Mac struggling with PMS - want to build affordable new box, Linux or Windows?

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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EDIT / UPDATE for TL;DR

Seemed to have solved my “problems”. Booting the Mac Mini from an external SSD, USB 3 connection. OS tasks are a lot faster than when booting from internal 5400rpm HDD. Plex? Maybe it’s placebo but clients seem to load libraries / content faster than before.

For performance - my WiFi seems to be getting the job done. But, as a test, I ran Ethernet to the Shield and a 4k video cued up and played smoothly. The key bit - I executed that test WHILE BOOTING FROM INTERNAL 5400rpm HDD.
Bottom line - hard line your client(s), if you can. Big, fast SSD for the OS drive hosting your PMS. Big helps.

Older Mac Mini is acting finicky. Client devices are slow to load libraries, begin playback, etc. I have concluded that this is a combination of less-than-ideal WiFi and the Mac having low processing power.

• While I would like to replace the machine with another Mac, I can’t afford to.
•I am not a fan of Windows but I can fake my way through using it.
• I have never used Linux but I thought it might be a good solution. Nervous about it but if I can get some assurance that it’s user-friendly, that would help.
• Toying with the idea of purchasing an Intel NUC.

**I would appreciate any advice on what kind of system to buy / build. Thank you. **

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Linux has a VERY steep learning curve.

We’re here to help with Plex on Linux but we’re not equipped to teach Linux.

That having been said, if you want immediate success, go with what you know – Windows.

It will be more user-friendly like the Mac is.

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I’m sad because I know Linux has a great reputation. However, I don’t want to create an unnecessary headache for myself. So, Windows it shall be.

As for the hardware, I’m on a budget but I can justify some reasonable spending. I have asked this forum before with no success…what are the key components of the server that are responsible for fast, stable media playback? IOW, what are the most important parts to devote more budget to - CPU, GPU, RAM, drive speed? Thank you!

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the only standard answer you can get for hardware is this;

for 4k transcoding, you need an intel 7000 series CPU with integrated 600 series gpu (ie uhd630). You do not need a separate gpu, if your intel cpu/gpu meets the above minimum requirement.

NOTE: gpu transcoding requires plex pass, you do not appear to have plex pass currently, so GPU support is irrelevant until you have a plex pass. gpu transcoding affects only video, it does not improve any other performance aspect of plex for your system.

alternatively, you can use just about any intel/amd cpu with an nvidia 1050 or newer gpu.

ram does not have a measurable effect on plex performance other than having sufficent ram to run all processes for plex, the os, and any other apps running.
extra ram is used dynamically by any os for disk caching.

disk speed is an important consideration for the system/os disk and plex data, its best to use the largest ssd you can afford, so you don’t have to worry about running out of space and later having to migrate to a larger disk. I would recommend a minimum of 1tb regardless of os.

plex relies on database and metadata files, so the faster that plex can read/write the database and metadata files, the more snappier your library browsing and general server performance will be.

client performance may still be limited by the individual client device hardware.

media storage disk performance is not that important, as long as the media can be read sufficient fast, just about anything can be used, local disks, usb external drives, NAS or other network storage. Don’t use iscsi for media storage.

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I suppose I should ask what if transcoding isn’t necessary? I.E. the client device can direct play or direct stream the media? Playing devil’s advocate here - I’m sure there are clients in my network that will need certain media transcoded for playback.

Eventually will buy Pass; we’ll revisit the GPU thing then.

I got a bit confused here. For the OS disk, I should consider a minimum 1TB SSD but why? The “stuff” that Plex generates gets stored on that drive but how much space does that occupy? I’m probably missing the point.
My media drive is an external 16TB HDD connected over USB3. I don’t think that drive is the bottleneck in the equation.

Oh. I think it’s making more sense now. Despite the Mac Mini that hosts the server having an i7, it also has a 5400rpm HDD, gross.

I would love to have a better understanding of what has the biggest negative impact on Plex performance. Are there any stress tests / benchmarking operations I can try? Thanks!

