Wntd new small cheap windows pc - thoughts ??/ Ideas??

[Zoidburg]

Hi All, I currently have a well specced but pretty big desktop pc feeding music to my hifi via my young dac.

I really like the convenience of streaming services like Tidal and also use Jriver for playing my store of flacs and mp3 and various other files.

BUT the pc is a big lump of black box and I really would like to move it upstairs into the spare room and have something smaller and quieter providing music & movie duties in the living room (ideally within a few hundred quid budget). If this box could sit within my new tv unit all the better)

So can anyone recommend something that will provide decent performance and allow me to

1. Stream music from tidal, spottify, and the like without issue
2. Connect via usb to my dac
3. Allow the usual surfing of the net etc
4. Provide decent performce with movies (generally streamed or downloaded) do not need any specific media drives as I also have a stand alone BR player.
5. Ideally be windows based as that's what im used to.
5. Be small and fairly quiet.

I have a couple of stand alone hard drives so it does not need to have masses of onboard storage.

So what do you all think?

cheers

Ben

[spendorman]

I just bought a second hand HP Compaq DC 5800 SFF on ebay for £40 inc delivery. Very pleased with it, has a 2.6 GZ Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive. Is in nice condition, fresh W7 pre-installed.

There seem to be quite a lot of these around and in good condition.

It is quite a compact unit, but to get to things is easy, room for expansion cards too. It already has 6 USB 2.0 ports, I added a PCI-e usb 3.0 card that gives two USB 3.0 ports, and a PCI-e DVI card. Usefully, the computer has a small single loudspeaker in it. This cuts out when a plug is inserted in either the front or rear sound out sockets.

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/275256/Hp-Compaq-Dc5800.html#manual

[awkwardbydesign]

Is something like this any use? It is running Vortexbox at the moment; a friend (I am useless with computers!) installed it, but re-installing Windows is straightforward, I believe. I used it to rip all my CDs, but that's done now, so I just use the laptop for any new stuff. So I might as well sell it on. I think I paid £40 for it.
http://acersupport.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireL320/AspireL320sp2.shtml
http://www.abload.de/img/14-04-08_18251cm.jpg

[Krisbee]

Hi All, I currently have a well specced but pretty big desktop pc feeding music to my hifi via my young dac.

I really like the convenience of streaming services like Tidal and also use Jriver for playing my store of flacs and mp3 and various other files.

BUT the pc is a big lump of black box and I really would like to move it upstairs into the spare room and have something smaller and quieter providing music & movie duties in the living room (ideally within a few hundred quid budget). If this box could sit within my new tv unit all the better)

So can anyone recommend something that will provide decent performance and allow me to

1. Stream music from tidal, spottify, and the like without issue
2. Connect via usb to my dac
3. Allow the usual surfing of the net etc
4. Provide decent performce with movies (generally streamed or downloaded) do not need any specific media drives as I also have a stand alone BR player.
5. Ideally be windows based as that's what im used to.
5. Be small and fairly quiet.

I have a couple of stand alone hard drives so it does not need to have masses of onboard storage.

So what do you all think?

cheers

Ben

Choosing the right hardware can be a bit of a minefield. Being as exact as you can about your needs will help avoid under, or over, specifying the hardware. At a glance, it looks like you are thinking about a SFF HTPC ( small from factor home theatre PC), but I notice in point three you talk about "surfing the net". So do you envisage connecting a mouse and keyboard to use the new PC? And do you have a separate monitor, or expect just to use it with your TV?

Without wishing to confuse the matter, had you given any thought to the possibility of controlling a small computer from your armchair, via a standard remote or separate tablet? I'm assuming, maybe incorrectly, you want something pre-built. A couple of possible solutions worth thinking about are (a) one the Intel NUC models, and (b) a NAS device with multimedia capability.

