Small form factor mediacenter PC recommendation request

[Tenchi39]

Budget (including currency): About 500 USD without storage

Country: Hungary

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:

I had multiple "mediacenter" PCs in the past. The basic premise is to use an older PC with Ubuntu LTS (Kodi, Transmission, Jackett, Radarr, Sonarr) directly connected to a 4K TV with hdmi. I can easy manage the software side, but I would like to get recommendations for the components to be used.

What I want:
- Preferably not too expensive components
- Small form factor PC case
- A CPU that can play 4K video (and manage the other software listed above in the background)
- 8GB RAM
- Ethernet connection, I don't care about the speed at all
- Space for at least 2 high-capacity HDDs. (I have leftover SATA SSDs for the system)
- Preferably passive cooling (It would be awsome if I could store the machine in an Ikea Besta tv stand)
- Absolutely no watercooling
- Ubuntu x64 compatibility

It is not a problem if the motherboard/CPU/RAM are older models, I just need them to be able to play my movies.
I would like to have a new mediacenter which is small and can either be invisible, or "clean" looking.

 

 

 

[ImWilly]

40 minutes ago, Tenchi39 said:

Small form factor PC case

Are you referring to the small small (ITX form factor) or just regular small (mATX)?

40 minutes ago, Tenchi39 said:

A CPU that can play 4K video (and manage the other software listed above in the background)
- 8GB RAM

Most CPU/APU in the last 10 years is capable of having 4K resolution output without GPU, so it shouldn't be any problem to choose any, unless it's for gaming related or heavy duty work

I would say any Intel CPU from 8th Gen or AMD Ryzen 3 should be able to be used as media center setup

Just make sure the Intel & AMD CPU that you choose has integrated graphics inside to have video output without need to purchase a GPU

[ChrisLoudon]

49 minutes ago, Tenchi39 said:

I would like to have a new mediacenter which is small and can either be invisible, or "clean" looking.

Hi buddy,

 

How small / how invisible.

 

If you want teeny tiny then you can get NUC sized units that will fix to the Vesa mounts on the back of your TV / Screen. They are a tad expensive for what you get but there are about as invisible as you get.

 

If you're just after the case then you will need to take a step up in size.

 

I am going to assume your looking at mini-itx cases.

 

Silverstone do a 'Sugo' range that I've used in the past. They are small and look kinda neat and tidy.

 

Lian-Li used to have a range of desktop HTPC cases. I think mine was the PC-O5X. They were kinda cool. I had one of the smaller ones and managed to pack 5 hdd inside but from what I remember, they were bonkers expensive. Thermaltake also have a massive range of cases including HTPC solutions. You should also look at Jonsbo as they specialise on SFF cases whilst maintaining good HDD support.

 

If you can find one on eBay (as its been discontinued) find a Corsair 250D. One of my favourite cases. Small but packs a punch in terms of what you can fit in it.

 

As @ImWilly said, you don't need much in terms of grunt to run a media PC so maybe you could build a tiny Raspberry Pi system as the front-end and get an external dock or NAS enclosure. Heck, you could get a slightly beefier NAS (QNAP / Synology) and run everything from there.

[Tenchi39]

So, the ideal dimensions would be maximum of 15x50x33cm. That is what can be fitted into the tv stand drawer.

I used this case with an motherboard that had an integrated CPU a few years ago as the mediacenter: https://imgur.com/a/YN7RD0i (Can't find the exact model, but it was pretty small). Unfortunately the built-in original power supply was very noisy and the CPU was not powerful enough for 4k video.

I'm not so sure about NUCs as I would probably need an external eSATA enclosure for the HDDs I want to use.

The Raspberry needs a special version of Linux, I would like to use a full x64 version.

I have no experience with NASes, but if they can be operated as normal computers (hooked up to the tv with hdmi, keyboard, mouse, full linux installation) than they would be perfect. Currently I believe that they need special OSes.

[BahnStormer]

I've just bought a Minisforum UM760 Slim for similar usage - as 4K HTPC and it was only £309 (<€370) - not set it up yet, but it looks awesome - even comes with a VESA mount to put it on the back of a screen

 

Key differences are that I'm running Windows as I want to be able to run my dad's UK SkyGo account and also Netflix/DisneyPlus/PrimeVideo apps via a VPN, etc as some of the shows I want are only available in other regions.

 

You'd definitely need to check this (or any similar mini PC) for Ubuntu compatibility though as this model is a VERY new device, so the Linux support seems limited, but that generation of Ryzen 7000 have been out for 15 months now, so there will be others that were quicker to market and probably have Linux support already.

 

I have the Ryzen 7 7840HS in a laptop from a year ago and the spec is complete overkill for my HTPC needs (plus I want my laptop back!).... the 7640HS has 2 fewer cores and a slightly slower onboard GPU, but should still be plenty for 4K video.

 

Try to get the Ryzen 7x40HS range as the 7x35HS and 7x40HX do NOT have the same onboard GPU (the "35" series are the previous generation and the HX are a completely different chiplet architecture rather than monolithic, with more emphasis on a faster CPU and they just used a much older GPU).   

 

The only thing this wouldn't do in your requirements is the extra drives, but is has at least 2x USB2, 2x spare USB3 and a USB4 USB-C adapter, so a twin-dock USB-C drive adapter (~€40?) and you're sorted! 

 

Either something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alxum-Docking-Station-Function-Tool-free-Black-Type-C/dp/B07SH65FXT

or

a hybrid enclosed, but hotswappable:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-Enclosure-Magnetic-Tool-Free-Expansion/dp/B089LR4JHY

or

simple enclosed ones are €20 each....

 

Minisforum UM760 Slim

Price £309 (<€370)

Ryzen 6 7640HS

Radeon 760M

16Gb DDR5

1Tb M.2 (and an empty 2280 M.2 slot)
13cm x 12.65cm x 5.04cm (leaving plenty of space for a few drive caddies!)

 

[ImWilly]

19 hours ago, Tenchi39 said:

maximum of 15x50x33cm

That is most likely an ITX form factor, so a small small size

19 hours ago, Tenchi39 said:

the built-in original power supply was very noisy

Depending on the ITX PC case, there are some that could fit a regular PSU size, but sometimes there are ITX specific size PSU

Since it will be an iGPU build, if you decided to make an ITX build in budget, I would suggest to use any cheap regular sized PSU that is around 500W (it's rare to find something even lower than 500, most likely 450W if there's even any)

Some ITX case could be:
1. Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced

2. Fractal Design Node 304

3. Lian Li PC-Q08

4. Thermaltake Core V1

Those are pretty old ITX case, so most likely they are on eBay or used market to find

 

Most modern ITX case should be compatible with regular size PSU, as that case also support two fans or sometimes full sized three fans of GPU