Want to buy a fully made HTPC
#16
Thank you all for the replies.

Right now, I'm a little bit confused since a lot of people are suggesting a lot of different things. I definitely want something more powerful/capable than the Fire TV as I've already tried XBMC on Apple TV 2 and Ouya. When I used it on my macbook it was a lot better in performance and speed.

Building my own HTPC still seems quite confusing to me. I've looked at quite a lot of videos but I just don't know enough about which parts are best to use. And then i think to myself, why not buy a fully made htpc but i'm still not sure what would fit my needs. I'll have to give this more thought and research. Thank you.
Reply
#17
(2014-10-15, 23:37)stage44 Wrote: Thank you all for the replies.

Right now, I'm a little bit confused since a lot of people are suggesting a lot of different things. I definitely want something more powerful/capable than the Fire TV as I've already tried XBMC on Apple TV 2 and Ouya. When I used it on my macbook it was a lot better in performance and speed.

Building my own HTPC still seems quite confusing to me. I've looked at quite a lot of videos but I just don't know enough about which parts are best to use. And then i think to myself, why not buy a fully made htpc but i'm still not sure what would fit my needs. I'll have to give this more thought and research. Thank you.

You can stream from easynews/netflix directly on firetv. Its no different than the PC version of xbmc and if you have a passthrough, you will get dts and ac3 etc perfectly fine. They have Retroarcade which has a long list of builtin cores which plays the games very smoothly even with two players. I got two amazon controllers and they are sturdy and well built. I do occasionally use the logitech k400r keyboard and that too works perfectly fine.

The issues I had with the htpc were.
1.Lack of Airplay on the PC. The xbmc verison of airplay is broken since ages. I use AIR/DLNA Pro for $4.99 for airplay and that works flawlessly.
2. Sticky remote. I've purchased about 10 plus remotes and yet couldn't get a perfectly working solution. The IR worked the best. but it needs direct line of sight. I tested Flirc as well.
3.Lots of additional small setup such as ps3mote for Bluetooth remote which constantly lost pairing. I was told that purchasing the old model of the remote would help which too lost pairing.
4.Occasional Screen prompts which needed keyboard intervention. Nature of Windows.
5.Lack of Netflix, AE/TV, and other official apps which amazon has which can be seemingly brought into xbmc.

In my opinion, an HTPC is an overkill unless you are into 4k and need it for something other than xbmc. The firetv can work with firefox perfectly well.
Reply
#18
To throw even more potential options into the mix, how would steam games fare on an Intel Celeron 2957U if max settings aren't a must?

If you do want to install Windows, then the Zotac ZBOX BI320 Plus Windows 8.1 with Bing is an option that is hard to ignore. Even if you end up upgrading the RAM, starting at $219.99 including OS is pretty hard to beat. I kind of wished they'd have used the 2957U for the Zotac ZBOX CI320 nano Plus Windows 8.1 with Bing, but it may still be an option as well if you're looking for fanless, despite being BayTrail.

These would definitely have to be recommended over the Chromebox if you plan on running Windows, particularly if you don't yet have a Windows licence that you still need to factor in to the price.
Reply
#19
Remember windows 8.1 lacks the shutdown option from the remote. The PC goes to hibernate. I couldn't get it to work. Had to tweak the registry to change sleep to shutdown on windows 7 which worked fine. Specially liked the NUC because it has the ability to cold boot with windows 7 form the remote which in my opinion is essential for an HTPC. Offcourse all of this is gone with the firetv as its always on and fanless. If you have it rooted, you can put it to suspend or if not rooted on fire, you can set a timer to make it sleep.
Reply
#20
(2014-10-16, 01:58)navigates Wrote: Remember windows 8.1 lacks the shutdown option from the remote. The PC goes to hibernate. I couldn't get it to work. Had to tweak the registry to change sleep to shutdown on windows 7 which worked fine. Specially liked the NUC because it has the ability to cold boot with windows 7 form the remote which in my opinion is essential for an HTPC. Offcourse all of this is gone with the firetv as its always on and fanless. If you have it rooted, you can put it to suspend or if not rooted on fire, you can set a timer to make it sleep.

Do you have a link for steam on the FireTV?
Reply
#21
(2014-10-16, 02:05)DocG Wrote:
(2014-10-16, 01:58)navigates Wrote: Remember windows 8.1 lacks the shutdown option from the remote. The PC goes to hibernate. I couldn't get it to work. Had to tweak the registry to change sleep to shutdown on windows 7 which worked fine. Specially liked the NUC because it has the ability to cold boot with windows 7 form the remote which in my opinion is essential for an HTPC. Offcourse all of this is gone with the firetv as its always on and fanless. If you have it rooted, you can put it to suspend or if not rooted on fire, you can set a timer to make it sleep.

