Server Version#: Ubuntu 20.04
Player Version#: 1.20.3.3483
Hi all,
Love me some Plex, have been using for 4 years now. It was running on the same linux server as my NAS, which was a sad, old box with screaming HDDs and lots of dust.
Thanks to the RTX 3080 drop, I procured a used 1080 ti for my gaming rig nice and cheap, leaving me a decent NVIDIA 650 ti. Add in $300 in new parts and I have me a sweet new Plex server in the basement! i3 proc, 16GB ram, M.2 local HDD…very simple, hooks to the NAS for content.
I installed the Nvidia drivers on the server. Everything seemed to go fine.
It’s all set up and running on my Plex Pass/Plex.tv account. Can stream from Rokus, all that stuff is great. I selected “use hardware acceleration” on the Transcoder setup menu. Everything seems good. When watching live TV (antenna and a DUO), CPU is running low, picture seems good. BUT…how do I know, or how do I specify, that it should transcode via the 650TI and not the CPU? How can I explicitly know or force that behavior? In all the great how-to’s out there, I haven’t found this info.
it appears that card is not listed, so it is too old for gpu transcoding for support.
generally, at a minimum you want a 1050 or higher (for 4k support).
there is not so much forcing HW, but as long as the hardware is supported, drivers are installed, and the OS is configed correctly, it will normally ‘just work’.
you can see whether or not HW transcoding is working on the plex dashboard @ Plex Web > settings > dashboard.
the top now playing section will show any active streams and if they are transcoding they will have (HW) next to the decode/encode functions.
you can also check the server logs, “TPU:” and “MDE:” lines will tell you about transcoding. plex web > settings > troubleshooting > download logs.
