It looks like I can finally upgrade my aging 2011 Mac mini Plex server to something new. Do you think with the updated specs the base model i3 would be adequate for streaming 4k to multiple screens?
I will be running on Gig ethernet, with external drives (USB3/C) to the server.
(Wish the price were lower, but I guess that is to be expected.)
I know next to nothing about Apple stuff, but I was reading up on hardware encoding just now and stumbled across this. It seems to imply that Plex Server will only hardware encode one video at a time on macOS. You might want to look into that before you buy anything.
Not to steal your post but what are the thoughts on the maxed out profile Mac Mini? I am talking about a 3.2ghz 6core i7 with 16gb ram and the Intel UHD Graphics 630.
What does this means in terms for 4K transcode and compared to the i7-6700k Skylake.
All my data is stored on the NAS
How do you think the base $799 model would run PMS? Specs are:
For 1-2 people streaming at a time do you think it could manage?
I have to imagine this would be pretty good, I’m hoping that the i3 can do what I need to save some money, but I may upgrade to an i7 if needed. Makes sense to install ram to 16GB.
I’m just unsure of Plex’s ability to use the hardware decoding or whatever. I try to pass-through most of my videos, but they go to an Apple TV4K, so there is some processing that Plex does for that unfortunately.
Absolutely. I can get 5-8 HD streams at the same time off of a base model 2014 Mac mini. I do have fiber internet which helps but we share it as a family and haven’t had any many issues with buffering or anything. Just as long as you prep your media for direct play on your streaming devices you shouldn’t have an issue.
What kind of streams are we talking about? Because my 2014 model can easily pull 5+ streams but once I want to go in 4K/HEVC territory all the bells start ringing.
Sorry I should have specified. 5-8 direct play 1080p streams. I am researching all of it and just responded on another forum. So maybe that answer would be helpful for you.
Are you sure about the PassMark score for the i7? I think they use the Intel Core i7-8700 @ 3.20GHz. That one has the same GPU chip and comes in at a PassMark of 15140.
As for me all my streams are straight rips from Blu-ray (remuxes) in mkv containers. I don’t prep for my Apple TVs or other devices, otherwise things would be smoother. All my content is 1080p, as I’ve held off getting 4K content since I just recently purchased TVs that can play it, and I just wired my house for ethernet so I wouldn’t have buffering issues.
I’m not sure. You may be correct. Since they are so new it was hard to find the exact CPU they are using. If so that score is even better!
Don’t worry, typical Apple, a ■■■■■■spec sheet , we will have to wait until the teardown 
According to wiki they use => Intel Core i7-8700B six-core CPU.
Just wondering how it will held up on the 4K part.
I updated the link to show the i7. I had the i3 and the i5 configuration MrFancyPants1999 was asking about. So those scores should all be correct now.
Thanks 
, just wondering if there is a difference between 8700 / 8700B & 8700K. Cause the 8700 & 8700K have a difference of 800.
I know right? Apple’s spec sheets are always very vague. Thanks for finding that!
no worries, I think I’ll go for the i7 with 16gb, since I have NAS storage, IF it can handle one simultaneous 4K stream
I have no idea on those. Just found the best match I could. Plex even mentions in their wiki that the 4000 score per 4k stream is just a general guideline. I would imagine they are being conservative and you should be able to get a little bit better performance vs what the plex wiki says.
could you link me up?
I mean the 4K link
