Hi folks, wondering if anyone had considered turning a base m4 Mac mini into a home/ internet streaming media server?
Thoughts?
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Base M4 Mac mini as media server
- Thread starter jgbr
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Just for that? Why not a NAS?
I think it is a massive overkill. I plan to use my old M1 Mac mini for home server when my M4 Pro Mac mini arrives.
When I first set up my Plex server several years ago, I used a Mac mini with lots of external drives attached. While the mini did a decent job of keeping up with house demand, it really wasn’t the best option because…
1) USB-A drive bottle-neck speed
2) not enough external ports for all the storage.
3) No practical (single drive or overall) storage backup ability.
With a dedicated NAS…
1. I don’t lose data if one drive fails (albeit it will be a little slower until the drive is replaced)
2. There are much easier backup options with NAS
3. Depending on the about of data to be used, investing in a NAS (long term) is more cost efficient.
4. Dedicated NAS specific drives are built to be on 24/7 and much more reliable versus buying an external WD or Seagate from my Amazon or Best Buy etc.
5) You have better control and security of your NAS and your use of the Mac is not impacted in any way.
* My current tv/movie server size (used space) is 60 TB spread across 5 drives totaling 100 TB
1) USB-A drive bottle-neck speed
2) not enough external ports for all the storage.
3) No practical (single drive or overall) storage backup ability.
With a dedicated NAS…
1. I don’t lose data if one drive fails (albeit it will be a little slower until the drive is replaced)
2. There are much easier backup options with NAS
3. Depending on the about of data to be used, investing in a NAS (long term) is more cost efficient.
4. Dedicated NAS specific drives are built to be on 24/7 and much more reliable versus buying an external WD or Seagate from my Amazon or Best Buy etc.
5) You have better control and security of your NAS and your use of the Mac is not impacted in any way.
* My current tv/movie server size (used space) is 60 TB spread across 5 drives totaling 100 TB
There is only 1 reason to pick a Mac as a dedicated media server over a NAS and that is if you MUST have a local iTunes/Apple TV Server.
I run a NAS as Plex Server and also a HDHomeRun Server which runs as a docker machine.
stream apple from web and local media from Plex.
used to run a mini as server and small NAS for HDHomeRun as Mac won’t wake up to record.
much simpler now.
I run a NAS as Plex Server and also a HDHomeRun Server which runs as a docker machine.
stream apple from web and local media from Plex.
used to run a mini as server and small NAS for HDHomeRun as Mac won’t wake up to record.
much simpler now.
used a $175 Beelink mini pc for my plex server, s12 pro I think. Worked perfect and even worked for browsing the internet pretty snappy. I even installed a 4TB HDD inside. Took 5 mins. Now I use a seedbox from Ultra which i prefer.
Mac mini is over kill for just a server but if you got money to blow go ahead.
Mac mini is over kill for just a server but if you got money to blow go ahead.
I guess the argument would be that it could used or repurposed for other tasks too, its been a while since I used a MM in that form, in fact OSX Server Mac mini days so I was curious to how well it would work today with something like Plex.
I've not run the numbers but it seems like running any MacMini with solid state drive(s) would save a significant amount of energy (electrical) usage and $ over running a multi-drive NAS with mechanical hard drives.
Also, unless the NAS is a dedicated media server, you can run into network traffic issues. I use my NAS to back-up all our household computers and noticed Plex would frequently stutter.
I currently use an M1 MacMini as my Plex Server with a dedicated 4 TB external mechanical HD. I'm considering upgrading to a lower end M4 MacMini with an external SSD Drive. The 4TB MacMini would be overkill and too pricey.
Also, unless the NAS is a dedicated media server, you can run into network traffic issues. I use my NAS to back-up all our household computers and noticed Plex would frequently stutter.
I currently use an M1 MacMini as my Plex Server with a dedicated 4 TB external mechanical HD. I'm considering upgrading to a lower end M4 MacMini with an external SSD Drive. The 4TB MacMini would be overkill and too pricey.