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you can google for some 4k sample files, or even other 1080 samples files, or simply use any media you have already and use on the clients you have.

there is no designated ‘plex benchmark’ if that is what you mean.

you can stress test pms/your server by opening as many streams as you have clients.

you can even open multiple web browsers and stream to your PC/mac, however that of course also depends on how powerful that PC is too.

as far as the OS disk, the larger the disk, the longer it will last, both in size used, and in write wearing (ssd’s can only handle so many writes over time).

plex database and basic metadata may take a few gigs to hundreds of gigs depending on, size of your media library, and whether or not you want to have the preview/video thumbnails generated (these can take up a lot of space).

basically the point is, you want to build something to last a long time, if you use a small/cheap ssd, then you will be likely to end up having to replace that before any thing else.

you mentioned already have a mac mini, you might simply consider 2 things;

  • stop using wifi for the server (this is probably the biggest bottleneck)
  • google how to replace your mac mini hard drive with a new/bigger/faster ssd

doing that may save you from having to upgrade anything else.

the biggest general performance limit = the os/plex data disk (not the media disk)
the biggest performance limit for any transcoding, is going to be the cpu of course.
even with gpu transcoding, cpu performance is important.

if you are not normally transcoding (mostly direct play), then your best is SSD.

and to go with the above, server on wifi is always a bad idea. always use gigabit ethernet for server.

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Excellent response, thank you!

Yeah, I’ve got some pieces of 4k content to test with. I can put server through the wringer, see what happens.

Wow. Hadn’t occurred to me!
I jumped the gun on my fear of higher capacity SSD. Just checked and, yeah, much more affordable than I expected. With that said…

Opening it up to mod it isn’t something I’m familiar with. But there’s a good chance I’ll be doing exactly that.
But what’s this about wifi? The Mac Mini / Plex server machine is connected to router over ethernet. All clients in network are WiFi; can’t really avoid that.

Finally got my answer!

Good to know that GPU transcoding is possible (with Pass).

It varies but, mainly direct play. Plenty of 1080 content, most clients are 1080 capable. Little bit of 4k content, very few clients 4k capable. PMS needs to transcode that before serving to the client whose screen can’t display 4k, right? So, good CPU and fast SSD for OS / PMS would serve that to the client faster. Did I get it right?

Thanks!

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yup.

before you heavily get into 4k, you should learn more about it, its not as simple as dvd/bluray content.

Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you

unless your mac mini has a new enough intel cpu (see my first reply) and you have plex pass, its not going to be doing much, if any, 4k transcoding.

the solution to that is simple, don’t try to use 4k content on devices that can’t direct play it.

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Well, it’s Ivy Bridge so expecting the Mac Mini to do the heavy lifting might be a lost cause.

Here, trying a 4k film. It Direct Streams and plays well on a high end iMac. It Direct Plays like absolute garbage on an old iPad Mini. Setting that Plex app to convert automatically solves it. PMS reports that it’s a transcode to 1080, H264.
So, something is working in there… but still worth noting that Plex app offered Plex Pass option for HDR conversion. Sorry, didnt read the whole message.

I’m somewhat amazed that this same film was streaming to both devices simultaneously.

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If you read the 4K faq, and any other 4K research, you will find that 4K content requires a lot of processing power.

When something is directly playing, that means the client is doing (or trying and failing to do) the hard work.

Transcoding places the load on the server, so incompatible or insufficiently powered clients, have a lighter load, while the server is doing the hard work.

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The article you linked to is very helpful and I also got some good information from here:

I’m going to keep the Mac Mini in place for now. There’s a chance I’ll swap in an SSD and change RAM from 8 to 16GB. The CPU seems to be doing the job for transcoding content so, to be bluntly honest, I’m not really sure what problems I was having in the first place. I should have written that down.

But the fact remains that the machine is 8 years old so who knows how well it’ll handle PMS as content gets heavier. Will update thread with relevant details, thanks!

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Sorry I’m a bit late to this thread, but I’m a Big Mac user myself - currently on my 3rd Mac running Plex Media Server. It’s an i7 with 1TB SSD and 16GB. It’s only a 2014 model, but picked it up 2nd hand last year. It didn’t come with an SSD so I had that professionally installed after I bought it.

My media itself is on a series of USB3 hard drives.

It gets up to 90% CPU and 90 degrees quite easily as it’s only dual core not quad core, BUT, if I enable the hardware acceleration in the Plex settings, it drops to nearer 10% CPU. That setting honestly makes so much difference.

If you’re still struggling, I’d recommend the M1 Mac mini - have a look at the other threads on the Plex forum - looks seriously impressive. And then you don’t have to learn Linux or Windows. Nor will you have to wipe your external USB3 hard drive and reformat for Windows. You can just take it across to the M1 Mac.

Hope this helps!
Brad

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Good thoughts!

For now, I’m keeping the 2012 Mac Mini employed. That HDD eventually will be swapped for a SSD. Until then, the performance of accessing the media annoying but tolerable at worst. I think we can live with that.

Thanks!

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Much improvement, I updated the OP with details. Thanks all!

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