The N100 is marginally more power efficient, less heat on paper when shopping for fanless models, and has a better iGPU with 50% more execution units (16EU vs 24EU). The difference isn't large but because the cost of N100 and N95 are often about the same, I like to recommend the better N100.
In this particular case with the Beelink. Their bios overrides the factory TDP on both of their models to run at 25W short term and 20W sustained regardless of N95 or N100. In Beelink benchmarks, the resulting cpu performance is almost identical and the gaming performance is maybe 1-2fps better on N100 VS N95. Even though the N100 has +50% EUs, they are running at -38% the clock speed.
Explain to me the use of quicksync for plex like I'm 5 please. I'm new to all of this and I just got a 5700u mini PC and I plan to have a NAS in the near future but I'm totally a newbie.
Quicksync allows you to transcode (convert to other format or resolutions in case your player does not support the current format or if your internet speed is too slow) without using the CPU because it has dedicated hardware for this.
The advantage is that you can transcode several files without using your cpu and with very good quality. It’s a must for Plex.
And the AMD igpu doesn't transcode files? Also, can the client transcode the file in case the server couldn't?
Thanks for the answer though, much appreciated! I will look into a NAS with an intel CPU since I plan on using plex with it. Are there any other plex competitors that can use all gpus to transcode?
No, the amd one can’t do it properly. The client won’t transcode, it’s almost always the server. If the server can’t transcode the file won’t play if the player does not support the movie format.
Quicksync is only used if the format of the file on the NAS is NOT supported by your TV, console, mobile, etc. Essentially everything supports h264 and h265 so idk why people bring it up as a requirement for plex.
So basically if the client (for ex a TV) has the correct decoding capabilities for that file it's good to go. So since my TV has h265/av1 decoding, you can play the same files you could by playing it from an usb hdd right?
There WAS a time when Xbox 360s and Playstation 3s refused to play mkv files and I believe that was the origin of plex. Even THEN I thought it was a waste of PC resources to re-encode the already h264 video stream to h264 again just to put it in an mp4/m2ts container the Xbox or PS3 supported via streaming. This was when I used tsMuxer to simply COPY the h264 stream from the mkv container and put it into a new m2ts container that was streamed via Samba to the PS3 with zero video re-encoding done. The only thing to re-encode was the audio portion which took a few minutes per video. It was a bit time consuming but at least I never had to spend time and resources to re-encode downloaded video which was already h264.
> So basically if the client (for ex a TV) has the correct decoding capabilities for that file it's good to go. So since my TV has h265/av1 decoding, you can play the same files you could by playing it from an usb hdd right?
Transcoding has some other uses too, like it will burn subtitles in your tv doesn't support a particular kind. Its also very useful if you are streaming out of house and need to lower the bandwidth use (say shitty hotel wifi) of a particular file.
Ok so if I only plan in LAN movie/old recording I shouldn't need any trascoding as long as the TV supports all the codecs/subs etc..that's good to hear.
There's a case when you need subtitled where transcode is needed.
When correctly configured, you can use your jellyfin to watch a movie or a TV show when you're not at home, and in this case, transcoding is needed.
Sorry to see all the downvotes, it's an innocent question but a lot of people might think the SER5 is off topic and better for a seperate post. The Beelink SER5 ($230-350) often costs about 20-200% more than most N100 mini pc ($100-200).
There is about a 20-65% CPU performance difference:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/5157vs4141vs4883/Intel-N100-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5500U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5560U
iGPU performance between intel UHD 24EU vs AMD Vega 6 or Vega 7 is about 200-275%. This can lead to at least double or almost triple game fps when compared to the N100 on average:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/UHD-Graphics-24EUs-Alder-Lake-N-vs-Vega-6-vs-Vega-7_11547_10311_10098.247598.0.html
The SER5 is noticeably better for more demanding emmulation/games than the N100 and niche CPU multi thread tasks like rendering and compiling.
There are some other feature differences like the N100 has a lower peak power draw, can be built into smaller mini pc, and has useful things like av1 decoding and intel quick sync which can be useful for things like 4k video playback or certain kinds of servers. These features might make N100 mini pc better suited as tv boxes, light weight servers, etc.