These refs will give you a better idea:

http://www.missingremote.com/review/intel-next-unit-computing-nuc-dn2820fykh-celeronbay-trail-sff-htpc

http://www.missingremote.com/review/intel-nuc-kit-nuc5i5ryk-mini-pc

and, for example:

http://www.asustor.com/product?p_id=20

Audio playback and streaming doesn't require a high powered PC, but as you're interested in movies you need to be sure any hardware/software combo supports all the formats and resolutions you expect to use.

If a NAS with multimedia capability is of interest then obviously you need to check what apps are available for it. e.g. jriver etc.

[spendorman]

This looks incredible value, includes delivery: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-OptiPlex-740-PC-Desktop-AMD-Athlon-Dual-5000B-2-6GHz-2GB-Ram-80GB-HDD-66-/181823124361

[Rothchild]

Some of these ones look good: http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Computer/cat/Nettop

Enough poke to get yer windows bloatware up and running but small, low power consumption and crucially (as far as I'm concerned for an always on domestic pc) no fans!

[spendorman]

Some of these ones look good: http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Computer/cat/Nettop

Enough poke to get yer windows bloatware up and running but small, low power consumption and crucially (as far as I'm concerned for an always on domestic pc) no fans!

I was almost tempted to get one of those, but by the time one has the external power brick and hard drive etc. seems to get more messy than a Small Form Factor machine as described earlier, which is probably more versatile. No fans is nice, but I was surprised how quiet the HP Compaq DC5800 SFF is. I measured it's power consumption, and it's pretty low at around 40W.

[Zoidburg]

Thanks for the comments & suggestions guys,

I need to digest some of it but certainly id really want something pre-built and easy to use preferably with a keyboard and mouse.

cheers,

ben

[hayche]

Www.scan.co.uk do some of there own mini pc. Range from £300. You can buy the cases and innards and put one together yourself also

[spm]

I just (couple of weeks ago) picked up a HP 260 G1 cheap (less than £100) from ebuyer which I think would have been fine for your needs - really small -but it seems now to be discontinued - not helpful I know. However people on a thread for the HP I have been following seem to think this acer is a good deal. It's £149 and there was a code to get another £20 off but don't know if still valid - search hotukdeals if you are interested.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/acer-revo-one-mini-pc-inc-remote-control-intel-celeron-2gb-60gb-ssd-white/508-9710.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=508-9710&sc_cmp=tp4_aff_1018132

regards

[Zoidburg]

I just (couple of weeks ago) picked up a HP 260 G1 cheap (less than £100) from ebuyer which I think would have been fine for your needs - really small -but it seems now to be discontinued - not helpful I know. However people on a thread for the HP I have been following seem to think this acer is a good deal. It's £149 and there was a code to get another £20 off but don't know if still valid - search hotukdeals if you are interested.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/acer-revo-one-mini-pc-inc-remote-control-intel-celeron-2gb-60gb-ssd-white/508-9710.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=508-9710&sc_cmp=tp4_aff_1018132

regards

You know what that's pretty much exactly the sort of thing I was after, I assume its spec is decent enough for occasional movie playback and music?

[spm]

I think the main market for these is as media centres so should be fine for music/movies. Similar spec I think to the HP I bought, I'm only just back from holiday and haven't had much time to play so only upgraded to windows 10, used spotify via DAC and tested some US catch up programs that my wife likes and seems fine. I read somewhere that the acer is fine for streaming 1080p. Sure to be some reviews/forum threads around.

[hifinutt]

I can`t open that earlier link so this may be a duplicate but at 99 quid its a bargain

http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-3050-micro-desktop/pd?oc=cd5003&model_id=inspiron-3050-micro-desktop

[spm]

the acer went up in price, that Dell looks a good price.

[MrRadish]

I don't think the Zotac CI320 has been mentioned yet. I'm using one in place of my old tower unit and it's much more suitable for the living room, being absolutely tiny (5"x5"x2") and fanless. The Dell NUC mentioned above will be about the same size although it may have a fan.