Use a preowned M1 or M2 Mini for this (at most)
Massive overkill to use an M4 Mini for anything you're describing
My NAS is a 9 year old Xeon box w/ 6 HDDs running TrueNAS that I built. I stream Plex off it beautifully (even transcoding 4K when needed), among other things
Massive overkill to use an M4 Mini for anything you're describing
My NAS is a 9 year old Xeon box w/ 6 HDDs running TrueNAS that I built. I stream Plex off it beautifully (even transcoding 4K when needed), among other things
yep, i have a 2018 mac mini (i7, 32gb) that's been being my desktop *and* plex etc server for years now. i want a m4 to do some music stuff, so my mac mini's going to live in the cupboard with its incredibly noisy RAID friend and save the rest of my house from the sound. the m4 will do a great job, but as other people have said - is definitely overkill. you should be able to get an M1 for pennies that will be more than enough.
I have an old Mac Mini 2013 that ran as Media server and also cached content. But since I switched to 2Gbps fiber, streaming from iTunes is faster!
I just pulled the trigger on a new base model M4 mini to serve as a low power media & other things home server.
If you just wanted it as a media server all that power is overkill, but if you're looking to be able to do other things and experiment it might be nice to have.
Best part? At ~5 watts of idle power draw, the thing will cost me a couple dollars a year to run.
If you just wanted it as a media server all that power is overkill, but if you're looking to be able to do other things and experiment it might be nice to have.
Best part? At ~5 watts of idle power draw, the thing will cost me a couple dollars a year to run.
This is what my M4 Mac mini is used for. Previously I had an M2 Mac mini which was more than enough but I managed to sell it when the M4's came out for more then I could get an M4 for (Educational discount).
I have two external Samsung T7 SSDs. Both 1TB in size. One houses our media library which is pretty small like 500GB and then the second Samsung T7 SSD is a Time Machine drive that backs up the Mac mini AND the media library. We use it for movies that we can't buy on what was the iTunes store. My other half likes some really strange movies from the past but they don't appear to be on any service to buy. We also have a few TV shows on there that I've downloaded in HD that are only available in SD on the iTunes Store.
I also use it for running Windows 11 Arm in VMware and as it's hooked up to our TV to play a few games like Stray or Death Stranding.
It was a no brainer for me. Yes it's massively over kill but it does what I want.
I have two external Samsung T7 SSDs. Both 1TB in size. One houses our media library which is pretty small like 500GB and then the second Samsung T7 SSD is a Time Machine drive that backs up the Mac mini AND the media library. We use it for movies that we can't buy on what was the iTunes store. My other half likes some really strange movies from the past but they don't appear to be on any service to buy. We also have a few TV shows on there that I've downloaded in HD that are only available in SD on the iTunes Store.
I also use it for running Windows 11 Arm in VMware and as it's hooked up to our TV to play a few games like Stray or Death Stranding.
It was a no brainer for me. Yes it's massively over kill but it does what I want.
This is exactly what I'm doing, though it's in its early stages. I know many people will reuse unsupported stuff to do things like this running all sorts of workarounds, but that strikes me as a liability and also completely defeats the hands-off expectations of MacOS.
The bigger problem right now is that while I'm actually loading stuff on, I'm sorta thinking that some of the things I was set on doing with the Mac may be better done in a container on the NAS, or on a Linux (or even waiting for a WoA) NUC - this having nothing to do with cost, overkill, etc, but rather that MacOS might just be one of the worst platforms to do a lot of this for various reasons, including the fact that Mac networking blows hard.
But I'm invested enough in the ecosystem, and the relative simplicity of the Minis, to try and make it work.
For now.
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Both of your posts read like you should be thinking NAS... like maybe something from Synology. Just some things it can do:
- Media Server
- Cloud Server
- Central store of Photo collections
- Website host & email
- Network Time Machine backups
- Whole home security
- Whole home DVR
Yes, you can use a computer for such things too (a NAS is basically a computer with typically a LOT of storage capacity) but a dedicated NAS is great for such stuff. A NAS can lean on third party tech & storage instead of paying Apple's pricey premiums. None of the above needs "latest & greatest" horses.
Then, choose a Mac for more typical computer chores... allocating all of it's premium-priced resources to be dedicated to computer use tasks.
