New HTPC Hardware Advice?

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one swell foop

[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 16, 2004
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Some months ago my HTPC began having serious issues. Basically all the hardware in there is 5+ years old (it's got DDR2) and I didn't have the budget to replace the hardware at the time, so just used my chromecast for a while.

Now I do have the budget, though I'd like to keep things as reasonably priced as possible. I've got a new 4k LG OLED TV and, from streaming 4k content from netflix on my PS4, I'm sold on being able to watch 4k content. I've got a nice Silverstone HTPC case and a solid power supply (unless that's the bit causing issues) but basically need a new everything else.

Are there any good deals on bundles out there for a processor/mobo/Ram that would be good for a HTPC? What video card should I get to be able to handle 4K content? Do video cards these days output audio through the HDMI port? If not, will I need a soundcard or should I get a mobo with good onboard audio and numerous outputs?

Note that, in the past, I primarily used my HTPC to play media content stored on my primary machine on my TV. If there is another solution that will allow me to easily play content accessed over my home network on my TV, then I'm certainly open to those alternatives! I don't watch TV on it.
 
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To answer your questions:

-Not sure, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great times to buy bundles.

-The generation is actually more important than raw power. So a 1050 TI, for example, would be better at streaming than a 1st gen Titan, as they have newer video decoding blocks and support newer DRM schemes. The 1050 TI will get the job done, an RTX 2070 is probably the best cost-is-no-concern card for upscaling local content before you hit diminishing returns.

-Yeah, HDMI carries audio, and it's generally the best way to do it. Ideally, you should plug HDMI straight into a reciever that can process surround audio.

-And yes, there are good alternatives to HTPCs... In fact, your LG OLED or a little streaming box can do almost everything a beefy Windows 10 HTPC can. They can stream stuff with all the extras like 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos etc, they can play stuff off a NAS with Plex, and a cheap Blu-ray player can play 4K discs.


The way I see it, there are only a few ways to justify dropping hundreds on an HTPC these days:

-You want to process/upscale locally stored stuff or discs for better quality. But that won't work on streaming services.

-You want to game or work on the TV.

-You want to record OTA TV (though a Nvidia shield can actually do that too, IIRC).
 
I appreciate the input, as things have changed drastically since I looked at this sort of thing and, back in the day, an HTPC was basically the only option to be able to do what I wanted to do.

As for upscaling, I haven't really ever even messed with it. I've got a lot of content in various file sizes and resolutions. I'm not sure that upscaling to 4k would provide a sufficient jump in actual quality relative to the source material to justify building an HTPC. I'm mainly concerned with just being able to play media that I have stored on drives connected to my network at whatever resolution I happen to have them in.

AlphaAtlas said:
your LG OLED or a little streaming box can do almost everything a beefy Windows 10 HTPC can. They can stream stuff with all the extras like 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos etc, they can play stuff off a NAS with Plex, and a cheap Blu-ray player can play 4K discs.
Click to expand...

Holy crap, the time they are a changin'! It sounds like setting up a Plex server and accessing the server via the TV might be my most reasonable option to accomplish everything, in conjunction with the other functions of the smart tv, that I want to be able to do/play across a variety of streaming platforms and local content.

Again, I very much appreciate the advice and you helping bring me up to speed!
 
one swell foop said:
I appreciate the input, as things have changed drastically since I looked at this sort of thing and, back in the day, an HTPC was basically the only option to be able to do what I wanted to do.

As for upscaling, I haven't really ever even messed with it. I've got a lot of content in various file sizes and resolutions. I'm not sure that upscaling to 4k would provide a sufficient jump in actual quality relative to the source material to justify building an HTPC. I'm mainly concerned with just being able to play media that I have stored on drives connected to my network at whatever resolution I happen to have them in.

Holy crap, the time they are a changin'! It sounds like setting up a Plex server and accessing the server via the TV might be my most reasonable option to accomplish everything, in conjunction with the other functions of the smart tv, that I want to be able to do/play across a variety of streaming platforms and local content.

Again, I very much appreciate the advice and you helping bring me up to speed!
Click to expand...

Upscaling on a good GPU can actually do more than you'd think, and it works automatically on pretty much any content (but streaming services) This is 720p doubled to 1440p in real time:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124859

Some TVs have moved on from a simple bilinear/bicubic upscaler (aka the blurry image), but I'm not sure how good the LG OLEDs are.




But yeah, Plex is a good option. Some people have dedicated Plex servers churning away to shrink (or upscale) large libraries, but it'll work fine from a desktop or even an NAS that supports Plex.
 
Nvidia Shield TV. Full stop.

On sale right now too.

I was always a roll-your-own HTPC diehard since even pre WMC days with ATI tuner cards, then WMC got abandoned and I was on Kodi/Windows and Kodi/Linux for a while, then I got a Mii Box just because I didn't believe an Android TV box could do everything I wanted (it did) but eventually I realized it couldn't do certain things (DTS-HD and TrueHD passthrough didn't work, and it was too weak for high bitrate 4K UHD files) and then I got a Shield TV and it does EVERYTHING, and much snappier too. My Android TV apps:

Emby (for streaming locally stored TV and Movies over the network)
Netflix
Spotify
Amazon Video
Kodi
YouTube
SlingTV (live TV)
Steam Link (play games from my gaming PC in the living room)
..plus a few Nvidia Geforce Now games from their store

And it solved the other big problem with roll your own HTPC which was that some official apps aren't available for it, and the workarounds/hacks to try to make them work via browser were a nightmare. Gone also are the annoying endless windows updates that usually broke codecs or just left the HTPC in a state my girlfriend couldn't use it. Couldnt be happier.
 
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Question does the LG appstore have Steam Link yet? I know that Samsung's do. The reason I a ask is the main reason I have a htpc is for emulators and Steam stuff, which if you are gaming might be a compromise as an app vs. a dedicted box. Personally even having a HTPC, I flip to tv to apps for media consumption as I have a plex server setup on another machine. The Shield looks pretty cool too assuming the apps in your TV don't cover your wants.
 
DPI said:
Nvidia Shield TV. Full stop.

On sale right now too.

I was always a roll-your-own HTPC diehard since even pre WMC days with ATI tuner cards, then WMC got abandoned and I was on Kodi/Windows and Kodi/Linux for a while, then I got a Mii Box just because I didn't believe an Android TV box could do everything I wanted (it did) but eventually I realized it couldn't do certain things (DTS-HD and TrueHD passthrough didn't work, and it was too weak for high bitrate 4K UHD files) and then I got a Shield TV and it does EVERYTHING, and much snappier too. My Android TV apps:

Emby (for streaming locally stored TV and Movies over the network)
Netflix
Spotify
Amazon Video
Kodi
YouTube
SlingTV (live TV)
Steam Link (play games from my gaming PC in the living room)
..plus a few Nvidia Geforce Now games from their store

And it solved the other big problem with roll your own HTPC which was that some official apps aren't available for it, and the workarounds/hacks to try to make them work via browser were a nightmare. Gone also are the annoying endless windows updates that usually broke codecs or just left the HTPC in a state my girlfriend couldn't use it. Couldnt be happier.
Click to expand...

^^This.
The shiedTV has matured a lot since it was first released and IMO it was already the best streamer, but now its also the best HTCP. I too built HTPCs for years, since I got the shieldTV It hasn't crossed my mind to do it again.

BTW why steamlink and not Gamestream?
 
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