[PtolemyIV]

Hi,

Would appreciate some guidance as to most suitable HTPC - general requirements are:

1. XBMC compatible (windows or linux, streaming from NAS).

2. Price target - up to £400 (barebones or all-in)

3. 5.1 surround sound support through HDMI (plugging into Onkyo SR606)

4. IR receiver (or recommended USB compatible one)

5. 1080p ideally, but 720p okay and not hugely bothered about 3D

6. Blueray wont be used (this is main negative on the zotac ID33)

7. SSD only / 2GB ram - obviously willing to go barebones approach to achieve this

8. Need to be available in UK - unless I am mistaken excludes Jetway

9. Probably not asus - haven't heard great things about these

10. Not AppleTV2 - xbmc pushes HW to limit and hate the constant war between apple/jailbreakers - just let us use the HW as we want.. idea of having to tether boot my HTPC is not great!

Thanks a lot!

PS: from my own research, seems to point in direction of Zotac ID40... (ID33 is blueray + more expensive, ATV2 is Apple, Jetway not avail in UK, Asus gets complaints) - self-build is the other option if it really makes sense..

[magnetik]

Sound like Shuttle XS35GT to me, would be a good fit. I'm not 110% of 5.1 over HDMI (I'm using mine over HDMI, but only out to 2.1 speakers), but I'm pretty sure it can.

Just need to purchase a MS remote control for IR...

[PtolemyIV]

Sound like Shuttle XS35GT to me, would be a good fit. I'm not 110% of 5.1 over HDMI (I'm using mine over HDMI, but only out to 2.1 speakers), but I'm pretty sure it can.

Just need to purchase a MS remote control for IR...

Thanks - will do some research on the 5.1 issue

What is it you like about the Shuttle - i'm considering this versus e.g. Zotac ID40 for about the same price?

[eskro]

honestly, best way to go is build your own system....
i usually shop for parts on newegg.ca but in UK,
there's of course http://www.amazon.co.uk but also http://www.google.co.uk/products ..

now i suggest you take a look at these parts and build around them...
a setup like this is capable of playing any 1080P movies and even 3D!!
its also capable of bitstreaming Dolby True-HD and DTS-HD Master audio!!

[cpu] Athlon X2 3.0GHz AM3 65W (£47 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0arh
[ram] Kingston HyperX 2x2GB 240-Pin DDR3 1600 CL9 (£36 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0ayt
[mobo] ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 USB2 MicroATX (£40 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0arq
[gpu] ASUS GT430 1GB DDR3 128-bit Low Profile (£59 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0asw
[ssd] Corsair Nova 2.5" 32GB SATAII (£59 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0asD
[blu-ray] Samsung SH-B123L 12x BD-ROM Combo SATAII (£50 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0atY
[case] CiT S005B Black with LCD Display (image) (£34 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0auv
[psu] Corsair CMPSU-430CX 430W (£36 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0auR
TOTAL: £361 + Free Shipping !!

[maxinc]

Zotac ID40 seems to come with built in HDD which you are going to replace with a SSD so it is a bit of a waste here. I got the ND01 from eBuyer for £149 which worked out cheaper with the SSD and RAM.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/227257

[Beer40oz]

Zotac ID40 seems to come with built in HDD which you are going to replace with a SSD so it is a bit of a waste here. I got the ND01 from eBuyer for £149 which worked out cheaper with the SSD and RAM.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/227257

Zotac ZBOXHD-ID40-U is a barebone.

Zotac ZBOXHD-ID40-PLUS has ram and a hard drive in it.

[MidnightWatcher]

The Zotac ZBOXHD-ND22-U blows away all of the Atom-based ones. Read reviews here and here and here. The ND22 uses an Intel CULV dual-core processor + ION, whereas the others use an Atom dual-core processor + ION.

"Nvidia's ION chipset makes HD video playback on Atom-based systems a breeze but such machines are poor in overall speed and responsiveness. Pairing ION with a dual core Intel CULV processor results in a staggering performance increase... nothing on the market with similar dimensions (and/or the ability to be VESA mounted) comes close to its performance, with most nettops still stuck with Atom. We don't foresee Atom desktops disappearing anytime soon, but we sincerely hope the ZBOX marks the beginning of a general expansion of nettops beyond Atom." (Link).

[mr.sparkle]

that Zotac with the Celey looks nice, fanless would be ideal

[tboooe]

The Zotac ZBOXHD-ND22-U blows away all of the Atom-based ones. Read reviews here and here and here. The ND22 uses an Intel CULV dual-core processor + ION, whereas the others use an Atom dual-core processor + ION.

"Nvidia's ION chipset makes HD video playback on Atom-based systems a breeze but such machines are poor in overall speed and responsiveness. Pairing ION with a dual core Intel CULV processor results in a staggering performance increase... nothing on the market with similar dimensions (and/or the ability to be VESA mounted) comes close to its performance, with most nettops still stuck with Atom. We don't foresee Atom desktops disappearing anytime soon, but we sincerely hope the ZBOX marks the beginning of a general expansion of nettops beyond Atom." (Link).

