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Budget (including currency): £500 Country: UK Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: media playback in 4k, gaming Other details I need a multipurpose pc with the main use being media playback. I want to start by having no graphics card but I want an option to add it at a later date. It has to be small as I have a limited space but must be able to accomodate a full size graphics card. This is what I came up with https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/t2vf28 I would like to possibly came down on price if possible. I also considered buying an ex-office pc but not a great fan of a 10 year dells with a 6th gen i3...

I have a couple of older boxes that I want to put to use (and save money). One would be an "ingest station" for assorted audio and video (copying from old tape media to digital, etc.) and one would be for backup of my main machine. The media box has a 990FX mobo, FX-8350, and the appropriate media cards. It'll run Win7 for conversion card compatibility. The planned backup box is older and has an Athlon 64 X2 CPU. I have an assortment of new (or light used) SATA SSD's (250GB & 500GB), a few good 2TB HDD's and a brand new 8TB Iron Wolf drive for the backup. My main PC runs Iron Wolf pros in RAID for data drives, so the separate backup is truly Plan B (or even Plan C). I'm wondering if I should make one machine or two. The advantage would be that the backup machine could run non-Windows, but then I'd have one more machine taking up space. I only want to repurpose old parts. If I didn't, I'd just buy a Synology NAS for the backup and call it good. I'd likely run the ingest/conversion during the day and backup at night, so there wouldn't be a usage conflict if it was one machine.

Budget (including currency): About $650 CAD Country: Canada Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: This will be used as a Plex media server, and as an Apple TV shared library for watching movies on my Apple TV (I know I could use Plex for it too just how my dad did things before Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): My dad used to run the media server off of his mac mini, however he tried to upgrade the internal hard drive to an ssd to hopefully speed things up a bit, while disassembling the mac mini he broke off the connector for the CPU fan from the motherboard thus bricking the mac mini. My Dad spent years compiling movies and has always loved watching movies with our family. He was really upset because not only did he brick the media pc but it was also his birthday which kinda ruined things for him. My plan is to build him a dedicated media PC as a Christmas present, I don't have a whole lot of money to spend on the PC but I think the list I've made is pretty good. The parts that have been marked as already purchased are parts I already have. Heres the pcparticker list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/WRM6kX I also I have a second option I'm pondering: (Server case, PSU, MB, RAM, CPU) https://www.ebay.ca/itm/283647606276 (Mounting for drives) https://www.ebay.ca/itm/284179630494?hash=item422a6d099e:g:V5YAAOSwCMFaLEMh (More mounting) https://www.amazon.ca/Phillips-Machine-Screws-Stainless-Thread/dp/B01HQAT98A (Vertical wall mount) https://www.amazon.ca/iStarUSA-WUT-110B-Vertical-Rackmountable-Equipment/dp/B007IGK08G/ref=pd_sbs_4/147-1113705-2310562?pd_rd_w=XXokk&pf_rd_p=1b4659b1-6903-40fb-8019-e6c90d779f05&pf_rd_r=FRTSZH6M4C1YP2YXMB8Y&pd_rd_r=f4dd88fd-cd26-4f1f-bc48-37091a035cdd&pd_rd_wg=IR17W&pd_rd_i=B007IGK08G&psc=1 (Right angle riser) https://www.amazon.ca/SINLOON-90-Degree-Extender-Extension-Computer/dp/B08R38B818/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=PCIe+1u+riser&qid=1632691507&sr=8-8 (Dual m.2 adapter) https://www.amazon.ca/CERRXIAN-Adapter-Controller-Expansion-Profile/dp/B07VRY6FPH/ref=asc_df_B07VRY6FPH/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=459617147717&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9654703671326054913&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000671&hvtargid=pla-1067641355927&psc=1 (m.2 drive) https://www.amazon.ca/Blue-NAND-2TB-SSD-WDS200T2B0B/dp/B073SBW3VD/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=2tb+nvme+ssd&qid=1632691472&sr=8-7 (Already owned NVMe drive, gonna take it apart) https://www.amazon.ca/SanDisk-Extreme-Portable-External-Sdssde80-1T00-A25/dp/B08GV4YYV7/ref=sr_1_7?crid=QL5TN6GQ9U1J&dchild=1&keywords=sandisk%2Bextreme%2Bpro&qid=1632409079&sprefix=sandisk%2B%2Caps%2C196&sr=8-7&th=1 (Already owned SSD) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B073SBQMCX?psc=1&pldnSite=1&th=1&linkCode=gs2&tag=pcp0f-20 (Already owned HDD) https://www.amazon.ca/HTS541010A9E662-0J38093-DA5747-655-1751H-Laptop/dp/B0759GPB8T I dont own a rack mount so that's why I'm thinking of using the wall mount, idk how realistic the whole idea is but this is another idea Please let me know what you think and any suggestions!!!

