Compare the I7 4790T, I5 6600T and other options for a Plex server.
Compare the I7 4790T, I5 6600T and other options for a Plex server.
I’m planning to build a Plex server and initially considered an i7 4790T. I noticed the Skylake line includes encoding, as shown in this link: http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu..._4790t-367. The main question is how much encoding impacts performance in a Plex setup. Likely, the i5 6600T will outperform the i7 4790T when handling tasks like Plex. If I choose the Skylake CPU, I’ll need a new motherboard, but the price gap between the two models is substantial enough to offset that cost. The passmark numbers also favor the i7 4790T (9052 vs 7093). Regarding the T model, it uses less power under load, but if the server mostly idles, the difference might be minimal. Overall, going for the T version could save money despite the extra power draw.
According to the support article, a 1080p stream requires around 2000 points on PassMark. If multiple users are accessing the server simultaneously, a more powerful CPU would be beneficial. Based on PassMark scores alone, the i5 6600T can handle about three streams, while the i7 4790T can manage four. It's also good to know you have extra capacity for future uses beyond streaming.
I run an AMD 9370 that's been throttled down to 3.7GHz for efficiency. It really pushes Plex beyond its limits—it’s way too much power. I used it because I had it lying around, not because it was ideal. My previous server had two Sandy Bridge Xeons at 2.4GHz and still performed fine before failing last year. Occasionally I notice buffering, freezing, or encoding issues.
it was the 4790t model I examined since it consumes less power. The central concern is also regarding the encoding differences exclusive to Skylake processors. As shown in the link: http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu..._4790t-367, you can see this comparison (Left: 6600t Right: 4790t) for codec functions like H264, JPEG, H265, VP8, VP9, VC-1, AVC, and others.
I've been testing Plex on an i5 4590 in a Dell SFF system without major problems. After switching the CPU and upgrading RAM to a full ATK on a 1150 board, I can still run my old GTX 1060 3GB GPU thanks to shared Plex libraries with family members. Streaming from outside the network has been the main bottleneck, so improving upload speed and using faster encoding helped significantly. Moving my encoding and metadata to an SSD made a noticeable difference. Hope this helps anyone else facing similar issues.