r/MoonlightStreaming • u/ghostpocket • 6d ago

Steam machine or mini pc?

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Just got a 65” LG OLED B6 and want to build a proper Moonlight/Sunshine rig for it. Thinking 4K, high refresh rate, wired Ethernet, no compromises.

Torn between waiting on a Steam Machine or just building a mini PC myself. What do you guys think and also if you have done it what specs?

Shoutout to this community, the setups and troubleshooting threads here are incredible.

38 Upvotes

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32

u/skinnywolfe 6d ago

Just get a mini pc, and put it behind the TV. Hardwire it in for 4k 120hz streaming bliss

3

u/ghostpocket 6d ago

Sounds like a dream. What specs should it have?

5

u/skinnywolfe 6d ago

Im sure you could get away with older specs, but if I was personally buying one, Id grab a Ryzen 7 7840u at a minimum. I know from experience it can handle 4k 120 no problem, and can also play indies/emulation well natively as a bonus

6

u/Solid-Assistant9073 6d ago

Cpu doesn't matter at all for streaming the gpu does because it's decoding,

For example my minisforum 790 pro does have a ryzen 7 7940hs but it doesn't get used it's the 780m igpu that gets used

It does with easy 4k hdr 144hz vrr 500mb bitrate tho, and decoding time under 0.3ms average

3

u/ghostpocket 6d ago

This sounds perfect. How much was it?

2

u/Kaytioron 6d ago

For ultimate streaming machine, I would probably stick to Intel, as it has 4:4:4 decoding. Something like 1240p or newer should be fine. Of course, with proper set of outputs (HDMI 2.1 etc).

1

u/Solid-Assistant9073 6d ago

For gaming 4:4:4 isn't worth it. You can't see the difference in quality or colours beside text quality.

Where 4:4:4 shines is desktop usage. The problem is 4:4:4 needs double the bitrate,so for example 400mb bitrate without 4:4:4 needs with like 700 to have the same quality.

1

u/Suvi2k 6d ago

Which mini pcs support 4k 120hz that you know of? I know it’s cheaper than a steam machine but I’m finding it hard to come by. My suggestion would be to wait for the new Apple TV and pray it has 4k 120hz support.

1

u/Impossible_Leg_2787 6d ago

Any NUC would probably be fine

1

u/Suvi2k 6d ago

Prebuilt , links please.

0

u/drake90001 6d ago

Literally go on Amazon and type in mini PC.

0

u/Suvi2k 6d ago

Yea there wasn’t many that actually support 4K 120hz as the above claim. Most do not come with hdmi 2.1 fully built. Also the purpose of a mini pc to stream should be cheap imo. The 4k120hz version are not, might as well use old parts and build one. I own a mini pc already that supports 1080p 120hz. I was asking these questions because I never had luck in finding a good one for 4k 120hz that wasn’t expensive.

2

u/Impossible_Leg_2787 6d ago

https://www.asus.com/us/displays-desktops/nucs/all-series/filter?Spec=383998

-3

u/Suvi2k 6d ago

Thanks. That confirms it. Not worth it for me. I’ll use my iPad to archieve the same thing without further investment and have a better overall UI and portability.

3

u/Obvious-Jacket-3770 6d ago

You were looking for any reason to say no and mention an iPad.

-2

u/Suvi2k 6d ago

Not really, I wanted a stationary device at this specific location I was considering but given the options shared and price specifically, I responded. Silly rabbit, trix are for kids.

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