For parents whose sole purpose using this desktop, is to stream online TV shows. Budget of <$1000.
Hopefully something with just an 128gb SSD, no need for higher amounts of storage, as they just need to have it load Chrome and websites with streaming. But the SSD for quicker load times. Also a Wi-Fi adaptor that is capable of Wi-Fi 6 connections for faster internet connectivity. Plan is to just HDMI cable the PC to the TV.
Sorry if this has been posted before. Looking for a bargain.
A second hand dell optiplex 9020 or similar, will set you back $150 - $250
Oh cool, this is going back to high school and primary school computer days. This should work
Need Chrome/PC specific items?
I'd suggest a Google TV if you have a suitable app for whichever sites you're using. Possibly also sideload Chrome or another browser onto it?
Moreso just streaming off free sites, so don't think Google TV will work
So does that rule out using an XBox or Playstation as well? I'm not sure how well their web browsers work.
When I went to replace my old 1080p HTPCs I realised an XBox One S with Kodi on it to link to the library on my NAS and the MythTV server for FTA recordings was way more cost effective, and it could play 4K blurays too which wasn't easy on PCs back then. Was like $1k or there abouts to roll my own 4K BD capable HTPC or $200-300 on sale for the Xboxen which made it a no brainer (this was when 8th gen Intel was the new hotness)
You can use your smartphone to cast to Chromecast those free sites?
It should work in theory so long as the site plays properly on mobile, but that might be too fiddly for parents depending on their technophobe levels.
Teaching my father to use Chromecast just for YouTube with the Android YouTube app's seamless integration and UI was painful enough, teaching him to cast videos from web pages in Chrome? Hard pass.
@smashman42: Ok so far with Chromecast with Google TV I'm able to do SBS, 9Now,7,Tubi - without casting. Just a simple login setup in the beginning. Im guessing if app is available in Play it should be available in Google TV app as well.
@smashman42: Yeah that's exactly what I wanted to avoid. I've already taught them how to use it on a very old laptop which they've gotten used to. So might as well stick to something they're familiar with, instead of going through a whole new platform.
@Captain Stooge: hell, simply a newer laptop? The mini-PCs should have better cooling than a laptop, but often for the given specs laptops are cheaper.
Roll your own the 2nd hand optiplex or similar is probs the go (eg: 4th gen to 7th gen i5-i7), though if they need 4K then you might need a GPU which right now, yeah not fun - whereas any of the new recent AMD (anything Ryzen G series, Athlon series is iffy for 4K) or Intel iGPUs (10th gen or newer) in miniPCs/laptops/DIY will do it no probs but double the coin
Edit: added CPU generations rather than being vague
@smashman42: Yeah nah, no need for 4k, they're streaming off website where they are even happy with 720p. So if the Optiplex' work, I'll go ahead and purchase those ones.
@Captain Stooge: Yep, 1080p is pretty much any potato with a HDMI port these days, so those refurb units linked by Scrimshaw with 16GB RAM and SSDs in them are super overkill for cheap.
Those Mini PCs are okay, but I can't seem to find anything on good that's competitively priced.
To give those $300 OptiPlex's a run for their money, I'd look for around AUD $400 price.
The old chipsets I would look for are: (good) AMD V1807B, r5-2400g, r5-3400g, r7-2700U, r7-2800H, r7-3700U, r7-3780U, r7-5800U, r7-5800H, r7-5980HS (better). These are moreso the bare-minimum I would look at, since they all have a pretty weak Vega iGPU with around 10CU.
The one I personally would target is the 6800H chipset, for around $600 price (tell em he's dreamin).
Although, the newly released chipsets, are much much better since they upgrade to a proper RDNA-2 iGPU. The list of them are: r7-6800U, r7-6800H, r9-6900HS, and r9-6980HX.
You can just search the term "Mini PC", but there's some great options out there from ASUS, ASRock, Lenovo, Dell, HP, Zotac, Minisforum, Beelink, Chuwi, etc etc. And there's also the Apple Mac Mini (M1) as an option.
…even though I couldn't be helpful this time, keep an eye out for it, these might be great to buy in the near future!
My experience with chromecast + random free streaming site is pretty bad, I think those site intentionally make chromecast not working smoothly to promote their ad.
however Apple AirPlay is a lot better, I can stream off my iPad to my TV without hiccup using those random websites most of the time.
In terms of using computer for stream, anything works (if 1080p only),
for 4k your best bet is something like a i3 8100/i3 9100/i3 10100, or AMD r3 2200g/3200g with the cheapest motherboard you can find(that comes with a HDMI).
I am almost certain your parent will install some random bloatware on it whilst they use it, so give them at least 16G ram and 500G SSD so the computer still run smoothly with tons of rubbish, this should only increase the budget about $100 compare to 8G+120G.
I would just get an laptop and connect to the TV.
Laptop off hard rubbish.
Raspbery Pi 400 - $120
its a complete PC running unix, you can load your OS of choice onto a SD card. Run a browser for netflix / youtube / streaming
i3 intel Nuc. Maybe even an older generation one. Set it up with Ubuntu/Mint Linux and then slap it on the back of the monitor with a vesa mount or just connect it to the TV with a Bluetooth keyboard trackpad combo.
Just watch the NUC generation if you need 4K output, some of the ones where the CPUs in theory support 4K only did it off the display port so HDMI for TVs was a no go without a DP to HDMI adaptor - I think something like 7th gen bad, 9th gen good, but my memory is terrible so check yourself. 10th gen or newer with Ice Lake CPUs/iGPUs is definitely safe for 4K.
Everything Ryzen 3 or better "should" be good for 4K HTPC - hell I have a mate with an Athlon 200GE in his budget HTPC that displays 4k60hz ok and plays YouTube 4K fine, but AMD (early at least) I think was no go for Netflix's DRM - though that may have been sorted now?
Lots of traps for budget HTPCs when I was trying to do it so I gave up and went XBox One S as media players as they suited my use case pretty perfectly once they released Kodi for the One series (TV recordings from MythTV/HDHomerun, not dodgy streaming add ons)
I'd recommend the NVIDIA Shield Pro.
Nice friendly user interface. Compatible with a lot of apps. I haven't come across anything I can't stream to it yet, or not been able to install an app from the Play Store. For reference we stream (almost all free to air stations, Netflix, Stan, Kayo, FITE, DIFM, Spotify, YouTube, Plex).
The remote might be a welcomed addition instead of a keyboard and mouse too.
Not sure about the WiFi 6 requirement. Is that a deal breaker?
lol for $1k you can build a good gaming pc, a few hundred backs is all that s required to meet those needs as others have said
Pretty much any pc from the last 6 years can do that, maybe even 10 depending on the resolution of the videos.
You could propably build it yourself with 2nd hand parts for less than $200.