What's the Best cheap HTPC?

[Shinkachi]

Need help choosing an HTPC solely for.. well HTPC setup :3 - I'm currently looking at the Acer Revo M1-601 Mini PC - Needs to be able to stream HD content (1080p and up) and capable of accessing a NAS

Any feedback please? This is the best cheap solution so far I've found. I'm still not sure whether or not this can handle it?

 

- Thanks!

[Mohenjo]

hmmm, does it need to be that tiny? Maybe you can look around in the used market and build a pretty capable mini itx machine

[Unexas.]

5 minutes ago, Shinkachi said:

Need help choosing an HTPC solely for.. well HTPC setup :3 - I'm currently looking at the Acer Revo M1-601 Mini PC - Needs to be able to stream HD content (1080p and up) and capable of accessing a NAS

Any feedback please? This is the best cheap solution so far I've found. I'm still not sure whether or not this can handle it?

 

- Thanks!

if you want something really small you could try Intel's compustick. I have never tried it but i believe that it will be able to stream 1080p and its cheap.

[Mohenjo]

Just now, Unexas. said:

if you want something really small you could try Intel's compustick. I have never tried it but i believe that it will be able to stream 1080p and its cheap.

i have a laptop with the same cpu. Its pretty garbage tbh. 1080 p stutters and loading a web page takes ages. 

[Unexas.]

Just now, Mohenjo said:

i have a laptop with the same cpu. Its pretty garbage tbh. 1080 p stutters and loading a web page takes ages. 

Yeah i never have used it just thought i would through it out there.

[Mohenjo]

Just now, Unexas. said:

Yeah i never have used it just thought i would through it out there.

thats fine. Just letting him know lol. sorry if that sounded mean

[Unexas.]

Just now, Mohenjo said:

thats fine. Just letting him know lol. sorry if that sounded mean

I know they made a newer one and according to CNET it runs streams well after they get loaded.

https://www.cnet.com/products/intel-compute-stick-2016/2/

 

In hands-on use, this new version felt a little less sluggish than the original model (perhaps thanks to Windows 10 and its Edge browser), but still struggled with performing multiple tasks at the same time. For set-it-and-forget tasks, such as streaming Netflix or YouTube videos, it worked seamlessly once the stream got started.

[Mohenjo]

Just now, Unexas. said:

I know they made a newer one and according to CNET it runs streams well after they get loaded.

https://www.cnet.com/products/intel-compute-stick-2016/2/

 

In hands-on use, this new version felt a little less sluggish than the original model (perhaps thanks to Windows 10 and its Edge browser), but still struggled with performing multiple tasks at the same time. For set-it-and-forget tasks, such as streaming Netflix or YouTube videos, it worked seamlessly once the stream got started.

hmmm ok. didnt know they updated the cpu. 

[Unexas.]

Just now, Mohenjo said:

hmmm ok. didnt know they updated the cpu. 

But the MSRP is $150 so if size is not a factor i would just go with the REVO mini or Intel's NUC.

[Shinkachi]

26 minutes ago, Mohenjo said:

hmmm, does it need to be that tiny? Maybe you can look around in the used market and build a pretty capable mini itx machine

Well I thought it should be small as I live in a studio flat so space is limited and I'd like it to look sleek, I thought about building my own, but prices here in Denmark makes it difficult to find anything that makes it worth it.

 

18 minutes ago, Unexas. said:

But the MSRP is $150 so if size is not a factor i would just go with the REVO mini or Intel's NUC.

 

well in DK the Asus VivoStick TS10 is $180 (We've got VAT and other stupid tax additions in EU...) and the Acer Reco is $225 , but as far as I can see, it actually looks like the VivoStick would be a cheaper and still great option to choose! (other Intel Computesticks are priced higher with the same CPU)

All in all, I'm still a bit torn, don't know what to choose and if there's even a better option around the same price out there.

 

[Unexas.]

1 minute ago, Shinkachi said:

Well I thought it should be small as I live in a studio flat so space is limited and I'd like it to look sleek, I thought about building my own, but prices here in Denmark makes it difficult to find anything that makes it worth it.

 

 

well in DK the Asus VivoStick TS10 is $180 (We've got VAT and other stupid tax additions in EU...) and the Acer Reco is $225 , but as far as I can see, it actually looks like the VivoStick would be a cheaper and still great option to choose! (other Intel Computesticks are priced higher with the same CPU)

All in all, I'm still a bit torn, don't know what to choose and if there's even a better option around the same price out there.

 

You can go for the VivoStick if you want i believe they will all do what you want its just how much you want to pay/size.

[Shinkachi]

Just now, Unexas. said:

You can go for the VivoStick if you want i believe they will all do what you want its just how much you want to pay/size.

Indeed, it's kinda budget/size minded, but then again, I can easily end up overpaying for hardware when it's SOLE purpose is streaming Twitch, Youtube, Netflix and from my movie library NAS

[johnt]

In my opinion you really need a "decent" CPU for streaming 1080p content (and of course 4k). For an HTPC, I wouldn't settle for anything less than a standard i3. Leave the low voltage crap to the people who don't know any better. I would also stay away from NUCs. 