Hi everyone! so I'm in the process of transforming an old pc of mine and setting it up to be a media server. I have a few questions I'm hoping you all could answer. First, I don't know if I should go for a nvme or sata ssd for the os. I'm leaning towards the nvme drive because the motherboard only has four sata ports but I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Second, the server is not going to be next to the router and I was wondering if a powerline powerline ethernet adapter would be alright or if I should try and wire a ethernet cable across the house. I know ethernet would be the best speed wise but I'm also hesitant to drill a few holes in the wall. Third, the server only has about 8gb of ram. Should I swap it out for 16 or is 8gb sufficient? Fourth, I was wondering if anyone here has used plex and jellyfin and if they could recommend one of them. I cant decide between the two. I like how jellyfin is open source and has no paywalls but from what I have read plex seems to be more mature and has more features. Here is the old pc/server specs if you are curious: Cpu: Ryzen 3 1200 Gpu: gtx 1050 Ram: 8gb MotherBoard: Msi b350m gaming pro Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi all, I am stuck, I have a HTPC that I built around 5 years ago. It has a AMD Athlon 5350 APU, 8GB RAM, 32GB SSD, AMD Radeon R5 240. I have been using it on and off since, but have recently moved into a new house, and we have setup a cinema room in the garage with a 3D tv. Apart from having the issue of not being able to get any sound from the PC whilst watching San Andreas, it does seem to be creaking a little, so I was wondering if a HTPC is worth it any more and would it be worth selling the bits for what I can and just buy like a Roku Premier box or similar instead? I have all my media on an Unraid server, and I play the films through Plex, Emby or Jellyfish. I did have Kodi setup on the PC, with Libreelec. Any advice would be appreciated.

Budget (including currency): ~$1000 Country: USA Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Storage server for backups, Hosting 3D print server (currently running fluiddpi), Occasional media streaming Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I'm thinking about building a home server to store file backups, run my 3D print server, have connected to my TV for occasional media streaming, and generally be a test bed I can use to play with home networking setups. In the future I'll likely want to use it to host a VPN and run home automation. My current thinking is to get a Ryzen 5600G as the integrated graphics should be plenty good for what I want to do and the multithreaded performance would be decent for running docker containers for the tasks I want it to do as well as a usable Linux or Windows VM for the media pc side of things. I don't really need that much storage, but I figure if I'm going to build a home server I ought to improve my backup situation. Two terabytes or maybe even less with room for future expansion would be my target there. Read/write speed would be more important to me because I'll probably want to work directly off of it in addition to the backups for some larger projects. The only other big target for the build I can think of is having it be fairly small (Fractal Core 500 caught my eye but seems to be difficult to get), which of course will be a tradeoff with the room for expansion. Depending on how bored I get this summer I may try to wait for next gen ryzen to come out and drop prices or get an upgrade, but we'll see. To recap my current thoughts in a less word vomit format: CPU: Ryzen 5600G RAM: 16 GB DDR4-3600 OS: TrueNAS Scale

So I was doing some parts research for a HTPC and I came across NMediaPC. http://www.nmediapc.com/ I was just wondering if anyone has had one of these or has ever heard of them? Thanks!

Hello, all! I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to have my media PC auto switch inputs like the Chromecast does via CEC I believe? There are these adapters but I don't know if that really helps in this situation. If anyone has ideas or has done something like this before I'd love to hear what you've done. USB - CEC Adapter: https://www.pulse-eight.com/p/104/usb-hdmi-cec-adapter TL;DR how could I get my soundbar to switch to the media PC automatically when it wakes up?

