Intel A310 used to be the go to “cheap small transcoding” add in card. you could run it in a PCIE slot with minimal bandwidth- it didn’t care. I bought mine for $90! so it gives cheap access to lots of 4k, quicksync and AV1 encode/decode. But it seems they are ending their manufacturing and prices have more than doubled- to over $200 IF you can even find one.
I know Intel isn’t launching a B310, but I wish they would have (instead the Arc Pro B50 fills the role- at a much higher price point). I have an A310 in my Jellyfin server and it’s tragic that the next generation of homelabbers won’t be able to grab their own.
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Huh, I thought the mobo-powered gtx1050 was the standard for basic, board powered simple add in cards for htpc etc?
Though checking newegg, they are also priced around 200 bucks…
I went hunting for a A310… nothing local and everything online was asking far too much.
Ended up getting an A380 to toss in the server and it’s been fine, but would have loved for a smaller single slot card.
The 1050 doesn’t have AV1, which is becoming fairly prominent. It definitely does the job but the a310 was basically MADE for Plex/Jellyfin. Low low power and a nasty media engine.
I got one half a year ago specifically for Jellyfin Desktop client decoding (not server encoding), I already had to bite my lip for the € 140 retail price in Europe including shipping and taxes. There are still a few around for that price but the only single slot half width Sparkle ECO is over € 200 here too.
It solved all media playback issues, except for one: when using the interface during playback, there are noticeable frame drops. After switching Linux distro and Jellyfin client, the issue still persists though.
i had it in storage and bought it a year ago. i put it in my home server 3 months ago. decodes video very well, naming youtube videos that can not be handeled by my ryzen pro cpu. it is well dam worth it. if u can find it for a good price…
What about the rtx 3050? I’ve been impressed with my lil’ guy.
The 3050 doesn’t have AV1 encoding
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Oh, right - Gotchya. Decode only.