I would like some NVENC Graphics Card advice please.

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kiwifidget

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#251367 21-Jun-2019 18:20

Hello.

I am looking to improve the graphics capability of my computer, but it's been about 100 years since I have dabbled in that space. I am specifically desiring a card that supports NVENC for H.265 encoding.

This is my current setup:

Shuttle XPC SZ77R5
CPU : Intel i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz
RAM : 16GB DDR3 (4 x 4GB)
GPU : none, using integrated Intel graphics
Video ports : DVI and HDMI with 2 x 24" monitors connected.
OS : Windows 10 Pro

I bought the Shuttle as a barebones kit with motherboard, and all I have done hardware-wise is add a CPU, RAM and SSD+HDD+BluRay optical drive.

The specs says the m/b supports dual slot graphics cards with its PCI-E x16 3.0 slot, and mentions the GTX680 and Radeon HD7970 as examples. But I imagine those are old cards now. Specs also say the R series cases can support cards up to 27.3cm in length. The PSU is 500W with 6+8 pin power connectors.

Also I read a suggestion that cards that expel hot air out the back might be better due to the limited space in the small case, and the location of the power connectors on the card may also be an issue. Generally, builders and tinkerers from back when this system was new seemed to prefer the GTX cards.

Is there anything I need to be particularly aware of when considering the cards that are available today, or would it be a given that any such cards would not be compatible with my slightly aged system?

Thank you.

EDIT : I forgot to mention budget. If there is anything suitable under $500 I would be very happy.

EDIT EDIT : And if anyone can explain to me how a dual slot card can fit in 1 slot that would be most appreciated.

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#2262134 21-Jun-2019 18:55

I cant tell you about benchmarks for nvenc but as far as i know each series has the same codec hardware. For your purposes Pascal should do, a gtx1060 or 1070. The mini versions should fit well for your form factor too. Please do research on your requirements though, you might want a turing if it has better tech.

For quality encoding however i believe CPU is still gives some benefits (quality?). If you are more inclined about that it might be a better idea to get a recent, high core CPU like Ryzen to do the work instead of trying to make nvenc work.

gbwelly

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#2262136 21-Jun-2019 18:59

Depends on what you are wanting to do with it.

My old Plex server was a J1900 Celeron with a GT710 ($54) connected via 16x to 1x PCIe ribbon cable and it did NVENC 1080p H264 hardware encoding (and decode). Which is not in any of the official Nvidia documentation as being supported, but worked well.

kiwifidget

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#2262190 21-Jun-2019 19:48

Thanks guys.

I am working off this matrix, so good to hear the gtx1060/1070 models may come in a size that fits.

https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-decode-gpu-support-matrix

I should find out the prices and just make a red line for below and above $500.

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Jase2985

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#2262198 21-Jun-2019 20:06

grab something like this:

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/VGAAS16600T/ASUS-GeForce-GTX-1660-TUF-6GB-GDDR5-GPU-Upto-1845

kiwifidget

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#2262200 21-Jun-2019 20:12

thx @jase2985

and under budget too! Just!

I still dont understand how these dual-slot cards can fit into one slot on my m/b.

I would sleep better at night if I knew what jiggery-pokery was going on there.

Also, does adding a card like this disable my on-board video ports?

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Jase2985

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#2262203 21-Jun-2019 20:24

dual slot talks about the slots in the back of the case, ie requires 2 free slots at the back, it fits in a single PCIE slot on the motherboard, but the slot next to it will be covered.

the Shuttle XPC SZ77R5 specs say it supports a dual slot graphic card

kiwifidget

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#2262209 21-Jun-2019 20:58

thanks for the explanation @jase2985 , that makes sense to me.

I have nothing in the m/b there so both slots, at the back, are free.

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OmniouS

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#2262259 21-Jun-2019 23:01

I have a 99% new Nvidia Quadro P2000 Video card that meets your size and power requirements. It was purchased new from the States a few months back.

The card doesn't have a 2 stream encode/decode limit like the standard consumer/gaming cards. It is single slot, and doesn't require aux power. I'd be willing to let it go for $500 inc postage.

benokobi

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#2262262 21-Jun-2019 23:10

Mighty Ape have the 1060 at $278 down from $435

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-6gb-oc-v2-graphics-card/26879678?utm_source=system&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wishlist-price-drop&utm_content=customer%3A2595709

gbwelly

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#2262446 22-Jun-2019 13:50

You still haven't stated your use case.

If you are wanting to game and encode/stream then sure, go for a $500 card, but if you are working with converting 1080p H264 video then I think you'd be mad to spend more than $60.

Now if you tell me you are working with 4K 60fps HEVC video, then sure, you're going to need an expensive card there too.

kiwifidget

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#2262450 22-Jun-2019 14:05

@gbwelly sorry, I do need to be more specific. Apologies if I don't use the exact correct technical terms.

A few years ago I started backing up my DVDs and Blurays, by converting them to x264 files using either Vidcoder or Handbrake. Then x265 came along promising smaller file sizes but it takes forever on my PC. So long that I stuck with x264 and invested in more storage.

I recently updated Vidcoder and I saw a new encoding option , NVENC, so I started googling about that and somehow reached a decision that I should get a NVENC card and start over with x265. I am hoping to get smaller files, but dont particularly want to have massive buyers remorse should it turn out to be a bit under-whelming.

So no live streaming or gaming or stuff like that. I have bad arthritis in my hands so my gaming days are over.

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OmniouS

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#2262456 22-Jun-2019 14:30

A GTX 1660 (if you can manage to fit one in) would result in the best picture quality with the smallest file sizes. It is the cheapest consumer card with the latest NVENC encoder built in. You could look at transplanting the system into a cheap case

SpartanVXL

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#2262457 22-Jun-2019 14:32

Agreed, to elaborate all pascal cards from the 1050 to the Titan have the same ASIC for nvenc. If you’re just wanting that then get the cheapest option. Turing does have the ability to do hevc 8k30 and has higher bitrate across the board.

Again, this requirement is a bit different than the usual use case for getting a graphics card. The main reason this asic is there for gaming cards is for streamers to use while gaming and not have to chew up cpu or use a seperate rig.

Nvenc vs traditional cpu encoding also has quality vs speed tradeoffs.

kiwifidget

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#2263027 23-Jun-2019 18:18

I am starting to get a handle on all these cards. Only the following boards are in my price range.

GTX 1050/Ti , GTX1060/Ti , GTX1650/Ti , GTX 1660/Ti

I think I have managed to rule out all the GTX1660/Ti cards. They all seem to require a 8-pin connector and I dont think my PC has one. I think it has 2 * 6-pin connectors.

Going by these articles, I can save myself some grief by going low-profile if possible:

http://www.motormice.com/reviews/SZ77R5/settingup.htm

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/new-shuttle-sx79r5.2234199/

Thanks everyone for your help, I am a lot less confused than I was when I started. :)

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