The best home theater PCs are both small and powerful, which means they tend to be expensive as well. If you’re working on a budget, then you can expect to sacrifice either size, power, or both to hit your desired price point. Some more affordable options that lack the power of more advanced home theater PCs include options like stick PCs and Chrome-based systems. You can also use a laptop as a home theater PC in a pinch, but that isn’t the most elegant solution. Our top pick for the category is the Intel NUC 817HNK. It’s a compact and powerful HTPC with a fast processor and video card, allowing it to handle media streaming and gaming in one package. To help you find the best home theater PC for your own setup, we’ve researched and tested systems from all the top manufacturers, including Intel, Apple, Asus, and others. We’ve identified the best picks, including tiny powerhouses, systems that you can also use for work or gaming, and even options that run on macOS and Chrome OS. Read on to see the best home theater PCs below. This home theater PC comes with a speedy quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics, and 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. Those are pretty impressive specifications for such a small machine, and this hardware positions the Intel NUC 8I7HNK as a home theater powerhouse, ready to pipe video to up to six displays at once, or two 4K displays, stream in UHD, and even play VR video games if you have a VR headset. The best thing about the Mac Mini, and the thing that makes it so well suited to the role of home theater PC, is the diminutive, unassuming case. This tiny computer is small enough to slide into just about any home theater setup, either alongside or on top of your other components, and the sleek, space-gray case is unlikely to clash with the rest of your gear. The base configuration, with a 3.6GHz quad-core processor and 256GB of storage, is perfectly suited to a streaming setup, but the integrated graphics, with no discrete graphics card option, means the Mac Mini won’t be doing double duty as both a home theater PC and a living room gaming rig. The base model comes equipped with a 10th generation Core i3 processor, which you can upgrade to a Core i5 or Core i7. You also get your choice of 8 or 16 GB of DDR3 RAM, a speedy 256 or 512 GB PCIe SSD, and a couple of different discrete NVIDIA Quadro graphics cards. With power like that, you can push 4K video to multiple displays, or even play games in addition to streaming media content. The best thing about the ThinkStation P340 is the fact that it packs so much high-performance hardware into a remarkably small package. With optional mounting hardware, you have the option to mount the unit under your desk or even to the back of your monitor. Purchase extra power and HDMI cables, and you can easily pull this little powerhouse out of its cradle at the end of the workday and slot it in place to power your home theater at night. The entry-level Dell Optiplex 3070 Micro offers an excellent mix of affordability and performance, with a dual-core Pentium processor, 4GB DDR4 RAM, and a spacious 500 GB hard disk drive, all with a price tag lower than much of the competition. If you need a higher performance option, you can upgrade to a variety of Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors, add a 256GB PCIe SSD, add up to 8GB of RAM, and more. The only real drawback of the Dell Optiplex 3070 Micro is there isn’t any option for discrete graphics, so you won’t be using this as both a home theater PC and a gaming rig. If that isn’t important, then this line has a whole lot to offer. While the Chronos is a bit on the large side, gamers will be immediately comfortable with the size and form factor. It doesn’t conform exactly to the size specifications of any specific game system, but it doesn’t look out of place next to an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, nor will it have overstayed its welcome by the time you upgrade to the next generation of consoles. The base configuration of the Origin Chronos comes packed with a six-core AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super, which means you can even use it with some of the best VR headsets. You can also upgrade to a variety of more powerful Intel and AMD Ryzen CPUs, and even slot in a beastly Nvidia GeForce3 RTX Titan if you’re really looking to future-proof your home theater and gaming experiences. The Origin Chronos is a bit pricey if you’re not looking for a home theater PC that can double as a powerful gaming rig, but it’s a fantastic option if that is what you’re looking for. It even leaves you with the option to upgrade after the fact, like a traditional PC, although the PCIe and DIMM slots are all full from the factory, so you’ll be replacing components with upgrades rather than just adding new functionality on top. Unlike streaming devices with a similar form factor, the Intel Compute Stick is a legitimate Windows PC. It features the full Windows 10 experience, which means you can use this tiny home theater PC to do anything you can do with any other Windows computer. You can install apps, browse the internet, and, of course, stream media for your home theater. The Intel Compute Stick comes in a few configurations, so it’s important to choose the right one. The most affordable option packs a lightweight Atom processor that’s suitable for basic streaming, but don’t expect it to do any heavy lifting. More expensive versions are available with faster processors, all in the same tiny form factor. You may want to turn your eyes to an alternative like the Azulle Quantum Access if you’re working on a really tight budget, or something like the NZXT H1 Mini PC if high-performance gaming if your main concern, but the Intel NUC 817HNK definitely represents the best choice for the most people.
What to Look For in a Home Theater PC
Processor
You’ll find home theater PCs equipped with both Intel and AMD CPUs. AMD is a fine choice if you’re after a budget model and aren’t in need of high performance, while Intel typically provides higher performance. The latest AMD processors have flipped that script with fantastic performance from their most expensive offerings, but you’re unlikely to make that kind of investment in a home theater PC.
Graphics Card
If you want the best performance, you need your home theater PC to have a discrete graphics card. It doesn’t need to be powerful enough to play the latest games if you aren’t also a gamer, but it does need to be powerful enough to drive an HD or 4K display, or multiple displays depending on your configuration. If budget is more important, you may have to settle for integrated graphics.
Storage
You’ll need plenty of storage if you want to convert your media library to digital content that you can play on your home theater PC or stream to other devices in your home. Look for at least a 256GB SSD with the option to add more via USB or Ethernet. If you prefer to stream your content, then look instead for a home theater PC with a built-in 802.11ac or 802.11ax Wi-Fi card.
