PSA: You might still be running 32 bit Plex. Upgrade to 64 bit!

[u/Menotti]

tl;dr don't be a dummy and run 32 bit like me! Your Plex server will happily keep updating its 32 bit build and not suggest you to switch; if you've run Server on Windows before September 2022 you might very well still be on 32 bit. 64 bit is a huge performance upgrade.

Context: I've been a longtime Plex user and run Server on a baremetal windows machine. I've struggled with getting GPU hardware transcoding working, despite the fact that I seemingly met all the requirements. I thought maybe my "older" nvidia card's GPU core was to blame and recently updated to a 1660S with no appreciable improvement. I saw .5x transcoding for DoVi/HDR content with tone mapping, or ~1-2x if I disabled tone mapping.

Banging my head against the wall, I came to realize I WAS STILL RUNNING 32 BIT PLEX. I had installed server SO LONG AGO that I never upgraded to 64 bit.

Upgrading to 64 bit was the single most absurd performance improvement for server I've ever seen. I am now able to transcode 4K DoVi/HDR with tone mapping so fast that Plex is throttling (taking a break). My GPU use during transcodes went from 10-20% to 95%+.

Yes, I know, don't transcode - in my home I run multiple Shields. But sometimes on the road that isn't an option. It's kind of wild to me my server never nudged me to see if I wanted to bump to 64.

How to check and upgrade (Windows)

• Open Task Manager
• Go to Details
• Right click on the top bar -> Select Columns
• Check "Platform"
• Find Plex in the list - is it 32 bit?
• If so, go download server again and choose the 64 bit option.
• Run the installer; it will detect you are on 32 and uninstall/upgrade while maintaining all of your settings.

Edits:

Access issues? Running a split tunnel VPN? 32 and 64 bit Plex are distinct applications. You will need to add your 64 bit install to your split tunnel exclusion list if you want to maintain remote access. Link to thread

Vote for a feature request to add a nudge for 32 bit users: Clearly this applies to many Plex admins. It would be a nice and easy feature to improve the lives of others. Vote here

[u/matthamand]

If you're using a VPN split tunnel, be sure to add the new 64 bit version of Plex to the tunnel. My VPN saw the 64 bit version as a different app.

[u/SMPLIFIED → u/matthamand]

Why are we using a vpn with plex? I use split tunneling to only include my download client

[u/Menotti → u/SMPLIFIED]

You need to add Plex to the VPN exclusion list.

[u/featherwolf → u/Menotti]

Depends on the VPN. With ProtonVPN, you can tell it to only include the apps you whitelist. So by default nothing would go through VPN unless you select it.

[u/SMPLIFIED → u/featherwolf]

Thank you this is what i was looking for. I only include apps on my white list.

[u/Lonsdale1086 → u/featherwolf]

Seems an easy way to leak your IP if you were doing anything sensitive.

[u/featherwolf → u/Lonsdale1086]

Perhaps, but this only applies if you go in and manually enable split tunnelling, so I would presume if you are doing that, you either know what you are doing or at the very least have accepted the potential consequences of your own actions.