HTPC with new OLED TV

chabsey

I've a somewhat unusual self built HTPC powered by a 120W 12V 10A PSU (this one). This was done a few years ago

My CPU has the HD530 intel GPU capabilities and currently outputs to my 1080p TV perfectly.

I was just about to buy an LG B9 in a black friday deal when I realised I might not be able to get the most out of the TV if using the current HTPC setup.

My mobo has a 1.4 HDMI port which is capable of 4K @24hz which is apparently fine for watching movies but no good for rendering the desktop (I never game on it so that's not an issue) or general windows use.

So, if I upgrade to a discreet GPU I am afraid of potentially overloading the PSU.

Or potentially could I just leave the system as is, watch 1080p content through it and if I wanted to watch 4k stuff with all the bells and whistles (HDR etc) buy a separate player and use that instead?

Any suggestions as to how I could work this without having to upgrade the HTPC etc. I don't want to spend 1k+ on a TV only to plug in the HTPC just to find it unusable.

M00lers

A low profile 1050 Ti/1650 low profile (no power cable required as it pulls power from motherboard) might work but also consider getting a higher wattage psu just to err on the side of caution.

Homelander

your current cpu will do 4k fine, just at 30hz. shouldn't be any issue on desktop? Not sure why anyone would say it is no good. 4k playback will be fine. definitely will not be unusable.

if you need full hdr10 support a new card is needed though a 120w adaptor is very limiting. i would say a gt1030 ddr4 version is cheap and should work fine for local media files though apparently from googling, netflix requires a 1050ti for proper 4khdr (for some reason, makes no sense). in this scenario your 120w adaptor is no use really.

i would say buy the tv and use the setup for now, it will be fine. upgrade if/when needed.

chabsey

Thanks guys, from what I was reading elsewhere people were suggesting changing the screen refresh rate in windows to 25hz to get an idea of how it would appear when using windows @4K through HDMI 1.4. So I did and the results were not pretty, very glitchy feel to how the output was rendered. However, I don't know if that would be considered a real test or indicative of the way it would render. My worry was that I'd put 1K+ into a TV only to gamble on the results being usable or not.

Homelander

It depends on what you're using it for. If it's literally just a media PC it would be fine. 30hz is not ideal for some people for regular web browsing and whatnot, but for movies/tv it's perfect (unless, obviously, you are watching 60fps files). In normal desktop use it will feel sluggish compared to 60hz, but it's not unusable either, even for normal stuff.

chabsey

Quick update on this. As you predicted the 4K TV has zero problem with my existing set up, windows works and looks great 1080p content plays smoothly.

I did try one 4K video thus far, it was an UHD ISO of Planet Earth 2. This was unwatchable - I could hear my cpu fan going (I'd forgotten I had a CPU fan it's been so long since I heard it) crazy and the cpu was hitting near 100%. Video played for about 1 oe 2 seconds before freezing, crashing entirely or stuttering to the extent of being utterly unwatchable.

I disabled hardware decoding in VLC, same result. I've an i3 6100 with 8gb RAM in this HTPC which should be good enough but the CPU was utterly maxxed out. Am currently investigating whether I should just skip this pc for any 4K content and buy something like an nvidia shield. Or is it VLC causing the problems here? Maybe more RAM? A better cpu?

M00lers

A shield would be a good option all right, really enjoy my 2019 version. But even a cheap Chinese Amlogic box would handle 4K HDR without issue. I was using one flashed with Libreelec/Coreelec for years and no problems, silent too.

Homelander

You could get a better CPU like this i5-6500 for 80 euro

https://ie.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=scpuinti56500ka&categoryName=processors-intel&superCatName=computing&title=intel-core-i5-6500-%283.2ghz%29-lga-1151

But really it's way more efficient to use a video card for decoding. A gt1030 should do most things just fine, but as I said above, for some reason Netflix demands a 1050ti 4gb as a minimum for 4k hdr, but I don't know how real that require is, a gt1030 should really do fine.

problem is though, your psu is really weak for anything more than a very low end card.

