After putting up with poor support, functionality and GUI's on dedicated off the self media streamers I have decided to look at building a low cost but good price/performance HTPC. I want to be able to stream SD and HD movies and family photos from my ReadyNAS over 100mb ethernet and will have XBMC as my front end. I haven't decided on the OS yet but Ubuntu or Windows7 Home Premium are likely, I am also considering XBOX Live. I might also use the PC for web browsing but this is not essential.
I am looking at barebones PC's and have identified the following as potential candidates;
Acer Aspire Revo r3700 - includes 2GB DDR3 memory and 160GB HDD.
Zotac Zbox ND22 - I will need to add 2GB memory and an HDD or SDD.
Zotac Zbox ID11 - I will need to add 2GB memory and an HDD or SDD.
Are there any others I should consider? What does you think of the above?
Could I put together a similar spec PC from parts and if so what would you recommend. I need a small form factor as the HTPC will go into my AV cabinet under the TV.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
David
First HTPC but which barebones to go for
DavidT99
Fan Joined: Mar 2011 Reputation: 6 Location: United Kingdom |
2011-03-17 12:30
Post: #1
HTPC1: Intel Pentium G620, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6570, Samsung 830 SSD, Silverstone GD05 case. HTPC2: AMD Athlon II X2 255, 4GB RAM, AMD HD5450, Western Digital HDD, Silverstone ML03 case. HTPC3: AMD E350, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6310, OCZ Agility 3 SSD, Akasa Crypto case.
(This post was last modified: 2011-03-17 13:46 by DavidT99.)
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DavidT99
Fan Joined: Mar 2011 Reputation: 6 Location: United Kingdom |
2011-03-17 18:14
Post: #2
Here are links for the Zotac build;
Zotac ND22 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/237146 RAM http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159916 SSD http://www.ebuyer.com/product/247005 or http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160730 I wasn't sure if 30GB SSD was enough should I go the Windows7 route. £287 for everything or I could get the Revo r3700 for £200. I know this isn't up to the spec's of some HTPC's I read about here. David HTPC1: Intel Pentium G620, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6570, Samsung 830 SSD, Silverstone GD05 case. HTPC2: AMD Athlon II X2 255, 4GB RAM, AMD HD5450, Western Digital HDD, Silverstone ML03 case. HTPC3: AMD E350, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6310, OCZ Agility 3 SSD, Akasa Crypto case.
(This post was last modified: 2011-03-17 18:17 by DavidT99.)
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eskro
Posting Freak Joined: Nov 2010 Reputation: 156 |
2011-03-17 18:19
Post: #3
well honestly, is you only want an XBMC front end and nothing more,
the Revo r3700 is fine for 1080P... if u plan to do more like play NETFLIX or HULU HD and any other stuff like UseNet/Ripping/Video Editing Tasks, you'll need a different box.... |
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