Intel cpu's 6th gen VS 11th gen?

[mogga71]

I was thinking of replacing my ageing 2011 Mac mini server which has a 2nd Gen Intel cpu. It's used to run Plex server as well as 2 virtual machines. I like the fact its power efficient and silent .... except for when transcoding. Nonetheless its only using between 10W and 40W

I am considering the Dell OptiPlex Micro which is a similar size. Lenovo Thinkcenter & HP Elitedesk are similar sizes as well but the Optiplex has 2 x M.2 slots + 1 Sata connection.

These micro pc's use 35W variants of Desktop CPUs so are power efficient

10th/11thgen Optiplex micros on Dell outlet is around £600 - £700 while there are a few used 6th/7thgen Oplitplex micros for about £230


So I guess the question is if there will be a noticeable performance improvement going with a newer model?


The other option tat matches the outlet price is to build my own. Granted, slightly bigger case, this will give better cooling & quieter fan noise.
So use Small case, mini ITX motherboard, 11th gen 65W Intel CPU with integrated graphics and 450W power supply.

My worry is the 450W PSU. Any idea wattage on such PSU when PC is idling or doing light tasks?

If you only want to use it as a media server and aren't fussed about watching movies/shows remotely then have you considered simply buying an AppleTV and buying Infuse? It plays anything you throw at it .... even 100gb UHD files .... doesn't need a server ... and has a nice interface. I never use Plex any more as its awful at playing large files even with wired ethernet everywhere and a 32gb 2019 i7 server.

[css_jay99]

Did you pay to get the hardware transcoding thing for Plex?

I got the lifetime pass a few years ago when it was free but never really dug on under the bonnet with Plex. Thanks, Just googled what you said and I had 1 out of 2 check boxes ticked so maybe that might make a difference.

The Mac mini sometimes struggle with forward/reverse of large X265 HEVC encoded streams. This was not an issue with the server running temporarily on my 7th gen Alienware 15R3 laptop With GTX 1080, but that old beast can be loud and hot when it gets going.

[d000hg]

Did you pay to get the hardware transcoding thing for Plex?

[css_jay99]

Oh yeah, missed that bit, but slim case with 300w PSU is only £35 extra, it's enough for a 65w CPU. Why bother with a 10/11 gen, then limit it to SATA SSD speed though? i3's aren't exactly slow these days, H265 transcode is 10 minutes for a 30 minute programme.

I already have Sammy NVMe SSD's and a Mini ITX Board alone costs £160. Plex transcodes on the fly when you enable subtitles and it does hammer the cpu especially when you have a vm running simultaneously.

A build is looking more like £550 though will be a better build than an Optiplex

[anonymouse]

£150 for a small case, itx motherboard and a decent power supply - I think it would be difficult.

Oh yeah, missed that bit, but slim case with 300w PSU is only £35 extra, it's enough for a 65w CPU. Why bother with a 10/11 gen, then limit it to SATA SSD speed though? i3's aren't exactly slow these days, H265 transcode is 10 minutes for a 30 minute programme.

[eek]

For £150, you can something better and an m.2 drive, which is 3x quicker than SATA. Just use SCAN.CO.UK and mix/match components as required.

Also, compare CPU's see find what you need

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...100/2311vs4075

£150 for a small case, itx motherboard and a decent power supply - I think it would be difficult.

[anonymouse]

For £150, you can something better and an m.2 drive, which is 3x quicker than SATA. Just use SCAN.CO.UK and mix/match components as required.

Also, compare CPU's see what you need

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...100/2311vs4075

[css_jay99]

Last night I come across an Asrock DeskMini H470 barebone pc for about £150. All I have to do is add Ram,SSD and CPU. I already have (slightly slower) Ram and SSD so all I need to buy is an 11th gen i5 CPU for £200 bringing the it up to £350, far below an Optiplex.

The reviews on Asrock are middle of the road. At that price point, it's almost worth a punt. Worst case scenario is that I offload the Asrock on ebay and then get a proper case and motherboard.

Anyone with an Asrock barebone mini PC/similar care to comment ?

[d000hg]

It's a shame apple decided to to go with on-board Ram and SSD else it would have been my choice if it had optional storage interfaces.

It's not like adding another SSD is difficult. They've been soldering RAM in for ages pre-M1 though one reason I got my current shiny iMac was that RAM is a very easy user upgrade.

I was tempted by M1 but decided to wait a generation and see how it ends up going.

[css_jay99]

It's a shame apple decided to to go with on-board Ram and SSD else it would have been my choice if it had optional storage interfaces.

[d000hg]

I don't know how to do a direct comparison across OS but this might be of some help: https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks

I had a 2012 quad-core MacMini, check out how the older ones stacks up against the recent (Intel) Minis.

And then be amazed by the M1 performance! Not an option for your use-case but pretty neat.

[css_jay99]

I was thinking of replacing my ageing 2011 Mac mini server which has a 2nd Gen Intel cpu. It's used to run Plex server as well as 2 virtual machines. I like the fact its power efficient and silent .... except for when transcoding. Nonetheless its only using between 10W and 40W

I am considering the Dell OptiPlex Micro which is a similar size. Lenovo Thinkcenter & HP Elitedesk are similar sizes as well but the Optiplex has 2 x M.2 slots + 1 Sata connection.

These micro pc's use 35W variants of Desktop CPUs so are power efficient

10th/11thgen Optiplex micros on Dell outlet is around £600 - £700 while there are a few used 6th/7thgen Oplitplex micros for about £230


So I guess the question is if there will be a noticeable performance improvement going with a newer model?


The other option tat matches the outlet price is to build my own. Granted, slightly bigger case, this will give better cooling & quieter fan noise.
So use Small case, mini ITX motherboard, 11th gen 65W Intel CPU with integrated graphics and 450W power supply.

My worry is the 450W PSU. Any idea wattage on such PSU when PC is idling or doing light tasks?