handle 2 4K streams? How can I calculate that?
Sorry if I am missing something but I am just a beginner.
I’ve already stated what the GPU is capable of.
The Skylake (i7-6700) can stream 6 HW transcodes (4K → 2K) of SDR (it is incapable of HDR / UHD)
The -7xxx is capable of the same with HDR HEVC
Please take your time and work through the answers already given.
This really is just an algebra problem once you know (which I said above) how the two processors relate.
I have just figured it all out, one guy send me a message and told me hi experience, that he can do 4K 10bit on the DS918+, so I will save some money. Thank you for explaining everything to me.
The reason I wanted you to trace the steps yourself is (I hope) logical?
- If I give you a fish (the answer) today, you’ll be hungry again tomorrow
- If I teach you how to fish (to solve it), you’ll never be hungry again.
I get you, and I’m very thankful for this. I like to learn how to do things, so when I get older (Im almost 15) I will be able to do more. Have a great day.
You too! Have Fun! Wait until you get hooked on building the machine yourself. Your or your parent’s wallet will hate me lol
I would like to build the machine myself, but now the less money I spend the better, and I don’t have anywhere to put a big tower so a small nas or a nuc is the best option right now, in the future I would like to build balling server myself
