recommended CPU for 1080 and 4k - amd or intel

[plivac]

which CPU would you recommend for real-time 1080 and ultimately 4k transcoding x264 and x265 mkv files - 8700k, 7820x/7900x or the ryzen 1700x/1800x, threadriper 1920x/1950x.

need new pc since my 3930k is at its end.

also, does SSD help vs. HDD


looked around everywhere but almost no topics on real-time transcoding
thanks!
livac

[Nadahar]

There's no easy answer to that. It depends on what quality, resolution and codec you want. 4K 10bit H.265 can be a tall order for any CPU out there I would guess, while 1080 8bit H.264 would hardly be a problem for any modern CPU.

Most graphics card these days have hardware accelerated H.264 and/or H2.65 decoding and encoding, but the specifics depends on the model. Support for using these hardware accelerated features is also lagging somewhat behind the actual capabilities, so you would need to check what for example FFmpeg can or can't use for a given card for a given quality. I think transcoding will depend more on the GPU than the CPU in the years to come.

[plivac]

maybe I should clarify - will having 12/16 cores make a difference vs. an 8-core with higher clock rate and by how much roughly? is there a preference for intel vs. amd?

I assume most people using UMS will transocde from PC to device (TV, PS, XBOX, etc) so all else being equal what is the current best way to go in terms of CPU assuming budget flexibility - i.e. top CPU using UMS feature set for MKV transcoding?

[Nadahar]

There are no easy answer to this, there are so many variables and so many different hardware setups. UMS use different transcoding engines, but the default is FFmpeg. As such, what you're asking is "what is the best CPU for use with FFmpeg" - which doesn't really have an answer either. It's easier to find information about FFmpeg performance than "UMS performance" though, although it's largely the same thing.

You need to look for benchmark tests and compare yourself. Handbrake uses Libav which is has much common code with FFmpeg, so Handbrake benchmarks is relevant too. You'll just have to search, read and make up your mind. There are so many factors at play here, and your budged determines what's relevant to compare in the first place. This relatively recent test shows that there's really not that much difference between Intel and AMD, it all comes down to the specific encoding parameters and the specific CPU's capabilities: https://www.anandtech.com/show/11170/th ... nd-1700/20

[plivac]

Handbrake H264 (HQ) https://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1598

Handbrake HVEC (4k)https://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1597

Seems like having more cores will make a difference - although none of these are real-time transcoding tests...

[plivac]

Quick follow-up:

Looks like I am going with 7820x (was considering 7900x but the x265 difference was not meaningfull IMO, especially with a small overclock - or in turbo mode)
https://overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mai ... x_review/5

...and gaming wise 7820x seems to do better
https://overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mai ... _review/15

so blend wise - Not sue if the marginal transcoding gains ~10% with weaker gaming specs are worth the ~ 80% price increase and higher temperatures?

[Nadahar]

The prices for those CPU's are just insane. I have an i7-5820K which I haven't even bothered to overclock yet. There are only two situations I find myself in where I use all of its computing power, and that is rendering 3D and encoding video. In most cases both of these tasks can be done faster with a considerably cheaper GPU, so I haven't yet had the need for more CPU performance.

GPU processing is taking over more and more of these "simple but labor intensive" tasks, so I think I have to find myself in a pretty special situation to need more CPU performance in the near future. The only thing I could see a need for is better single thread performance, but that can easily be solved with overclocking the 5820k to 4.4-4.5 Ghz.

[plivac]

https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/25502 ... -selection

so found an interesting post that says cores do matter........ for plex x265... so do I splurge on 7900x?