It’s cheaper to get a less expensive Mac mini and use external hard drives. If you buy a current build-to-order Mac mini, you can get a 2TB drive in the most expensive model, but that would cost you $1100. You need to plan ahead as far as storage is concerned. (Remember, Plex cannot play any DRM-protected videos purchased from the iTunes Store or elsewhere.) My music library, as well as my iTunes Store movies and TV series, are stored on my iMac, but I’ve shunted the rest of my videos to the Mac mini. I only use Plex for videos movies and TV shows that I’ve ripped from DVD or Blu-Ray. You can probably find a similar model used for a few hundred dollars. It has a Thunderbolt port, but it does not have USB 3. I also bought the Mac mini with a 256GB SSD and a second internal drive of 750GB. The 2.7GHz Core i7 is fast enough to transcode video and handle several other tasks at the same time. I’m running a 2011 Mac mini that I tricked out with the fastest available processor when I bought it.

For $699, you get a Mac mini with a 2.6GHz processor and 1TB hard drive, which will handle most people’s media collections. But the entry-level model with a 1.4GHz processor is a bit pokey. The current model, starting at $499, includes Thunderbolt and USB 3 connections, and while it doesn’t have the largest (or fastest) hard drive, its 500GB might be enough for your media collection. Its small form factor and quiet operation makes it easy to integrate into a home entertainment system or use as a server stashed away in a corner. The Mac mini is the cheapest Mac you can buy.

Open plex media server mac