[Acidpunk]

First off let me start by saying thanks for any help in advance, Appreciate it.

Right so here's the thing right now I've got one machine in my home which is an Intel Core2Duo running as my pc/media centre but because it's running the C2D + nVidia 9800GT it's a power killer. I really mean that my electric bills are ridiculous.

I don't have traditional Tv anymore so this machine is my sole source of entertainment in my home.

Being based in the UK I knew in advance I was going to pay extortionate prices for products but what else can you do so, originally I looked into the Boxee Box but to be honest I like the social stuff from boxee but I don't like the Menu or how it displays my media libary or how it even discovers it or the no skins.

So XBMC it is, Now this machine would be a dedicated XBMC machine that I would be able to take with me if I go visit parents ect.

Here's what I've come up with so far :

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/227257 : Zotac Barebones Zbox

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/147902 : Kingston 2GB DDR2 800mhz

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/204304 : OCz 64GB Onyx SSD

That would pretty much do me as I can always just get a 2TB USB drive to store content on to and add as I need, Nas options right now I just cannot afford The cheapest NAS 2Tb I could make was about £120.

" I'm a student incase you wondered "

Now if anyone can figure out a way to make something similar based in the UK using any reputable sites aka Amazon / Ebuyer ect I'm all for it.

As for remote control was gonna use my Dell Streak using the XBMC android app.

Advice ?



Edit : I do need TOSLink as that's how I access my 5.1 System at home.

[Acidpunk]

I just have seen this which makes me even more confused...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/236579

[poofyhairguy]

I just have seen this which makes me even more confused...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/236579

That system is fully capable....

[Acidpunk]

That system is fully capable....

That's exactly what I thought, I lose the SSD going that route but I wasn't 100% sold on the SSD to be honest.

I was thinking if I got that now and picked up a cheap external USB drive should be perfect for XBMC.

Any thoughts on NAS storage cause as I said on a budget I was looking at the DLink 323 + 2x2TB Hard drives and I was thinking that should essentially cover all my needs.

I'm open to other choices though

[poofyhairguy]

I don't see any value in any NAS with less than four bays. The problem with super cheap NASes is that they often can't serve up content fast enough.

To get you going an external HD is fine (get a WD 2tb one), and then in the future save up for one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

Or build a NAS out of parts.

[eskro]

+1 for the 'build a NAS out of parts'

oh and Acidpunk, im so sold on SSD's!!
i've had mediacore pc's all my life,,,

i got caught up the --> save a bit on this and save a bit on that.. bla bla bla...
and i always ended up with mediocre PC's....

now, things have changed,
and i dont regret getting an SSD at all!
to me its a very good investment!

because here was my thing,,,
a simple 160GB mechanical hard drive was still gonna cost me $50 CAD...
and i was like $30 away from a 32GB SSD!!

if its something i didnt wanna save on anymore is my OS drive...
$30, no big deal...
i dont smoke, dont drink, dont do drugs, what's left?
lol

[ForeverNixNub]

That system is fully capable....

I just returned my Acer 3700. It was unable to play my Pansonic 1080p60 footage without stuttering. Otherwise it was fantastic.

I'm going to try a Zacate E350 Zotax in its place. My only requirement hardware wise it that it fits in the crack of my wall-mounted TV and the wall behind it.

[eskro]

Zacate E350 should eat your Pansonic 1080p60 footage

[Acidpunk]

I don't see any value in any NAS with less than four bays. The problem with super cheap NASes is that they often can't serve up content fast enough.

To get you going an external HD is fine (get a WD 2tb one), and then in the future save up for one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

Or build a NAS out of parts.

Yeah I've been considering the build a Nas/Home Server out of some Low power AMD parts for a while, Something I'll definitely look into down the road.

I was looking at the WD 2TB as well, I think it will pretty much suit me. I'd go for the NAS / Server now but it's a case of I'm moving home in about 2 months time so I don't want to spend money I'm not sure I'll have.

+1 for the 'build a NAS out of parts'

oh and Acidpunk, im so sold on SSD's!!
i've had mediacore pc's all my life,,,

i got caught up the --> save a bit on this and save a bit on that.. bla bla bla...
and i always ended up with mediocre PC's....

now, things have changed,
and i dont regret getting an SSD at all!
to me its a very good investment!

because here was my thing,,,
a simple 160GB mechanical hard drive was still gonna cost me $50 CAD...
and i was like $30 away from a 32GB SSD!!

if its something i didnt wanna save on anymore is my OS drive...
$30, no big deal...
i dont smoke, dont drink, dont do drugs, what's left?
lol

I'm the opposite to you, I've always spent too much on systems going through stuff, I remember when I first got this C2D I was the only one I knew with 1066 DDR2 Corsair ram cost me like £300 at the time.

I've learnt from experience though that, with the way Linux distro's are in general booting off an SSD won't make that big a difference. Right now off my F3 Samsung Ubuntu boots in under 10 seconds 10.10 X64 that is.

I'm not saying that If I custom build I wouldn't put an SSD in but as of right now it's not a priority.

I just returned my Acer 3700. It was unable to play my Pansonic 1080p60 footage without stuttering. Otherwise it was fantastic.

I'm going to try a Zacate E350 Zotax in its place. My only requirement hardware wise it that it fits in the crack of my wall-mounted TV and the wall behind it.

That scares me, I run a lot of 720-1080p MKV files everything from 1.3GB 720p rips to 10GB Blu Ray Rips. What was your experience in those regards.

Also out of interest, I watch Jupiter Broadcasting on XBMC I assume the Revo should be able to play that just fine and " some " Flash content ?

[poofyhairguy]

That scares me, I run a lot of 720-1080p MKV files everything from 1.3GB 720p rips to 10GB Blu Ray Rips. What was your experience in those regards.

Any ION/Fusion system can play the meanest non-3D mkvs out there. The only reason to need more is for streaming, games or 3D. Take a look at my sig for more info.

Also out of interest, I watch Jupiter Broadcasting on XBMC I assume the Revo should be able to play that just fine and " some " Flash content ?

Yeah. That should be fine.

[Acidpunk]

Any ION/Fusion system can play the meanest non-3D mkvs out there. The only reason to need more is for streaming, games or 3D. Take a look at my sig for more info.



Yeah. That should be fine.

Right well Mkv Aside that helps put me more at ease for sure, Out of interest when you say streaming. I sometimes Stream from the BBC Iplayer site, Would the Atom / Ion not be capable of that ?

[eskro]

ATOM CPU's a pretty much anemic...
do think about doing too much with them
besides playing 1080P movies...

[Acidpunk]

ATOM CPU's a pretty much anemic...
do think about doing too much with them
besides playing 1080P movies...

Hmm, That makes me start to think now.

I know you don't recommend the Zacate for XBMC using the Live/Linux type installs, Any specific reason ?

[Ethereal_Gaz]

Acidpunk, I think we have the same wishlist, except mine's for the bedroom so I was also hoping for silent.

The Ebuyer deals on the 3700 are pretty good so I was considering those at first. Then I saw the shuttle XS35 builds are silent. Only problem is nobody on here seems to be able to give any details on ION running UK stuff.

Think I'll start a thread, there must be someone in the UK running these on ION.

[eskro]

Hmm, That makes me start to think now.

I know you don't recommend the Zacate for XBMC using the Live/Linux type installs, Any specific reason ?

Yes, Drivers!!
ATI is not good under Linux as of today...
Tomorrow, we dont now...
But as i said, just dont!!
you've been alerted