2011-01-15, 20:33
First post and new to XBMC so please be easy on me. I am fairly certain that I am going to re-purpose and enhance an existing build for use as an XBMC machine.
Goals:
1. Play HD content locally with a bluray drive
2. Stream HD content over network via gigabit
3. Relatively quiet machine
4. Aesthetically pleasing
5. High(ish) WAF factor, probably an issue with Win7, I realize
6. Limited or non-use of keyboard
7. Stream flac content via gigabit
For now will probably run XBMC over a Win7 64 Ultimate environment. This could change in the future but I am not particularly comfortable with Linux administration, which is concerning for me with the non-Windows alternatives.
What I have right now:
1. Asus P5N7A-VM w/ Intel E8200 proc. Has onboard GeForce 9300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813131348
2. 4g of RAM
3. OCZ Fatality 400w PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product
4. 2tb WD Green, 2tb Samsung F-series
5. A couple of older optical drives, a bunch of other smallish 3.5" and 2.5" hard disks
6. Very large Lian-Li HTPC case, which I would like to replace since it is too large for my rack.
Current Thoughts:
1. I'd like a new case and am currently eying the Ebay Silverstone LC-02 clone here: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Mini-ITX-Case-w-...5d293bcfe7
I am also considering something like the nMediaPC HTPC case since it offers more space for internal drives. Build quality seems poor and much bigger footprint than the ebay case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product
2. The stock Intel CPU cooler is fairly loud. Any good, compact, quiet, inexpensive cpu cooling options?
3. I'd like to purchase a bluray reader. Is it possible to play a bluray from the optical reader via XBMC? I realize that XBMC itself doesnt support bluray but how seamless is the integration to a 3rd party reader software? What happens when I stop the movie or the movie ends? Do I automatically end up back in XBMC or am I in Win7 land? Any hardware/software recommendations for the bluray optical drive? Am I better off just getting a dedicated bluray player? Somewhat interested in backing up my blurays on the network, which is part of the motivation for the drive.
4. What are the pros/cons of using the XBMC machine as both a media server for other network clients as well as for broadcasting to my home theater system (ie. versus two separate machines, one being a network file/media server, the second being the xbmc machine)?
5. I realize that this is somewhat of a controversial topic, but what are the best inexpensive options for a remote control. I read about the Generic HP IR receivers from ebay. What do I need here? Will I need a wireless keyboard? Is there maybe some kind of mini qwerty remote/keyboard perhaps? I do have an Android EVO4g so that could also be an option.
Not to throw a complete wrench into the above but I have also debated building a small scale inexpensive dedicated machine using something like the AMD Sempron 140 with a hopefully unlocked 2nd core for $37. A ~$50ish AM3 motherboard (ie. one of the biostars). Perhaps the passively cooled GT430 video card. Some memory and (for now) one of my spare 2.5" laptop drives running the Ebay case mentioned above. This could probably be done for around $250ish including the new bluray drive. Just a cheap alternative to reconfiguring the existing machine.
Thanks for your feedback! Amazed at XBMC. Great software!
Goals:
1. Play HD content locally with a bluray drive
2. Stream HD content over network via gigabit
3. Relatively quiet machine
4. Aesthetically pleasing
5. High(ish) WAF factor, probably an issue with Win7, I realize
6. Limited or non-use of keyboard
7. Stream flac content via gigabit
For now will probably run XBMC over a Win7 64 Ultimate environment. This could change in the future but I am not particularly comfortable with Linux administration, which is concerning for me with the non-Windows alternatives.
What I have right now:
1. Asus P5N7A-VM w/ Intel E8200 proc. Has onboard GeForce 9300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813131348
2. 4g of RAM
3. OCZ Fatality 400w PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product
4. 2tb WD Green, 2tb Samsung F-series
5. A couple of older optical drives, a bunch of other smallish 3.5" and 2.5" hard disks
6. Very large Lian-Li HTPC case, which I would like to replace since it is too large for my rack.
Current Thoughts:
1. I'd like a new case and am currently eying the Ebay Silverstone LC-02 clone here: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Mini-ITX-Case-w-...5d293bcfe7
I am also considering something like the nMediaPC HTPC case since it offers more space for internal drives. Build quality seems poor and much bigger footprint than the ebay case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product
2. The stock Intel CPU cooler is fairly loud. Any good, compact, quiet, inexpensive cpu cooling options?
3. I'd like to purchase a bluray reader. Is it possible to play a bluray from the optical reader via XBMC? I realize that XBMC itself doesnt support bluray but how seamless is the integration to a 3rd party reader software? What happens when I stop the movie or the movie ends? Do I automatically end up back in XBMC or am I in Win7 land? Any hardware/software recommendations for the bluray optical drive? Am I better off just getting a dedicated bluray player? Somewhat interested in backing up my blurays on the network, which is part of the motivation for the drive.
4. What are the pros/cons of using the XBMC machine as both a media server for other network clients as well as for broadcasting to my home theater system (ie. versus two separate machines, one being a network file/media server, the second being the xbmc machine)?
5. I realize that this is somewhat of a controversial topic, but what are the best inexpensive options for a remote control. I read about the Generic HP IR receivers from ebay. What do I need here? Will I need a wireless keyboard? Is there maybe some kind of mini qwerty remote/keyboard perhaps? I do have an Android EVO4g so that could also be an option.
Not to throw a complete wrench into the above but I have also debated building a small scale inexpensive dedicated machine using something like the AMD Sempron 140 with a hopefully unlocked 2nd core for $37. A ~$50ish AM3 motherboard (ie. one of the biostars). Perhaps the passively cooled GT430 video card. Some memory and (for now) one of my spare 2.5" laptop drives running the Ebay case mentioned above. This could probably be done for around $250ish including the new bluray drive. Just a cheap alternative to reconfiguring the existing machine.
Thanks for your feedback! Amazed at XBMC. Great software!