Minimum hardware required for re-purposed PCs

PC Junkyard · December 28, 2019 at 11:20 AM

Hi all,

I'm new to LibreELEC & Kodi.... and Linux come to that! I have a garage full of old PC hardware and I am looking to re-purpose 2 or 3 machines as HTPCs to feed 4k content over HDMI to some latest generation TVs. Where I cannot re-purpose a machine for 4k content I will settle for a 1080p spec.

I am going to use second-hand components where I can but I realise that I will probably have to purchase latest gen graphics cards to support 4k.

My question is..... what minimum PC spec should I be looking to construct to support 4k content and 2k content? I am also an Nvidia kind of guy so which card would you go for as a minimum to support a 2K or 4K machine?

Many thanks

**Klojum** · December 28, 2019 at 11:44 AM Official Post

LibreELEC/Linux only has support for 8bit videos when it comes to Nvidia. With 8bit, it can do upto 8K videos though.

4K are normally h.265/HEVC videos, so a GTX950/960 is an option.

The GT1030 is the cheapest card for a HTPC box, with (sadly) a Windows OS setup if you need 10bit video support.

Mind you, LibreELEC is likely to drop Nvidia support in future because of all the Linux video driver shenanigans around Nvidia.

PC Junkyard · December 28, 2019 at 1:48 PM

Thanks Klojum.

Given the NVIDIA issues... which is the most reliably supported card option? 2k/4k ???

**CvH** · December 28, 2019 at 5:02 PM Official Post

Quote from PC Junkyard

which is the most reliably supported card option? 2k/4k ???

Intel CPU + integrated GPU

AMD should be an alternative in future, maybe - hopefully.

kszabo · January 22, 2020 at 10:37 AM

Quote from CvH

Intel CPU + integrated GPU

AMD should be an alternative in future, maybe - hopefully.

I thought that Intel integrated GPUs support only 30 fps @4K und not 60 fps (mine is like that), partially because of the hdmi specs.

I bought a brillant new Philips OLED with 4K 10bit support and looking for a solution to use its possibilities. I like Kodi too much not to switch to Android TV it comes with completely... Any up-to-date GFX suggestions for that from anyone? (low profile passively cooled ;))

**Klojum** · January 22, 2020 at 10:54 AM Official Post

Intel GPUs took a recent performance hit with their latest security updates...

Not sure what they all mean towards watching videos.

**smp** · January 22, 2020 at 4:48 PM

Quote from Klojum

Intel GPUs took a recent performance hit with their latest security updates...

Only the old Gen7 GPUs. Also, Intel Gen7 Graphics Mitigation Will Try To Avoid Performance Loss In Final Version - Phoronix

Minimum hardware required for re-purposed PCs

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