Hardware for 4-5 4K and home lab

[TheDreadPirate]

Hey there,

For the core server, those options only with an embedded GPU look a bit underpowered.
5 x 4K streams are really too much for integrated gpus, i dont think you will get around a dedicated GPU here.

I really, really think a UHD 770 could handle 5x 4K HDR > 1080p SDR streams with proper config on the right platform (Linux). Likely even a UHD 750...might be cheaper in the short run to purchase something like an A380 (can't speak to how many streams it can handle) but the long-term power consumption of a dGPU would outweigh those upfront savings. I wish there was a benchmark document for Intel's iGPUs for transcoding. I can try to test the UHD 770 if you're interested...would be just me opening a bunch of windows and streaming 4K content on a machine that can't handle it. Might crash that machine but would give me some interesting data...

If there's a better way to test and/or it would be helpful, let me know!

I have a UHD 730 and I am barely getting one 4K HDR > 1080 SDR stream.  Tone mapping seems to be very taxing.  I'm not sure the UHD 770 is 5 times more performant than the 730.

IMO, I don't think you can get around having a dedicated GPU.  The go-to is the Intel Arc A380.