You've got to take into account effort to achieve ends with the control you want. Sometimes you need a computer even for ostensibly simple hands-off tasks. And while a midrange-up NAS can offer the integration of storage and decent computing power in terms of apps targeting the NAS platform or making use of containers on said NAS, it can be unnecessarily complex to achieve that control.
In my case, some of the workloads needed more granular control than existing NAS's could achieve easily.
However, the issue I'm running across now is that problems which arise out of MacOS deficiencies might mean that achieving said control not easily on a NAS (or going with a less efficient x86 NUC while still easily retaining such control) might actually be the lesser evil after all.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Well, all that considered, in my own experience, setting those things up on a Synology is clicking answers to setup wizards. Setting those up on a Mac Mini does't seem to have setup wizards.
OP seems to be looking for simple, NAS-like functionality but from a powerful Mac Mini M4. For the 2 things he listed, I wouldn't waste any Mini horses on those things. But, of course, that's up to OP.
OP seems to be looking for simple, NAS-like functionality but from a powerful Mac Mini M4. For the 2 things he listed, I wouldn't waste any Mini horses on those things. But, of course, that's up to OP.
Well, for example, Plex on a Synology via the app has any number of pitfalls if you know what you want. If I was running Plex on a Synology it would be via Docker. The question then becomes, do I really want to be fiddling with containers on a NAS on top of normally managing the server?
I got a base m4 Mini for a media server two months ago. Dead simple setup, just runs media sharing/home sharing 24/7 with my library on an external 4tb SSD. Also connected to my home stereo with speakers in different rooms, so I use the music app directly and stream Sirius/XM in Safari. But that's all I use it for.
Overkill? Yeah. But I needed to replace the 2014 Mini I was previously using for this. Thought I'd get an older Apple refurb m1 or m2 Mini. But, it just happened to be Black Friday and the base m4 Mini was on sale for $529 at B&H. The cheapest Apple refurb was an M2 for about the same price. Just didn't make sense to get that (and it only had 8gb).
I paid about $500 for the 2014 Mini I previously used as a server, and about the same for the 2012 Mini I used before that. So this was inline with what I've paid in the past, it does everything I need, has a warranty and will be supported for many years. I'll eventually retire the 2012 quad Mini I use as a fileserver since the m4 should also be able to handle that.
Overkill? Yeah. But I needed to replace the 2014 Mini I was previously using for this. Thought I'd get an older Apple refurb m1 or m2 Mini. But, it just happened to be Black Friday and the base m4 Mini was on sale for $529 at B&H. The cheapest Apple refurb was an M2 for about the same price. Just didn't make sense to get that (and it only had 8gb).
I paid about $500 for the 2014 Mini I previously used as a server, and about the same for the 2012 Mini I used before that. So this was inline with what I've paid in the past, it does everything I need, has a warranty and will be supported for many years. I'll eventually retire the 2012 quad Mini I use as a fileserver since the m4 should also be able to handle that.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Even for this example, it basically is if you're looking at NAS's. I know it's a really common practice on sites where fans congregate, but please stop trying to shift the narrative.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Not shifting anything. For example, if I'm OP, I could easily install Channels DVR on a Synology and load it up with my own media for media server use. That's just one MUCH EASIER option than installing Plex.
And Synology has its own media server too. Again, run a simple wizard and it is installed.
I'm trying to HELP OP who is asking for help with this topic. The 2 things he's already asked for can be done on a new Mac but there are also other options than only M4 Mac Mini- as lots of people are offering- and a NAS is one other such way. I’m not even first in this thread to suggest NAS. The first came up immediately… in post #2.
We don't even know what OP can and can't handle. Present options and then OP can choose. Plex is also one such option... among MANY.
And Synology has its own media server too. Again, run a simple wizard and it is installed.
I'm trying to HELP OP who is asking for help with this topic. The 2 things he's already asked for can be done on a new Mac but there are also other options than only M4 Mac Mini- as lots of people are offering- and a NAS is one other such way. I’m not even first in this thread to suggest NAS. The first came up immediately… in post #2.
We don't even know what OP can and can't handle. Present options and then OP can choose. Plex is also one such option... among MANY.
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