Mac mini server media full size#
Another nice little upgrade from our old setup is the new mini’s built in full size HDMI port with audio, meaning we no longer have to rig up a separate audio input into our amp (see the video below on how the old mini was rigged up from our 2009 podcast).ĭIY Fusion Drive – Once the machine was up and running it was time to go one step further and merge the two drives into a single ‘Fusion’ volume. In addition to its media server duties it is also our Plex client on our main AV system. Have a watch through and make sure you are confident before you go ahead and order up the bits.ĭouble Act – Like its predecessor the new Mac mini serves dual roles. The kit’s printed instructions are excellent and the video (below) is even better. There’s nothing difficult about the upgrade, although some of the connectors to the logic board are fragile and fiddly. The kit includes the OWC 5-Piece Mini Toolkit, a Logic Board Removal Tool, 4 Rubber Grommets, 4 Hex Screws, a Mac Mini flex SATA cable and an installation Manual. It took 2 weeks to get to the UK (via the cheapest shipping method). We ordered the $35 OWC ‘Data Doubler’ SSD/2.5″ Hard Drive installation Kit from Other World Computing. Mac minis have a spare drive bay inside but you need a few special tools as well as a second Apple SATA cable to hook it all up.
But we didn’t have a use for the 1TB in anything else and hey, it’s a chance to tinker with Fusion drives, but more on that later. Plex re-encodes your requested files to /Library/Caches/PlexMediaServer/Transcoder – deleting them once the sync has completed, so in truth there’s no need for this machine to keep the 1TB spindle and it would be fine with just the 120GB SSD as all our media lives on the Jukebox Server MkII. Remember that you’ll also need a PlexPass subscription to use PlexSync (the lifetime sub option is still available). While we were at it we ordered the Crucial 16GB kit (8GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM which was £76.
Mac mini server media series#
SSD prices continue to fall and we paid just £75 for the 120GB version of the Samsung 840 series SSD. Solid State – Choosing Apples own 256GB Flash / 1TB combo adds another £240 to the price tag but we thought we could do better. The latest Mac mini starts at £499 for the 500GB dual-core i5, but we opted for the the 1TB quad-core i7 for an additional premium of £180.
Mac mini server media pro#
So what should we expect from the new hardware? Well, as an idea of how much of a difference a new i7 makes over the ageing Core 2 Duo in our old mini here’s a graph pulled from our MacBook Pro with Retina Display Review. It has served us well but with an increasing load being put on the machine from 4 users and multiple client streaming and syncing it’s time for an upgrade.
Upgrade Opportunity – This duty is currently performed by a 4-year-old Mac mini at the Automated Home. When you arrive home they are all ready for you to sync across to your tablet. Once your selection is made, PMS will automatically begin to re-encode the files to best suit your device. You can log into your home Plex Media Server right from work and choose a few movies or perhaps some TV episodes to sync to your iPad. Here’s a scenario, it’s Friday afternoon and you know you have a long drive on Saturday and you want to keep the kids amused.
Yes yes, I know you’ve heard it a million times before but we love Plex! One of the best new features over recent months, PlexSync is used with the many mobile devices in our family, it’s such a fantastic way to take your media with you.
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