Hardware Building a new PC to replace my parent's cable box, any advice?

[Psionic Roshambo]

$1800 PC for streaming? Nah bruh, get a Shield TV or some HDMI streaming stick instead.

Here's a whole Android mini computer for $100, would also work:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RGMI3TU/ref=psdc_13447451_t4_B01I7DCLYO

yeah Shield TV would get my vote, I have a PC in my living room and it works fantastic for emulation stuff even better than a Shield TV (that I have in my bedroom) but legit I fire up my Shield TV probably 10 times as much as the PC in my living room... (I do have my other PC in my bedroom running pretty much 24/7 though)

For Kodi get a Shield TV, out of all the devices I have used it on that one is far and away the best with it. Now for streaming of other stuff? Netlix is best so far on Shield TV (I am getting an Apple TV 4K in like a week so I will see how that works...) Roku channel is best on Roku of course lol and if you want stuff like Spectrum streaming cable or Amazon (Amazon is about the same on Roku or Shield TV) or Direct TV Now, you need anything but Android For some reason the cable TV offerings on Android are either buggy or barely work (with the things I have on hand)

But yeah rather than spend 1800 on a PC to connect to a TV (its not as great as it sounds... reading text is a pain and that's a lot of the whole PC experience.) I would get a Shield TV and a Roku Express Plus, those two will give you access to like 99% of the streaming stuff out there.

If you prepay for 3 months of Direct TV Now you get a free Apple TV 4K for $115 (after taxes and stuff)

 

[TotalInsanity4]

yeah Shield TV would get my vote, I have a PC in my living room and it works fantastic for emulation stuff even better than a Shield TV (that I have in my bedroom) but legit I fire up my Shield TV probably 10 times as much as the PC in my living room... (I do have my other PC in my bedroom running pretty much 24/7 though)

For Kodi get a Shield TV, out of all the devices I have used it on that one is far and away the best with it. Now for streaming of other stuff? Netlix is best so far on Shield TV (I am getting an Apple TV 4K in like a week so I will see how that works...) Roku channel is best on Roku of course lol and if you want stuff like Spectrum streaming cable or Amazon (Amazon is about the same on Roku or Shield TV) or Direct TV Now, you need anything but Android For some reason the cable TV offerings on Android are either buggy or barely work (with the things I have on hand)

But yeah rather than spend 1800 on a PC to connect to a TV (its not as great as it sounds... reading text is a pain and that's a lot of the whole PC experience.) I would get a Shield TV and a Roku Express Plus, those two will give you access to like 99% of the streaming stuff out there.

If you prepay for 3 months of Direct TV Now you get a free Apple TV 4K for $115 (after taxes and stuff)

You missed quite a bit, read through the last few pages

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Don't forget to take a before/after picture of your electric bill. Some people are saying that the cost of the PC running will sometimes outweigh the cost of the cable bill.

Maybe if your running 6 1080 Ti's for mining 24/7 or live where electricity is especially expensive (it's possible since I am not an electricity price expert, I can't say for sure lol)

These days RAM and CPU and if you use an SSD they consume very little power, get a good PSU with the highest efficiency you can. A good PSU will last longer and save you money by not needing to be replaced as often and they do save a little bit of money on actually running. In the summer they will also save you a bit more money by not creating as much heat if you live where it gets hot in the summer. Heat your AC unit will have to dump outside.

GPU's are the big electricity eaters, but in a PC usually they only ramp up if your playing a game. Even doing like 4K video if the GPU has hardware support for the codec will barely use more than just sitting idle.

 

[Wolvenreign]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-ROG-G...45?epid=901255916&afepn=5337259887&rmvSB=true

Time to buy prebuilt, due to inflated gpu prices

Sadly, this particular one has been sold out.

 

[Viri]

Well, GPU prices are starting to inch back to normal prices. Mining is starting to go down, more supply than demand, and a new gpu series is coming out.

https://slickdeals.net/f/11431423-g...c-fs-at-newegg?src=catpagev2_catnav_computers

Now, if only the ram prices can be fixed...

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Well, GPU prices are starting to inch back to normal prices. Mining is starting to go down, more supply than demand, and a new gpu series is coming out.

https://slickdeals.net/f/11431423-g...c-fs-at-newegg?src=catpagev2_catnav_computers

Now, if only the ram prices can be fixed...

