What hardware?

Hi all,

I have been lurking for quite a while and have enjoyed reading all info surrounding xmbc so far. This seems to be a great community, and I look forward to hopefully joining you in the next week or so. Before I can do that I need you to help me decide which hardware best suits my needs.

Most of my media is .mkv HD movies stored on an NV+ NAS. They are mosly DTS sound (but other formats as well) and in the not too distant future I'm wanting to buy an Amp & 5.1 set up.

What I am wanting to do is stream this media, using xbmc, from my NAS to yet undecided Media Pc hardware running xbmc and control it all using either a Logitech Harmony One or DiNovo Mini.

All your help is appreciated,

TheDean

What OS do you plan on running? CPU/Video Card will depend on this currently as only Linux has hardware acceleration.

I have the same setup as you are looking at. My specs are:
(Keep in mind this is for a HTPC/gaming rig so I needed windows)
Windows 7
AMD Athlon x2 4800+
ATI Radeon 5770
4TB Storage
HDMI to Yamaha RXV661 to 37" 720p Sharp Aquos
Paradigm Studio 20s
Paradigm PDR 10 sub
Paradigm Mini-monitors

Works amazingly I must say with 720p/DTS movies. You won't regret it.

What about an Ion or a Revo? Can anyone see any issues I may encounter using either of those? I'm leaning toward a Revo if I'm honest.

Anyone? Issues I may have before I press the buy button? Which version of the Revo should I be going for looking at my requirements above? I do have an NC10 which I upgraded to 2GB of RAM, would I be able to use that 2GB stick in the Revo?

I just bought a Revo 1600 (the single core 1GB RAM model) and I love it so far. Tiny, silent, only $200, plays everything with <=10% CPU using Live booting from a flash drive. MCE remote worked out of the box without any setup. The only very minor complaint I have is that when browsing movies it takes about a second for the thumb and fanart to load on each. Not a long time by any means, but just the slightest delay. Not really a complaint because it's not bad, just the only thing I noticed that was not otherwise perfect. I'd guess that the faster, 2GB RAM, dual-core version of the Revo ($320 and always on backorder) would solve that, but you can't beat the price on this one.

Everything you want to do should work great with a Revo, though I am plugged directly to the TV with HDMI so I can't speak to any additional setup or problems going through a receiver first like you want to eventually.