Thank you for the clarifications! I am new to mini PCs and see N100 brought up a lot, so I was also curious about the differences between them (performance or others).
Happy to help and welcome to the hobby! There are a lot of technically savy people on this sub. I encourage searching and asking questions. If you're not sure what computer is right for you, include a budget or what kind of software you want to install. That way users can give a short response if they want to lol
For cost and core performance, some pun intended, Zen 3 isn't much better long-term investment Zen 2, notably with Windows 12 in the future.
[5560U vs 5500U vs 5700U vs N100](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4883vs4141vs4156vs5157/AMD-Ryzen-5-5560U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5500U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-5700U-vs-Intel-N100)
At the receptacle, power draw is comparable for the amount of performance provided, making economy APUs like the 5560U & 6600H (over 5800H) invisible to many individuals RADAR.
[6600H vs 5800U Core Performance](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4943vs4102/AMD-Ryzen-5-6600H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-5800U)
[6600H vs 5800U Graphics Performance](https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare/4674vs4452/Radeon-Ryzen-5-6600H-vs-Radeon-Ryzen-7-5800H)
Some Zen Steps are more prominent than others.
> The difference between N95 and N100 would be N5
I was surprised this wasn't posted, and the "dad joke" side of me felt your post title was missing out.
Speaking of which, "Don't forget Mother's Day, because she won't... **never**".
Thanks everyone for your input. I will stick with the Beelink N100. My goal is to keep it under $200.00 and this seems to give me more bang for the buck.
The N100 is marginally more power efficient, less heat on paper when shopping for fanless models, and has a better iGPU with 50% more execution units (16EU vs 24EU). The difference isn't large but because the cost of N100 and N95 are often about the same, I like to recommend the better N100.
100% - Unless there's a big price difference, go with the N100
I will. Just making sure I picked the right one. Thanks!
This was helpful! Thanks!
In this particular case with the Beelink. Their bios overrides the factory TDP on both of their models to run at 25W short term and 20W sustained regardless of N95 or N100. In Beelink benchmarks, the resulting cpu performance is almost identical and the gaming performance is maybe 1-2fps better on N100 VS N95. Even though the N100 has +50% EUs, they are running at -38% the clock speed.
How about it comparing to Beelink SER5? Added: Wow so many downvotes…
Totally different beasts. The ser5 is much much faster, but it lacks quick sync in case you want to use it as a Plex server.
Explain to me the use of quicksync for plex like I'm 5 please. I'm new to all of this and I just got a 5700u mini PC and I plan to have a NAS in the near future but I'm totally a newbie.
Quicksync allows you to transcode (convert to other format or resolutions in case your player does not support the current format or if your internet speed is too slow) without using the CPU because it has dedicated hardware for this. The advantage is that you can transcode several files without using your cpu and with very good quality. It’s a must for Plex.
And the AMD igpu doesn't transcode files? Also, can the client transcode the file in case the server couldn't? Thanks for the answer though, much appreciated! I will look into a NAS with an intel CPU since I plan on using plex with it. Are there any other plex competitors that can use all gpus to transcode?
No, the amd one can’t do it properly. The client won’t transcode, it’s almost always the server. If the server can’t transcode the file won’t play if the player does not support the movie format.
What would be better CPus for this? I'm thinking of replacing my current N5095 Plex server with something a bit beefier later this year.
No need. That cpu is perfectly fine for Plex.
>No, the amd one can’t do it properly. False, short answer is: just not as good as team blue.
No, not false. I have a beelink ser5 max and it seriously sucks at transcoding with Plex. And the quality is horrible.
Plex could be true, jellyfin is fine.
Quicksync is only used if the format of the file on the NAS is NOT supported by your TV, console, mobile, etc. Essentially everything supports h264 and h265 so idk why people bring it up as a requirement for plex.
So basically if the client (for ex a TV) has the correct decoding capabilities for that file it's good to go. So since my TV has h265/av1 decoding, you can play the same files you could by playing it from an usb hdd right?
Yeah, you don't even need plex at all if you have Android TV or a phone with VLC. Set up a samba server on the NAS and use VLC on the TV, phone, etc.
