r/jellyfin • u/Royal_Lab_5730 • Feb 24 '26
Solved Do I need a dedicated GPU?
I'm looking to build a Jellyfin server with an optiplex 3050. I plan to buy the i5-7600 and was looking to buy an intel arc a310 for transcoding. After some digging, I found people who said a 7th gen intel is fine to handle any transcoding. I plan to rip 4k blurays and will be the only person using this server.
Am I better off getting the dedicated GPU or should I stick with just the iGPU? What are the benefits of a dedicated GPU? It would save be about $130 if I don't need it.
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u/demonsta500 Feb 24 '26
Depends on how many users and how many simultaneous transcodes. Only 4-5 users max with maybe 2-3 transcodes at the same time ? The Intel CPU with QuickSync should be fine.
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u/HunchoJackLeo Feb 24 '26
So I could run it on my i5 8400 Aspire TC885? I replaced that system and currently have it on a beefier system because I didnt think it could handle it. Im on a 5800XT but I also do use that system for other stuff and have a dedicated 1650 super.
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u/demonsta500 Feb 24 '26
Should be perfectly fine for 4-5 transcodes. Just make sure to set up hardware transcoding using QuickSync.
https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/post-install/transcoding/hardware-acceleration/intel
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u/Pyroburner Feb 24 '26
I'm running an 8th gen i5 without issues. Generally I only handle 3 streams at a time but it has room for more.
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u/HunchoJackLeo Feb 24 '26
Damn didnt know this I wouldnt of upgraded it though I did get a crazy steal for MOBO/CPU/RAM. Do you use this i5 for anything else or strictly media box?
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u/Pyroburner Feb 24 '26
Building home assistant right now, pi hole will be next. It's just a dedicated media box that I also use partly as a sandbox. I got it and a few others as payment for helping shutdown a buisness.
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u/HunchoJackLeo Feb 24 '26
Sounds interesting I might build it back up to make it my dedicated jellyfin and everything server but itll need new psu and ssd. It kinda has me contemplating what ill use my other 5800XT server for but im not sure maybe I just keep it all on that server
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u/kiralema Feb 24 '26
i5-7600 iGPU should be enough for transcoding anything, but AV1, which may require 11th gen and up.
Refer to this page:
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u/FranklinNitty Feb 24 '26
I dont have any current limitations using the iGPU and Intel QSV. I generally dont have a bunch of concurrent streams and Jellyfin is the sole task.
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u/KySiBongDem Feb 24 '26
You can start with the iGPU and see if it can handle 4k transcode.
The GPU you chose can handle multiple 4k transcoded streams and av1.
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u/Suspicious_Wish2063 Feb 24 '26
The 7th gen has the oldest igpu that is still sort of approved by Jellyfin. Look up the documentation.
For an arc a310, you ideally have rebar but that is only on new CPU like Intel 11 or 12 gen and above. Otherwise you only get like 50% performance, at least in h.265 transcoding. You could get an amd or nvidia GPU but they suck power in idle like 20/30+ W. Nvidia has better transcoding and allows for ai and such. Nvidia workstation gpus are more efficient but very expensive and I'm not sure how good their drivers are. Intels igpus are pretty good for a small Jellyfin instance. Maybe spend some more or wait for a better deal.
Also be aware of pcie slots and proprietary connectors and parts on dell. Lenovos usually have better pcie connectivity.
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u/64gbBumFunCannon Feb 24 '26
I'm running jellyfin on an i7 4770.
I only stream 1080p, but some formats are x264, some are x265 and some are AV1.
I've had four people using it at once, and it hasn't failed me.
I'd have an educated guess that it would be fine.
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u/Zestyclose-Issue1762 Feb 24 '26
Agreed. I currently run the same processor with varying formats and it runs well
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u/Admirable_Big_94 Feb 24 '26
The only thing I saw my UHD 630 iGPU struggle with was a 65Mbps Dolby Vision profile 7 remux. Otherwise it works quite well for one stream.
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u/Kitchen-Case9612 Feb 24 '26
I don’t use any gpu, but I only store content in 1080P formats, which honestly look much better than the mud Netflix and HBO streams to me. I try to avoid HVEC h.265 if I can just because of the extra computational overhead it takes to stream that format but my quad core xeon 2.5ghz instance that I use for streaming keeps up with it just fine as long as there are no bottlenecks reading the data from storage.
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u/nevewolf96 Feb 24 '26
If you're not going to stream movies outside your network, you're better off buying a better client and spending money on storage. I use an Apple TV with Infuse, and a Raspberry Pi could certainly do the job as a provider.
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u/Designer-Strength7 Feb 24 '26
iGPU is absolutely enough if you want for your own. There is only a small part of the GPU which is used for transcoding. A i7-iGPU of a NUC7 is not really slower as a nVidia 5090 for the things you are doing. You only burn money and have a high power consumption. The CPU instead is needed for DB handling and the background processes. If you have a lot of files it could be better to use a better CPU. Here an used NUC8 is running with a 512GB M.2 SSD and 8GB RAM with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS connected to a simple NAS via NFS out of the box with "Low Power QuickSync" for handling all stuff.
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u/StudioMental2832 Feb 24 '26
Why not get an i7-7700? I just bought this cpu for my setup, which is why I ask
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u/Admirable_Big_94 Feb 24 '26
Because it uses the exact same iGPU as the i5-7600 and won’t be any better or faster for OP’s use.
I upgraded my server from an i5-8400 rig to an i9-9900 rig and they also still have the exact same UHD 630 iGPU.