So I am moving to an area where internet is extremely challenged. Challenged to the point where it would be impossible to stream my Plex outside of the house. So an idea I had was to set up a high powered WiFi antenna so that I can direct play within the town. Ideally I would like to also let my friends/family be able to direct play too. Basically I don’t even know where to begin to look in to the possibilities, requirements and limitations. If you want to give me great in depth info, I am all for it. I know that is asking a lot so if anyone can just point me in the right direction and I can research on my own. My initial concerns: range/stability network requirements for multiple users cpu requirements proper raid setup Every time i google anything it directs me to full on commercial setups which is understandable and I don’t expect this idea to be cheap. I just don’t know what is appropriate for my idea vs worthless/overkill.

Hi everyone, Like the title says I'm looking to build a media center for my RV which runs on solar. As far as specs go I'm not too concerned as long as I can play HD content from an SSD drive without buffering. The most important part here is going to be the power draw. I don't really want to turn on and off my system and wait for boot up every time I want to watch a movie so it would be great to leave it on stand by without killing my battery. So far I'm thinking that a Raspberry Pi 4 connected to an SSD drive would basically do the trick here (for one TV at least). I have two TV's so I'm not sure if this is going to be the best solution. Any input here would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure someone here has designed a system with solar power in mind. Thanks

I want to build a PC with the 3080. I've been saving for a year and feel comfortable to finally make the move to purchase my build. I would appreciate any help and advice regarding what parts to purchase. I am not that tech savvy, but I will do my best to answer any questions. 1. Budget & Location You may have listed a heap of parts that all add up to your preferred budget but it is easier if you just list the total amount you'd like to spend and the currency as well as if you'd consider going above that budget for more performance. We need the location as well because $US are different to $AUD and $CAD ect. I’d like to spend ~$1000-1200 US MAX for the rest of the tower, separate from the GPU. I plan on purchasing this build through Microcenter. Location: USA: Southern CA (Near Microcenter) 2. Aim What is the system going to be used for? Web browsing, 3D work? Different systems need different levels of performance - a computer based for web browsing and office use won't handle heavy graphic design and video editing and a proper video editing system isn't good for gaming. If your aim is for gaming, please list what sort of gaming. In the same way that different usage types need different systems, you'll need a lot more power to run Far Cry 3 or Crysis 2 than you would Minecraft. System will be used for: 1st priority: Gaming & Streaming Would like to future proof my system to run up to 1440p Ultra settings on AAA games. I buy recent AAA games (like cyberpunk 2077 for example) a year or so after release when they’re on a good sale. So usually the games that I play are at least a year old. I want to play Resident Evil 2 and 3 remake, and previous first & third party story driven games released last year. I would like to run these games as close to 144 fps. I also play ESO and want to play other MMO games (Looking at FFXIV). I would like to prioritize graphics on single-player games and FPS on multiplayer games. If it can go beyond the specs I listed, that would be amazing. I would need a strong enough PSU to include VR gaming, streaming and recording. I would like the system to run latest VR games, and VR chat with little hiccups in performance. I use OBS and I would like to stream 1080p60fps with AAA games and VR @ 1080p60fps/720p60fps. Should be able to overclock but that’s something I want to experiment with down the road. 2nd Priority: Media Adobe Premier: I would be happy with at least 1440p video editing Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator with Wacom tablet. Capable of working with 1440p images. Adobe Audition (New to Audition so I can’t think of anything at the moment for this) 3. Monitors: How many monitors do you plan on running? Do you plan on moving to more monitors in the future? What resolution are they at too? I plan on running one monitor for now. This will be purchased later. Another monitor will be added in about 5 years. 4. Peripherals: Do you also need to purchase peripherals such as keyboards and mice as well as monitors ect. Also please tell us if you'll need an OS such as Windows. Mouse and keyboard will be purchased later. Windows Home is already purchased and I already have a capture card and recording equipment. 5. Why are you upgrading? We ask this because you may see upgrading as the only path to solve an issue but things such as driver updates, reconfiguration or cleaning can boost performance without spending a cent. Please copy and paste the major dot points into your thread as it makes it easier for us to give you better feedback. Have fun and keep building - I want to go back to the world of gaming PCs. This will be the first PC that I will build and I’ve waited all year to save up and take the plunge into the vast world of PC gaming. I’ve enjoyed consoles and I feel that PC will allow me to enjoy my hobbies. Further Requirements: I have pets. Two cats and a bunny and the PC is going to be about 4-6 inches off the floor. I would like a case with good dust proof features to prevent pet hair from getting in and would love any fan/filter suggestions in case I need to add more to the build to help meet those needs (I will buy these later). Mid-tower size with good airflow. I would like the case to have tempered glass on one side so I can monitor the inside of the computer for dust buildup & maintenance. I want performance over aesthetics so I would like to avoid RGB if I can. I don’t plan on showing it off to the world, I just want it to work the best that it can within the budget. If a part with RGB turns out to give better performance, then I’m okay with it. Motherboard needs: 4 RAM slots Enough USBs for Mic, Camera, Capture Card, Memory, Stream Deck, Mouse and Keyboard. Capable of having a second display/monitor so I can mirror/extend display on a television. USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port or enough PCI slots to have a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 expansion in order to game in VR comfortably with a USB Hub. Whichever works best with the build budget. Thank you for the taking the time to read this and helping me with this build.

