Will HW transcoding for Plex still work if I pass my i5-8500 CPU integrated GPU to a Windows 10 VM?

[IMTheNachoMan]

I have an HP ProDesk 600 G4 SFF I use for unRAID. It has an i5-8500 and 32 GB RAM. It does not have an external GPU -- I am using the integrated UHD Graphics 630.

 

Right now I am running a few containers. One of them is Plex and I use the Intel Quick Sync of the GPU/UHD for HW transcoding.

 

I want to use the machine as a primary desktop running Windows 10 for online surfing, bills, some light HTML/JS/CSS development. I'm not gaming on it.

 

I know I can pass through the GPU but then will HW transcoding for Plex still work?

 

Or is there a way to get my desired configuration working without an external GPU?

[ghost82]

Not when the vm is running.

Moreover, when the vm is shutdown you need to detach the gpu from vfio driver to make it available again in the host.

[IMTheNachoMan]

So I have to buy a VGA card. Now to find an inexpensive low profile DisplayPort video card that works with unRAID for passing through to a Windows 10 VM. I haven't had to buy a VGA card in 20+ years. 

[ghost82]

Consider, when searching for gpus, the amd reset bug, i.e. older amd gpus (<series 6000) could not reset properly on vm shutdown/restart and this needs the whole server to be restarted.

[IMTheNachoMan]

Oh. I'm not sure what all that means. So I shouldn't get an AMD GPU?

[ghost82]

Well, if you don't want too much troubles, go with nvidia, or go with amd series 6000 (could be expensive depending on your budget).

Note that a kernel fix is included in unraid that should fix some older amd gpus, but this may work or not, depending on brand, firmware, revision, etc...

Quick search on google or even here in the forum for "amd gpu reset bug" and you will find a lot of info.

If you are going to buy a second hand nvidia gpu, it should be preferred that updated drivers still exist: this because old nvidia gpus without newer drivers (i.e. with older drivers) are not able to be passed through in a vm, unless you modify the xml to hide the hypervisor.

Only with newer nvidia drivers (by "newer" I mean from v. 465), nvidia allowed for its consumer gpus (geforce, titan) to be passed through in vms.

Edited November 7, 2022 by ghost82

[IMTheNachoMan]

Thanks. I guess I need to get a PSU too now. Fun times. Thanks for your help.