Advice for two new MP Frontend devices - one powerful, one not so much. (1 Viewer)

[elsmandino]

Hi,

I have just made the decision to separate out my standalone HTPC into two separate parts.

I now have a headless Server (i3-2105) running Argust TV backend and I need to buy myself a new PC to run Mediaportal as a client only for my living room.

Furthermore, I am currently using a laptop as a Mediaportal client in my bedroom and I need to think about getting something a bit more permanent as a replacement.

It therefore need two potential PCs - I want the one for the living room to be fairly powerful as I want the best possible viewing experience (in addition to Mediaportal, I use Sky Go and Netflix).

The one in the bedroom need not be as powerful for obvious reasons but should hopefully not be laggy in any way.

I would be grateful for any advice.

My initial thought was to buy an i3 NUC but they do not seem good value in the circumstances. As I have a spare SSD, RAM, Small Case, and PSU lying round, do you think it would make sense to buy a mini-itx motherboard with an i3-4330 (which as the HD4600 Graphics)?

With regards to the bedroom PC, would I be able to get away with one of the cheaper NUC's and, if so, which one?

Thanks very much in advance.

 

[elsmandino]

Hmmmm - been doing a bit more research and it seems that the G3220 is also worth looking at for an HTPC frontend.

Does anyone think I would notice any difference between this and the i3-4330 as an HTPC front end?

 

[porky996t]

I'd be interested to see what you end up with a I am thinking of upgrading the bedroom Zotac ZBox... it just seems a tad laggy now.