What spec to stream netflix in 1080P

[jon_mendel]

I'm planning to get a HTPC and put Windows 10 on it. The most demanding things I'll do with it are playing HD video (Netflix/Iplayer/YouTube), though just 1080P - don't need 4k, though I'd rather it's not laggy when loading Netflix etc. What should I be looking for as a minimum spec in terms of processor, RAM etc?

As it'll just do quite basic tasks, getting something small/quiet/cheap-ish is more of a priority than a powerful machine - but I don't want to end up with something that doesn't do the job (and I'm very out-of-date on modern hardware).

 

[richardb70]

Pretty much anything will do 1080p these days. I'd have a look at an AMD APU which might tick all your boxes, or a cheap Intel Celeron maybe? If you go with the latter, you can always add a tiny discrete GPU later if need be (which I did - a tiny GT440 from the classifieds here).

 

[jon_mendel]

Thanks! I was thinking of getting a ready-made nettop - something like an acer revo - or something based on an atom processor. They should do the job OK, then?

 

[richardb70]

Not too sure about Atom processors, I've seen them in net books and they're a bit weak.

Can you post up links to what you're looking at? They might do 1080p but they might be a little underpowered for responsiveness etc, especially with Windows as well.

 

[jon_mendel]

Thanks! I was wondering about whether an older atom box like this might do the job Acer Aspire Revo R3600 - Media desktop PC - Intel Atom, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Windows 7 Starter: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories Sounds like it could be underpowered, though, so will stick to newer/higher spec boxes.

 

[ben.bayliss]

Woah. That box is old. As in the Revos were popular around maybe 5-6 years ago, and that was the older generation.

I've got the 3610 (which is an NVIDIA ION v2 one with an Atom chip) and am thinking of retiring it. I'd actually guess that a Raspberry Pi might be better if set up well..?

 

[plum23]

Another 3610 user! Mine is still chugging away running Openelec.
Unfortunately a Pi won't do Netflix.

 

[jon_mendel]

Thanks for all the replies, and sorry about my slow response. There were some silent Sedatech PCs heavily reduced on Amazon, so got one with J1900 Celeron & SSD for a good price - was helpful to have the reassurance about what will stream HD! Delivery next week, so I'll start a thread with some questions about set-up