HW transcoding recommandation

[Watever]

Hi everyone,

I have read the guide on hardware selection but still not sure what would be a good choice (money wise) for me.

I am running unraid on a xeon E3-1240 v3 so no gpu and no quick-sync. (Could replace with an equivalent used cpu with gpu but worth it ?).
But I also want to remove some stress on the cpu (it's used for others task).

I have an asus gtx 980 laying around be theses are no good for transcoding (no h265).
In my desktop, I have an amd RX 5600xt, but I doubt it worth to put in the server cause amd isn't good for transcoding.

I don't do much transcoding, as I usually do direct play at home, but it's useful for image decoding, bif files, etc... and the few times playing remotely.
Should I go with a used P400 and would a new intel arc be better ?

A used P400 will cost nearly 100$ cad with shipping. A new A310 is 134$ or A380 for 180$.
I don't know how theses compare. I know the Arc were not fully supported in unraid but now I think they do.

[TheDreadPirate]

IMO, the Arc GPU is better value. Has MUUUUCH better codec support for when JF 10.9 comes out with AV1 transcoding.

If you are on Linux, just keep in mind that Arc requires kernel 6.2 and newer.