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View Full Version : Need help deciding on computer specs


visualk
09-23-2021, 01:34 PM
I have been out of the loop on computer specs for quite some time now and I am unaware of all the new fancy computer equipment that is out there. Currently I have a really old computer (about 12 years old) that I built way back when and I use primarily to play movies (1080p) or stream from Youtube/Spotify etc. It's great and I don't use it for much else but those activities. I am starting to notice that it's not working as it once did even after doing some reinstalls of the OS and cleaning up the bloatware on it. I am starting to get HD errors or startup issues.

I am looking for a new computer that can basically serve as a home theatre pc and play 4k or eventually 8k (not that I need that now) and looking for Beyond's help for what specs I require to accomplish this. I'd rather just buy a pre-built rather than buying all the components and building myself at this point. I have looked at Kijiji and found the following two listings that caught my eye and looking for Beyond's opinions:

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1586223755

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1586473331

Thanks in advance! :thumbsup:
cyra1ax
09-23-2021, 01:40 PM
Do you really need an HTPC? An Nvidia Shield can do all that and even host it's own Plex server.
ExtraSlow
09-23-2021, 03:07 PM
I think buying a used gaming PC as a HTPC is a poor choice.
Xtrema
09-23-2021, 03:14 PM
Nvidia Shield TV and a USB external drive of your choice to store movies and call it a day if your goal is 4K TV watching and/or a bit of emulator gaming.
visualk
09-23-2021, 03:35 PM
Hmm while this Nvidia Shield seems interesting, I would prefer having a desktop computer.
cyra1ax
09-23-2021, 03:44 PM
Do you have a budget? Those two machines you linked are very far apart(and frankly overkill for your use case).
killramos
09-23-2021, 04:01 PM
Computers are a waste of money
Xtrema
09-23-2021, 04:03 PM
Hmm while this Nvidia Shield seems interesting, I would prefer having a desktop computer.

Buy whatever new PC under $1K will do, your use case is pretty low. Don't buy used because new Windows 11 TPM requirement make things murky. Prebuild usually get you better price and included copy of windows.

If you are doing PC gaming, then good luck. GPU shortage made used stuff priced higher than normal.
visualk
09-23-2021, 04:16 PM
Do you have a budget? Those two machines you linked are very far apart(and frankly overkill for your use case).

Just to confirm both systems are overkill? Don't have a budget per say but I'm leaning on value here for the most part.
ZenOps
09-24-2021, 06:11 PM
Steam Deck might be an option, next year. Should have all the scaling quality enhancements that they included along with RDNA2.
ExtraSlow
09-24-2021, 06:32 PM
Just to confirm both systems are overkill? Don't have a budget per say but I'm leaning on value here for the most part.

Correct value choice and correct functionality choice, is a Venn diagram with 10004% overlap. Nvidia Shield.
jwslam
09-24-2021, 08:26 PM
Computers are a waste of money
Overkill computers are Buster 's favourite asset class