[zebraitis]

Hi folks,

Looks like building my own Kodi endpoint devices is done.

I have a nice Silverstone HTPC case with the usual "stuff" in it (MB, PS, noisy fans, video card, etc.) and just decided it was time to see about an upgrade.

Looking at upgrade MB's and CPU's that would run win11 quickly seemed to go well over $300.  And I wanted to only pay ... well, a lot less.   Previous considerations usually seemed to be far underpowered to handle a large library.

After much stare and compare, upgrade became replacement, as it just doesn't seem to make sense to have a Kodi endpoint running on that power-hungry equipment.


In short, I picked up the Beelink Mini S12 Pro.   It has the Intel N100 CPU w/ 16GB DDR4 RAM and 500GB drive.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C89TQ1YF?th=1 

Catching a sale on Amazon, I was able to purchase this for US $169.  That deal (with a $40 off coupon) is available now.  For how long, not sure.  (No, I don't get anything for referring it.  Just a fair price for a good product).

The pros are too many to list, so I will say the only CON that I found is that it cannot power on via IR.  Exporting my info separately is slightly slower than the system it replaced but not so much so that it is unacceptable.  Scanning for new content is very good, and passthrough to my amp works great.

Since my content is on a NAS, and this only has to present that content, this should serve my needs for a long time.

Highly recommend.

[MatteN]

Mentioned here https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=376035
and here https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=375492

[scott967]

I'm still using a silverstone case and mATX AsusTek MB.  My main consideration is an old Haupauge US ATSC x2 tuner card that is a full-length slot (uses 2 PCI lanes).  No reason to replace it so I am also using an NVidia GTX along side it.  Actually still running Win 8.1 (sucks as OS but for htpc good enough).  I was using WMC for my tuner, which MS never made the jump to Win 10 though there are hacks -- that's why I was on 8.1 originally.  Now using NextPVR, so no reason to stick with 8.1.  I do have a usb stick with Win 10 installer on it.  Don't know if MS will take it without a key (I know official is no, but might try someday just to see).

scott s.
.

[zebraitis]

@scott967 - I can see why you hesitate from moving.

I've never gotten into the tuner card.  I've lived in areas where antenna signals are weak, and most US carriers (cable, sat) did not embrace tuner cards to protect their monthly income.

I know that Microsoft will stop supporting Win10 next year, so for me this made the hop to 11 easy.  I will have to do something else on my 60TB Win10 NAS, as that won't migrate without work-arounds.  I don't see a point of upgrading the internals as that box runs headless 95% of the time.  no need for greater speeds or gaming capabilities.   

I will likely update a few of those Silverstone cases with the Win11 work-around and sell them at a low price on craigslist...  if anyone may want them.  likely it will be at a give-away price.

I understand the challenge you have with the software forcing you to stop at 8.1 (but concerned for you as there are no more Win security update releases.) 

As someone's who've been into tech since '76, my home office closet is going to have to do a big purge of these things that just don't make sense to keep.  (like 3.5" hard floppies, PATA cables, etc.  )

I still have my hacked Gen1 XBOX XBMP...  I'll hang onto that for all the old-school games.