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I'm looking into buying (or possibly building) a micro pc for streaming YouTube, Netflix etc. What specs would you recommend for the machine if it's gong to be plugged into a 50-inch 4k display?

I'm looking to spend around £150-200 on the machine (O/S Not neccessary).

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

(also, would the Intel ComputeStick be a good machine for this purpose? See specs below.)

Intel STK1AW32SC Compute Stick (Black) - (Intel Atom x5-Z8300 1.44 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC, Intel HD Graphics, Windows 10)

Max Astall
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  • Thanks for your help everyone! Decided to go with the MINIX NEO Z83-4 as it has 4gb of RAM and it didnt break the bank too much!

    Total cost came to £160 (add a bit more for the wireless keyboard/mouse if you don't have one!)

    SPECS: Intel Cherry Trail; Fanless; Windows 10 (64-bit) [4GB/32GB/Dual-Band Wi-Fi/Gigabit Ethernet/Dual Output/4K]

     – Max Astall Jul 20 '17 at 09:58

2 Answers2

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Since I can't comment due to a lacking reputation of 50, I will write an answer instead.

First the STK1AW32SC is capable of computing 4k, but it will need to utilize just about everything it has to do so, any other tasks it has to perfom in that time will result in visible quality loss. On the side, newer generations of Intel's CompuStick are more powerfull and are fully 4K capable (see their site for that) but they're not cheap and probably out of question.

I think you should look into the upcoming Up² ("Up Squared") SoC's, they are capable of 4K and most models are also in your price range. I would recommend a 4GB-RAM build over a 2GB.(UP-Board)

Oxados
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  • Thanks Oxados! Would you recommend a machine like this then? (I'd need the WiFi add-on however)

    http://up-shop.org/home/81-up-gws01w4g-memory32g-emmc-boardwo-vesa-plate.html

     – Max Astall Jul 12 '17 at 10:45
  • I believe it would work, although in your case I would wait till next month (and pre-order if available) when the "UP Squared" is released. Since it will also have an Display Port Slot besides the HDMI one and therefor enable 60 FPS (HDMI will only get you 30 FPS) – Oxados Jul 12 '17 at 15:26
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If all you do is YouTube/Netflix streaming, you could use an Xbox One S

(Note: since you said possibly building, I'm going to assume that this is small enough for you)

Pros

  • More powerful CPU (than compute stick)
  • 500GB Storage (or 1TB depending on model) vs. 32GB
  • Quick and easy setup
  • Supports 4K
  • You can play games
  • Blu-ray reader

Cons

  • It's big
  • It doesn't run Windows (Possibly a reason to not consider this, depending on what you plan on using your 'micro-pc' for.)
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Rubydesic
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  • Thanks for your input RubyJunk! However, i am looking for a machine that comes with full Windows 10 (and also i'm a Playstation bod!) – Max Astall Jul 12 '17 at 10:48