Wanting a Pre built HTPC - XBMC ready
#1
I'm a XBMC noob that doesn't have time to build my own. I'm looking at going pre built with either one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6883113188

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6883113194

I want it to:
-Play 1080P
-Bitstream HD Audio to AVR
-dedicated equipment room so size and noise is no matter
-Win 7
-Running Itunes for Whole House Audio
-No gaming
-$550 budget

Or is there another "XBMC ready out of the Box" . . . box i should consider?
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#2
gogamer Wrote:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6883113194
This one should playback everything in your list with ease!
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#3
both will do
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#4
gogamer Wrote:I'm a XBMC noob that doesn't have time to build my own. I'm looking at going pre built with either one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6883113188

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6883113194

I want it to:
-Play 1080P
-Bitstream HD Audio to AVR
-dedicated equipment room so size and noise is no matter
-Win 7
-Running Itunes for Whole House Audio
-No gaming
-$550 budget

Or is there another "XBMC ready out of the Box" . . . box i should consider?

I might be missing what your after here but did you consider an AppleTV2 with xbmc? $99. Then you could use any old computer for your itunes library. I have set up 4 of these so far and they work great.
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#5
djonesax Wrote:I might be missing what your after here but did you consider an AppleTV2 with xbmc? $99. Then you could use any old computer for your itunes library. I have set up 4 of these so far and they work great.
He clearly stated that he wants the options below, and can your AppleTV2 bitstreaming DTS-HD/TrueHD?:

-Play 1080P
-Bitstream HD Audio to AVR
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#6
definitely need to pass HD audio. i've got a 7.2 setup and love to rock the house.

I suppose this is the direction to go then. Thanks bluray/eskro!
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#7
gogamer Wrote:definitely need to pass HD audio. i've got a 7.2 setup and love to rock the house.

I suppose this is the direction to go then. Thanks bluray/eskro!
Both PC's in your links will playback everything you throw at it. For your budget, I'll definitely go for A8-3820+HD6550D. You'll have more horse power and better GPU too!
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#8
bluray Wrote:He clearly stated that he wants the options below, and can your AppleTV2 bitstreaming DTS-HD/TrueHD?:

-Play 1080P
-Bitstream HD Audio to AVR


oops. sorry, I play 1080p movies but it only outputs 720p. my bad, forgot
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#9
i'd go for this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6883113188

no need for more then that, save yourself $60
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#10
djonesax Wrote:I might be missing what your after here but did you consider an AppleTV2 with xbmc? $99. Then you could use any old computer for your itunes library. I have set up 4 of these so far and they work great.

there are a lot of things the ATV2 won't do compared to the systems being recommended in this thread. been there done that. the XBMC GUI is slow and clunky on the ATV2 compared to these, file playback limitations (aside from the 720p scaling issue) are large. You have to make sure all your content is encoded to be compatible with the ATV2, which is terribly time consuming and unnecessary.

if you just spend another $100 you can get a Level 6 system that does everything and does it well
Foxconn NT-A3500 E-350 Fusion Nettop - Win7x64 Ult - XBMC Eden
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#11
This.. is about to drop really soon. The first version was great IMHO and now this version has a few extra bells and whistles including HD Audio bitstreaming and a 32GB SSD!
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#12
CpTHOOK Wrote:This.. is about to drop really soon. The first version was great IMHO and now this version has a few extra bells and whistles including HD Audio bitstreaming and a 32GB SSD!
That does looks cool, and the passive case should make it dead silence. If it works as advertised, it should be great for HTPC! Smile
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#13
In my opinion, Intel Atom processors are fine for OpenELEC version of XBMC.
but i wouldn't use them in a Windows + XBMC + AEON SKIN combination.
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#14
gogamer Wrote:I want it to:
-Play 1080P
-Bitstream HD Audio to AVR
-dedicated equipment room so size and noise is no matter
-Win 7
-Running Itunes for Whole House Audio
-No gaming
-$550 budget
Don't you want a good remote that will turn the xbmc on and off with a remote ?
ASrock Ion 330HT - XBMCFreak 10.1 Lucid LiveCD. Everything works but System sounds over HDMI.
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#15
redscare24 Wrote:2 Problems with the above:

1) Foreign

2) (*most important) They use the Intel Atom. I'm a HUGE Intel fan and have built over 100+ computers with Intel parts but Intel Atom processor = clueless about HTPC.
1) It is foreign but it will be sold in U.S. Just like everything else sold in U.S, it involved with foreign one way or another. You can take Apple for example. It's almost 100% made in China...I considered that as Foreign. And those-Toyota, Honda, BMC, Audi, etc...

2) Atom is not something to dream for, but 2.13GHz Dual-Core+Geforce 520M+W7+XBMC should be fine for playback BD files smoothly...
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply

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