Budget (including currency): 500000 INR Country: India Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: At most 10 VMs with all the different video and picture edit tools. Some games like Far-cry, Assassins creed series, CS Go, etc. Want to use more and more for Media Production. Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I want this as a new PC for 4K and 8K editing. I want to buy in the next 3 months. I am interested in Video editing in the most of all. I am a developer who wants to do some data analytics coding and hence the virtual machines to be run. I can do a linux so that I can use python virtual env for my development and run these apps on the VMs for my local testing. I definitely want to run these on fast storage drives. I am now looking at more towards AMD than Intel unless you guys think otherwise.

Hey Linus Community, Let me preface this with what I got so far, I have an old PC that am using as my Storage/HTPC(Plex Server). 3770k CPU, GTX 650Ti OC, 32gb RAM... Many Hard drives in it, naturally... Only it is currently running on Windows 10 Pro, which recently got hit with the Artemis Virus which infected all existing executable files on it. Which was devastating... Now I want to completely shift it to Linux. Now what I want, as mentioned I want to convert the machine to Linux so it never gets infected again. Dunno which distro to use. I am considering Linux Mint (Cinnamon). Am new to Linux so I have no idea beyond installing. Also since I got so many hard drives in that machine dunno how to permanently share them with my main gaming PC running windows 10. I also want to set up Plex Media Server on it coz that's what am using now to watch my movies n tv shows on my nVidia Shield and Apple TV. Don't care about transcoding performance as I only Direct Stream within the house Locally. Please, can anyone help me here... The longer this takes the more files are getting infected

So I've got this little Acer Aspire compact PC. Was planning on making it into a media server and recorder. Its got a quad core and 4GB of RAM right now. It only has two PCI expansions, one of them 4x and the other one 8 or 16x. Anyways, the motherboard is fried ($25 off eBay) and the quad core is a little lacking in speed. Its AM3 so I was thinking about picking up a AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition to beef it up. For the one HDD I obviously have to go with a single 8TB NAS drive, since I only have a single slot and then I am lost on the PCI expansion slots. The little 4x is occupied by the TV tuner however I still have a full slot 8x slot. I was thinking either GPU or Intel NIC since its gonna be a server. The biggest GPU I can get in a LP slot is a GT 730, the computer right now has really crappy Nvidia 6150SE onboard graphics. Side note: It has a 5.25" bay so I was thinking about putting a 4x 2.25" hot swap bay and making it all 1-2TB SSDS in a RAID and making that a file backup from our two computers. I've got about 1TB on my computer and the other PC rarely gets used and has around 200GB. Give me your advice!!!

Hi Im building a media pc and don't know which gpu to use for a media pc that would be for a 1080p tv. The gpu must be more or less a "value" card Thanks and pardon my n00bness Josh

Hello linustechtips I'm looking forward to build a media pc for video streaming in my living room, mostly youtube and twitch stuff. Maybe stream games if build is passible. I'm thinking of g3258 mini itx ?? 4 gigs of ram no gpu any suggestion feel free to comment. and also want to know the performance on the g3258, how is its high quality video playback. for example in the future might going to stream 4k and stuff. and i also need a mini itx case and what kind of power supply if i want to overclock the g3285. thank you very much.

As i have bought a new (quite powerful) laptop, I haven't turn on my old desktop pc for weeks now. So, I plan to upgrade the desktop to a media pc. The specs of the pc: Motherboard: ASUS F1A55-M LE CPU: AMD A6-3500 Memory: 4GB Kingston something GPU: Inno 3D 750Ti OC<--I added this sometime ago PSU:650W (from local brand called GTR, not very reputable i guess) storage: seagate 500GB How can I upgrade this pc and what i can do with it?