[azzid]

Hi,

In the beginning of the year I bought what I thought would be a sweet htpc.
After months of struggling with different settings and linux installs I'm starting to realize that I have plain bought the wrong hardware for the job.

My fumbling attempts to optimize performance has not even made it possible to playback SD video completely. It almost works, but as soon as the camera is sweeping or there is alot of changing pixels on the screen I get massive lag. Same but a bit worse with HD (720p that is, 1080p I haven't even tried).

Now, before I loose the last of my patience and just start using the computer as a blunt object to smash other things with I'd like to get some idea of what is reasonable to expect from the hardware I got. Is it subpar and worthless as a platform for xbmc, or do I just need to stick with the program and keep optimizing my software configuration?

The machine I'm talking about is a ZOTAC ZBOX NANO AD10-E.
I've kitted it with a
Kingston ValueR DDR3 SO-DIMM 1066MHz 4GB CL7, 1.5V, 512Mx64, 204pin (PC8500) memory module and a
OCZ SSD Agility 3 Series 2.5" 60GB SATA 6 Gb/s (SATA3.0), 525MB/475MB/s read/write, SandForce® SF-2281 harddrive.

So I think it should be pretty snappy, but maybe the
AMD E-350 APU Platform (1.6 GHz, dual-core) CPU and the
AMD Radeon HD 6310 GPU is just to weak to ever get anything good out of?

What do you think?
Is something like flawless 1080p playback conceivable on that type of hardware?

[mrdally204]

See if this thread can help you out. I believe they are refering to your pc.

[assassin]

Poor choice in hardware. I also am a fan of Windows.

[azzid]

See if this thread can help you out. I believe they are refering to your pc.

Nice! Thanks! Seems to be just right.

Poor choice in hardware.

This guy here seem to be pretty satisfied with the hardware, and he's even got the 1080p birdmovie working: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pNCCk21Cv4

I also am a fan of Windows.

Seems like all the success stories about using the machine involves windows, which to me is rather annoying. =/

[FernetMenta]

For Linux this is right thread: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=116996

EDIT: If you follow this guide, you get fine results with this box.

[assassin]

Something like the a6 or g540 is 3-4 times the cpu power for the same or even less money.

To each their own.

[gabbott]

Something like the a6 or g540 is 3-4 times the cpu power for the same or even less money.

To each their own.

It sounds to me like the OP already has the hardware. Makes sense to see if they can get it to work over just shelling out more money.

[T800]

I built a PC for the bedroom last year with pretty much the same spec. It had Windows 7 Ultimate on it. It wasn't the fastest machine I had ever used, it got too hot and cut out a few times and XBMC was for some reason slow at navigation over the network. I did play about with Openelec but it was even slower for whatever reason.

As far as media was concerned though it played everything no problem. Full uncompressed 45GB blu-ray rip of Avatar over the network played flawlessly.
I have recently repurposed it. It is in a larger case (better air flow) and has all the content on an internal HDD it never misses a beat or have any problems what so ever.

[assassin]

Something like the a6 or g540 is 3-4 times the cpu power for the same or even less money.

To each their own.

It sounds to me like the OP already has the hardware. Makes sense to see if they can get it to work over just shelling out more money.

Sounds to me like he has already done that.

[GortWillSaveUs]

My fumbling attempts to optimize performance has not even made it possible to playback SD video completely. It almost works, but as soon as the camera is sweeping or there is alot of changing pixels on the screen I get massive lag. Same but a bit worse with HD (720p that is, 1080p I haven't even tried).

How are you streaming video,..via network cable,..wireless,..directly copied to local hard drive,..or USB connected external drive?
I'm suspecting that you'll respond wireless.
If so,....try at least copying a movie over to the local drive and then play the movie. Better?

[FernetMenta]

Why do you confuse azzid with all your statements leading nowhere? He asked if his AD10 would work ok using Linux. The simple answer is YES, just follow the guide I posted.

[GortWillSaveUs]

Why do you confuse azzid with all your statements leading nowhere? He asked if his AD10 would work ok using Linux. The simple answer is YES, just follow the guide I posted.

You are probably correct and I don't believe your comment was pointed at me,..but even still, if he is trying to stream movies over a poor wireless connection,...he will experience what he is describing. However,..I'm sure the link you provided will help him immensely if wireless is not the root problem.

[azzid]

How are you streaming video,..via network cable,..wireless,..directly copied to local hard drive,..or USB connected external drive?
I'm suspecting that you'll respond wireless.
If so,....try at least copying a movie over to the local drive and then play the movie. Better?

I would've guessed the same, which is why I've disabled the wireless network interface and only use cable to my ProCurve 1800 gigabit switch.

Also, I've tried local playback without getting rid of the performance issues.

---

For Linux this is right thread: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=116996

Really looking forward to getting home so I can try this, looks really promising! Thank you!

[assassin]

He was referring to me. I think there are better options personally than the zacate. While he may get it to "work" its just not going to be as good as the A6 or some of the Intel (non-Atom) options.

I would not waste my time and move on. But that's just my opinion and others seem perfectly happy with the zacate.

[GortWillSaveUs]

What about trying to boot into XBMCubuntu or OpenElec,.....?
You can boot from USB and it won't touch the OS on your hard drive.

Just another option in trying to troubleshoot the problem.

Another question: What Linux OS have you tried? and I apologize if you've already answered that question.