
Some are not worth repairing to resell used. I tend to get lots of systems left behind without payment so I like to find uses for these if I don't resell them. You won't need a discrete graphics card if you pick the right CPU unless you plan to use it for video playback. I know that some of the lower-end Intels will stumble with playing x.265 4k but anything Core i3 or better should playback just fine. You need a 4th gen or newer to play natively at 4k. Older (2nd and 3rd gen) Intel CPUs of the Core i3 or better should play 4k video downscaled to 1080P just fine. If you wish to encode or edit, buy the best money can buy! If you just wish to playback, I wouldn't worry about as high of an end CPU. I work on computers for a living and many of the newer phones are now encoding with x.265 which is great for saving space but requires many more CPU cycles to encode and decode. I see this is an old thread but have a few things to add. Do not invest in old chips for playing or editing 4K video. Go into any BestBuy and bring any 4K video on a usb stick and you will be able play the video smoothly on any Intel-powered device on display, including tablets. Most everything is UHD at 30p.Ĭurrent Intel chips hardware decode H264 and H265. Not unless you need 4096x2304 at frame rates above 24fps, for which there is no source: not 4K bluray, not current 4K cameras. Looks like there can still be a role for graphics cards. So maybe not 30 Hz at the full 4K, and the Intel versions below 4600 would be more limited still. Get one with an HDMI port and that is all you need for playing 4K videos on your HDTV in your living room.įrom Intel's spec sheet on the Integrated graphics 4600:

This means that any current Intel-powered Windows 8 notebook, laptop or tablet will do (yes, even that $199 one).

Do not use old Intel processors/graphics chips. So, they are not overkill, they are obsolete.


I am not sure that second and third generation chips will do it - like the ones you mention. This is all that is needed for LX100 4K videos. Any Intel processor - from Atom or Celeron or Pentium to Core M and i7 (actually fourth generation or newer) - with default Intel graphics will play 4K video perfectly, using Windows Media Player.
