4k htpc

[PurplDrank]

I have finalized my new gaming rig and ordered all the parts. Thank you to all who have helped me.

 

My next end endeavor would be to build a HTPC. I stream alot and currentyl have a 2nd generation fire tv, which simply doesn't have enough room for all my apps and tends to become laggy (i think ive pushed it to its limits).

 

A good thing is I could take my current GTX 950 out of my old pc and put it into this new htpc. $400 to $500 budget worth it or should i just go with the nvidia shield?

[PlayStation 2]

Frankly, if you didn't mind it, you could probably make do with an Athlon 200GE or a Ryzen 3 2200G (if you needed more grunt for stuff outside of watching 2160p content) for an HTPC build.

That or if used was a viable route, you could do that, too.

[PurplDrank]

1 minute ago, handymanshandle said:

Frankly, if you didn't mind it, you could probably make do with an Athlon 200GE or a Ryzen 3 2200G (if you needed more grunt for stuff outside of watching 2160p content) for an HTPC build.

That or if used was a viable route, you could do that, too.

possibly could use more grunt. was thinking about latching a steam controller to it for some light singleplayer games or rocket league

[PlayStation 2]

Just now, PurplDrank said:

possibly could use more grunt. was thinking about latching a steam controller to it for some light singleplayer games or rocket league

Yeah, in that case you could likely get away with a 2200G and the 950 in your setup.

[PurplDrank]

Just now, handymanshandle said:

Yeah, in that case you could likely get away with a 2200G and the 950 in your setup.

motherboard and ramm recommendations? as well as case?

[PlayStation 2]

Just now, PurplDrank said:

motherboard and ramm recommendations? as well as case?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$99.47 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock - AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	$114.09 @ OutletPC
Memory	Team - T-Force Vulcan 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$69.99 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design - Core 500 Mini ITX Desktop Case	$64.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$358.53
	Mail-in rebates	-$10.00
	Total	$348.53
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-06 16:57 EST-0500

Just threw together a quick setup with the CPU, motherboard, RAM and case if this'd work for you.

[Anomnomnomaly]

I've had a HTPC for about 10yrs now, it's currently on it's 2nd iteration.  I started with am Athlon 2 (dual core) and 2GB DDR2, and 3TB on an older AM3 mATX MB... and it had extra storage added over the next 5yrs.

 

 

I then rebuilt it with an AM3+ board, FX 4350 (4.2ghz 4 core) & 8GB DDR3 on a 760G chipset, and that's still purring along today... with 28TB of storage. 

 

I run Emby server on it and stream to various TV's and PC's around the house as well as a couple of Shield TV boxes.  Not all at the same time of course, but it's not uncommon to stream to 2 things at the same time without any trouble. But only 3 devices are 4k (1 TV and the Shield boxes).

 

Given that I have no issues with my now old setup... I don't see why you'd need to spend a lot... I would however recommend going with  a B450 board instead of the B350... simply because of the 2xxx series Ryzen CPU's... and with the Ryzen 3xxx series along 2nd quarter. You want to be sure of compatibility for future upgrades without losing features.

 

I'm just about to build a new gaming rig, so my HTPC will be getting double the ram and an FX8350. That should see it through another year or two before I'll think about rebuilding it once more.

 

It all depends on exactly 'what' you need it to do... Are you streaming local media within the house, or do you just want something quick and easy to stream from the net on... If the latter, then the Shield TV box is an excellent choice.

[PurplDrank]

2 minutes ago, Anomnomnomaly said:

I've had a HTPC for about 10yrs now, it's currently on it's 2nd iteration.  I started with am Athlon 2 (dual core) and 2GB DDR2, and 3TB on an older AM3 mATX MB... and it had extra storage added over the next 5yrs.

 

 

I then rebuilt it with an AM3+ board, FX 4350 (4.2ghz 4 core) & 8GB DDR3 on a 760G chipset, and that's still purring along today... with 28TB of storage. 

 

I run Emby server on it and stream to various TV's and PC's around the house as well as a couple of Shield TV boxes.  Not all at the same time of course, but it's not uncommon to stream to 2 things at the same time without any trouble. But only 3 devices are 4k (1 TV and the Shield boxes).

 

Given that I have no issues with my now old setup... I don't see why you'd need to spend a lot... I would however recommend going with  a B450 board instead of the B350... simply because of the 2xxx series Ryzen CPU's... and with the Ryzen 3xxx series along 2nd quarter. You want to be sure of compatibility for future upgrades without losing features.

 

I'm just about to build a new gaming rig, so my HTPC will be getting double the ram and an FX8350. That should see it through another year or two before I'll think about rebuilding it once more.

 

It all depends on exactly 'what' you need it to do... Are you streaming local media within the house, or do you just want something quick and easy to stream from the net on... If the latter, then the Shield TV box is an excellent choice.

I stream from the net alot using many different sources. I wouldn't mind it as a living room gaming system from time to time with a steam controller or xbox controller. Though i would use my gaming rig i just built as the main gaming system

[Anomnomnomaly]

Mine is occasionally used for casual gaming, I put my old ASUS R9 280X in there about 18 months ago. It'll do 1080p gaming on anything 3yrs old with medium settings, and can do older games on high. AWhich is why I'd recommend the Ryzen 5 and B450 with the nvidia 950 series card you've got spare... It'll struggle with 1080p gaming I reckon.

 

Your case will be a factor... I went for a Silverstone HTPC case, because it's got room for loads of drives... but the vid card now blocks 2 drive bays... and I've had to disconnect the BDrom as I have 6 disk drives for storage (5 mechanical, and 1 SSD).  I was going to buy a SATA expansion card for a couple of extra drives... But the MB I have didn't have a USB 3 header, so I fitted a PCIE USB 3 card to enable the case front USB3 port... Which takes up the only PCIE slot on the mATX board. The silverstone cases aren't cheap (mines was around £110 UK), but it's a thing of beauty and sits in my media cabinet nicely... it's roughly the same size as my home cinema amp and came with 4 quiet fans fitted. So great airflow... you can barely hear it at all across the room, and if the TV is on, it's completely inaudible. The occasional HDD noise as a drive spins up from low power mode

 

So work out what you need now... and what you may want to add later... and build from there. Don't be afraid to buy second hand either, or from Amazon warehouse deals... maximise your budget as best you can to get the best performance possible. I'm in the UK so, prices are quite different.

A quick check on Amazon USA gives you a 2600 for $165, a mATX B450 for around $60 and 16GB of DDR4 2400mhz for $109... that's around $335 which leaves you around $170 for the case and a small SSD for the OS... I'm assuming that you can re-use a PSU and some HDD's for storage. Because adding those isn't gonna be doable with that budget.

 

 

Of course, you could go for a Ryzen 3 for now and save a further $70-80... and upgrade later, and 8GB ram would save more money... But if you want to do a little gaming, I;d stick with 16GB really... But with a Ryzen 3, you'll really be struggling with 1080p gaming on higher quality settings with that vid card... But 1080p low settings should be more than enough grunt.