Cheap PC to plug into a TV

iusedtoknowwhatiwasdoing · Mar 21, 2014

Hello you lovely people.

I'm looking to pick up a cheap PC I can leave plugged into my TV rather than trailing HDMI cables across the floor every time I want to watch something. The most intensive thing I intend this machine for would probably be streaming video from the web, and, barring hardware failure, I'd prefer to not have to replace it for around 5 years.

What kind of spec should I be looking at in terms of processor/RAM/graphics?

Is a 5 year cycle realistic, or would it be more cost effective to get something that will do the job for less time and replace it sooner?

Thanks for your help.

burdenbound · Mar 21, 2014

I recommend grabbing a used laptop on craigslist, you can usually find pretty nice ones for cheaper than building a small htpc and it will perform just as well. Just make sure it has HDMI out, I personally managed to find a small ultra book for around $300 with an i3 which streams 1080p video to my main TV perfectly.

the_crippler · Mar 21, 2014

I used a Giada Cube N3 for a while, and I'm sure that there are similar things out there more up to date. Not expensive at all.

But I used that when I thought I'd be doing more on the TV than just streaming stuff from my server/web. Now, I just use a Roku. That has netflix, amazon, ESPN, etc and the Plex app lets you pull in YouTube and stream video files on another computer as well. Not sure if that would get the job done for you - but if it does, you're looking at $80 or less, depending on model.

iusedtoknowwhatiwasdoing · Mar 21, 2014

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Assuming I also wanted to be able to put a couple of big hard drives in this and use it as a media server, where would we stand?

bob hays · Mar 21, 2014

You could try getting an old laptop with support for 2 hard drives and have up to 4tb of storage. Or you can just get a basic laptop like mentioned above and just add external hard drives (a personal thing, i don't like external hard drives for storage that I use a lot). My first thought was to build a small mITX pc, but the old laptop idea is a good one. If you want space for hard drives though I think an itx pc is the best. You can also get an old pc on the cheap if you have the room and add hard drives to it.

Turb0Yoda · Mar 21, 2014

I did not put a OS because you can use Ubuntu or another linux distro. Just add 110 USD if you want windows. Hope I got everything.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dQhw
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dQhw/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3dQhw/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-6790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus A55BM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.40 @ Amazon)
Case: Apevia X-Master Black HTPC Case w/500W Power Supply ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $423.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 13:40 EDT-0400)

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Cheap PC to plug into a TV

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