Best Small Box Machine for KODI (Formerly XBMC)
#1
It seems like my Acer Aspire Revo 3700 might be on the way out...... Noooooooo.... it randomly crashes and sometimes doesn't want to start. The Revos have treated me well but what other small box machines are leading the way these days? I figure there are three things that matter in running XBMC:

RAM
Processor
HDD
Graphics Card

QUESTIONS:

Would it really matter to run a SSD as my HDD?
Am I going to see a major increase in performance going from 2 gigs of ram to 4.... 8... 16?
Is the Intel Atom a good processor? (I've heard debate)
Does a graphics card really matter and is it feasible in a small box machine?

Thanks for the input and suggestions!
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#2
Try clearing all the dust from your revo.

Otherwise, Asus chromebox, 2820 nuc or x-26 from aliexpress.
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#3
What about an Alienware Alpha Steam console?

The Revo is having major problems now.... isn't even booting.... argh....
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#4
Have you checked that your revo isn't full of dust? Sorry to sound like a broken record, but there may really be nothing wrong with it.
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#5
for the quick run..

have a look at the minix x6
http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/MINIX-NEO-X6.html
or minix x8 for 4k playback.
http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/MINIX-NEO-X8-H.html

for a pc version.
if you dont need storage go for a ssd, more quite and lots faster in startup.
if you run only xbmc 1 gb more then ok, 2 is good, 4+ overkill
if you run extra software 4-8 gb is good, more is overkill
cpu, if you have just playback, anyone is good. my E350 runs almost always at 800Mhz, only 1200-1600Mhz, when downloading, extracting and playback at same time.
any 2-4 core cpu is ok, just look at low power consumption.
case/mainboard, depense on storage needs.
PSA 150 is good -300 watt is good, calculate your use of components a bit, and add 50% to it, in my case, cpu+mainboard max 22watt, disks ssd + 2x hdd, about 15 watt, cd player ?. 150watt is ok,
but look at price, i took a 300watt, because of te much lower prise.

so a quick build is something like:
CPU AMD Sempron 2650, 1,45 GHz AM1 processor mPGA, "Kabini", boxed
PSU be quiet! SFX Power 2, 300 Watt voeding Zwart, 1x PCIe
Case Aerocool QS-102 White Edition, behuizing Wit, USB 3.0
SSD Sandisk SDSSDP-64G-G25, 64 GB SSD SATA 600, MLC
Mainb ASRock AM1B-ITX, socket AM1 moederbord Gb-LAN, Sound, Mini ITX
RAM Mushkin 2 GB DDR3-1600, geheugen 992026, Essentials
about 200 euros
in case of a "just player" with options for some extra.
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#6
@zlooo from time to time I do a clean install on my ZBOX and that are miracles that happen through this.
Kodi 15 on:
Kodibuntu with Ubuntu 14.04 (self compiled), Mac OS X El Capitan, iPhone 6, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Nexus 4.
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#7
I'll take it apart this weekend and see if there is anything I can do. I cleaned it last Christmas and it wasn't that bad. Right now the machine won't even turn on. Thank you for all the tips/advice everyone :-). I'll give an update after I try and get it to work.
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Best Small Box Machine for KODI (Formerly XBMC)0