[Nespresco]

I am looking for a single box to do the following:

 Play 3D ISO file, (as well as normal blu ray folder structure and h.264 mkv)
 Full HD audio pass-through
 23.976 frame rate
 Have sufficient power to run emulators for retro consoles (All game boy games, N64, NES, SNES, Gamecube, Wii, PS1, PS2, XBOX)
 Be able to Launch steam from within Kodi (steam launcher addon) so I can play games via steam in home streaming.
 I also have a Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sky Go subscription and it would be ideal if Apps were available to view these.
 Finally, I currently have Kodi on an Apple TV 4, Using the Siri remote to voice search for items within a library is wonderful. I would really love to retain this feature.

Am I correct in assuming that an x86 architecture system is required for this (i.e. no rpi or android box)? Am I stuck with Windows 8/10?

[shabuboy]

Start here: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916
Also check all the other sticky threads/Important threads on top of first page.

[Nespresco]

First thing I did. As far as I could tell none of them referred to points 4, 5 ,6 and 7.

[movie78]

First thing I did. As far as I could tell none of them referred to points 4, 5 ,6 and 7.

221407 (thread)

[hdmkv]

@Nespresco, an i5 or i7 NUC/HTPC should fit all your requirements w/Kodi MVC build. No idea about Siri-like voice search however.

[ianuk2005]

Unless requirements have changed for GC/Wii/PS2 emulation a dedicated GPU will be beneficial as well.

[Nespresco]

Do emulators tend to be more CPU or GPU dependent? What sort of power are we talking?

@hdmkv Thats the direction I was leaning, would something like kodibuntu work or am I stuck with windows 8.1/10? The siri voice search is such a killer feature i'd really miss it!

[ianuk2005]

Do emulators tend to be more CPU or GPU dependent? What sort of power are we talking?

@hdmkv Thats the direction I was leaning, would something like kodibuntu work or am I stuck with windows 8.1/10? The siri voice search is such a killer feature i'd really miss it!

It depends on the emulator but either can bottleneck. You will be fine for older systems but for newer ones like ps2/wii/GC/wii u it might be worth going on the different emulator forums for a more informed opinion on what hardware you might need to run games at good speeds.

[efegue]

For GC/Wii emulation you won't run all games at 100% speed with a NUC.

[joelbaby]

@Nespresco ...

Your question is not a question about Kodi requirements. You can run Kodi on an Atom processor or a $35 raspberry pi.

Therefore, what you are really building is dictated by your gaming requirements (particularly as you want to run XBOX and PS2 games). Your question is probably better answered in a gaming forum. They will know what graphics cards, and CPUs to use for various games.

A raspberry Pi 3 limit is around nintendo 64 speed. It can run some Mame, and SNES fine.

The gaming community will know exactly what of type of PC you need.