[ManicD]

Just wanting to have another pair of eyes glance over to see if im missing anything obvious with this setup.


Case: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...catid=2282
PSU: http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-150-XT-1...-Power-Kit
MB: http://www.ebuyer.com/522964-asrock-z87e...pg0-a0uayz
CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/538169-intel-core-...646i34130t
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/408615-crucial-4gb...9es2lx0ceu
SSD: http://www.ebuyer.com/411671-kingston-60...00s37a-60g

All media is held on a NAS

In the Future i'll likely add http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...=CA-033-SR

I plan to run XBMCBuntu on it all. I'm yet to look into drivers, can someone advise?

The CPU is a 35W TDP so it should run cool.

Any Comments would be great, am i missing anything i might want in the future?
I have thought about at some time adding the IR Remote http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...=CA-017-SR

Can this be done cheaper and still get perfect performance from XBMC, (it will only be an XBMC machine

UPDATE: Well I went for it all as the best solution, however didn't notice i needed http://www.streacom.com/products/mh1-min...heatpipes/ The MH1 short heat pipes as the processor is set to the side of the case. Should have read this more carefully http://www.streacom.com/system-build-guide/

[Soul_Est]

Without knowing what you will actually be playing on it, we can't help you much. Is it 3D SBS BR images, 40 Mbps MKV files, 20 Mbps MP4 files, or even SD content that needs upscaling?

[ManicD]

Well I don't want to be buying another for a while, so what limitations does it have, I want to play anything I come across.

[black_eagle]

My view is, if I were looking to buy new kit now, and I knew I wanted it solely for XBMC, then I wouldn't buy anything with on-board graphics. Simple reason, upgrading means changing the whole M/B rather than just a card. Given that, my personal preference would be for an nVidia card. I've had zero issues with using xbmc/linux and nVidia graphics. Maybe I've been lucky, but all of my systems are running this and I would happily go down the same route again, based on how well they run.

Just my thoughts.

[ManicD]

My view is, if I were looking to buy new kit now, and I knew I wanted it solely for XBMC, then I wouldn't buy anything with on-board graphics. Simple reason, upgrading means changing the whole M/B rather than just a card. Given that, my personal preference would be for an nVidia card. I've had zero issues with using xbmc/linux and nVidia graphics. Maybe I've been lucky, but all of my systems are running this and I would happily go down the same route again, based on how well they run.

Just my thoughts.

Thanks for the advice, I have one PCIx16 slot available, which i wont ever use for TV Tuner as i have a youview box i love and does my needs perfectly.
Thus I have thought that for future expansion and upgrade i have that available, although i will need a low heat card as its a silent box.

[nickr]

My view is, if I were looking to buy new kit now, and I knew I wanted it solely for XBMC, then I wouldn't buy anything with on-board graphics. Simple reason, upgrading means changing the whole M/B rather than just a card. Given that, my personal preference would be for an nVidia card. I've had zero issues with using xbmc/linux and nVidia graphics. Maybe I've been lucky, but all of my systems are running this and I would happily go down the same route again, based on how well they run.

Just my thoughts.

Amen my thoughts too. Such a shame nvidia got out of the chipset game. A motherboard with onboard modern nvidia graphics would be awesome. I am still loving my ION2 machines.

[Soul_Est]

I also agree with black_eagle here. With the size of the case that you're looking at, throwing in an IGP would be an insult.

[ManicD]

Even with on board graphics can i not just add a graphics card later if i need the upgrade?

Is the intel hd4400 not enough for even 3D?

[Soul_Est]

You can just add a graphics card later on. You will need to switch the drivers over proper from xf86-video-intel to the nvidia driver as well as from the libva-vaapi-driver to the libva-vdpau-driver.

I cannot comment on 3D as I personally don't watch it.

[nickr]

XBMC does not play back MVC 3D so most people use HSBS or HTAB 3D. The requirements for those formats are the same as for any other 1080p stream.