Do you have a link for steam on the FireTV?

don't know much about steam but here is the link. However you can sideload any apk's and can setup google play as well.
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/homest...339039667/
Reply
#22
(2014-10-16, 02:16)navigates Wrote: don't know much about steam but here is the link. However you can sideload any apk's and can setup google play as well.
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/homest...339039667/

There does not appear to be much here, apart from people saying they want Steam on the FireTV, and some suggestions as to how it could work. There's also this comment:

(2014-10-15, 23:29)SheHateMe Wrote: The FireTV cannot run steam.

Are you sure the FireTV can run Steam?
Reply
#23
(2014-10-16, 02:29)DocG Wrote: Are you sure the FireTV can run Steam?

You may be able to get away with sideloading the android app...but that is only for browsing the store and chatting. Steam is a PC/Linux application. There is no software for android there.
|Kodi: Nvidia Shield 2019|Media Server: Unraid 40TB|TV Tuner: HDHR Prime|Server Apps: TVHeadend w/ Cablecard (FIOS), Plex (Kodi backend), Radarr, Sonarr
Reply
#24
(2014-10-16, 03:31)SheHateMe Wrote:
(2014-10-16, 02:29)DocG Wrote: Are you sure the FireTV can run Steam?

You may be able to get away with sideloading the android app...but that is only for browsing the store and chatting. Steam is a PC/Linux application. There is no software for android there.

Thanks for clearing that up, so the FireTV is definitely not an option here.

How do you think Steam would run on a Haswell Celeron with Intel HD graphics?
Reply
#25
Depends on what games you intend to play on your Steam machine. Otherwise the Alienware that was posted before would be great for you at the $500 price point. Steam itself is not really that heavy. The only reason you need powerful hardware is when you decide to install games from steam and that is where steam comes in. Its a games distribution platform. What are you planing on using steam for anyways?
Reply
#26
(2014-10-15, 23:37)stage44 Wrote: Thank you all for the replies.

Right now, I'm a little bit confused since a lot of people are suggesting a lot of different things. I definitely want something more powerful/capable than the Fire TV as I've already tried XBMC on Apple TV 2 and Ouya. When I used it on my macbook it was a lot better in performance and speed.

Building my own HTPC still seems quite confusing to me. I've looked at quite a lot of videos but I just don't know enough about which parts are best to use. And then i think to myself, why not buy a fully made htpc but i'm still not sure what would fit my needs. I'll have to give this more thought and research. Thank you.

Contact DougieFresh, really, just do it.
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
Reply
#27
Ok, so I've done a lot more research and decided that I would like to go with an Intel NUC and then buy the components and assemble it myself. I've watched plenty of videos and it seems quite straight forward even though I've never built a mini PC before. I just have a few questions:

1. What I am slightly worried about is the intel BIOS screen that loads up after switching on the device for the first time. Do I need to do anything in reference to these or can I just go ahead and install Windows? Will it then 'just work'?

2. As mentioned I would like to use the NUC for a few Steam games although they wouldn't have to be on the best settings. All I would want is a stable frame rate. I would also like to download emulators, the most intensive being Dolphin (Wii emulator) and PCSX2 (PS2 emulator). Which NUC system would be suitable to run these games? PS. I fully intend on dumping my own games, no piracy.

3. Could I also have suggestions for the different parts I need? I know I need a WIFI/bluetooth antennae, RAM and I want to go for an SSD.
I would like to have 8GB of RAM (to cover myself) and also 120GB or 240GB SSD. Not sure yet.

If there is anything else that I am missing or should know please don't hesitate to post. Lastly, thanks to everyone who have posted. I very much appreciate it.
Reply
#28
i5 nuc at least for Dolphin/PCSX2 as those 2 emulators are the most intensive and they really benifit from having a dedicated GPU which you can not get in a NUC. Gigbyte has a few NUC like pcs that has the power for gaming/emulators if you want to go that route.
Reply
#29
Yeah I wouldn't go the nuc route if you want to emulate wii,gamecube, and ps2. It might run some games on a low resolution but for the price you could get something more powerful. When you buy the i5 nuc your paying a premium for size. Even the Aleinware would struggle to play some wii games at 1080P. Should run most the games at native resolution fine. Most people will tell you your going to be better off building one yourself if emulating is important to you.
Reply
#30
Good advice in the last two posts. If you really want to game you'd be better off spending you money on a desktop-class mini-ITX PC with a dedicated GPU. Even a Pentium + HD6670 would blow the i5 NUC out of the water for gaming and could be done in a mini-ITX case no problem.

I built a gaming HTPC in the Realan E-i7 case with a i3-2100 and HD6670 low-profile GPU, 8GB RAM and an SSD and ran a bunch of different Steam demos with it. It used under 150W and played well, at least to me. I am not a hard-core gamer so I might not be the best judge but everything was very playable on my 1680x1050 monitor.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
Want to buy a fully made HTPC0