PC Tech Thread

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spotter in reply to @hippy

I have done this for over a decade, and have set numerous up for loads of friends / family inc. user @amey My recomendation is to get an enterprise SFF desktop (Dell/HP/Lenovo).
They are small, low power, take normal components, easily upgradable and importantly cheap on eBay.

There are some even smaller form factor ones like the HP Elitedesk Mini's which use laptop components

https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/

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hugo7 in reply to @spotter

@spotter

have done this for over a decade, and have set numerous up for loads of friends / family inc. user @amey My recomendation is to get an enterprise SFF desktop (Dell/HP/Lenovo).

They are small, low power, take normal components, easily upgradable and importantly cheap on eBay.

There are some even smaller form factor ones like the HP Elitedesk Mini's which use laptop components

Do you set up remote controls with this? And if so which one? And does it support voice control?

For some reason kodi has been playing up with my firestick. I've only tried it with borrowed content rather than the apps. Nvidia shield is a bit more than I want to spend, but equally if a SFF is £70 + £30 for a remote which isn't as easy to use then it seems like less vfm. Cheers.

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spotter in reply to @hugo7

I've always used a Logitech K400

Many moons ago I used a Windows Media Centre Remote, and when I still bothered with Kodi I got one of these USB HDMI CEC adapters so I could use my TV remote instead, but I dont bother now only use the above keyboard. I have never had any interest at all in voice commands sorry.
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aggi in reply to @hugo7

I used to have a PC as a media center. Had it set up with Kodi (with Plex add-on) and used an IR remote control. These days I'd use a bluetooth remote as they tend to allow switching between cursor and mouse mode and don't require line of sight. (You can get remotes for about a tenner.)

Realistically though they are a faff if you go beyond just using Kodi, Steam big picture, etc. Windows isn't designed to be used from the sofa.
Something like this can help if you want portable

but I also ended up using a K400 for ease.

I've got an Nvidia Shield but they are remarkably expensive given the age of them (I bought mine nearly 4 years ago). They are probably still the best option if you want all singing, all dancing but unless you need the USB ports or want to run a plex server on there I'd get a Google TV chromecast 4k which I think is about £50.

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