# Transcoding a single file put CPU at 100% **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-linux\ **Created:** [March 15, 2025, 9:28am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939 "2025-03-15T09:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gormson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/gormson/32/9861_2.png) [@Gormson](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gormson)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 9:28am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/1 "2025-03-15T09:28:10Z")
Server Version#: Version 1.41.5.9522 Player Version#: various IOS versions all up to date My hardware : - CPU : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1231 v3 @ 3.40GHz - 32Go of RAM - 2x2To HDD I also installed ffmpeg. Hello all, I recently made a fresh install of my linux server (Debian 12) hosting my plex media server. On the previous install, everything worked fine. I was able to have 4 simultaneous transcode sessions without any issue or lag. Now, after having reinstalled all the system including PMS, when only trying to play a single file using transcode, my CPU usage is stuck at 100% and the bandwith usage is put at its maximum. And in addition, the video is lagging with a stop every 2sec. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/9/3/c/93c03bdac2add60769465a25249ac02dcc03062a.jpeg) and the info is the following, it is a simple h264 file in 1080p that worked perfectly fine before. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/e/5/7/e5762b83463c99694632e23c0c14d50dcebb16dc.png) The hardware of my server stayed the same excepted the replacement of a HDD (similar) My transcoder settings are the following : - quality : high speed prefered - buffer size : 30s - H264 presets : super fast - HDR tone : activated - hardware acceleration : true - encoding via hardware : true In the distant access section I did not set any limitation for the bandwith, and for the limitation of the distant flux I tried both original and a limitation at 8Mbit/s (1080p). I also tried a htop before and during a play event (before, CPU usage is aroung 3%) As you can see below, it is taking all ressources… ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/5/2/a/52a70c87c863ae2be4f2e50294080824a24ccf94.png) I’m honestly lost, so if any one have some clue to solve this issue I would be pleased to read it. ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/2 "2025-03-15T17:48:08Z")
> [@Gormson](#): > > Xeon(R) CPU E3-1231 v3 Your CPU does not have HW acceleration support > **[Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1231 v3 (8M Cache, 3.40 GHz) - Product...](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/80910/intel-xeon-processor-e31231-v3-8m-cache-3-40-ghz/specifications.html)** > > Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1231 v3 (8M Cache, 3.40 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies. Do you have an external Nvidia GPU which isn’t being seen / selected ? (Settings - server - Transcoding - SHOW ADVANCED) ---
**Author:** ![Gormson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/gormson/32/9861_2.png) [@Gormson](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gormson)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/3 "2025-03-16T17:55:06Z")
Hello, thanks for the reply, looking back at the option I put the following ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/2/a/1/2a1678edd43d6896dc33b898fd15c37b2e4a3510.png) Knowking that I let the option on Auto. The very strange thing, is that I had a serious improvment after renaming the server. After the install, I renamed it the same way as the old one. After simply putting a 2 in the name to change it, consumtion dropped down… However things are better, there is still a high load on the CPU with a simple h264 1080p transcode… ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 6:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/4 "2025-03-16T18:18:18Z")
Gemini Lake CPUs are fickle I’ve had to manually select the UHD 600 GPU for it to work right ---
**Author:** ![Gormson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/gormson/32/9861_2.png) [@Gormson](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gormson)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/5 "2025-03-16T19:41:03Z")
My bad I picked the second server I have (on Synology NAS). For the Debian server on Intel XEON ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/3/9/6/396773ffff49e6ff2e17e82951769ef3b1501caa.png) so does it mean that I have to uncheck the hardware acceleration option? ---
**Author:** ![Gormson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/gormson/32/9861_2.png) [@Gormson](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gormson)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:22am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/6 "2025-04-03T07:22:54Z")
Hello I’m still struggling with the processor consumption of my server since my fresh install. A single transcode from a 1024p h264 source eat 80% of the processor… we are really far away from the previous behavior… showing approx 15 to 20% max If you have any clue on a possible issue… Thanks beforehand ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/7 "2025-04-04T00:33:29Z")
Which Xeon Syno do you have ? I ask because there are some Syno systems now which support external Nvidia GPU. One thing we’re hoping for is better CPU support with FFMPEG 6.1 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-a-single-file-put-cpu-at-100/908939/8 "2025-07-03T00:34:04Z")
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