[BKSinAZ]

Hello everybody. I really need some purchase advice.

I have a computer that has an older Intel duo core E6850 3 GHz CPU, and 3GB ram. The graphics card is a Nvidia GTX 650 Ti boost. Not sure how much RAM is on the card. I do not want to upgrade the computer.
I use the computer only to stream Kodi and was considering upgrading to the Nvidia Shield.
For Kodi use only, would the Nvidia Shield out perform my computer as far as processing power and Graphics power?

What is your advice? Keep the computer or get the Nvidia Shield?

[PatK]

considering upgrading to the Nvidia Shield.

You might have missed that boat... I've been looking around locally and there isn't any stock. From the rumour mill, it sounds like there will be a new release, and sadly, based on the originals high price, a cheaper version is probably going to be in the offing. Look at this pragmatically, the graphic card alone is ~ same price for the shields performance.

[wrxtasy]

A $30 - $40 AMLogic S905 running LibreELEC Kodi would outperform your current computer. These S905's now even embarrass high end Intel gear when it comes to Kodi use only and HDMI 2.0 with 4K 10bit HEVC(H265) decoding.

That is how far these little mobile based, ARM SoC's (Chips) have come in recent years.

All you need these days for a decent Kodi device, is Audio and Video Driver support and a powerful Visual Processing Unit (VPU) for complex video decoding. The GPU and CPU take a back seat and do very little when watching content.

[BKSinAZ]

considering upgrading to the Nvidia Shield.

You might have missed that boat... I've been looking around locally and there isn't any stock. From the rumour mill, it sounds like there will be a new release, and sadly, based on the originals high price, a cheaper version is probably going to be in the offing. Look at this pragmatically, the graphic card alone is ~ same price for the shields performance.

My question was about on performance of the current Shield vs. my computer. Best buy here in Tucson has plenty of Sheilds

[DrowningApe]

Shield good.

Dispatched from Mojo's Artisan Toast & Beard-Fluffing Emporium, Temescal Alley

[timstephens24]

My NUC is basically unused until I want to try a new 3D build. The Shield is just really really good. Kodi and Plex are both at the same level as the PC, but there's also Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc etc.

[couto27]

For Kodi use only, would the Nvidia Shield out perform my computer as far as processing power and Graphics power?

What is your advice? Keep the computer or get the Nvidia Shield?

Well I've seen this question so many times and most of them dont mention the envoirment, or how the players is going to be used.

In bedroom where theres no visual restrictions.
In Living room used by other family members or it might have decor importance regarding the WAF standards,
In Dedicated home cinema.
etc..

In IMO the Universal Media player should be simple and easy to use, that means a remote that fit in one hand with stop/play/pause and directional buttons.

A mouse/keyboard are more appropriate to the desk, their ergonomic designs are meant to be used near the screen Monitor, theres some models that might work but none of them are a out-of-the-box solution.

Everyone enjoy movies/series at their one way, but sometimes its given too much importance to the Hardware/software/playback/PQ/Audio/remote/ etc etc that they all become distractions to truly enjoy the most important that is the MOVIE itself.

If the movie is good... awesome i will easily watch it end-to-end if no distractions occur...that means a cinema like envoirment rule must be applied.

It must be a dark room
Minimal lighting from equipment
Minimal noise from computer fans, projector, popcorns or drinks.
Doors & windows closed.
Confortable seating....
etc..

Ask yourself....whats easy to use in dark envoirment and cause less distractions to the movie itself?

A) Remote with play/pause/directional buttons that are ergonomic design that you can use without need to look at it (and i will give my credit to apple TV remote )
B) Backlit keyboard + mouse built in...
C) Universal Backlit Remote with millions of functions
D) Point & click remote for Standard OS Android
E) Android TV OS
F) PC/Mac OS + Kodi

Dont chose a player only due their performance but also how the user will interact with software + Hardware and how that will affect the Movie experience at 10ft from the screen.