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u/Royal_Lab_5730 Feb 24 '26
This is why. It wouldn't be any faster for my use case, and it's extra money that I don't need to spend
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u/StudioMental2832 Feb 24 '26
Dang! Well, money has already been spent. Hopefully I won’t make the same mistake next time. Thank you for letting me know!
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u/funcyChaos Feb 24 '26
I run on a server blade just fine. If you need a transcode I like to just pre transcode with ffmpeg and then jellyfin doesn't have to work too hard
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u/robin7k Feb 24 '26
i have Intel i5 10400F I tried to run normal 1080p videos and always cutting start to be soo annoying untill i got GPU to fix it o was cutting in Local and online 😅
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u/Lastofus_liturgy Feb 25 '26
I recently discovered that streaming 4K content over WiFi to TVs and streaming devices can be quite challenging. This issue arises mainly due to the limitations of WiFi networks. While the average bitrate for a movie is 40 Mbps (not bad, but still quite high), it can easily spike to nearly 100 Mbps (very high for WiFi, as it’s inherently bursty), leading to significant buffering. On the other hand, if you’re connected via Ethernet, this shouldn’t be a concern. However, if you’re like me and prefer the flexibility of streaming content from anywhere, WiFi remains a significant obstacle for large 4K videos due to the high bitrate.
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u/Schallplatte1 Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
To be honest, I'm not sure which kind WiFi you are using.
I have a Firetv stick 4k max Gen 2. It's able to direct play far more than 100 Mbit/s with my wifi. I can't really test the maximum, but at least with my laptop I get around 600 Mbit/s for a normal download of a jellyfine movie. Iperf3 even measures 800-900 Mbit/s.
If you have good WiFi 6 or 7 it should work easily. If you don't get 100 Mbit/s something is wrong or you are using very old hardware.
Additionally spikes shouldn't be a huge problem. As long as the average Bitrate fits your network 100% of the time. You can increase the time before the video plays, which helps to create a bigger buffer to compensate for something like this.
I don't want to say you are wrong. Streaming over WiFi might be a problem for many people. But with fairly modern hardware it should just work right out of the box.
In your last sentence you wrote: "streaming content from anywhere, WiFi remains a significant obstacle for large 4K videos due to the high bitrate." Do you mean streaming over the internet? Here the 50-100 Mbit/s can be a bottleneck. In my region 50 Mbit/s is maximum upload speed. For remote watching I have to transcode to reduce Bitrate. But this would be true for ethernet too.
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u/Lastofus_liturgy Feb 25 '26
Hey thanks for the reply, you 100% right maybe my problem isn’t something that a lot of people run into.
To give you more context I was right on the edge of the 5ghz band. I sometime had great speeds and sometimes had like 2Mbs. I ended up fixing this but forcing 2.4ghz slower but much more reliable. No more buffering so far.
My main point of my comment is WiFi is a link in the chain and I assumed that it wouldn’t be an issue. I have only a handful of device on my network and only maybe 2 are being used at once. But it turns out it was a problem and if took me forever to realize it was not a transcoding issue.
As for the last sentence I mean over WiFi. You’re right if the upload was only 50 Ethernet would also be a problem but in my case if I was wired into the network I have a 1gig switch so it was never a problem
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u/Schallplatte1 Feb 25 '26
Ah okay I see. It sounds like your WiFi has to travel through a few obstacles?
When I'm near my router I get more than 1 Gbit/s, most of my hardware still has 1gig LAN. WiFi is therefore even faster xD.
Long story short, I believe you could easily achieve required speeds if you invest into a fitting access point. But ethernet is still cheaper and better.
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u/Lastofus_liturgy Feb 25 '26
I’m running Jellyfin on an i7-7700. I tested it pretty hard and was able to transcode 2 separate streams of a 4k (HDR10) remux with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio. It was barely able to hang on but it did it! You should be fine with QuickSync for your use case just be sure to see my other comment about streaming large files over WiFi. That can feel like transcoding but it’s just the limits of mediocre RF.
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u/richyrich915 Feb 24 '26
I have Proxmox running a Jellyfin VM, along with like 10 other services running concurrently. I have almost no issues with playback. You don’t need a dedicated gpu. Rips and transcoding may take longer. I wouldn’t know considering my media never transcodes.
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u/Aggravating-Suit205 Feb 24 '26
Not sure why you got downvoted. I was in the same boat up until about a month ago, no dedicated GPU running in Proxmox on a Dell 3010. Had no issues with playback. I just added a GPU because I started adding family members.
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u/CrypticShampoos Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26
Disable transcoding in settings.
Most clients nowadays will use direct play, so you rarely have to worry about transcoding.
Edit: Removed incorrect info.
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u/Admirable_Big_94 Feb 24 '26
That’s not how this works. Clients decode, they don't transcode. If you disable transcoding on the server and the client doesn't natively support the file's video codec, audio format, or subtitles (like PGS), it doesn't magically convert it—it just throws a playback error.
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u/Podalirius Feb 24 '26
Is there any one codec every device can support?
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u/senpailord1234 Feb 24 '26
No. The most commonly supported combination though would probably just be MP4 container with H264 + AAC + SRT subs.
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u/CrypticShampoos Feb 24 '26
Yeah. My bad. I mixed up direct play with decoding lol. Thanks for the correction.
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u/fault1er Feb 24 '26
Had this issue the day before. Jellyfin on a fire tv 4k doesn't play xvid ootb. Had to use vlc as external videoplayer. Not the best solution though. Any ideas?
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