Cheapest way to get a Windows based HTPC?

Goose

Goose

Goose

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I currently have an Amazon FireTV which i'm getting rather frustrated with due to reliability issues with Kodi and Plex so i'm thinking about replacing it with a Windows based alternative. I like the idea of getting a NUC as i'm rather space limited as I already have a m-itx NAS, Tivo box etc etc in the same unit. I dont know a great deal about NUC's so I was hoping someone might throw out a ballpark figure for a complete working system. It'll be wired to my gigabit network so no need for a wireless card or anything and i'm not looking to do anything more taxing than stream 1080p files from NAS. I also have no issue with buying one 2nd hand in order to save some dosh.

Thanks.
 
I went for a Gigabyte brix when i was looking to upgrade my (very) long in the tooth Acer Aspire Revo. After a rather dissapointing experience with the Revo the key was getting a fanless design in as small a form factor as possible.

I have the GB-XM12 (got it on a special offer for around £135) and it has been very good. Using linux mint on it and it can stream movies from my PC, local usb or play streaming services. Recently (and i suspect this may be a driver issue) i have noticed some screen tearing on Netflix and Chrome. Would heartily recommend though. Fanless rules :)
 
randal said:
Bay Trail HDMI stick would fit the bill if you're not expecting it to transcode.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/inte...ndows-8.1-upgradeable-to-windo-fs-010-in.html

Or there's an 8GB/1GB RAM version for £20 less.
Click to expand...

Interesting, looks like it's wifi only though, no ethernet? With it being a windows system i'm assuming neither Kodi nor Plex will have to transcode anything.

Bantu said:
I went for a Gigabyte brix when i was looking to upgrade my (very) long in the tooth Acer Aspire Revo. After a rather dissapointing experience with the Revo the key was getting a fanless design in as small a form factor as possible.

I have the GB-XM12 (got it on a special offer for around £135) and it has been very good. Using linux mint on it and it can stream movies from my PC, local usb or play streaming services. Recently (and i suspect this may be a driver issue) i have noticed some screen tearing on Netflix and Chrome. Would heartily recommend though. Fanless rules :)
Click to expand...

That looks pretty good, I definitely want to go fanless as my TV room is pretty damn small :)
 
I believe you can get them in i3, i5 and celeron flavours (mine is i3). Keep in mind that i had to buy my own RAM and an m2 SSD for it so costs could add up, especially if you have to throw in a windows license too.

On the back it has HDMI, ethernet (can't remember if it's gigabit or not..) power, audio and usb 3.0. On the front it has a single usb3 slow.
 
Could you not grab a tiny case, bang an i5, mini ITX board, 4-8gb ram in?
That would smash the NUC's, but if you really need it that small, there really is nothing better!
 
oh yeah, building your own will win, especially with the pico PSU you can save acres of space (metaphorically), but what are the heatsinks on the i5 like? I assume anything without a fan will be huge, unless you get one of those cases where the case itself is the heatsink (and i think they're quite pricey)
 
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