I have been looking at this as well. I have an Acer Aspire Revo 3700 upstairs in our loft that is mainly used by the kids and it performs reasonably well. Two things concern me about this:

1. Fan noise
2. Wireless N reception (as mentioned in the first review).

What has your experience been with these two potential issues?

[MidnightWatcher]

I have been looking at this as well. I have an Acer Aspire Revo 3700 upstairs in our loft that is mainly used by the kids and it performs reasonably well. Two things concern me about this:

1. Fan noise
2. Wireless N reception (as mentioned in the first review).

What has your experience been with these two potential issues?

I don't have the ND22 yet but I've already ordered one and it should be here by the weekend, hopefully.

From what I've read fan noise is near silent when watching movies and using the ION GPU to hardware accelerate the video. The fan would only become noticeable when the system is under heavy load (such as during any gaming, which I won't do). Additionally, I'll be mounting it behind my HDTV in the bedroom and using the Official XBMC Remote for Android, which will help to obscure any fan noise, and will also be using an SSD which will keep the box cooler without using a regular HDD.

I won't be using the built-in wireless N since I am using two routers. The router that the ND22 will be connected to will be acting as a repeater, so the wireless question is moot for me.

[PtolemyIV]

The Zotac ZBOXHD-ND22-U blows away all of the Atom-based ones. Read reviews here and here and here. The ND22 uses an Intel CULV dual-core processor + ION, whereas the others use an Atom dual-core processor + ION.

"Nvidia's ION chipset makes HD video playback on Atom-based systems a breeze but such machines are poor in overall speed and responsiveness. Pairing ION with a dual core Intel CULV processor results in a staggering performance increase... nothing on the market with similar dimensions (and/or the ability to be VESA mounted) comes close to its performance, with most nettops still stuck with Atom. We don't foresee Atom desktops disappearing anytime soon, but we sincerely hope the ZBOX marks the beginning of a general expansion of nettops beyond Atom." (Link).

Interesting... now you've got me more confused especially given this ND22 is available on ebuyer for just £185http://www.ebuyer.com/product/237146 - is this really better than the atom 525 processor in the ID40 which is both more expensive and was released more recently in october?

also which ram / SSD did you go for and why did you feel 4gb was necessary rather than 2gb?

[PtolemyIV]

honestly, best way to go is build your own system....
i usually shop for parts on newegg.ca but in UK,
there's of course http://www.amazon.co.uk but also http://www.google.co.uk/products ..

now i suggest you take a look at these parts and build around them...
a setup like this is capable of playing any 1080P movies and even 3D!!
its also capable of bitstreaming Dolby True-HD and DTS-HD Master audio!!

[cpu] Athlon X2 3.0GHz AM3 65W (£47 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0arh
[ram] Kingston HyperX 2x2GB 240-Pin DDR3 1600 CL9 (£36 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0ayt
[mobo] ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 USB2 MicroATX (£40 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0arq
[gpu] ASUS GT430 1GB DDR3 128-bit Low Profile (£59 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0asw
[ssd] Corsair Nova 2.5" 32GB SATAII (£59 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0asD
[blu-ray] Samsung SH-B123L 12x BD-ROM Combo SATAII (£50 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0atY
[case] CiT S005B Black with LCD Display (image) (£34 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0auv
[psu] Corsair CMPSU-430CX 430W (£36 + Free Shipping) http://ow.ly/1s0auR
TOTAL: £361 + Free Shipping !!

thanks for the rundown - general question.. are 3ghz AMD processors a worthy choice versus atom or CULV intel processors?

[MidnightWatcher]

Interesting... now you've got me more confused especially given this ND22 is available on ebuyer for just £185http://www.ebuyer.com/product/237146 - is this really better than the atom 525 processor in the ID40 which is both more expensive and was released more recently in october?

also which ram / SSD did you go for and why did you feel 4gb was necessary rather than 2gb?

Yes, it is much better IMHO than any Atom-based offering for an HTPC.

I bought two sticks of GeIL 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 RAM. It's probably overkill though, and you would be perfectly fine with 2GB of RAM. I just went with the extra 2GB since it didn't add much to the overall cost. Also, the video memory on the ND22 is shared (up to 512MB), though that doesn't seem to be an issue at all judging from the reviews.

For the SSD I went with a 40GB Mushkin Enhanced Callisto Deluxe. I won't need more than 40GB since I'll be streaming virtually all content from my NAS.

[eskro]

are 3ghz AMD processors a worthy choice versus atom or CULV intel processors?

No Question about it!!!

dual-core 3ghz is powerful!

[PtolemyIV]

No Question about it!!!

dual-core 3ghz is powerful!

haha, just built my dad a desktop with one of these... although your recommended setup looks decent / powerful, seems at risk of being a bit chunky for my liking!