My 32 TB Plex server running on a ministack. It ain't fancy but it gets the job done.
I've been running a full tower Windows server with a dozen drives for a decade and decided to downsize. This ministack does everything I need at a fraction of the power, noise, and heat.
I use it primarily for Plex but also host a few games servers for buddies. It fits perfectly in my entertainment center.
Spent around $200 on the Mac Mini plus $600 on the drives and enclosures. I'm using SoftRAID for RAID1.
Most Macs are overpriced, but the $599 M2 Mac Mini is an absolute STEAL compared to the rest of their lineup. And its existence drives the price of used Mac Minis down, which is also great.
In this case they have some justification for the RAM at least. They use a SoC, not a more typical CPU. And the RAM is available for both graphics and system memory, so for some uses, you could do things on a higher end Mac that is not possible on a typical consumer PC.
Still sucks for people like me though. I really want to switch to a mac Mini for my NAS/home server but I can't justify the upgrade cost to get a useful amount of RAM.
It's only limiting if you're doing things that need more RAM and faster drive speeds (most people are not). Of course, if you need more, don't buy this thing? I didn't say it was great for EVERYBODY.