NUC options, aside from mini mac?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › NUC options, aside from mini mac?

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#179306 3-Sep-2015 14:29

Id like an AMD NUC with a decent integrated video card.

So I can ply Fifa or the like from the couch via gamepad.

We dont own a xbox, looked at one but the need for a PC that can do PC tasks is greater, but I still like a bit of sports gaming when I get the time.

askelon

875 posts

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#1379134 3-Sep-2015 14:33

Gigabyte Brix

TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#1379222 3-Sep-2015 15:46

I looked at the Brix, didnt seem to get good reviews for some reason. Perhaps a mid level lappy is a better choice.

PANiCnz

989 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1379305 3-Sep-2015 17:32

Build your own ITX system? If you use the onboard GPU you can get pretty small case that don't support PCIe cards.

jonathan18

7413 posts

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#1379362 3-Sep-2015 19:24

Any reason why a Mac Mini won't do the job? Seem pretty well spec'd for the role and are easy to set up as HPTCs (I've owned three different ones for this purpose over the past decade). Can always stick Windows on it if you need this for gaming.

Then again, many here have positive things to say about the Brix, based on their personal experience. They certainly offer better value for money than a NUC or Mac Mini.

Personally, I'm moving away from bothering with HTPCs, given devices like the Amazon Fire TV can do pretty much everything we want; should the new Apple TV provide for running Kodi and/or Plex I'm thinking of switching out our last Mac Mini for one of these...

browned

636 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1379514 4-Sep-2015 08:39

nVidia Shield TV, runs Android, plays games well, plus so much more. According to a blog post in June the latest update adds FIFA. I just brought one to see if it can replace the media center pc's I have.

jonathan18

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#1379528 4-Sep-2015 09:17

browned: nVidia Shield TV, runs Android, plays games well, plus so much more. According to a blog post in June the latest update adds FIFA. I just brought one to see if it can replace the media center pc's I have.

I only first heard of these yesterday in another thread; I took a quick look on the website and they look pretty good. Possibly more than we currently need, but as our boys get older the gaming component may be useful...

What did you pay for yours, to the door (ie in $NZ with shipping), if you don't mind me asking?

browned

636 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1379576 4-Sep-2015 10:11

Hasn't displayed on the visa bill yet, but currency converters put it about $350nzd for the 16GB model with an added amazon fire tv remote, as they have ff/rw options and the nvidia remote does not. My main use will be with Kodi/Emby/NextPVR and games for the kids as well.

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TeaLeaf

6325 posts

Uber Geek

#1379748 4-Sep-2015 13:05

what am i thinking, I forgot about the shield. was all so keen a few months ago before i the pc games were coming across. now its definitely a viable option and so cheap and looks so good.

as for mac mini, im not fooled by their pricing, dumbed down dual core cpus. i dont know if its the same now but one of the releases you couldnt even add ram. and sorry im just not an apple guy no offense, you are either are or arent, and i dont have a win 7 license spare.

TwoSeven

1623 posts

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Subscriber

#1379897 4-Sep-2015 16:51

TeaLeaf: Id like an AMD NUC with a decent integrated video card.

So I can ply Fifa or the like from the couch via gamepad.

We dont own a xbox, looked at one but the need for a PC that can do PC tasks is greater, but I still like a bit of sports gaming when I get the time.

Apologies if this has already posted.

The new Intel 6th generation processors were announced last earlier this week, amongst this was the announcement of the new 6th generation NUCs. Apart from a few other useful bits, the main feature is hardware H.264 decoding and support for 4K. Not sure when the new units are shipping, but I believe there were price drops on Amazon.com for the old 5th gen ones not so long ago.

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