Using a CPU that normally requires dedicated GPU on a headless server without the GPU?

[Comrade64]

First time on the forum but I have been using TrueNAS for about a month now with great success. I just have a simple question that I couldn't seem to find an answer for (although I'm sure it has been answered somewhere).

So I whipped together a NAS from junk parts I had lying around, one of which being a Ryzen 1600 CPU. In order to set this up. This CPU does not include integrated graphics so you need a GPU to use it. So I just ripped the GPU out of my main PC to set it up and it has been ticking along nicely. I figured I would eventually just get a cheap APU evenetually, but money has been tight for longer than I expected (got a job offer from USPS, yay, but the onboarding is taking a ridiculously long time).

I am wondering if I can simply take the GPU out and keep running and everything will keep working since I don't need to use a monitor? Also, would this completely destroy my ability to transcode in Jellyfin?

 

[Ericloewe]

I am wondering if I can simply take the GPU out and keep running and everything will keep working

It depends on the system. Obviously, it's not a concern with server hardware.

 

[Comrade64]

It depends on the system. Obviously, it's not a concern with server hardware

Well that is reassurance. I would have just tried it to see what happens but it really was an awful pain to set up in my situation and I didn't want to have to risk starting over.

Yeah it is a Ryzen 1600 in a B350 Motherboard with an RX 5700 xt GPU, 8 gigs on ram. It is basically running Jellyfin, Qbittorent and NFS and that's it. If anyone expects any edge cases where not having a GPU might lead to problems let me know. I usually just end up watching the videos from a regular file browser with MPV, so if Jellyfin doesn't like not having a GPU I don't think it would be the end of the world.

 

[winnielinnie]

Also, would this completely destroy my ability to transcode in Jellyfin?

Transcoding with your CPU is intensive and slow.

If the GPU is fairly modern, it can support transcoding (certain formats/resolutions), which is not only faster, but relieves the CPU from this burden. (That's if you really want or need transcoding.)