[SOLVED] Plex 4k Media Server - Repurpose or Build from scratch

[robbrechter]

I built a gaming rig that I use as a Plex media server but it's struggling with transcoding so I am considering upgrading. Here's what I currently have:

Antec 300 Case
Asrock Z77 Extreme4
Intel Core i5 3570k
FX Pro750W PSU
250GB SSD
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO cooler
16GB DDR3 RAM (4 4GB sticks)
(2) EVGA GTX 670 FTW
(4) 10TB Western Digital Red 5400RPM HDD

The server runs Windows 10 headless, serves Plex and occasionally streams Steam via SteamLink/NVIDIA Shield TV.

Part of me thinks I can just replace the GPUs with a Quadro 2000/4000 and hardware transcode on the fly without issue -- especially useful since I have multiple devices that may need serving at once. Otherwise, I'd be completely rebuilding from the ground up. I'm not really playing next-gen games on PC so it just feels like overkill. But I may be wrong?

Is there anything I'm missing as to why I shouldn't just swap GPU out? I'm not opposed to a new build but don't want to waste money either. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

it depends.
With CPU encoding, you can get lower bitrates with better quality video but it's a bit slower than GPU encoding.
GPU encoding is faster, but suffers from lower quality at the same bitrates as CPU and for higher quality requires much larger bitrates which can have an impact on streaming performance due to the larger sized files.

My opinion is that a better CPU would work better for you than a better GPU.

You can build new and use the new PC to do HTPC stuff while using this current system for the shield/steam stuff.

Assuming you're in America, here's a new PC that will do exactly what you want.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg Business)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3 GB SC GAMING Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $596.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-01 21:34 EST-0500

All you need to do is pick out whatever storage configuration you feel is best.

This system will basically replace your current system with far better performance in gaming and with either CPU or GPU encoding so it's kind of a win/win.
Then you can go on to sell your current system to get a little bit of the money back that you spent on this system.

Be sure to overclock the CPU to make sure you're getting the most out of it.

 

[robbrechter]

it depends.
With CPU encoding, you can get lower bitrates with better quality video but it's a bit slower than GPU encoding.
GPU encoding is faster, but suffers from lower quality at the same bitrates as CPU and for higher quality requires much larger bitrates which can have an impact on streaming performance due to the larger sized files.

My opinion is that a better CPU would work better for you than a better GPU.

You can build new and use the new PC to do HTPC stuff while using this current system for the shield/steam stuff.

Assuming you're in America, here's a new PC that will do exactly what you want.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg Business)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3 GB SC GAMING Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $596.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-01 21:34 EST-0500

All you need to do is pick out whatever storage configuration you feel is best.

This system will basically replace your current system with far better performance in gaming and with either CPU or GPU encoding so it's kind of a win/win.
Then you can go on to sell your current system to get a little bit of the money back that you spent on this system.

Be sure to overclock the CPU to make sure you're getting the most out of it.

Thanks! That's actually not too bad price wise. I initially wasn't considering AMD because I read HW transcodes were Intel only but apparently not the case. Tempted to take your advice and build what you linked (and just move the HDDs over) and then sell off the original to recoup some costs.

I know it would drive up the budget, but because the 1060 has a 2 concurrent transcode limit, should I consider upgrading GPU to the Quadro or similar?
Also, that motherboard you linked only has 4 SATA. Should I get NVME SSD for boot disk and cache or is it better to move up to one with 6 SATA?
Lastly, any benefit to getting a motherboard with two gigabit LAN ports?

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

hardware transcoding is when you use a dedicated device that has hardware baked into it for that.
That is essentially what happens with the GPU, it has a chip on it that is used for encoding/transcoding when you do those things with it.

When using CPU to do this, you are doing it software style, which requires a decent amount of CPU power the higher quality you go in the videos and the higher resolution you go as well.

With the AMD chip, you are getting better IPC and 6c/12t.
But you can do hardware encoding with NVENC on the 1060 as well. And thankfully NVENC is actually not garbage on the 10 series like it is on older generation cards. So you can do NVENC if you want, it's just not going to be capable of the same level of quality at lower bitrates like with x264 software encoding on a CPU.