Plex Transcoding Build

Right now I’m running a TrueNAS SCALE server that handles the data and Plex, but it’s having some stability issues that appear to be hardware related so I’m planning out a replacement.

I plan on getting a TrueNAS Mini R to handle all bulk storage with TrueNAS Core and running a separate system for handling Plex. I understand that a Raspberry Pi can run Plex, but I’m wanting something has has enough power to transcode a couple simultaneous 4K HDR Blu-Ray rips.

Here’s what I was thinking of using:

  • Case- Sliger CX3150a
  • Motherboard- ASRock Rack X470D4U2-2T
  • CPU- Ryzen 5 5600
  • RAM- 64GB ECC 2x32GB DDR4-3200
  • Cooler- Noctua NH-L12S
  • PSU- SeaSonic Focus SPX-750
  • SSD- SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus 1TB
  • GPU- Nvidia Quadro P4000 (Used)
  • AiC- USB 3 w/ Type E header (Would love a good recommendation)

Some of my thoughts and notes:

  • I want to rackmount the system.
  • This system isn’t at my house so I would like IPMI.
  • ECC RAM is nice, but not strictly a requirement.
  • Since this is running 24/7 I’m wanting it to be relatively efficient. Both PSU and CPU-wise.
  • My local Plex data is currently under 300G, transcoding will be on /tmp so 1TB should be enough.
  • I’m currently using a P400 for transcoding, I’m looking at upgrading to the P4000.
  • I’m tempted to go to an Intel CPU for the iGPU and QuickSync, but I was struggling to find a a CPU/Mobo combo that had an iGPU, IPMI, and ECC support. This could just be my lack of knowledge with Intel’s offerings.

Any advice or improvements are appreciated.

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An intel CPU with Quicksync is usually recommended.

The issue comes with having to go back in time a bit to get a motherboard that enables ECC memory.

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I’ve heard this and just figured this was recommended because it was the simple route.

I’ve done some more research and I’m now reconsidering. I’ve seen several people report the Intel N100 chip can transcode over a dozen 1080p streams while pulling around 22W or less. This has me looking at some basic mini PC like the Beelink Mini S12 Pro.

Intel Ark reports the CPU supports only a single channel of up to 16GB of RAM. I would like more because I want to transcode to RAM via /tmp. I think I could make do though.
I would also like greater than 1Gb Ethernet due to the media being on the network.

This would mean giving up rack mounting, IMPI, and ECC memory but the power consumption and prices are very appealing.

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If you can find RTX 4000 that’d tick off the box for USB-C too on the same card :troll:

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Yep, Intel Quicksync is the #1 choice for Plex transcoding because you get lots of streams with very little power. The 13th gen CPUs with “Xe” graphics have basic AV1 support transcoding as well for Quicksync.

RTX4000 is too old now. If you have one already then great (I actually do as well. lol), but no one should buy a new one today. While it will provide a few more streams than an Intel CPU, it loses out on newer quality improvements and transcoding formats. If anything, an Intel Arc Alchemist GPU should be used, since they also support QS and have support of all codecs currently capable on any device including full AV1 support.

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According to Wikipedia Alchemist drops decoding support for VC-1 which I know several of my Blu-ray rips are encoded as. So I know whatever I do will need another way to decode these.

A Plex employee has said on Reddit that they have plans for transcoding to HEVC or AV1. At the moment I’m just using DVD, Blu-ray, UHD Blu-ray rips of content I own so only need decoding support for the codecs that those are encoded with: MPEG2, H264, VC-1, and H265.

The only reason I wanted the USB-C (type E header) add-in-card was because the case had a USB-C port and I didn’t want a dead port on the front :stuck_out_tongue:

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Ah ok. Thats unfortunate. Guess it is too old of a codec now but that does suck for ripping old Blurays

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In addition to what everyone else has been saying about GPU/QuickSync, NVidia Tesla P4 is another one to consider: Encode/Decode capabilities and VRAM are the same as P4000 at roughly half the cost.

You’ll need to consider active cooling, which should be pretty straight forward if you have access to a 3d printer.

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Good to know, I’m definitely leaning more towards a NUC-style PC at the moment though which excludes any sort of discrete GPU solution.

If I can get similar performance with a $200 NUC that runs at 20W at full tilt I’m going to go that route.

Just wondering but do you need transcoding to mobile phone/tablet?

I need transcoding to everything because upload speed is about 15mbps where the server is located.

Oh, OK then well ignore my interjection.

I wonder if a NVidia Shield Pro could transcode?

Power efficient and can transcode a silly amount of streams simultaneously.

It’s not just the simple route, but the one that makes sense. Intel Quick Sync is something even NVIDIA can’t compete with right now.

You can pre-transcode things, there are a few options for that now.

It can, but last I checked it has to do HDR tonemapping on the CPU and only supports a few transcode sessions. Source

I know Plex supports this and there are also solutions like tdarr. This could be a solution, but with these $200 NUCs being able to transcode dozens of 1080p and several 4K streams at the same time I don’t think it’s worth the storage space used.


I’m seriously looking at the Beelink MINI S12 Pro.
Someone on Reddit shows that this doesn’t even break a sweat when transcoding 7 1080p streams.


It appears wanting lots of ECC RAM was overkill.

If anyone has other recommendations for similar NUC-like PCs in the $200-300 price range let me know. :slight_smile:

Yeh Intel Quicksync is wizardly good and barely uses any ram.

You are certain you want to keep 4k of everything?

I may rip the 1080p discs that come with the UHD versions. I haven’t been a huge fan of how Plex’s tone mapping looks, but I’m holding out for when multi-gig fiber is available at this address (which should be in the next 24 months).

That’s a shame isn’t it. I’ve got one and it seems slightly overpowered (at least for my needs).

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