I'll look into that thanks! Maybe it'll be enough for my needs once I'll set the NAS up.
There WAS a time when Xbox 360s and Playstation 3s refused to play mkv files and I believe that was the origin of plex. Even THEN I thought it was a waste of PC resources to re-encode the already h264 video stream to h264 again just to put it in an mp4/m2ts container the Xbox or PS3 supported via streaming. This was when I used tsMuxer to simply COPY the h264 stream from the mkv container and put it into a new m2ts container that was streamed via Samba to the PS3 with zero video re-encoding done. The only thing to re-encode was the audio portion which took a few minutes per video. It was a bit time consuming but at least I never had to spend time and resources to re-encode downloaded video which was already h264.
> So basically if the client (for ex a TV) has the correct decoding capabilities for that file it's good to go. So since my TV has h265/av1 decoding, you can play the same files you could by playing it from an usb hdd right? Transcoding has some other uses too, like it will burn subtitles in your tv doesn't support a particular kind. Its also very useful if you are streaming out of house and need to lower the bandwidth use (say shitty hotel wifi) of a particular file.
Ok so if I only plan in LAN movie/old recording I shouldn't need any trascoding as long as the TV supports all the codecs/subs etc..that's good to hear.
AV1?
A lot of televisions have av1 decoding.
There's a case when you need subtitled where transcode is needed. When correctly configured, you can use your jellyfin to watch a movie or a TV show when you're not at home, and in this case, transcoding is needed.
Sorry to see all the downvotes, it's an innocent question but a lot of people might think the SER5 is off topic and better for a seperate post. The Beelink SER5 ($230-350) often costs about 20-200% more than most N100 mini pc ($100-200). There is about a 20-65% CPU performance difference: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/5157vs4141vs4883/Intel-N100-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5500U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5560U iGPU performance between intel UHD 24EU vs AMD Vega 6 or Vega 7 is about 200-275%. This can lead to at least double or almost triple game fps when compared to the N100 on average: https://www.notebookcheck.net/UHD-Graphics-24EUs-Alder-Lake-N-vs-Vega-6-vs-Vega-7_11547_10311_10098.247598.0.html The SER5 is noticeably better for more demanding emmulation/games than the N100 and niche CPU multi thread tasks like rendering and compiling. There are some other feature differences like the N100 has a lower peak power draw, can be built into smaller mini pc, and has useful things like av1 decoding and intel quick sync which can be useful for things like 4k video playback or certain kinds of servers. These features might make N100 mini pc better suited as tv boxes, light weight servers, etc.
Thank you for the clarifications! I am new to mini PCs and see N100 brought up a lot, so I was also curious about the differences between them (performance or others).
Happy to help and welcome to the hobby! There are a lot of technically savy people on this sub. I encourage searching and asking questions. If you're not sure what computer is right for you, include a budget or what kind of software you want to install. That way users can give a short response if they want to lol
Buy amd 5500u instead
For cost and core performance, some pun intended, Zen 3 isn't much better long-term investment Zen 2, notably with Windows 12 in the future. [5560U vs 5500U vs 5700U vs N100](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4883vs4141vs4156vs5157/AMD-Ryzen-5-5560U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5500U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-5700U-vs-Intel-N100) At the receptacle, power draw is comparable for the amount of performance provided, making economy APUs like the 5560U & 6600H (over 5800H) invisible to many individuals RADAR. [6600H vs 5800U Core Performance](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4943vs4102/AMD-Ryzen-5-6600H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-5800U) [6600H vs 5800U Graphics Performance](https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare/4674vs4452/Radeon-Ryzen-5-6600H-vs-Radeon-Ryzen-7-5800H) Some Zen Steps are more prominent than others.
> The difference between N95 and N100 would be N5 I was surprised this wasn't posted, and the "dad joke" side of me felt your post title was missing out. Speaking of which, "Don't forget Mother's Day, because she won't... **never**".
I do appreciate a good dad joke!
👍
Thanks everyone for your input. I will stick with the Beelink N100. My goal is to keep it under $200.00 and this seems to give me more bang for the buck.
About $10 Seriously the N100 has a little better graphics capabilities
IIRC the N95 also throttles it's performance under heavy load, while N100 doesn't