Weird 4K spec me - HTPC energy efficient

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jan 2017 at 09:41

I am building a server / HTPC that will be also a router running PF Sense as a VM.

So the PC will be on 24/7.

Zero gaming what so ever.

I therefore require the most energy efficient and cheapest GPU that will do 4K @ 60hz.

To give you an example of budget. I've spent £50 on a CPU, £42 on RAM will likely be spending around £75 on a mobo.

Cheaper the better but also if slightly more money will buy me a more efficient GPU that will save in leccy costs then I'll go for that one obviously.

Panos · 21 Jan 2017 at 10:19

What's your CPU?

Because here is the answer to your question. An AMD A10 or an I5 38xx or later, can even playback 4K video. So there is no need for GPU

Steviepunk · 21 Jan 2017 at 10:23

As Panos says, your CPU may have the capacity already (though may depend on whether your MB has the correct HDMI or DP output connector)

As for cards, I believe an nVidia 750ti (60w) will do 4k60 over display port

The 950 (90w) has an HDMI 2 port, so I believe that should be able to do 4K60 over HDMI (though someone should verify first if this is 100% correct)

However, unless you can get either of them 2nd hand cheap, then you'd probably be as well doing for a 1050 (75w) as it's cheaper than either of the above and will also be a little more future proof. Still looking at around £110 give or take though.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kfa2...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-09a-kf.html

A Radeon RX 460 (75w) may also do the job and is a slightly cheaper than the 1050 at £96
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/his-...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-10d-hs.html

Cheaper cards don't seem to have the ability to do 4k60 over HDMI (not 100% sure about DP though), which I think is mainly due to them not having the necessary output connectors (cost savings probabably) rather than the actual grunt of the graphics chips

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jan 2017 at 11:23

Intel Pentium G4560

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18765750

I believe however the mobo I'll be using is only HDMI 1.4

Gigabyte GA-B250M-D3H Intel B250 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard

I would like to futureproof as much as possible by having full HDMI 2.0 support. It can then also be used for hardware acceleration when needed for encoding.

los · 21 Jan 2017 at 11:30

If your doing 4k, you want a RX460 (which I got) or a 1050, as they can decode X265, otherwise it maxes out your CPU, well it did on mine (I3 4330), it also stuttered. Now with my 460 through HDMI on my TV it says 3840 x 2160 @ 60hz and it plays nice and smooth.

Brazo · 21 Jan 2017 at 11:48

750ti, get the fanless palit model

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jan 2017 at 11:57

should have clarified as a HTPC it will be HDMI only. So needs to be 4K at 60hz over HDMI. don't care about display port as my TV doesn't support it.

Panos · 21 Jan 2017 at 12:49

HDMI 1.4 will support 4K res

Psycho Sonny · 21 Jan 2017 at 13:09

Panos said:
HDMI 1.4 will support 4K res

not with HDCP 2.2 protection though will it?

If I was to use my external blu ray drive for instance with said HTPC it wouldn't work.

Steviepunk · 21 Jan 2017 at 14:19

I'm pretty sure that HDMI 1.4 can only do 4K @ 24 or 30 fps. You'd need HDMI 2.0 for 4K @ 60 fps

Panos · 21 Jan 2017 at 17:41

Psycho Sonny said:
not with HDCP 2.2 protection though will it?

If I was to use my external blu ray drive for instance with said HTPC it wouldn't work.

Clearly I do not see the point you build a HTPC to play videos instead of buying an Xbone or even the S then. Is way cheaper solution and can play 4K. (the S)

Baboonanza · 21 Jan 2017 at 18:06

Panos said:
Clearly I do not see the point you build a HTPC to play videos instead of buying an Xbone or even the S then. Is way cheaper solution and can play 4K. (the S)

He said he's also running a router on a VM. The advantage of a proper HTPC is versatility. I have a single box with 8Gb of storage and 2x HD TV tuners that doubles up as my home automation server and just about anything else I might need too. It doesn't even have to work out more expensive.

Panos · 21 Jan 2017 at 20:40

Baboonanza said:
He said he's also running a router on a VM. The advantage of a proper HTPC is versatility. I have a single box with 8Gb of storage and 2x HD TV tuners that doubles up as my home automation server and just about anything else I might need too. It doesn't even have to work out more expensive.

i agree but there are some times costs involved above that make no sense to me

Psycho Sonny · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:08

Panos said:
Clearly I do not see the point you build a HTPC to play videos instead of buying an Xbone or even the S then. Is way cheaper solution and can play 4K. (the S)

Panos said:
i agree but there are some times costs involved above that make no sense to me

I want a decent router. Currently using Superhub V3 albeit okay I have a 200MB connection and this thing is no use to a poweruser. Domestic routers which are decent are around £120-£200. Commercial ones run into stupid money.

