4C/8T or 6C/6T

[macnteej]

Currently running everything on an OptiPlex micro pc. I’ve been looking to swap to a SFF unit so I can add an extra drive for parity and not run it over usb. I also plan to add a gpu to take the load off of the iGPU. I’m looking at either a 7th gen i7 or an 8th gen i5. I don’t know if more threads or more cores would be helpful for this setup just being a media server/seedbox

[TheDreadPirate]

Probably wouldn't make a difference either way. Even with iGPU/dGPU transcoding there is still some CPU usage. But not enough to matter whether it is 4c/8t or 6c/6t. If I had to choose, I'd rather have 6 actual cores.

IMO, unless you have a lot of users, sticking with the iGPU in whatever Intel CPU is good enough. The quality from Intel's Quick Sync has been very good for a long time.

[macnteej]

Currently trying to get some friends and family to understand what it is so they can actually use it. I think at most it would be 3-4 people on at a time. For every 4K file i have a 1080p copy as well. I almost feel like I don’t need the dedicated gpu in reality

[TheDreadPirate]

Even for dedicated GPUs, transcoding and tone mapping 4K HDR content is a heavy lift. IMO, you should keep the 4K files in a separate library. For the users that have 4K HDR capable setups, its there. For everyone else, keeping it separate ensures they don't accidentally forget to switch which version they are watching.

For an Intel iGPU, 3-4 simultaneous users, even if all are transcoding, is 100% doable.

[abpjf]

I use a laptop with an i7-1165G7 to service external users, perfectly capable platform even if transcoding multiple streams.