The best home theater PCs are small, powerful, and expensive. If you’re working with a limited budget, you can expect to compromise on size, power, or both to reach your desired price point. To help you find the best option for your setup, we researched and tested systems from all the top manufacturers, including Intel, Apple, Asus, and others.

The M2 Mac Mini is a beautiful piece of engineering with impressive specs and a hefty price tag. Available in a variety of configurations, the Mac Mini features a single HDMI 2.0 port that can output 4K video to your TV. You can also connect a second 4K display via one of the included Thunderbolt 4 ports. All models include Ethernet for connecting to your home network. You can even upgrade to 10GB Ethernet and a compatible high-speed network-attached storage (NAS) unit to complete your home theater experience if you so desire.

The best thing about the M2 Mac Mini, what makes it so well-suited to the role of home theater PC, is its small, unobtrusive chassis. This pint-sized computer is small enough to slide into almost any home theater setup, alongside or on top of your other components, and its sleek, silver chassis is unlikely to clash with the rest of your gear.

The Dell Optiplex 3070 Micro is a great choice if you’re working on a budget and have limited space. While it’s small enough to fit in most home theater cabinets and other situations, you can attach it to the back of your VESA-compatible TV with an optional bracket. Carefully route short cables behind your TV and add a soundbar, and the Dell Optiplex 3070 can form the core of one of the most unobtrusive home theater systems available.