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[TheDreadPirate]

For Intel GPUs, Arc GPUs all have the exact same media engines. And the same number of them. AFAIK, that applies to Battlemage as well. Meaning you will get identical transcoding performance regardless of the model. However, tone mapping utilizes VRAM and VRAM usage will be the limiting factor before other factors limit tone mapping performance. I've seen mixed numbers, but 4-6GB of VRAM would be more than enough for a worst case scenario where all 8 of your users need a tone mapped transcode. So an A310 or A380 would be sufficient. Battlemage doesn't have an equivalent low end model yet.

For Nvidia GPUs, the various models do have differing NVENC encoders. But you will run into the driver restriction of 8 simultaneous transcodes before you run out of performance.

https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encod...matrix-new

There is a "patch" you can install to remove that restriction, but that requires you NOT update the Nvidia drivers right away as it lags behind.

The issue then becomes cost. Nvidia GPUs, especially current gen models, are very expensive if you are only using them for transcoding. Intel GPUs can be had for A LOT less and perform just as well.

Regarding problems with AMD CPUs. Ryzen CPUs starting with the 3000 series and newer are pretty much problem free. 1000 and 2000 definitely had some issues. 400 series boards, and newer, are also equally problem free.

Newer Intel CPUs, 13th gen and newer, have issues with cooking their own transistors.

In regards to power: for GPUs keep in mind that the encoders are separate from the actual graphics portion of the GPU. Same die, different block of transistors. 100% transcoding load on the encoder does not draw the same amount of power it would if it were a 100% graphics load. Not even close.

For CPU power usage: even with multiple audio transcodes, my CPU stays almost exclusively in its lowest power state (800Mhz). So pretty close to idle power usage.

If I were to pick the parts for this, I'd probably getting something like a Ryzen 5600X (6c/12t), an X570 motherboard with 10GbE (several ASRock, Asus, and Gigabyte boards with 10GbE), 32GB of RAM, and an Arc A380. Enough RAM for Jellyfin, with head room if you decide to do more with the server. The 5600X is old enough that they should but cheap and plentiful on the 2nd hand market, new enough that boards are still readily available, and new enough that Windows 11, and the server equivalent, is officially supported. The 5000 series Ryzen CPU were also a massive leap forward for Ryzen. Both for performance and efficiency, handily beating Intel's offerings at the time.

The Intel equivalent would be Alderlake (12th gen).

FWIW, I have a Ryzen 5900X in my desktop and have had zero issues with it. I had a 1700X and 2700X prior and both had weird issues that required some sub-optimal BIOS config changes that prevent them from going into lower power states for stability reasons. Which I have not had to do with my 5900X.