Personally, I would think about selling that htpc and picking up a new one. A mini atx or micro itx build built around something like Ryzen 3400G (quad cpu, octo-thread with integrated graphics - versus your i3 with dual core and four thread) would be perfect.

presumably it's ddr4 ram used with that i3-6100 so really you could just swap out the motherboard and cpu.

If you go here, you'll see results under streaming services and video playback, everything other than 8k playback seems OK. The 3400G has the best integrated graphics currently available, very similar to an Nvidia GT1030.

https://androidpctv.com/review-amd-ryzen-5-3400g-opinion/

chabsey

A gt1030 sounds like it might fit the bill. Found this post where someone with a similar set up to mine was asking the same thing:

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/running-a-gt-1030-on-a-120w-psu.3035991/

Homelander

Yes I don't think it will be a problem, I meant for cards above the gt1030 - I just don't know how true Netflix's strange requirement of needing 3gb+ vram for 4k HDR is. The 1030 is a 2gb card.

chabsey

Thanks, I'll see if I can pick one up cheaply. Presumably they don't require any PSU inputs and are powered directly from the mobo.

Homelander

Yes, they are. There is a DDR4 version and a DDR5 version, DDR5 is much faster in games it can run, doubt it makes much difference otherwise, but probably best get the gddr5 version of it anyway as the prices are very similar.

chabsey

Thinking of getting this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GeForce-1030-Silent-Profile/dp/B071HPN262/ref=sr_1_16?crid=62XRBYS0BK8Q&keywords=gt%2B1030%2Bgddr5&qid=1575636828&s=computers&sprefix=gt%2B1030%2Ccomputers%2C158&sr=1-16&th=1

to go into this mobo:

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B150M-MORTAR.html

Don't foresee any issues...

K.O.Kiki

Don't get the GT1030, AFAIK the hardware requirement is enforced as a hardware DRM.

You can get GTX 1050 Ti models which don't require extra power: https://skinflint.co.uk/?cmp=1524159&cmp=1526224&cmp=1542809&cmp=1589782

Alternatively you can bypass this by getting a 7th/8th gen Intel CPU.
e.g. barebones 7th-gen, 8th-gen, without CPU

chabsey

Thanks, the 1050Ti you suggest - is this to facilitate NetFlix 4k with HDR? If so I think my TV has built in Netflix so should be ok without the need for that.

However, I'll investigate the 1050 card, if it's a similar price I might go for it.

K.O.Kiki

The 1050 3Gb is currently £40+ dearer than the 1050 Ti so no point in buying an inferior card.

chabsey

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

The 1050 3Gb is currently £40+ dearer than the 1050 Ti so no point in buying an inferior card.

Are they available with passive cooling though, trying to keep fan noise to a minimum.

K.O.Kiki

chabsey wrote: »

Are they available with passive cooling though, trying to keep fan noise to a minimum.

The Gigabyte model has a custom firmware that turns off the fan under low-load operations.

Also checked and apparently the Sapphire Pulse RX550 has this, too.

chabsey

Latest update with this - GT 1030 bought and going to be returned. As it was a passive one I couldn't tell if it was working or not by the fan but it didn't output anything so probably my machine isn't capable of using it. Annoying - the heatsink did heat up and the PC turned on but I got no signal either through the cards HDMI or the mobo's HDMI. Changed the cable, tried a different TV, turned on and off, different mobo socket - all the same result - no signal.

Didn't even get the bios beeps or anything, just deadness.

Will return to amazon.

Homelander

No real reason why you couldn't. Possibly just faulty unless you have some strange motherboard that has limitations.

chabsey

I have a mortar b150m https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B150M-MORTAR.html

Should work, I mean the fact that the pc booted and the heatsink got warm makes me think it was working.