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What are the best HTPCs under $100?

5

Options
Considered

12

User
Recs.

Sep 2, 2023

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

5 Options Considered

Best HTPCs under $100	Price	RAM	CPU
-- Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus	$99.99	2GB	Cherry Trail Z8300 14nm 1.8G 64-bit Quad core
-- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	$37.88	1 GB	Broadcom BCM2837 (4x up to 1.2 GHz)
-- Roku Streaming Stick	$49.97	1.5 GB	Quad-core
-- Wintel CX-W8	$92.98	2GB DDR3	Intel Bay Trail-T CR up to 1.83GHz Atom Z3735F Quad-core
-- NEXBOX T10	$97.99	2GB	Intel Z8300, 4cores, 1.84GHz, 64bit

Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus

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Top Pro

Decent Wi-Fi performance

This box delivers 50 Mbps of download speed and 20 Mbps of upload speed over Wi-Fi. To extend its Wi-Fi coverage, it comes with an attachable Wi-Fi antenna. See More

Top Con

The big antenna is unattractive

This unit has a tall and bulky Wi-Fi antenna. This also makes it harder to hide this unit behind your TV. See More

Specs

CPU:Cherry Trail Z8300 14nm 1.8G 64-bit Quad core

Storage:eMMC v5.0 32GB

GPU:Gen 8 Graphics

Top Pro

Built-in Cortana app works as your personal assistant

By using the Cortana application you can set reminders and get answer to simple questions using voice commands. You can even ask it to tell you a joke. See More

Top Con

Memory can’t be upgraded

Since RAM is hard-wired to the motherboard, it is not possible to add more memory. See More

Top Pro

Comes pre-installed with a fully licensed Windows 10 OS

You won't have to go trough the process of buying a Windows license and setting up an OS to use this device. See More

Top Con

Slow when multitasking

This is mainly because it has only 2GBs of RAM. It will still handle a dozen web browser tabs, but you should avoid doing other demanding tasks simultaneously. See More

Top Pro

The box is silent

Since there's no fan for this device, it doesn't make any noise. See More

Top Pro

Can add more storage

This unit has a microSD slot and a USB port, so you can add more storage to the already existing 32GB of internal storage. See More

Top Pro

Great media quality

This unit has no problem with playing 1080p and Blu-Ray videos at 60 frames per second. See More

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

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Top Pro

Costs less than $40

Since there’s no case, no pre-installed OS, or anything more than just the plain circuit board, this unit costs less than $40. See More

Top Con

Doesn’t have a case

This unit is a plain circuit-board, which doesn’t look very appealing. You can buy a separate case for it, which costs around $5. See More

Specs

CPU:Broadcom BCM2837 (4x up to 1.2 GHz)

Storage:microSD

GPU:Broadcom video core 4

Top Pro

Powerful enough to stream videos

The hardware of this unit is powerful enough to run 1080p HD videos, either from external storage or via online streaming. See More

Top Con

No internal storage

This unit doesn’t have any internal storage. You’ll have to get a separate microSD card, which costs around $13. See More

Top Pro

Can be powered with a 5V phone charger

If you already have an Android or a Windows phone you can use the charger of your phone as a power supply for this device. See More

Top Con

Difficult to set up

There’s a lot to do before you can run this device as an HTPC. You’ll have to install the OS, the drivers, download apps, etc. You will have to search online for guides and tips for best solutions on how to set it up. See More

Top Pro

Actively supported

Top Con

No pre-installed OS

In order to use this device, you will have to install the operating system yourself. See More

Top Pro

Native Bluetooth capabilities

The Raspberry Pi 3 B has built-in Bluetooth support. This is very helpful when connecting multiple peripherals and when the number of USB ports on the Pi is not enough. See More

Top Con

Limited choice of OS

Because of its ARM chip, choice of available operating systems is limited. For the best performance as an HTPC, it’s best to use a Linux distribution. There’s also a special OS that’s optimized for Pi, called Raspbian. If you want to run a Windows OS, there’s a Windows 10 IoT version that’s built to run on systems like Pi 3. All these operating systems are free of charge. See More

Roku Streaming Stick

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Top Pro

Great search engine

This device has the best search engine amongst its competitors. It shows you the largest number of apps and displays what content is available on those apps, how much your desired content costs, or if it’s free of charge. See More

Top Con

There's no web browsing

There's no web browser on the Roku OS. See More

Specs

Dimensions:0.5 x 3.3 x 0.8 in (1.27 x 8.3 x 2 cm)

Top Pro

Has a convenient companion app

You can install the Roku app on your smartphone for easy access to convenient features. For example, you can turn your smartphone into a remote control for the Roku Stick. See More

Top Con

You can't play games on it

There are no games on the Roku OS. See More

Top Pro

Seamless performance

The Roku Streaming Stick needs only 27 seconds to boot up. There are no glitches or slowdowns while navigating through the user interface and using apps. See More

Top Con

Lacks an Ethernet port

The only way to connect this device to the internet is through WiFi. See More

Top Pro

You can search for content using voice commands

With the Roku app, you can search for content using only voice commands. See More

Top Con

Doesn't include an HDMI extension cable

While the device is only 5.5" in size, it still might be too big for some TVs. You may need an HDMI extension cable to be able to use this device. See More

Top Pro

Can be remotely controlled

There’s no need for a mouse or keyboard to manage this device as it includes a remote control. See More

Top Pro

Compact design

The Roku Streaming stick is just 3.3 inches long and plugs directly into the HDMI port at the back of your TV. See More

Top Pro

The pre-installed Roku OS offers a variety of media streaming features

The Roku Streaming Stick is pre-installed with Roku OS, which is a Linux based OS. The Roku OS is built for media streaming and offers a high variety of apps and streaming channels that are updated every week. See More

Wintel CX-W8

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Top Pro

Pre-installed with two operating systems

Wintel W8 gives you the ability to have Android and Windows operating systems at the same time. You can play games on the Windows OS or switch to the Android to run Android apps. See More

Top Con

Poor Wi-Fi connectivity

You may lose the Wi-Fi connection if the box is about 30 feet away from your router. See More

Specs

CPU:Intel Bay Trail-T CR up to 1.83GHz Atom Z3735F Quad-core

Storage:eMMC 32 GB

GPU:Intel HD Graphic(Gen7)

Top Pro

Storage can be expanded

This unit comes with a 32 GB internal storage which can be extended using a microSD card. See More

Top Con

Windows OS isn’t activated

You must purchase a license in order to activate the Windows OS. It costs $119.99 at the Windows store. See More

Top Pro

You can play games on it

While you won’t be able to run newer, more demanding games, this machine is powerful enough to run less resource-challenging games like Team Fortress 2, Minecraft, League of Legends, etc. See More

Top Pro

Good performance

This unit has no problems with playing HD videos, whether it’s on YouTube, Netflix, VLC, or Windows Media Player. See More

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