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[HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 9:42 pm
by colem
Good evening
I'm making a machine specially for dual-processor encoding.
What should I focus on in terms of CPUs, frequency or number of cores
I saw three different CPUs:
E5-4627V3 -> 10 cores, 2.6ghz, 3.2 turbo
E5-2640V3 -> 8 cores, 2.6ghz, 3.4 turbo
E5-2637V3 -> 4 cores, 3.5ghz, 3.7 turbo
for you which should I privilege.
thank you
colem
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:02 pm
by Deleted User 11865
Depends if you want to run multiple parallel encodes or not, and which video encoder you'll be using (x264, x265, another)?
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 11:02 pm
by colem
only one encoding at a time.
For the most part, I use x265
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:47 am
by mduell
What resolution encodes are typical for you?
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:50 am
by colem
1920x1080
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:57 am
by mduell
Are the CPUs all the same price? If not, what are the prices?
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 7:59 am
by colem
all around 50 €
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:56 pm
by mduell
You can certainly make use of more than 8 cores, so I'd go with at least the 2640V3. You could do the 4627V3 but with diminishing returns it will be less than 20% faster.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:05 pm
by s55
The 10 core seems to lack hyperthreading. Difficult to say for sure which will be faster but I'd wager not an awful lot in it.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:13 pm
by colem
well seen.
I did not see
I just found this one, slightly more expensive
E5-2660V3 -> 10 cores 20 threads 2.6ghz 3.30 turbo
should the number of cores be preferred over the frequency?
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:31 pm
by mduell
Yes that's better than the 4627v3. Either the 2660v3 or 2640v3 is your best choice, not much difference between them.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:34 pm
by colem
mduell wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:31 pm
Yes that's better than the 4627v3. Either the 2660v3 or 2640v3 is your best choice, not much difference between them.
2 cores and 4 more threads, right?
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 9:03 pm
by mduell
Yes, if they're the same price you may as well get the 2660v3.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2020 12:21 am
by colem
ok thanks all
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 7:26 pm
by 8Ringer
I have a dual E5-2637 v3 (4-core 3.5ghz) box and I'm seeing roughly 60-80% utilization (varies a bit based on screen complexity) on a single h265 encode. I have HT turned off because it really didn't affect encode speed but having more threads can negatively affect the overall quality. I previously had two E5-2620 v3 (6-core 2.4ghz) installed and the utilization was such that I felt it made more sense to "upgrade" to fewer, faster cores as I don't often run multiple encodes, at least not when encode speed really matters.
Are you planning on running a two socket system with 2660s? I doubt Handbrake is going to be able to leverage all those cores...
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 7:28 pm
by 8Ringer
^^ Quick correction since I can't find the edit button, but I actually DO have HT turned on, not off. My mistake.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 7:33 pm
by colem
hi
yes dual xeon
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 7:45 pm
by rollin_eng
Unless you’re a professional you’re not really going to need a multi socket system.
Of course it’s a personal choice.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 10:32 pm
by colem
rollin_eng wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 7:45 pm
Unless you’re a professional you’re not really going to need a multi socket system.
Of course it’s a personal choice.
I have almost only that: D
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2020 6:25 am
by 8Ringer
Yea theres no reason you NEED a dual socket system, I wont argue that. For my uses (for instance) its a bit overkill but I'm running a FreeNAS with a Handbrake jail, a Plex Meda Server jail, and a Unifi Controller jail. Even with all that, I don't need dual socket, but I sorta just wanted some (old) weapons grade server hardware just because. Plus its nice to know if my needs change and I start utilizing virtualization or something, I can VERY easily triple my core count. Plus the board came with 10G ethernet, ECC, etc. Used server hardware is surprisingly cheap and has solid build quality.
Having said that, now that I know x265 really doesn't scale well past 8 cores, I would have been better served going with a single socket board and a 10 or 12 core CPU and saving a bit on my power consumption. But my financial outlay on this system isn't too bad and the performance is 3-4x better than my previous machine so I'm not complaining.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2020 4:40 pm
by Deleted User 13735
x265 is not generally considered necessary for 1920x1080.
x264 is a lot faster, and maintains a respectable size.
x264 is considered optimal around 6-8 logical processors.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2020 4:53 pm
by rollin_eng
Obviously if you are running other things on a machine then yes, multiple socket machines make sense. But for just encoding videos a single CPU with sufficient cores is probably sufficient for most people.
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 8:02 pm
by colem
8Ringer wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 6:25 am
Yea theres no reason you NEED a dual socket system, I wont argue that. For my uses (for instance) its a bit overkill but I'm running a FreeNAS with a Handbrake jail, a Plex Meda Server jail, and a Unifi Controller jail. Even with all that, I don't need dual socket, but I sorta just wanted some (old) weapons grade server hardware just because. Plus its nice to know if my needs change and I start utilizing virtualization or something, I can VERY easily triple my core count. Plus the board came with 10G ethernet, ECC, etc. Used server hardware is surprisingly cheap and has solid build quality.
Having said that, now that I know x265 really doesn't scale well past 8 cores, I would have been better served going with a single socket board and a 10 or 12 core CPU and saving a bit on my power consumption. But my financial outlay on this system isn't too bad and the performance is 3-4x better than my previous machine so I'm not complaining.
fully agree
Re: [HELP] CPU choice for encoding
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 8:02 pm
by colem