open to suggestions on a Mac for my tv

[aslowdodge]

I have a 2011 MacBook Pro 2.4 i7 with 16 gb of ram.
I pretty much use it to watch movies loaded on my hard drive and surf the net thru Apple TV onto my 75 inch tv.
It seems like it taxes the computer. The fan runs a lot and the computer seems warm. I’m worried it will wear down soon. Am I overly concerned?
I had considered buying an old Mac Pro desktop like a 3.1 which likely has better airflow. But maybe there is a better solution?
I’m trying to keep costs down As i just finished upgrading my cmp 4.1 in my office.
Anyone have any ideas?

 

[McScooby]

I’ve got a 2012 quad i7 mini into a Drobo with Plex to Apple TV, for any surfing then use iPhone screen mirroring or share the screen of the mini using your MBP / screens app to control mini on iPhone. If I was doing it now, it’d be a 2018 mini, overkill sure, but future proofed, well, as can be.

 

[Starfia]

I'm guessing the heat is mainly from AirPlay, constantly and rapidly encoding and scaling the entire screen's content. The Mac's processors and fans are intended not to overclock or anything – maybe it has some effect on long-term life. But if you want to try circumventing that bottleneck before buying a new machine… I mean, have you considered not using AirPlay and just connecting a cable with the appropriate adaptor to the TV?

If you do go for a Mac mini or something (long considered an affordable and viable TV hub), presumably you'd just connect that directly to the TV using HDMI, and control it with a wireless keyboard and pointing device – again, no need to mess with AirPlay except when you need to.

 

[aslowdodge]

I used to not use airplay and use a cable, but the plug of the cable started to wear out a little plus it was a pain with the cable running across the room.
The new mac mini might be a bit more than I want to spend now so I was hoping to buy something older and used.

 

[Tech198]

I have a 2011 MacBook Pro 2.4 i7 with 16 gb of ram.
I pretty much use it to watch movies loaded on my hard drive and surf the net thru Apple TV onto my 75 inch tv.
It seems like it taxes the computer. The fan runs a lot and the computer seems warm. I’m worried it will wear down soon. Am I overly concerned?
I had considered buying an old Mac Pro desktop like a 3.1 which likely has better airflow. But maybe there is a better solution?
I’m trying to keep costs down As i just finished upgrading my cmp 4.1 in my office.
Anyone have any ideas?

Can't go wrong with a Mac Mini.. Before you do Create new Admin account and see if that solves the problem

No point in buying a Mac pro, unless your into photography, TV production...