With the right setup, you could be playing your favorite PC games (and even streaming them on Twitch TV!) right from your couch. You may also want to consider making your PC gaming-ready.
If you're building your own, of course, the sky's the limit! Check out our section below on upgrades for tips on what to emphasize. They use your home’s electrical wiring to give you internet speeds nearly as fast as those of a wired connection.Īll of this assumes that you're using an existing PC for this project. If your home isn’t wired for Ethernet and your computer is too far from your router, a powerline adapter can be a great alternative to a wired connection. A wired connection is ideal, but if your chosen machine has a good Wi-Fi antenna, then wireless internet might be a solid option, too. If you're okay with settling for 1080p, you'll have even less to worry about in terms of specs.įinally, make sure that your HTPC can maintain a speedy internet connection. Intel’s integrated graphics have come a long way in recent years, but it still takes a decent processor or graphics card to handle 4K Ultra HD streaming. Your old laptop or desktop can probably top that easily, though it may lag behind top-flight streaming boxes in other areas, particularly in terms of 4K-readiness. Still, it pays to boot the thing up and take a look at its specs.Īs a frame of reference, a 4K Roku TV has a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. If your PC isn't truly a stone-age machine, it's probably more than up to the task of serving as your media center. Let’s tackle your big HTPC project step by step! Check Those Specs Here's everything you need to know about how to make a media center PC out of your current PC.
Of course, there are a few tweaks you'll want to make to your PC before it's ready to serve as your HTPC. And HTPCs are also perfect for playing your local music and video files. It doesn't take that much firepower under the hood for a PC to do great work streaming Netflix, HBO Max, Sling TV, and more.
If you have an old computer (or a new one, for that matter), then you have the makings of a media center PC - also known as a home theater personal computer (HTPC). That includes plenty of consumer-facing streaming boxes and platforms like Roku and Fire TV but it also includes more creative DIY solutions - which is why we're here to show you how to convert your PC to a media center. Here at, we're big fans of anything that lets us watch our favorite movies, TV shows, and more without cable.
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