Recommendations for HTPC, would like 4k compatibility.

[Shutter Boy]

Hi guys, can I get some suggestions for a HTPC that would be able to play 4k files down the road when I get a new tv?

Here's what I had in mind but not 100% set on.

 

Apex MI-008 mITX Case?

Motherboard not sure I'm thinking I will need Display port for 4k? Or is HDMI just fine?

CPU again unsure?

For HD I'll have an SSD for the OS and a 3TB RED for storage.

RAM 4GB DDR3

Running Win 8 with XBMC

Should I get a dedicated VC? 

 

Thank you all for any help you can give.

[NInety]

I would recommend an i3 and a discrete GPU.

[Megabikerjoe]

I would recommend an i3 and a discrete GPU.

 

agree

[Shutter Boy]

Would the i3 4130 be fine for this?

Also do I need Display Port on the video card for 4K or will HDMI work as well. Read some places that DP is the way to go?

 

Thanks.

[dalekphalm]

If this is only for 4K playback (and not gaming) then HDMI is fine. Just get a motherboard that has HDMI 1.4 (That's mostly all of the intel ones) with an i3... The 4130 would be totally fine. No discrete graphics are required.

 

HDMI 1.4 only supports 4K at 30Hz/Frames per second, BUT that's okay, since most TV is filmed at 30fps and movies are usually filmed at 24 fps, so 30fps output to the display is fine.

 

You CAN go DisplayPort if you want, but I think it'll be a waste, as HDMI 2.0 will likely be the defacto 4K HDTV standard. Very few 4K HDTV's will have DisplayPort on them. So then you'd have to buy a 4K monitor instead, which will be more expensive per inch of screen compared with a similar sized HDTV.

 

Now, down the road when higher frame-rate 4K content becomes available (Such as 48FPS The Hobbit/Avatar 2, etc), you'll be able to just drop a low-end discrete graphics card in the system that has DisplayPort and HDMI 2.0 on it (Something like a hypothetical GeForce 920/R7-450 (Future HDMI 2.0 equivalent of a GT-620 or HD 7730), or put a little beefier GPU in at the time and it can become a decent low-end steam-box in addition to being an HTPC.

[arecheese]

why not use a kaveri APU? i thought those had decent on board graphics for 4K multimedia?