Hey everyone, I’m building a new server to run Jellyfin (with a few other services like Pi-hole) and I’m stuck on GPU or CPU transcoding.

My main concern is smooth 4K HDR transcoding for 1 stream. I’ve been reading mixed advice online – some people say a strong CPU with good single-core performance can handle it, while others recommend a dedicated GPU.

Should I focus my budget (~$1000AUD/$658USD) on a good CPU, or spend some of it on a dedicated GPU?

  • AtariDumpEnglish
    20·
    5 months ago

    You can, but I’d venture a guess most people don’t.

    • entropicdriftEnglish
      11·
      5 months ago

      The transcodes folder exists by default and the cleanup defaults to daily, I think. You’d only need to mess with the configuration for transcode caching if you want them to stick around for longer

      • AtariDumpEnglish
        10·
        5 months ago

        Agreed; how many people actually do that?

        • entropicdriftEnglish
          20·
          5 months ago

          Dunno. My point was just that it’s an easy change, so presumably if you care you could figure it out pretty simply