AMD chip 100% while transcoding


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Hi

I'm a relative newbie with unraid and servers/computer but i've had an unraid server running for 6-12 months.

 

My issue is i've noticed that while transcoding tv/movies through plex my cpu is running at 100%  and has on a couple of occasions recently caused the server to shut down.

 

i'm using an AMD A10-9700  radeon r7 cpu on a gigabyte motherboard. Is it a simple case of i'm running a budget cpu and if i want to get away from this problem i need to upgrade or continue to live with the issue or im doing something dimwitted(wouldn't surprise me) and i can sort it out another way

 

 

Thanks in advance for any help

Tony

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17 minutes ago, Tbmw said:

My issue is i've noticed that while transcoding tv/movies through plex my cpu is running at 100%  and has on a couple of occasions recently caused the server to shut down.

Running at 100% is normal and you want it to be able to do that. Causing your server to shut down is NOT normal, and you need to figure out why. Can you monitor your CPU temps and see if they are out of control? It could be as simple as blowing the dust out of the heatsink, or maybe you need a larger heatsink fan combo.

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18 minutes ago, Tbmw said:

Is it a simple case of i'm running a budget cpu and if i want to get away from this problem i need to upgrade or continue to live with the issue

^^^^This

 

First of all, you want to avoid transcoding locally if possible and direct play your content.  This means the content must be in a format the clients can handle without asking the Plex server to transcode.  Playing remotely or to mobile devices often causes transcoding because of bandwidth and other constraints.

 

When the Plex server must transcode, the recommendation is for 2000 passmarks per 1080p stream.  unRAID needs about 2000 for overhead operation to keep the system running normally, so, in theory, your CPU should be capable of 4000 passmarks just to transcode one 1080p stream.

 

You CPU has a passmark score of 3491.  With a score that low, it will struggle to transcode a single stream and the CPU will be at 100%.  Your CPU not only has no overhead, it does not technically even have enough power to do what it is being asked to do.

 

Plex also recommends a single thread rating of at least 2000 for 1080p and your CPU has a 1608 single thread rating.  I think you see the problem now.

 

If you don't want to upgrade the CPU, you can get an Nvidia GPU (AMD is not officially supported by Plex) and let the GPU do the transcoding with the Nvidia Driver plugin.

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26 minutes ago, Tbmw said:

or getting a gpu

If you do get an Nvidia GPU make sure get one that support NVENC/NVDEC as per the table linked below:

 

https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-and-decode-gpu-support-matrix-new

 

Most in these forums recommend at least a GTX 1050 and many use the Quadro P2000 because of "unrestricted" stream support.  GTX are limited to 3 simultaneous transcodes which may be enough for you.

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it might be something as simple as using "Direct Play" if your device supports it. 

 

I only mention this because my house has a lot of IOS devices and simply by switching to Direct Play my video's nearly never needs to transcoded. AppleTV, Iphone, Ipad. I think the only thing that ever needs to Transcode is some older .AVI files that I have that I never delt with. I also rip all my content to MKV, H264, DD5.1 with a windows machine and simply import into my unraid machine.  I do have a GTX1050TI installed and hardly ever is in use because of Direct Play except with some of the older MASH episodes I ripped to AVI long long long time ago. 😃

 

With my GTX1050TI it will run around 30-40% while Transcoding Video with my I7-4790K sitting around 20-25% while Transcoding the Audio

Before the 1050 my Processor doing all the work would be around 40-50%. 

 

I am lucky enough to have just 4 of us in the house and on average I might have 1-2 streams going on at the same time and my Processor sits around 10-15% simply because of Direct Play and having all my files in a Format that everything can use. I also use Tdarr which is a docker that will scan all your files and convert them to whatever you want ahead of time unless of course you have so many devices in your house that one format simply will not work. 

 

I also like this list to show you how many and of what your GPU can Transcode.

https://www.elpamsoft.com/?p=Plex-Hardware-Transcoding

 

 

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