The reason for that is that Bitcoin TANKED, and is still dropping, which means mining isn't profitable anymore for a lot of people (which... I have mixed feelings about, given that I have stock in it from mining, but I'm happy that GPU prices are dropping, too)

 

[Wolvenreign]

So, just to let everyone know what's going on, the parts for the new PC have been ordered today. Once it arrives and we assemble it, and once I finish the FTP server, having loaded it up with all of my parents' goodies, I'll finish the tutorial and post it on the tutorial section. I tested the FTP functionality with Kodi + FireTV and it works like a charm, loads ultra snappy with no loading times whatsoever. So it's looking good, but I'll wait until a pin has been put in all of it before I write the tutorial.

 

[Giodude]

Hold on. Sorry to bump this thread, but I'm trying to do something similar, but I'm trying to eliminate my dad's cable bill after getting the PC. Like I have a PC, Chromecast, a steam link, and a raspberry pi in my house. What's the best way of doing that while keeping his sports and everything.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Hold on. Sorry to bump this thread, but I'm trying to do something similar, but I'm trying to eliminate my dad's cable bill after getting the PC. Like I have a PC, Chromecast, a steam link, and a raspberry pi in my house. What's the best way of doing that while keeping his sports and everything.

SourceTV for channels and a call to the cable company saying you'd like to cancel your subscription

If you're with a small town cable provider, though, I wouldn't. They need the money

 

[Giodude]

SourceTV for channels and a call to the cable company saying you'd like to cancel your subscription

If you're with a small town cable provider, though, I wouldn't. They need the money

Verizon could do less money.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Verizon could do less money.

Yeah, fuck 'em and cut the cable lol

 

[Giodude]

looked more into what sourcetv is. How exactly does this allow for cable tv?

 

[Wolvenreign]

looked more into what sourcetv is. How exactly does this allow for cable tv?

The solution I used was to install a Kodi build called "No Limits Kodi". That had about 8 or 9 IPTV sources that, combined, had every cable channel from across the world. We have access to every sports channel as well, of course.

That's the solution I'm going to write about after my new computer is finished being built.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

The solution I used was to install a Kodi build called "No Limits Kodi". That had about 8 or 9 IPTV sources that, combined, had every cable channel from across the world. We have access to every sports channel as well, of course.

That's the solution I'm going to write about after my new computer is finished being built.

Those IPTV sources can and will stop working randomly and finding new ones to replace them could be impossible. Just FYI.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

looked more into what sourcetv is. How exactly does this allow for cable tv?

It's a channel-by-channel live stream of paid TV channels. That means you can effectively build your own "TV package" for free, but it's also literal piracy

And yeah, "No Limits" Kodi has something similar already built in

 

[Wolvenreign]

Those IPTV sources can and will stop working randomly and finding new ones to replace them could be impossible. Just FYI.

Alright, I'll include this note in the tutorial.

 

[Wolvenreign]

Bad news. Newegg sent me faulty RAM, it won't install games without giving isdone.dll and unarc.dll errors. Ran a Windows memory diagnostic, it came back with errors. So now I have to wait two more goddamn weeks to be able to finish this job, since Newegg is going to take FOREVER to replace this faulty RAM. I have to RMA it and ship it out today. =/

 

[GameSystem]

Sorry to hear that. I hope the next one comes in okay.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

Bad news. Newegg sent me faulty RAM, it won't install games without giving isdone.dll and unarc.dll errors. Ran a Windows memory diagnostic, it came back with errors. So now I have to wait two more goddamn weeks to be able to finish this job, since Newegg is going to take FOREVER to replace this faulty RAM. I have to RMA it and ship it out today. =/

Two weeks? Good lord. I've never dealt with a Newegg RMA, but I do know that if you go directly through the manufacturer the turnaround is usually like a week at most

 

[Wolvenreign]

Two weeks? Good lord. I've never dealt with a Newegg RMA, but I do know that if you go directly through the manufacturer the turnaround is usually like a week at most

Here's the screwed up part; on the chat with the Newegg rep, I asked them to use a memory test on the next batch they send out to me, and they said, "Sorry, we don't test items before we send them out to customers." And yet, part of the RMA process is a 3-5 DAY testing period to make sure it's actually faulty before they issue a replacement.