My family is getting a Sony A95K 55" to replace the existing TV. As part of the upgrade we would like to also upgrade the HTPC so we can take full advantage of its capabilities.
Current specs:
Athlon 3000G
MSI A320 Motherboard
120GB Apacer SSD
DDR4 12GB
300w Power supply
I’ve tried windows HDR support on another system but turning it on made SDR look like crap
Current planned upgrade:
Replace it with a M1/M2 Mac Mini
Are there any better options?
Why do you need a HTPC for it? Most can be done with the builtin software in the TV.
The built in software doesn’t support Chinese which is going to be a problem for me (I’m from Taiwan)
In the past I’ve used Intel nucs, but the M1 Mac mini is a good idea
Have you entertained, updating the APU?
Is there anything specific? Sounds a bit odd that they’ve ripped out support for Asian languagues since Android supports it out of the box but I guess we’re talking about something else than subtitles?
M1/M2 Mac Mini is a good choice, two other alternatives:
Note: Feel free to reuse parts from your existing setup to save on costs
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600 | $219.99 |
| CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-L9A-AM5 CHROMAX.BLACK | $54.95 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B650I AORUS ULTRA | $259.99 |
| Memory | TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan 2x16 GB DDR5-5600 CL32 | $81.99 |
| Storage | Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 | $59.99 |
| Video Card | PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 7600 | $269.99 |
| Case | Fractal Design Node 202 | $98.98 |
| Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 550 GM Fully Modular SFX | $99.99 |
| Total | $1148.87 |
Pretty self explanatory, update the motherboard BIOS of your current rig and it will allow you these easy, slot-in upgrades for a quick buck:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 5700G | $167.92 |
| Memory | G.Skill Aegis 2x16 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 | $57.99 |
| Storage | Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 | $59.99 |
| Total | $285.90 |
Honestly, I just upgraded to a LG C2 OLED, and my og 2015 Nvidia Shield it still cranking out pixels just fine for it.
I agree that Intel NUC and Mac Mini also sound like good bets, but I am also wondering what exactly would be required that a high-end Android box (or even Apple TV) cannot provide?
It only supports displaying chinese, it doesn’t support chinese input.
I am less concerned with performance and more concerned with the HDR support with Windows.
I am also not concerned with local storage capacity since I have a 16TB NAS and a Jellyfin Media Server. The 120GB drive will be fine if I went the upgrade existing system route.
These are the main reasons I can come up with off the top of my head
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