Plex Encoding/Playback issues with Intel ARC

Background
Server Hardware:
Intel i5 6500
16GB Ram
500GB Storage + NFS Share
Intel ARC A580 GPU

Playback Hardware:
Apple M1 12.9in iPad
Xbox One X connected to 1080p plasma TV.

Software:
Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS with the Hardware Extended Kernal
Kernal version 6.35.XX
Plex Server 1.40.3.85555 (The only app running on the server)
The Plex Server is configured to use the Arc GPU for encoding in the settings.

Issue
When attempting to watch 4K movies on an Xbox One X I encounter issues with playback.

When watching those same 4K movies on the iPad no playback issues occur.

Looking at the Plex server info the iPad can do Direct Stream/Play whereas the Xbox has to do encoding. So, I know the issue is with encoding and not a bandwidth issue.

Looking at the Plex server stats when trying to watch a 4K movie on the Xbox it shows the CPU being pegged at very high usage. This tells me the CPU rather than the GPU is trying to do the encoding.

The i5 6500 is not able to do the encoding of the 4K movie as they are saved as using the HEVC codec which the i5 6500 does not support. This is why I purchased the ARC card in the first place.

I am not great at Linux especially a headless operating system; this is limiting my troubleshooting ability. (mostly a windows guy, don’t crucify me)

When I tested to confirm if the GPU was being used at all it seems like ARC has no way to monitor usage on Linux so I can’t confirm if the GPU is being used for Encoding/Decoding. If you know of a way I am all ears.

With my server being on the 6.35 kernel it should have ARC drivers built in, so I don’t think I need any software

Solutions?
When I originally bought the ARC card I was running Jellyfin, but Jellyfin does not support local OTA streaming as well as Plex does. My parents use Plex for their TV so I can’t switch back.

Plex recommends either an NVidia or Intel iGPU for encoding. The i5 6500 is too old to support REBAR and other newer codecs. Am I better off building a new system with say an i3 14100 and ditching the A580? Would a newer CPU allow for better use of GPU? I read somewhere about them being able share certain loads?

Should I try switching to Windows which I am better at for more indepth troubleshooting?

Likely Plex is detecting you have an iGPU with QuickSync and so it is pulling compatibility from that instead of looking at a GPU having QuickSync.
You are more likely to find an answer on how to set a config to look at GPU only over on the Plex forums.

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You raise an interesting point, I wonder if I disable the iGPU in BIOS if that would force it use the GPU.