[JRock]

I am considering buying an Acer Revo 3610 as I seen the forum flooded with threads about them. I am new to the ION market so I was hoping you guys could give me a few pointers. I plan on running the live version of XBMC on this.

I have a credit account already with newegg.com so I'll end up buying it from them. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...o%20AR3610


This box comes with 2GB of ram (1 GB per slot). Assuming I'll be streaming some hefty blu ray rips; is 2GB sufficient? or should I consider upgrading the unit to 4GB?

Also I notice the HDD is a regular 5400rpm 250GB sata drive. I've considered buying a 30-40 GB SSD drive as a replacement. I have no plans on storing media on this box since everything will come from streams. I know SSD drives are fast and alot faster then regular sata drives. However is the speed increase something that is VERY noticeable? Where might I see improvements having an XBMC Live machine with an SSD drive vs. a regular hard drive.

Thanks for all the information in advance. Everyone on this site has been great, you all have taught me a lot

[ion_man]

This box comes with 2GB of ram (1 GB per slot). Assuming I'll be streaming some hefty blu ray rips; is 2GB sufficient? or should I consider upgrading the unit to 4GB?

2GB is MORE THAN ENOUGH. Streaming video (yes even full bluray rips) doesn't require a lot of RAM at all.

[JRock]

Thanks for your reply and what do u think about the HDD? Any opinions on that?

[sraue]

Thanks for your reply and what do u think about the HDD? Any opinions on that?

if you use an fast distro like OpenELEC.tv an slow HDD is good enough. No need for an expensive SSD drive. The revo will boot with OpenELEC.tv in 10-15sec to XBMC.

[poofyhairguy]

You really need a SSD. The interface feels way faster. Laptop HDs are SLOW. It is not about booting. It is about pulling the fanart off the drive. A SSD's seek time is magnitudes better than the best HD on the planet.

[ion_man]

IF you can afford an SSD on top of the cost of the Revo then go for it, it's worth it.
That said XBMC is ok with a laptop hdd too, it's still perfectly usable (but it is slower).

Or do like I did: a cheap SATA to CF adapter + a cheap (but decent brand like Kingston or Transcend) 4 or 8GB CF card.
Technically a CF card is slower than a SSD, but the seek time is almost the same so in practice it feels as fast as a SSD but costs less.

[billybarty]

My 2 cents based on experience with the 3610: install xbmc under windows (which is pre-installed). It performs great using the memory and disk that it comes with, including streaming 1080p mkv's. You don't need to reboot every time you use it. Just use suspend mode when you're not using it.

I spent a bunch of time setting up an XBMC Live install on an SD card and wound up going back to the Windows implementation.

[dan1son]

I have the revo R1600 and if you use DDS fanart, the GUI is very responsive. Any skin, except AEON and its derivatives, run wonderfully. AEON works well, but switching into the different views from the main menu can be a little laggy.

That box with Linux and even 1gig of RAM is extremely capable with XBMC. I don't think an SSD is required at all. It'd probably make it a little more responsive, but rest assured, it's great with DDS fanart and anything but the heaviest skins.

[JRock]

Thanks everyone for the information. I ended up ordering that machine. How well does the machine run Win7 (2gb ram) and SSD drive with XBMC? Does it has a sluggish feel and choppy video streams or does it run well? Ideally It seems like everything would "just work" running under windows.

I've ran the Live versions on other net tops and they were a huge hassel trying to get everything to work. Audio of HDMI, other sound issues etc... Troubles getting the buttons for the remote to work etc.... How well does the Dharma live editions run on the Revo? Is there a lot of tinkering involved? Is it safe to assume that XBMC live is much snappier then XBMC on win7?

[cowbalt]

Thanks everyone for the information. I ended up ordering that machine. How well does the machine run Win7 (2gb ram) and SSD drive with XBMC? Does it has a sluggish feel and choppy video streams or does it run well? Ideally It seems like everything would "just work" running under windows.

I've ran the Live versions on other net tops and they were a huge hassel trying to get everything to work. Audio of HDMI, other sound issues etc... Troubles getting the buttons for the remote to work etc.... How well does the Dharma live editions run on the Revo? Is there a lot of tinkering involved? Is it safe to assume that XBMC live is much snappier then XBMC on win7?

Hey JRock,

Have you considdered using OpenELEC? This installation will be easy, ready in just a few minutes and a few simple clicks and most important 99% procent of the functionality on a Revo works out the box (sound, remote etc.)
More info: http://openelec.tv

Cheers and good luck

[JRock]

Never heard of that but thanks Ill be checking it out

[actionfreak]

I recently put my xbmc system together with a revo 3610 and a 60gb SSD. I dual boot windows 7 and xbmc live. xbmc live works fine and so does Windows 7. I installed boxee on windows 7 and have been able to play every thing from boxee but prefer xbmc for local media. netflix works fine under boxee on windows 7.

[dan1son]

I dual boot ubuntu 10.10 and Windows 7 Ultimate on my Revo 1600 with 2gigs of RAM.

Windows 7 runs pretty well. XBMC plays everything back just fine. I just find the VDPAU support to be superior, and I'm a Linux guy so I prefer it... especially its ability to work like an appliance. Just turn it on and it boots into Ubuntu, starts XBMC, and you're going.

Windows 7 with flash 10.1 on the Revo is capable of very good flash playback, even up to CBS's 1080p feeds. Which is why I even have Windows on the box.

[Fraincs]

I have that installation at home (with 4gb of RAM) Win 7 + xbmc. I aggree that Aeon lags when switching menus. Streaming is perfect. I've streamed 1080p netflix movies without a problem.

My only problem with that computer the wireless card is awesomely bad! Had to buy a usb wireless dongle in order to get the internet working.

[actionfreak]

I never got wireless working with xbmc live and the revo 3610. It works decent with windows. In xbmc live it works for a couple minutes and then stops until I restart wireless. I just ran a cable instead.