Having a Smart TV is very good, because it allows us to greatly expand the levels of entertainment that these devices give us. But if you want to expand it even more, you always have the option of connecting a mini PC to the TV , allowing you to go much further than what a Smart TV offers. Do you want to know what are the best mini PCs that you can connect to a TV ? In this article we list them all.
Connecting a mini PC to a TV can have several purposes: from turning a normal TV into a Smart TV, watching multimedia content with paid platforms such as Netflix, or to see our own multimedia content. But it can also be used to stream games from a home PC and much more, so in this list we will try to cover all possible options. With that said, let’s go there.
Intel NUC 8I3CYSM2
Originally, this mini PC is a barebone that comes without RAM or storage, but in this case it is a complete equipment already preconfigured. It has an Intel Core i3-8121U processor, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM in SO-DIMM format and a 1TB capacity hard drive (supports installing an additional M.2 SSD). It incorporates WiFi AC and Bluetooth, and it already comes with the Windows 10 operating system installed.
Of course, this mini PC can be connected to the TV through HDMI and we can do with it everything that the Windows 10 operating system allows us without restrictions.
Beelink X55
This mini PC is NUC2 type but cheaper, but also less powerful. It equips an Intel Pentium J5005 processor, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, a 256 GB SSD and also has built-in WiFi. Supports installing a 2.5-inch hard drive for more storage, and it comes with Windows 10 already installed.
HP Pavilion Wave 600
This is the version for the most foodies. Looking “vase” (arguably), this sleek mini PC has an Intel Core i5-6400T processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB hard drive inside. It has Intel HD 530 graphics, WiFi, Bluetooth and has Windows 10 installed from the factory. Its dimensions are 173 x 168 x 259 mm and it weighs just 2.1 Kg.
Intel Compute Stick 1AW32SC
If your needs are less, the famous Intel Compute Stick can give you a good service. This model integrates an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor along with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of eMMC storage. You already know that to connect you just have to use an HDMI port on the TV and power it through USB. By the way, it incorporates Windows 10 pre-installed.
ASUS Vivo Stick TS10
This Asus compute stick is its own version of the Intel one, which has exactly the same hardware (Intel Atom x5-Z8300, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of eMMC storage) and also Windows 10. It is cheaper than the device Intel also, although unlike this one, does not support expanding your storage using micro SD memory cards.
Apple TV 4K
If instead of Windows you like the Apple ecosystem more, Apple TV is an excellent mini PC to connect to TV. It has its own operating system, but it contains many applications and games that we can control from its touch control with voice control.
Xiaomi Mi Box S
If, on the other hand, you are more interested in the “TV Box” styles with Android, this mini PC from Xiaomi is a very good option, although it is true that it has a wide layer of customization over Android 8.1 aimed specifically at television. It has a quad-core ARM Cortex A53 processor with Mali-450 GPUs, 2GB DDR3 memory, and 8GB eMMC storage, making it geared more for online content than anything else.
Amazon Fire TV
We finish the list with this other mini PC designed specifically for TV by Amazon, the Fire Stick. It has the same format as the compute sticks that we saw before, but in this case it has its own operating system based on Amazon products. You can access a wide variety of applications such as Prime Video, Netflix, Youtube, etc.