[Shinkachi]

1 minute ago, JohnT said:

In my opinion you really need a "decent" CPU for streaming 1080p content (and of course 4k). For an HTPC, I wouldn't settle for anything less than a standard i3. Leave the low voltage crap to the people who don't know any better. I would also stay away from NUCs. 

 

What would you recommend? It's hard to find anything decent AND cheap (I know this is mostly the case, but I'm not about to spend $350 for little benefit over the rest) - And do keep in mind that we have a 25% VAT and other expenses, so approximately 50% of the price should be added on top

[johnt]

14 minutes ago, Shinkachi said:

What would you recommend? It's hard to find anything decent AND cheap (I know this is mostly the case, but I'm not about to spend $350 for little benefit over the rest) - And do keep in mind that we have a 25% VAT and other expenses, so approximately 50% of the price should be added on top

It all depends on how frustrated you want to be. The ULV chips are very sluggish, which is why I do not recommend them. Most often websites are very hard on computers more than streaming. For example, streaming in Youtube or Netflix is the easiest part. However, navigating youtube.com with a couple tabs open and then netflix.com ends up eating away at your system resources. Flash and HTML5 are hogs.

 

Check out the i3-6100 if you want something modern. That should take care of any and all streaming needs for the foreseeable future. Any previous i3 models dating back to the Intel 4000-series are also capable... might be cheaper to find DDR3 memory for them also.

 

We are lucky with eBay and Craigslist in the states. Is there anything you can do to avoid VAT? (like buying used)

[Shinkachi]

1 minute ago, JohnT said:

It all depends on how frustrated you want to be. The ULV chips are very sluggish, which is why I do not recommend them. Most often websites are very hard on computers more than streaming. For example, streaming in Youtube or Netflix is the easiest part. However, navigating youtube.com with a couple tabs open and then netflix.com ends up eating away at your system resources. Flash and HTML5 are hogs.

 

Check out the i3-6100 if you want something modern. That should take care of any and all streaming needs for the foreseeable future. Any previous i3 models dating back to the Intel 4000-series are also capable... might be cheaper to find DDR3 memory for them also.

 

We are lucky with eBay and Craigslist in the states. Is there anything you can do to avoid VAT? (like buying used)

 

Thanks, will look further into that!

Well, I'd like to say yes, we got sites that offer the same, but so many people in DK tend to misjudge the actual worth of used items and won't budge because it's a Danish norm to "Always be right"... I've been trying to look for used items, but hardly with any luck!

[johnt]

1 minute ago, Shinkachi said:

Thanks, will look further into that!

Well, I'd like to say yes, we got sites that offer the same, but so many people in DK tend to misjudge the actual worth of used items and won't budge because it's a Danish norm to "Always be right"... I've been trying to look for used items, but hardly with any luck!

I hear you. Sometimes these guys on Craigslist put their family's worth on used equipment. Makes me want to kick them in the face!

 

Don't rush through it. But unfortunately 25% VAT is hard to argue. Pay $25 DKK more or 25% more? Tough situation.

[Shinkachi]

3 minutes ago, JohnT said:

I hear you. Sometimes these guys on Craigslist put their family's worth on used equipment. Makes me want to kick them in the face!

 

Don't rush through it. But unfortunately 25% VAT is hard to argue. Pay $25 DKK more or 25% more? Tough situation.

 

Indeed it is, making a lot of the "Budget" or "Deals" you see on either LTT or other channels not as good as they put them out to be

 

 

[Nuluvius]

I would wait for Kaby Lake and choose an i3 else perhaps the Odroid-C2 may be an option.

[xc3ll]

You should look into those tiny android-streaming-boxes as well. They are pretty cheap and if you can get an App for streaming your content, they should be fine. Another cheap way to get media to your TV is streaming from a laptop.

I recently bought an microsoft miracast adapter as a gift and was surprised how well it worked:

Put my laptop on the living room table, connected to it within less than 30 seconds. With the laptop keyboard, the decent touchpad and a screen in front of me, it was much more convenient to browse through my media, than on my HTPC. Once started streaming a title, I just moved the App or the browser window to the extended display (TV) and besides some audio glitches when moving the mouse on the TV display, everything was fine.

Can't say much about quality, since it was a gift, and the TV was 1080p, but a pretty old one. So the mediocre image quality might be the TVs fault.

[DragonTamer1]

What about that super small custom case and motherboard from Asrock? Just buy an i3 or Pentium and 4GB of ram and a cheap SSD.

[Nuluvius]

5 hours ago, DragonTamer1 said:

What about that super small custom case and motherboard from Asrock? Just buy an i3 or Pentium and 4GB of ram and a cheap SSD.

At the risk of making a potentially inflammatory reply:

1. Asrock is garbage, far better to go Asus for a mini ITX system.
2. Better to wait for Kaby Lake for much better native HEVC Main10 high bit rate support.

[DragonTamer1]

20 hours ago, DragonTamer1 said:

What about that super small custom case and motherboard from Asrock? Just buy an i3 or Pentium and 4GB of ram and a cheap SSD.

Found it.

 

http://www.asrock.com/nettop/Intel/Deskmini 110 Series/index.asp#About