Mac Mini as an HTPC

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Sedggsedgg7 Author

Level 1

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Mac Mini as an HTPC

Hi All.

Long time PC user here.

Looking to build a HTPC.

A few people I know suggested Mac Mini's running Plex.

Am wondering if they are any good as HTPC's anymore because they are only using Intel graphics chips now?

What I wanted to do with the mini is pretty basic - I have 3x 3TB External USB 3.0 HD's that I was going to plug in to the mini to view content on my TV and to use Plex to stream content where ever.

I also wanted to do some casual gaming. League of Legends / Starcraft 2 etc.

But will the Intel graphics be good enough? I checked out some benchmarks but it seems rather poor compared to the Geforce...

I have rather large 1080p MKV's and I want the UI to work smoothly.

Mac mini

Posted on Jul 8, 2013 12:43 AM

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Answer 1

Creeper74

Level 2

366 points

Jul 8, 2013 9:58 AM in response to Sedggsedgg7

I can't speak to the gaming aspect, but I've been using a 2011 mini as an HTPC since those were released, and haven't looked back. I use Plex and Plex Media Server, which I can also use to stream to the AppleTVs I have spread around my house. It's fantastic. I'm actually thinking about putting the mini in my network closet and putting an AppleTV in its place because the interface is so much simpler for my kids and in-laws to use on the ATV.

Speaking about the technical aspects, you mentioned large MKVs, and I can tell you it hasn't mattered to this point how large the files are...I've opened 48GB files and played with no issue.

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Answer 2

Sedggsedgg7 Author

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Jul 8, 2013 10:26 AM in response to Creeper74

After doing a fair bit of reading since this post, it seems the 2012 Mac Mini will be sufficient as an HTPC.

But even with the $799 i7 Quad Core / HD 4000 running mid range to higher end games you'd have to set the graphics to low / medium to get good frame rates, because there's no dedicated graphics card.

I really wish Apple gave consumers the option to upgrade to dedicated graphics like they did in previous mini models. Le Sigh.

Maybe I should just wait till the end of the year for the 2013 Mac Mini (Assuming they release one at the end of the year.) ???

It will probably have Intel HD 5000 graphics so gaming won't be as big of an issue.

Also I'm wondering - If you get 16 GB of RAM instead of 8 - Can the computer / programs / games even take advantage of that, or is it overkill and won't make a difference? I'm thinking on getting 16 from a third party and installing it myself 'cause Apple charges too much for that.

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Answer 3

Jul 8, 2013 10:44 AM in response to Sedggsedgg7

Sedggsedgg7 wrote:

Also I'm wondering - If you get 16 GB of RAM instead of 8 - Can the computer / programs / games even take advantage of that, or is it overkill and won't make a difference? I'm thinking on getting 16 from a third party and installing it myself 'cause Apple charges too much for that.

I can't say for certain for the latest Mac mini but previous ones would only allocate a certain maxmimum amount of RAM for video/GPU use no matter how much extra physical RAM you had fitted.

A quick Google search suggests that in OS X it is still limited to a maximum of 768MB of 'VRAM' no matter how much real RAM you have. There is also a suggestion that Windows in Boot Camp uses more for the video ram than OS X can.

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Answer 4

Jul 8, 2013 10:45 AM in response to Sedggsedgg7

Increasing RAM will give 768 Meg available to the HD4000.

Whether this makes any real difference with high demand

games is doubtful.

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Answer 5

Sedggsedgg7 Author

Level 1

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Jul 8, 2013 10:50 AM in response to woodmeister50

So increasing the RAM from 8GB to 16GB will give you 768 MEG to the HD4000 if I understand that correctly?

What is the MEG to the HD4000 with 8GB?

I guess I could always boot camp Windows then if it will use the 16GB better.

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Answer 6

Creeper74

Level 2

366 points

Jul 8, 2013 1:36 PM in response to Sedggsedgg7

My understanding is that it'll still allot the 768 to graphics even if you stay with 8GB, but like the other posters have stated, that may not have much of an impact on your gaming.

Speaking to the benefit of more RAM in general, 8GB is quite a bit for what it sounds like you're going to be doing. I only have 4GB in my Mini, and I've had zero issues in use as a HTPC, and that's even while it's transcoding in Plex. If you intend on running VMs, then I'd say the more RAM the better.

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Answer 7

Jul 9, 2013 2:51 AM in response to Sedggsedgg7

Bottom line, if serious gaming is your interest, the Mini is

not the right machine.

If a multimedia HTPC is what you want, it is ideal.

Even if you use Bootcamp and run Windows, you are still

limited by the HD4000. It simply does not have the execution

cores to handle serious gaming, no matter how much RAM

you could possibly throw at it.

You may wait for the next gen, but only people inside Apple

will know when that will happen and how it will be configured.

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