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idlehands · 2010-05-24, 19:42

What are the best models now for prebuilt choices?
the ASrock, the zotac mag or the zotac hd?
Or one I missed?

I want to get a system to build xbmc/linux for my parents.

I had good luck building my own zotac ion with a case and remote etc, but I figure a prebuilt solution is probably easier/cheaper these days.

Ideas?

Thanks

btw I already have a mce remote/receiver so working ir is not required. Everything else though should. suspend/wake hdmi etc.

**neil.j1983** · 2010-05-24, 20:26

i just got an asrock. i couldnt get stutter free playback with linux (720p worked fine 1080p didnt) Sad

both my desktops work great, but i couldnt find the ideal settings for the ION.

in the end I had to go back to windows (working great now)

vikjon0 · 2010-05-24, 20:40

The asrock is working great for many many people. No problem to get 1080. The ion is made by Nvidia and it does not play any better or worse in an asrock.
Revo is probably the most popular, but I prefer the asrock for the way it looks and the optical drive. The only downside is no usb in front + some people say it is loader than the revo.

**neil.j1983** · 2010-05-24, 21:26

I'm not saying it's impossible. I realise a great many people have it working brilliantly. Unfortunately. I'm not able to do it. Perhaps I need to spend more time with Linux.

idlehands · 2010-05-25, 15:45

I'm not really concerned with having an internal drive. Its why the zotac HD looked nice, as its got the compact flash on the front.
I would stream everything to it. I'm also not worried about 720p or 1080p so much, its just something to hook my parents up with so when I'm visiting I don't have to keep burning dvds.

Price and usability are more important. the revo330 seems a bit more than the zotac hd;

Is there some issue with the zotac hd? I haven't seen much in the way of guides on here, even after they showed a commercial it on the front page

TheDuffMan · 2010-05-25, 15:50

I'll toss in a vote for the revo 1600. got that setup with xbmc for my parents, and put on alaska with the lockdown feature. runs perfectly, $200.

SpitIV · 2010-05-25, 16:18

I'm looking to build my first XBMC box. I would jump on a 1600 however I need a spdif audio out to feed my nice but a bit dated receiver. I'm a little surprised at the lack of enthusiasm over the zotac hd-id11. It seems the fan is putting a lot of people off or maybe other solutions have filled the need and it's not breaking any ground. Anyway, interesting thread for me.

shagworthy_uk · 2010-05-25, 16:30

I have an ASROCK ION330 and it is perfect. I have ordered an Zotac's ZBOX HD-ID11 today, should have it tomorrow. Technically the Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 is better but what that translates to in UI and playback I should know shortly and will report back.

Hannes The Hun · 2010-05-25, 18:39

shagworthy_uk Wrote:Technically the Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 is better

better AND worse Wink

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3702/zotac...-than-ion1

to cut a long story short: when your parents want to watch some DVDs, go for the asrock.

ant_thomas · 2010-05-25, 22:38

I'm using an Asus eeebox EB1501 and it works a treat. Not sure if you can get them as cheap as I did but it's a standard Atom/ION system with a DVD drive. There's also Blu-Ray versions available.

SpitIV · 2010-05-28, 17:28

Hey Shag, have you had a change to play with an HD-ID11 yet?

shagworthy_uk · 2010-05-28, 17:57

SpitIV Wrote:Hey Shag, have you had a change to play with an HD-ID11 yet?

Hey, Afraid not, the supplier slipped the delivery date to Tuesday due to stock (despite saying it was in stock and paying for next day delivery!) :-) As soon as i get it and get it up and running, i will post back with a mini review.

KeithLM · 2010-05-28, 22:31

I'm using the Zotac HD-ID11 now. It works really well, although I had to do some work to get alsa updated and get HDMI audio working. See this thread.

I previously used an Acer 1600, until my Denon receiver got a firmware update and decided to no longer accept audio from it. I had put a 2GB dimm in it and moved that to the Zotac, then bought a cheap 250GB drive from Fry's.

If I'm not mistaken the newer ION chipset in the HD-ID11 has more options for on-chip decoding, although I have no idea if that is used at all by XBMC. I think there was only one test where it was slower than the older, so I wouldn't be concerned about that. It does run rather warm though.

shagworthy_uk · 2010-06-04, 16:02

OK so FINALLY got the damn thing (Zotac HD-ID11) :-)

Ill start with the positive:

* It works perfectly with XBMC Live (LiveCD from XBMCFREAK)
* No more overscan problems when in bios/bootup
* Wifi works strait away by just installing ndiswrapper (well bit of config in /etc/network/interfaces & wpasupplicant)
* Sound and Audio worked with no config (except to tell XBMC to use SP/DIFF)
* Menu seems a bit smoother/faster than the ASROCK ION 330
* DVI & HDMI ports, not just an adapter

Negative:

* Pain in the a*se to set up with out a cdrom (in the end used the hd-dvd drive for the xbox 360 i had laying around)
* Noisy as hell. Once i got the beta firmware on there it quietened down. Pain in the a*se to update the bios though as you need to do it in DOS or Windows. The ASROCK can do it from within the BIOS and read a USB stick. significantly. Still seems louder than the ASROCK though, but only marginally.
* Does get hot
* Can't turn all the lights off. Power, HDD, WIFI, Blue Ring
* Over-clocking not as simplified as ASROCK but is possible
* Very plastic, ASROCK is nice and solid metal. (petty complaint really)

Both ASROCK and Zotac HD are perfect for playback. I have only thrown a few shows at the Zotac HD so far but i see no noticeable difference between the two when it comes to XBMC.

idlehands · 2010-06-04, 16:45

sounds like the asrock is a bit nicer/easier then?

though the hd is cheaper?

The reviews on the hd say that the wireless blows(slow, poor signal strength etc), you having no issues with that then?