Help with HTPC build for a 4k TV

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1

Hi

I recently bought a new UHD TV and would like to build a HTPC to go with it and need some help choosing my components.

I will be using a linux distro, most likely Ubuntu and will use the htpc to watch movies off my NAS, IPTV and also use my TV card to watch satellite channels. I do not plan to do any gaming on this at all, hence would prefer not to use a dedicated GPU to reduce noise.

Since the tv is 4k, I am a bit confused with which CPU to go with on this build. Im sure Intel HD5000 should suffice, but I absolutely do not want to go with Intel on this build!

My Criteria for this build is as follows:

  1. AMD CPU
  2. No GPU
  3. Small
  4. Quiet
  5. The components should be from a brand that has previously sponsored Tek Syndicate - this is actually quite important to me.
  6. I do not want to spend much on this maybe around £300 .... thats about $450 for you Americans.... im also planning on more powerful Skylake :( build which you can help me with later.

This is my TV : http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/tv-audio-video/televisions/uhd-tvs/UE48JU6740UXXU.

Thanks

1 Like
2
  1. I picked one of the best AMD APU's the A10.
  2. It has an integrated GPU.
  3. Micro-ATX is a lot cheaper than Mini-ITX.
  4. You can pick a quiet cooler.
  5. I have no idea.
  6. $410.56

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/JoeMommaX/saved/bB47YJ

3

for now you'll have to use a nvidia GPU because it has HDMI 2.0 so you can watch stuff at, at least 60hz in 4k. if not you are limited to 30hz which i guess is fine for films but what films are in 4k? do you really wana watch netflix or amazon 4k content at 30hz? not really. you can get amd and wait for the Display Port to HDMI 2.0 adapter but it sold out the first day of release and has yet to come back on stock. good luck in the kitchen

4

To be honest I do not have any content to play at 4k at the moment. but when I do... movie etc, is 30hz really bad? Will I be able to see a difference?. And I can always get a GPU later when there is much more 4k content available. I just want to make sure I make an informed decision on the CPU I go with.

I was having a look at a few devices such as the Amazon Fire TV which is able to output 2160p content at 30Hz. Im sure a CPU such as the A6 7400K is more capable than the Fire TV. Will there be much difference if I get the A10 over this CPU in terms of video playback?

5

I thought @cortbyron had a decent enough build. If you start pushing filters and scaling algorithms, an iGPU may struggle, but it should do fine. When it does start to struggle, just go ahead and toss in a GPU and you will be good for a while (GTX 950, woop woop).

For video playback, more cores tends to be better, or at least from what i recall. Single core perf and ipc are important, but lower will not kill you.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pg8kxr

No SSD and no cooler, you should live. More storage is better unless you have a NAS.