Old gaming pc as htpc vs nvidia shield

[oliverharan92]

Novice Member
Hi
I have an old gaming rig that I am thinking of using as a plex server. However I have just seen that the nvidia shield can now run in server mode. My question is, what would be a better setup? Both options would use a wd 4tb external hardrive usb 3.0

Computer specs
Cpu - i7 950
Ram - 6gb DDR3
GPU - Nvidia GTX460 1GB
Storage - 250 gb samsung evo 840 ssd
(Please note that I built this system in 2010!)

Maybe another option could be 2nd hand componants from ebay? I have tried looking at diffrent compnants on ebay but im abit lost nowdays about cpu naming!

 

[whm1974]

The Nvidia shield would be quieter, far smaller, and consume far less power then your old gaming PC, and offer good enough performance for HTPC tasks.

Personally I would get the Shield for those three reason alone over reusing your old gaming PC.

 

[hoorah]

I have no idea how well the nvidia shield does as a server. Others can address that point, but it will come down to how much you plan to serve at once and how much transcoding you plan to do. Just your family - probably fine. 3-4 users transcoding at once and you may want to use the HTPC.

Anyway, if you are going to use the HTPC as a server, ditch the GTX460 as it won't be used and will just add power consumption.

As far as a user interface, I've been finding the android devices have lately been better than the x86 interfaces (like kodi or plex), so if you're going to buy the shield anyway to attach to the TV, you might as well try it as a server and sell the gaming PC while its still worth something.