Mac mini Best Plex Media Server

Plex continues to be a great app if you own a Roku or Apple TV media player. To watch Plex channels on these devices, you also need to use a media server that is on and running at the same time you watch the Plex channel on your media streamer. This is basically a PC that needs to use a reasonably powerful and preferably a dual or quad core Intel processor. This is so you can transcode your video streams to multiple devices in 1080p and 4K.

Hardware Specs Required for a Plex Server

In order to run Plex, at a minimum your PC should have an Intel 1.4 Dual Core CPU. Ideally though, if you plan on transcoding files with subtitles to more than one device at the same time in 1080p or 4K, an Intel i5 is needed. Plex by itself does not use a lot of RAM, so 4GB to 8GB of memory is more than enough. To make your Plex server run better, spend the extra money on a faster CPU rather than more memory. If you plan on using your Plex media server as an home theater PC as well, then you may want to bump up those RAM numbers even higher.

If you don't have a huge movie library and don't need to rip and store a large video or music library on your Plex media server, a large hard drive is really not needed. Another option is to use a NAS to store your media library and in some cases a NAS can even be used to run the Plex server software as well. Learn more about the Best NAS here.

Plex Unsupported App Store

Many people who choose to use Plex, use it to access the Plex Unsupported App Store. This is where you get the apps like Kodi what can stream shows and movies from the Internet. If that is the only reason you want to use Plex, a lot of disk space is not really needed. With channels that were once popular on Roku no longer available, Plex is still a good alternative to watch this same type of free content. You will need these unsupported Plex apps that install into a folder on your Plex server.

If you only want a PC to use as a media server using Plex Apps or if you don't plan on recording and archiving a lot of live over the air content to the hard drive (Plex Pass and HDHomeRun Needed for DVR Recording). Then a 250GB to 1TB hard drive is more than adequate in size.

Plex and IPTV

Plex can also stream m3u playlists from an Unsupported App Store app. This is ad-free and some say it works even better than the m3u Roku player channels. You can learn more about m3u playlists or Download the IPTV channel for Plex here.

Streaming live TV from playlists is also where a more powerful CPU shines. Lower powered dual cores tend to have a tougher time with live streams as they do with streaming on-demand content.

Best Plex Servers PC

Today, you can get really buy some nice small footprint, quiet and still very powerful tiny computers that will work great as a media server for Plex and can also be used as a primary desktop PC.

Mac mini Ultimate Plex Server

One of the best computers for using as a Plex PC server is still the Mac mini. They are very small and can easily be hidden away directly behind your television with a VESA mount and it can be attached directly to your TV with a HDMI cable. The latest model was last updated in 2014 but the Mac minis are built like tanks and will last for many years.

We are still using a 2012 Mac mini that has not missed a beat. It's virtually silent, super energy efficient and can be placed near or behind a TV. Our Mac mini gets used daily for DVR duty when it records a couple hour news show from an over the air antenna with an HDHomeRun Network tuner for no monthly fee.

Another reason for using Mac OS X or a Linux OS which are basically the same operating system is you will not need to worry about the daily virus and malware threats and related software updates as when you use a box running Windows. When using a PC for a home theater server, you would like it to be a plug in and forget about it experience as much as possible.

When used as a home theater computer, Plex even offers software so that it can boot right into home theater mode. This require that you download the OpenPHT app here.

You can configure your Mac mini Plex server with as little as 4GB of memory or as much as 16GB. Since the system memory on the 2014 Mac mini is no longer user upgradable and is soldered directly to the motherboard, you only have one shot at making sure it has enough RAM for your intended needs.

As we mentioned earlier, 8GB should be more than enough to be used with Plex and also a few other apps. If you you want to use your Mac mini as a Home Theater PC and use it to cast files from websites to your Apple TV or Roku directly from a Safari or Chrome Web browser, of use it as your primary desktop computer, it would be good to have a little more RAM.

A Mac mini that comes with a solid state drive (SSD) this will make your operating system and Plex server boot and run a lot faster than if it uses a conventional 5400 RPM spinning hard drive.

Mac mini Plex Media Servers

Intel Core i5 1.4GHz Dual-Core Processor
4GB Memory, 500GB HDD, 802.11ac, Bluetooth, Intel HD Graphics 5000, USB 3.0

* Great for streaming from Plex apps!

Intel Core i5 2.3GHz Dual-Core Processor
16GB DDR3 Memory, 1TB SSHD (Solid State Hybrid) Drive
This is a 2011/2012. It has a HD Graphics 3000 graphics processor with 512MB of video memory. Upgraded with a brand new drive and tested memory.

* Best for Plex media server!

Intel Core i7 2.3GHz Quad-Core Processor
1TB (5400-rpm) hard drive, Intel HD Graphics 4000
16GB of 1600MHz DDR3 Memory
802.11a/b/g compatible); Bluetooth 4.0; Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000)

* Best for Plex HTPC or home PC!

Raspberry Pi 3 Low Budget Plex Server Alternative

If you only plan on using Plex to stream from the Internet and don't need to rip your own DVD collection or use it to transcode your media files or support many different devices.

A Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ could be a great way to build a low budget Plex Server. This is also super energy efficient because a Raspberry Pi Plex server only uses 1.4 watts per hour. With a Raspberry Pi, you will only be able to stream content in 1080p and not 4K.

Building Raspberry Pi Plex Server is more a do it yourself kit project that you put together, and install the operating system on. If you are not a Linux geek, you would be better off choosing a lower spec model Mac mini as your Plex server.

Download this software and install it on your Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. It contains both Rasplex and OpenPHT and this will also work fine as a Plex server for watching Plex channels on your Roku, Apple TV or Android media streamers.

You can buy the Pi 3 as a kit which includes everything you need to build your own low budget Plex server except for a RemotePi Board. This lets you control your Raspberry Pi 3 with an infrared remote control. This is an add-on board that simply plugs into your Pi board. You can learn more and order a RemotePi board here. Here are the instructions for setting up your Raspberry Pi Plex Server.

What About The Nvidia SHIELD as a Plex Server?

The SHIELD is one of the few standalone media streamers available today that can act both as a Plex Server and also a Client. If you only plan on watching official Plex channels or streaming some of your media it may be a good option. We have found it to be rather restrictive though because it will not let you access the Apps folder on the SHIELD. This is because it is in a protected system area and unless you root your SHIELD you can't access it. This means you will only be unable to install any unsupported apps and only the ones available from Plex.

The problem with rooting a SHIELD is every time there is a System update, because Nvidia, unlike many other Android TV boxes updates their software quite regularly. So yes, a SHIELD can be used as a Plex server, but with it's restrictions, using another device like a Mac mini, PC or even a Raspberry Pi is still a better solution.

Once you have your Plex server up and running, using the Plex app on the SHILED does work great for either streaming or watching and recording live TV with Plex Pass.

Access the Free Roku Plex Setup Guide »

Try Our Free Web App!

Join Us!

For the latest in TvStreaming and Cord-Cutting News

Join US @ TVSTREAMERSCLUB.com
And you will be notified whenever we post a new article

Thanks for Making us Your TV Streaming Destination

Roku Channels • Index • Contact • Disclosure • Privacy

© 2024 mkvXstream.com

Use of third-party trademarks on this site is not intended to imply endorsement nor affiliation with respective trademark owners.
We are Not Affiliated with or Endorsed by Roku®, Apple, Google or Other Companies we may write about.