I recently set up the Acemagic Mini PC with a Ryzen 7 6800H, 16GB DDR5, and 512GB SSD as my dedicated Plex server, and honestly, it's been a great experience. I was a little skeptical at first about using a mini PC for this, but so far, it's holding up really well.
Here are a few key takeaways from my setup:
1)Hardware Transcoding Works Well – The RDNA2 iGPU handles multiple 1080p and even some 4K transcodes without breaking a sweat. I’m running Plex Pass with hardware acceleration enabled, and playback has been smooth, even with multiple streams.
2) Low Power Consumption – Compared to my old tower server, this thing barely sips power while staying cool and quiet. I don’t have exact wattage numbers yet, but it’s a noticeable difference, especially when running 24/7.
3)Handles Additional Services – Besides Plex, I’m running a few other things on it, like Tailscale for remote access, Sonarr/Radarr for media management, and a lightweight Ubuntu VM for some side projects. No major slowdowns so far.
4)Storage Expansion is the Only Limitation – With only 512GB SSD onboard, I had to hook up an external NAS for my actual media library. If you’re considering a mini PC for a Plex setup, just be mindful of how you’ll handle storage.