[cryodream]

Hi,
Total XBMC newb here, tried it for a couple of hours bout a year ago, thats it
Just bought Jetway Mini-TOP HBJC600C99-52W-BW Intel Atom D525 CPU NM10 Next-Generation NVIDIA ION with dedicated 512MB DDR3 Barebone System from Newegg. Please recommend hdd and ram for this box.
Here's my picks atm:
Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2K5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $89.99
2x G.SKILL 1GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Laptop Memory Model F2-5300PHU1-1GBSA - $18.99 x2 = $37.98

The box intended for XBMC and nothing else: play movies, music, etc.

Questions:
1. Should I go for cheaper or better/more expensive ram? Have a feeling that 2GB should be enough or should I get 4GB?
2. IIRC, XBMC stores all the artwork in one place (not at the locations of corresponding media files). Will 40GB drive be adequate for storing all the metadata (backgrounds, posters, etc) generated for all my media? My library is not a small one: 20 x 2TB WDs (unRaid) full of movies, tv shows and some music. 20+ drives (smaller ones) are resting in a drawer, waiting to be sold and replaced with 2TB drives (2nd unraid in the future). All of them full of movies, tv shows aswell. I mean, theres a lot of media and the amount of art will be considerable, it seems. ATM, I don't have posters, artwork, etc for movies and shows in my library and as I'm clueless as to what kind of art XBMC is getting from the net (size-wise) I can't predict the space required for all of that. BTW, I LOVE how XBMC looks, tis one of the main reasons I finally chose to get cracking... Eventually I hope to get as many HD artwork for the media as possible and here is that question again, how much space should I consider for it?

Thanks in advance.
Apologies for my poor english.

[poofyhairguy]

RAM is good I think.

I like the SSD though. 40GB is more than enough for tons of artwork. I have a HUGE library and I only use 6 gigs.

[cryodream]

Thanks for an answer.
I changed my mind and bought this ram instead: CORSAIR 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Laptop Memory Model VS2GSDS667D2 I figure that leaves me an empty slot if I wanna upgrade in a future.

And very good news on 40GB being enough. Was reluctant to buy a larger/pricier ssd, as I've spent enough this BF already

[tmills]

I ended up with the same system, slightly different ram/ssd. However when installing the Dharma RC1 iso, it hangs on after install at the XBMC splash screen. When trying to run it just in 'live' version, it also hangs at the splash screen. If I hit escape, I see an error about the cpufreq. I've tried the 9.11 install, and it works fine, and the XBMCfreak cd works as well.
Could there be some hardware not supported in this latest release of Dharma? Also, is there some way to see verbose output instead of the splash screen, so I can get the exact detailed errors?

I just saw RC2 is out - will give that a run tonight....

[mas956]

I m wondering if you got the mini-top to play nicely with Dharma? I ordered one of these BEFORE I read all the XBMC failures with this box.

Thanks,

[kratos]

I'm thinking about picking up the Jetway box as well. Newegg has it bundled with an SSD for a pretty decent price ATM. If someone would vouch for it with 2 GB of RAM, I'd be ready to pull the trigger.

I'm sort of new to the forums as well, but I've been using XBMC on my original Xbox for quite a while. I recently installed 10.0 on my PC to check out the new features and skins, and was completely blown away. If any devs/skinners out there are reading this, job well done!

[davemex]

I purchased a 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD to use with this box (it was highly reviewed in other threads here in the XBMC forums) and it freaking screams. I bought this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820227393

It looks like it's the same price but slightly smaller than the one you're looking at. I'm not sure exactly how they compare though.

As for RAM, I went crazy and slapped 4 gigs into the box. In retrospect I'm not sure why! Running Dharma on an Ubuntu minimal install it doesn't use anywhere near that much RAM but I'll have to check when I get home to see exactly how much it uses when playing a full 1080p file.

[kratos]

I purchased a 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD to use with this box (it was highly reviewed in other threads here in the XBMC forums) and it freaking screams. I bought this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820227393

It looks like it's the same price but slightly smaller than the one you're looking at. I'm not sure exactly how they compare though.

As for RAM, I went crazy and slapped 4 gigs into the box. In retrospect I'm not sure why! Running Dharma on an Ubuntu minimal install it doesn't use anywhere near that much RAM but I'll have to check when I get home to see exactly how much it uses when playing a full 1080p file.

Thanks for the advice, the two of those together is cheaper than the combo with the A-Data SSD. Unfortunately, the OCZ is out of stock ATM, so I just went with the A-Data. If it turns out to suck, I'll just send it back...

By the way, I did read your blog build with this machine, well done.