€800 ish - Sitting Room Media PC

jonski

I was asked tonight about this and it's way outside what I would know about but I said I'd ask and see what would be recommended .

It seems like overkill to me but this is what he is looking for and for what . Also I wonder if he should just go for something pre-built .

1. What is your budget? [€800ish]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Hook up to TV and run Win 10, Kodi and uTorrent]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [ No ]

5. Do you need a monitor? [No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [Nope]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [ TV ]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In 14 days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Should be ok]

jimmycrackcorm

It just seems crazy to spend that money on a media PC when an android TV box will do all that and more for a fraction of the price. When you factor in that you can run something like Mobdro on a bos and spend the money on silent SSD storage instead of a noisy PC, it just seems such a strange request.

Digital Solitude

Mad altogether, I'd be surprised if a Pi wouldn't suit.

What does he need W10 for? Self sufficient media machines are dirt cheap and don't need the space or cost associated with PCs unless he wants a server.

TerrorFirmer

Just get an i5 or i7 Intel NUC, will last practically forever for those uses.

noel100

Buy a Plex box all you ever need

K.O.Kiki

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Just get an i5 or i7 Intel NUC, will last practically forever for those uses.

Cheaper still: Asrock Deskmini 110

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor (€61.84 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine 11 Pro Rev. 2 36.7 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (€11.44 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (€36.04 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€56.76 @ Mindfactory)
Other: Asrock Deskmini 110 (€142.20)
Total: €308.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-08 13:39 CET+0100

This is a starting point - you can add more SSD space / RAM as needed.
Obviously this system won't be any good for a GPU upgrade/gaming.

Pentium G4560T might be even better; it's a 35W part instead of 54W.
Also, download Intel XTU and experiment with undervolting (usually can get stable performance at -100mV).

jonski

Thanks a lot for all the advice guys . TBH when he first sent me the text I thought for hassle free setup the Nuc would be an idea .

Serephucus

Or get a SHIELD.

You get HDR support, 4K, and all the usual smart TV features, except they actually work. You get a controller you can use to stream games from a PC, or play Android games, and a really nice remote with Google Now/Assistant integration. Hassle free, and pretty damn future-proof too.

jonski

Serephucus wrote: »

Or get a SHIELD.

You get HDR support, 4K, and all the usual smart TV features, except they actually work. You get a controller you can use to stream games from a PC, or play Android games, and a really nice remote with Google Now/Assistant integration. Hassle free, and pretty damn future-proof too.

He actually has a Shield, the first and only person I know that has one .

54and56

For an out of the box Win 10 based HTPC to run Kodi, IPTV apps, Netflix etc etc I'd go for a Minix Z83-4. I have a number of Minix Android boxes and they are superb. I also have a Dell Inspiron Mini PC which I use as a Win 10 HTPC and it's Flawless. Dell don't make them any more but the specs etc are available here. I managed to get it for €99 when they were discontinuing the range. Wish I'd ordered a few more.

When the time comes to replace my Android boxes I'll be switching to Win 10 based mini PC's and likely I'll go Minix and pair them with Logitech K400 keyboards.

An eazy peazy, plug and play inexpensive setup.

Serephucus

jonski wrote: »

He actually has a Shield, the first and only person I know that has one .

So... why does he want a media PC, exactly?

MeTheMan

Can you get a satellite receiver for pc's. I know a friend has one but I think it's on a Linux box?

jonski

Serephucus wrote: »

So... why does he want a media PC, exactly?

Haven't worked that out yet , twas only a whatsapp msg but I will talk to him on the phone tonight .

privateBeavis

http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fit-pc4/

this one I have for few years now, SSD and no fan the enclosure is a heat sink (could fry an egg on it :-)), had Windows on it but switched to Linux cos windows was acting up!

One consideration would be noise level, get quiet/silent setup.
Lots of the smaller PC/ media boxes have no moving parts so zero noise.

lawred2

€800 for that

and windows?

just get an android tv box for €60

jonski

This thread is over , he had £50 on George North @ 11/1 to score the next try and won £600 , Skull Canyon Nuc is top of his shopping list .