Hello,
I would like a recommendation for an affordable Mini PC that will not have issues transcoding media. I am thinking something along the lines of an Intel NUC but I am unsure which one would be satisfactory. Other suggestions are welcome of course.
The price range I am looking at is between $200-300 CAD.
Slight bump.
Anyone have any experience with the base model of this PC?
Nope.
This box is absolutely not suited to be a Plex server:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201774043-what-kind-of-cpu-do-i-need-for-my-server/
A real Intel NUC would do, if you pick one of the i5 or i7 models, but these don’t fit into your budget.
In general: the smaller the box, the bigger are the power vs. cooling tradeoffs which are accepted by their manufacturers.
Which means you get less computing power and less value for your money.
If your budget is low, go with a used and refurbished desktop computer with a bigger Intel Core i5 (or better: Core i7) CPU. e.g. Amazon.com : refurbished desktop pc
Avoid server-type computers, because these are usually equipped with Intel Xeon CPUs which (usually) don’t have a Quicksync unit.
You will still be needing a Plex Pass to utilize the Quicksync unit in the Intel Core CPUs.
The more current a CPU model is, the better, because it might have support for more modern video codecs: Intel Quick Sync Video - Wikipedia
so always look them up.
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