What is really needed for 4k?

[MiniNinja6]

Nvidia Shield android console? Given that any thought?

 

Wow I didn't even think of that but it seems like the perfect solution! However, is it possible to get a physical keyboard for it?

[jcastro_805]

The nvidia shield TV can output 4K and if you have a nvidia graphics card then you can stream PC games to your TV

[laddercats]

If your happy with 4k at high/ultra-mix no AA and use a korean 4k monitor with freesync . You can get by with a single Fury X. 

I hear the whole 4k unplayable without sli cards argument perpetuated by non users rather then from people with experience. 

 

If your gaming is anything other then Highly competitive FPS. Then 4k in freesync  is for my mind the most visually pleasing immersive option at the cheapest price point. The next step up from 4k in freesync is 4k SLIorXfire which is a MASSIVE jump in price and you run into poor game sli compatibility not too mention the requirements for higher priced supplementary components like Power supplies and motherboards.

 

If you cant harness at least 40"s and freesync then yes you you should go dual card. 28" 4k makes no sense at all to me for gaming stick to 1440p

[Coaxialgamer]

We have a 4k "smart" TV, but the "smart" features are very slow and lacking. My first thought was a chromecast, but that can't do 4k and not everyone in the family has android devices. So I'm thinking of a basic htpc. I want to spend as little as possible, it needs to be at least a micro atx case to fit in our media center, and I plan on using a wireless keyboard/trackpad combo thing that I already have. I don't need anything to beefy (hardware wise) to display in 4k right? All I want to do is stream media from things like Netflix and Youtube and play discs (I have a really nice usb 3 bluray player to go with it), no gaming or anything like that, so I should be able to use the built in graphics from a somewhat decent processor correct? I don't need help choosing a motherboard and ram and stuff, I just want to know if I can use a cheap cpu for graphics (amd apu or i3) or if I need discrete graphics or beefier hardware for this.

here is a decent build to do the job .

Should be a good htpc build  and completely silent (passive cooler).

Also , if you are wondering about the psu : it was 7 dollars more than the cx 430m , the cheapest semi modular psu i could find

 

You can go mini itx if you want to , but mobos are more expensive.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LNQYkL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LNQYkL/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Prolimatech PRO-SAM17 Fanless CPU Cooler  ($44.97 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A68M-DG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($38.25 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Corsair 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($25.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($39.00 @ Amazon)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($41.65 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $354.84

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-30 15:42 EST-0500

[pauloforte]

here is a decent build to do the job .

Should be a good htpc build  and completely silent (passive cooler).

Also , if you are wondering about the psu : it was 7 dollars more than the cx 430m , the cheapest semi modular psu i could find

 

You can go mini itx if you want to , but mobos are more expensive.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LNQYkL

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LNQYkL/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Prolimatech PRO-SAM17 Fanless CPU Cooler  ($44.97 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A68M-DG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($38.25 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Corsair 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($25.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($39.00 @ Amazon)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($41.65 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $354.84

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-30 15:42 EST-0500

Just curious, why do you suggest a 750W PSU for that build?

[Coaxialgamer]

Just curious, why do you suggest a 750W PSU for that build?

Like i said in my original post, at the time it was 7 dollars more expensive than the cx 430m, and its a much better psu

[PaulKolby]

content is needed

 

 

 

jk lg i believe as pretty god 1080p scaling to 4k

[-BirdiE-]

Whats wrong with HDMI 1.4? It can display 4k at 30Hz right? It's just absolutely ridiculous to spend over $300 on a gpu just to display a youtube video! I don't even think our TV can go up to 60Hz

 

If you're going 4K to watch "4k" youtube videos or "4k" Netflix, save your money... People are often under the misconception that resolution is the important value to look at, but when dealing with compressed video what you really want to be looking at is the bitrate. Youtube's 4K30P bitrate is 35-45Mbps. That's the same bitrate as a standard 1080p blu-ray... So you can actually see the full benefit of Youtube's "4K" on a 1080p screen (regardless of the number of technical pixels once uncompressed, it's the same amount of data).

 

For example.. Think of a black square of construction paper as a compressed grouping of pixels. I can take that piece of paper and cut it into 4 pieces (pixels if you will), or I can cut it in to 16 pieces. While, technically, I have more "pixels" when it's cut into 16, the image quality isn't going to be any better than cutting it in to 4. The end result is just going to be a black square.

 

Personally, in your position, I would either wait a couple months for 4K blu-ray (128Mbps h.265 ~ 228Mbps h.264), or wait a bit longer until you can actually download true 4K content ,rather than stream it, and build an HTPC. And BTW, the new 4K standard for refresh rate is going to be 60Hz.