PF Sense turns a computer into a super router for free.

I also require a server. Currently I don't have one and I have 3 smart tv's, a 4k fire tv running kodi, a gaming pc which I use as a HTPC sometimes as well, if I didn't game on this I could have used it for this purpose. Basically I now have a need to have all my media in one place and then send it to any device in the home.

Since this router / server will be placed in the living room I can also hook it up to my AVR and 4K tv and use it as a HTPC. Killing 3 birds with 1 stone.

Can a xbone S be used as a router and as a media server?

You may deem this to be expensive for what it is. But As I said before a decent router is easily £150. A server again another £150. A 4K blu ray player again another £200. So £500. I hope to spend around £400 and for that I will get all 3 and a better version of all 3 that can do a lot more.

james.miller · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:12

I thought you were looking at ubiquity stuff? What's wrong with an Edgerouter lite?

Psycho Sonny · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:55

james.miller said:
I thought you were looking at ubiquity stuff? What's wrong with an Edgerouter lite?

I am going to get a ubiquity access point.

However if I'm going to build a server I may as well use it as a router as well as a HTPC. It's just the versatlity of it all and it can be used for a lot more.

Also it seems like PF Sense is pretty much future proof and should last longer than any router I have had in the past and I could if need be upgrade the system in future with more RAM, better CPU, etc. Which you cannot really do with other router solutions.

PF Sense will be feeding all the devices in living room using LAN by connecting to a POE switch and that will also be feeding the access point so I have strong wi-fi with lighning fast speeds / connection quality around the rest of the house due to how good the ubiquity access points are.

I can then also buy some IP cameras for home security too and hook them all up in future, albeit I don't really think I have any need for them. I may get one just to watch the cars in driveway and another inside the house just in case. However I will need to then think about protecting the setup so they don't simply walk away with said server.

eddyr · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:56

Can you not simply buy an equivalently priced motherboard but with Displayport and just use a DP to HDMI 2 adapter?

Psycho Sonny · 22 Jan 2017 at 16:01

eddyr said:
Can you not simply buy an equivalently priced motherboard but with Displayport and just use a DP to HDMI 2 adapter?

just had a quick google and they only support 8bit 4K and cost around £30

I am thinking I will forget the GPU for just now. Get a decent mobo instead. Use the onboard graphics for a while then get a GPU if I feel the need for one.

Thanks for all the ideas / suggestions I'll probably get the Radeon RX 460 in future unless a more efficient solution is released.

james.miller · 22 Jan 2017 at 16:40

Psycho Sonny said:
I am going to get a ubiquity access point.

However if I'm going to build a server I may as well use it as a router as well as a HTPC. It's just the versatlity of it all and it can be used for a lot more.

I get that, i had everything under the tv in a htpc at one point. I'm going the other way however. I have gen7 microserver tucked away in a cupboard and currently use an asus rt56u router but i'll be changing that at some point for an edge router and suitable AP. also will be looking at cameras at some point.

Psycho Sonny · 22 Jan 2017 at 18:01

james.miller said:
I get that, i had everything under the tv in a htpc at one point. I'm going the other way however. I have gen7 microserver tucked away in a cupboard and currently use an asus rt56u router but i'll be changing that at some point for an edge router and suitable AP. also will be looking at cameras at some point.

if you already have a microserver why not run pf sense in a VM? no need for the edgerouter lite that way. what OS are you using windows server or windows pro?

your free to choose the best setup for your needs. I think an all in one solution is better than running 2-3 different devices.

I have used a few asus routers in the past however i feel nowadays you only get a few years out of them before they are outdated. so I'm going to give this a go. plus asus routers are becoming very pricey for their higher end stuff.

as for cameras I have setup hikvision in the past for a business (shop). running them off a pc was a bit cumbersome and the user interface wasn't very friendly for the staff. ended up having to get them a DVR / NVR which is a lot easier for them as it's built for that purpose. really good quality cameras and for quite a reasonable price too. you can buy them direct from china using ali express, etc.