New Mini PC for Windows 7 WMC

[nicolade]

Hi All. I am thinking about acquiring a new PC for my WMC setup. I have messed around with Kodi, EMby and Plex but the simple TV DVR interface of WMC cannot be beat. I am currently debating whether to try and run WMC on Windows 10 (but I have about 5 extender devices which I would like to continue to use). That leads me to lean towards sticking with Windows 7. I would really like to run a more modern PC (mainly to take advantage of the power saving benefits of a smaller platform PC). I calculated the other day, that my current PC (with its 60 W power supply) cost me about $55 for the year to run in electricity (plus, based on current regime, I don't expect electricity to get cheaper in the next year or so).

I am considering the following PC (which I think is closer to 6 Watts in power consumption): https://www.amazon.com/ACEMAGICIAN-Comp ... B0BFQXD654

I would want to install Windows 7 on this machine, but my concern would be, will Windows 7 run on this machine? I have read that many have had issues getting drivers to run on newer machines with Windows 7.

Please share with me your ideas. Also, if any of you have setup your WMC on a similar machine (with Windows 7), please let me know how your experience has been. Has anyone had success loading Windows 7 with WMC on one of these newer faster Mini PC setups?

[CyberSimian]

That leads me to lean towards sticking with Windows 7. I would really like to run a more modern PC (mainly to take advantage of the power saving benefits of a smaller platform PC).

The most-recent Intel CPU generation that is supported officially by Windows 7 is Sky Lake (Intel 6th generation). I read on the internet that it is possible to edit the driver INF files and get the drivers to work on Kaby Lake CPUs (Intel 7th generation), but allegedly Intel made further changes for the 8th generation that closes that loophole.

Although Sky Lake is supported by Windows 7, that does not mean that it is easy to install. I have installed Windows 7 on a Sky Lake system, but the problem is that the Windows 7 installer does not contain the Intel drivers for the USB3 controller, so the USB3 sockets cannot be used. Unfortunately, on Sky Lake systems the USB3 controller also handles the USB2 sockets, so they cannot be used either.

The simplest way to install Windows 7 is to connect a SATA DVD drive to a SATA socket on the motherboard, and then install Windows 7 from a Windows 7 DVD. When complete, you can download and install the USB3 drivers. If you don't have a SATA DVD drive, or a Windows 7 DVD, you could use one of the tools that can install the USB3 drivers on a USB memory stick that contains the Windows 7 installer. Intel provided a tool to do this, but I am not sure whether it is still available. There may be other tools that can do this (search for "slipstream tool").

I understand your desire to minimise power consumption by using a modern micro PC, but on balance I think that you will have a simpler WMC experience if you use an older system (Sky Lake or even older), and use sleep or hibernation to power down your HTPC when it is not being used.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK