My dad got a newer computer and gave me his late 2012 i5 Mac mini with 4 GB of RAM and the stock 500 GB HDD. Since I have a 2019 27" iMac and a 2015 13" MBP, and my wife has a late 2012 i7 Mac mini to which I added 16 GB of RAM and a 2.12 TB Fusion drive a few years ago, I don't need the i5 for any actual computing work. However, based on what I've read online, it still should be good enough to use as a media and printer server. I spent a couple years ripping our DVD collection in my spare time, and it takes up 6 GB of an 8 TB external HDD. I copied the VIDEO_TS folders from the DVDs. I also have some MP4 files from other sources, as well as movies I've purchased on iTunes. We have a 1080P home theater projector, so we can't take advantage of 4K content.
I've read a few threads by people with similar questions, but most are two or three years old, and/or the poster is asking whether it's worth buying a used 2012 i5 mini in 2016/2017, and/or the poster also intends to use the mini for light-duty computing. If I only intend to use mine as a server, what upgrades should I make? I'm guessing that replacing the HDD with a 256 GB SSD and increasing the RAM to 8 GB would be enough, but several people on the older threads say to take it to 16 GB. Does streaming media make use of extra RAM? If not, would the stock 4 GB be enough? Is there anything else I should know? I'm not sure whether I'll go with PLEX or just use VLC. Also, has anyone found other creative uses for an older mini?
I've read a few threads by people with similar questions, but most are two or three years old, and/or the poster is asking whether it's worth buying a used 2012 i5 mini in 2016/2017, and/or the poster also intends to use the mini for light-duty computing. If I only intend to use mine as a server, what upgrades should I make? I'm guessing that replacing the HDD with a 256 GB SSD and increasing the RAM to 8 GB would be enough, but several people on the older threads say to take it to 16 GB. Does streaming media make use of extra RAM? If not, would the stock 4 GB be enough? Is there anything else I should know? I'm not sure whether I'll go with PLEX or just use VLC. Also, has anyone found other creative uses for an older mini?