Thanks
This clears it up
my PC doesnt have a GPU at all right now
I was thinking of upgading the CPU though to an i7-9700k
What do you think of that for Plex transcoding + my CCTV system?
If I got that CPU do you think a GPU would still be beneficial?
your pc must have some kind of gpu (video card), possibly integrated into the cpu (intel).
the i7-9900 should have a build in gpu as well, which plex can use (if you have a plex pass), even using cpu alone, might be enough.
Do keep in mind, that transcoding 4k/hevc takes an enormous amount of cpu power (that is why people use GPU transcoding).
If you are not transcoding 4k, then I would expect the 9900 to be plenty fast enough for both plex + cctv, but I don’t know anything about the cctv software, so its only a guess.
did you read the whole thread linked above @ Transcoding it has information on what kind of cpu power is required for 4k transcoding.
The only time I would be transcoding 4k is if I cannot get or find a 4k version that is mp4
I have found that if I have a mkv file it transcodes it but if its mp4 it doesnt
Yeh I read a lot of that wiki. It basically says try not to transode 4k
Sorry I have one more question
As you said. My CPU will have the integrated graphics. Without plex pass is my plex server not even using that? Or does it only use dedicted GPU with plex pass
if it uses integrated graphics I might try plex pass to test it out
this cpu does have integrated video gpu, but the gpu is too old to support plex transcoding.
you need at least at 7xxx series intel cpu, most of them come with an intel 6xx series internal gpu.
yes you would need plex pass to use any gpu.
if you upgraded to something with a supported gpu, you could use the plexpass trial to test the gpu transcoding to decide if its something you want/need.
also, its already been posted above, but @ https://support.plex.tv/articles/201774043-what-kind-of-cpu-do-i-need-for-my-server/ will show you how many CPU passmarks you need for 4k trancoding (its a lot) if you do not want plex pass.
Thanks alot you have been most helpful
Ill check it against the i7-9700k ( its within my budget) as I do want that for my CCTV system but it will also be handy if it can support transcoding if I ever want to watch content where it requires transcoding in future
Funny those AMD Ryzen 7s have a much higher passmark score then all the Intels and are cheaper. I actually have a gaming computer with that cpu haha ( with a dedicated Graphics card)
but no quicksync which Plex probably requires
Here’s the Plex documentation on hardware acceleration: Using Hardware Accelerated Streaming.
One FYI, you could use the integrated graphics in your i5 CPU for hardware acceleration, just not for HEVC/H.265 video. The iGPU supports MPEG2, VC1, & H.264 video. So, it would help with DVDs and 720p/1080p Blu rays, but not 4K HDR (HEVC) video. For that, as @TeknoJunky mentions, you need an Intel 7th gen or more recent CPU, as they can decode 10-bit HEVC video.
Also, given the i5-3xxx was the second generation of Intel CPUs with this capability, the performance & quality can’t compare to current generation CPUs. You’re much better off getting a newer CPU.
Reference:
Desktop 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processor Family, Desktop Intel® Pentium® Processor Family, and Desktop Intel® Celeron® Processor Family
2.4.1.3 Video Engine
The video engine is part of the Intel Processor Graphics for image processing, playback
and transcode of Video applications. The Processor Graphics video engine has a
dedicated fixed hardware pipe-line for high quality decode and encode of media
content. This engine supports Full hardware acceleration for decode of AVC/H.264,
VC-1 and MPEG -2 contents along with encode of MPEG-2 and AVC/H.264 apart from
various video processing features. The new Processor Graphics Video engine adds
support for processing features such as frame rate conversion, image stabilization, and
gamut conversion.
Plex supports graphics cards. Which one is in your system?
I have a AMD Ryzen 7 3700x
NVDIA 2060 Super GPU 8GB
I mean it could be better to use that instead instead of spending money but I kind of needed a CPU for the CCTV system regardless
But if say I required to transcode 4k I I could use the gaming PC ( with the Ryzen) to take the load off the CCTV PC i have
Two things:
Your Ryzen has a passmark of 22717 (vs 4918 for the i5). Given Plex’s What kind of CPU do I need? guidelines, it can transcode a 4K video w/o hardware acceleration.
If you had a Plex Pass, you could also take advantage of the 2060 GPU for transcoding. It will also handle 4K HEVC video.
So, you’ve some options available to you.
It won’t hurt anything to try running Plex on your gaming PC. You can have multiple servers under one Plex account. Just give it a unique name so it doesn’t conflict with your current server. Make sure your Nvidia drivers are up to date as well if/when you try a Plex Pass.
Thanks mate. I guess I can use the gaming PC if I require to watch a 4k video with transcoding. I just wanted a dedicated PC to run plex and have it on all the time.
The AMDs are unbelievable good value for money
They definitely are.
If you do go with an AMD for a new build and want to use hardware accelerated streaming, you need a GTX 1050 or better. Basically, you want a video card that can decode 12 bit HEVC video. See the Nvidia Encode/Decode matrix linked below. If you want a higher end card for gaming, CCTV, etc, go for it, but it is not necessarily needed for Plex.
Nvidia limits their GTX cards to two simultaneous transcodes. The third simultaneous transcode will be on the CPU. Just something to keep in mind when sizing your system.
Plex also supports AMD video cards on Windows (not on Linux). However, I have not seen any performance info for them.
Thanks
Ill check if my CCTV can support AMD processors if so it might be cheaper to upgrade to amd and get a cheaper gpu
Reading up and asking aroundf they say the software that I use my CCTV system on still benefits more from quicksync then AMD and GPU
also I was doing more testing with playing my movies and trying to get a good understanding on what requires transcoding and what doesnt
Pretty straight forward now
Just one question. When I play a movie that doesnt require transcoding it says Direct Play.
Eg from the server to my phone
When I play something from my phone and cast to a TV through chromecast. It says Direct Stream
Is Direct Stream that much demanding compared to transcode? I am assuming it would just rely on your wifi signal to from your phone to the chromecast
This is a good overview for you:
But simply, direct stream (and I believe it might have been mentioned earlier in the thread) means that the container that the tracks (audio, video, subtitle) are in is not compatible with the client but the tracks themselves are, so Plex just remuxes (extracts them from the current container and puts them into a new container) them to a container that is compatible. It is very easy on the CPU to do this.
-Shark2k
I will add my 2 cents worth. I have a windows 10 Pro OS on a DYI server. I have been using Plex for many years and have updated the motherboard/CPU a few times as the movies files have gotten bigger and better. The last one that I ran for a few years was an Intel i7-6800K. It had 12 threads at 3.6Ghz and ran good for a while. But like others, I have started collecting the 4K movies. And the one that just pushed my system over the edge was Ford vs Ferrari. The original file is 4K @ 80mb/s. I use a Roku Ultra and trandscode it to my TV, which is a 1080i plasma. Just have not seen a 4K that looks as good as my plasma (but that is a different story all together). My wife has to have the sub-titles on. So when I tried to play the movie, I could get about 3 minutes before it has to pause and buffer. With the sub-titles turned off, the CPU could keep up.
I have upgraded my system again and now run the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X. I have no problems with playing this same movie file, with sub-titles, and my home CCTV / NVR is also running on the same machine. When I monitor the CPU via the task manager, all cores are flat, below 10%.
Hope that this helps.
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