New HTPC to replace r3600
#1
Hi all,

Had my acer r3600 for a few years now.

I'm wanting to 'upgrade' to a slightly more powerful solution.

What I need:

1080p playback
1080p 3d sbs playback
aoen mq
small form factor - not much bigger than r3600 (upto size of an xbox360 etc.)
support for a remote (I have ps3 remote)
compatability with all video formats that are common, divx etc.
I don't mind if it uses linux or win7, I have both.
Optical out - got z5500s so need it to work fine with this and through my tv.

Basically it really, I play a wide range of 1080p content as well as 720p/ divx format etc.

I've been reading around and really liked the atv2, but it is only 720p which won't be good enough for me

I saw the emachines 1401 which looked good for the price,

What about amd fusion also, but it only really works under windows right?

Anything else I should consider, thanks.
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#2
not much bigger than r3600: if we take this serious, the only alternative I can think of would be the Asrock Vision 3D

If it's too expensive.. you can build your own htpc, but I guess that would be, at least, 2 times the revo. Ideally, if I were you I'd build something around a Silverstone ML03 case and an Nvidia 430GT (a low profile one), but that will be quite a bit bigger than your current revo.

There may be another option.. look for some mini-itx mobo that has 3D support and do a build similar to this one: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=104468
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#3
well. when i say not too much bigger, it could be say upto the size of an xbox 360 etc.

Currently, my revo3600 displays 3d movies in sbs format w/ filesize of 15gb or so. Hence my option of the emachine 1401?
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#4
proposed build

asrock e350 mini itx mobo
4gb kingston value ram ddr3
32gb ssd ocz
nvidia gt430 low profile 128bit
lc power 1340mi case 75w psu (is this enough?)
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#5
If I were you, if you are into 3d, I'd get something with real 3D support, to be really future proof.

Also, I wouldn't change you revo for the emachines. I doubt it is any better.. CPU might be a little faster, but that's about it. GPU isn't better, I'd say it's slower than ION.

If you change, do a big step forward, not just a half.

EDIT: this is comparing Revo to emachines 1401
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#6
or another option - i already own an intel c2d e2500 cpu (budget one I bought a while back) - could I put together an lga775 rig for a fairly good price?
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#7
PatrickVogeli Wrote:If I were you, if you are into 3d, I'd get something with real 3D support, to be really future proof.

Also, I wouldn't change you revo for the emachines. I doubt it is any better.. CPU might be a little faster, but that's about it. GPU isn't better, I'd say it's slower than ION.

If you change, do a big step forward, not just a half.

EDIT: this is comparing Revo to emachines 1401

what do you think about my proposed builds Patrick?

Thanks.
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#8
I wouldn't go with the 775 build, unless you already got mobo+cpu+ram combo. Spending money in a dead platform (775) isn't a good idea, IMHO.

As for the E350.. it might be an option. But I don't know how faster it is comparing to Atom+ION.. also with that option the linux route isn't quite there yet. Maybe someone with an E350 build might give more details about it.

I bet you'll find a LGA1156 mobo + CPU for the same price as the E350 combo one. If not mini-itx, micro-atx and you could go with the ML03 case which should be about the size of the xbox. Check that one.
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#9
PatrickVogeli Wrote:I wouldn't go with the 775 build, unless you already got mobo+cpu+ram combo. Spending money in a dead platform (775) isn't a good idea, IMHO.

I disagree with Patrick on this one. I have the philosophy of...

'don't buy a Ferrari to drive around neighborhood when the speed limit is 25mph - unless you are doing it purely for vanity and you have a ton of money to waste'

... the point I'm making is, what is your goal?

I have a Core2Duo E7300, AMD 6450, 4GB RAM, Win7 x64 system running XBMC, Windows Media Center (DVR & Live TV), BluRay discs/app, and it runs a VMware virtual machine (running Win7) to run my home automation app in an isolated enviro
... this all run perfectly fine and fast, no lag even on 1080p
... no tweaking was needed, all stock settings.
... CPU never gets above 50%

I have no plans to change for the foreseeable future as I don't see anything this cannot run with ease.

If I wanted to buy/build one at a low cost and just wanted to run XBMC I'd take your E5200 (assuming that is what you meant - E2500, I don't know that model #) and find a dirt cheap system or parts locally (craigslist, etc). Don't spend more than $150 on the rest of the parts.

As for size, you are not likely going to meet that requirements unless you buy somethign with less power, or much higher cost... or a used laptop ($250-300ish) which would be fine also. I considered this but I got my system for free.
I'm not an expert but I play one at work.
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#10
well.. the 775 stuff is ok, don't get me wrong. But.. you won't have many option there, I believe. Choosing a 775 mobo may be quite limited, and you're probably stuck with DDR2.

For that reason I thought going with LGA1156 is a better option: you have a wide range of mobos, ram and processors to choose from, and I bet at the end you get a better machine, with newer technology and not necessarily much more expensive.

hr21, if I were you, if you really want to upgrade (1st question: what's not working? why are you looking for an upgrade?) I'd do a big step forward and invest in really good htpc. What would I choose? Pentinu G620, 4gb ram, nvidia 430gt (or similar 5xx) and the Silverstone ML03 case. I've no idea which mobo, sorry.
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#11
My main reason is optical out really. That's how it started anyway.
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#12
if you plan to use xbmc with windows 7, you'll be happy with both mini-itx htpc's in my signature.

if you plan to use xbmc with linux, you'll be happy with i3 htpc which is the second choice.
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#13
bluray Wrote:if you plan to use xbmc with windows 7, you'll be happy with both mini-itx htpc's in my signature.

if you plan to use xbmc with linux, you'll be happy with i3 htpc which is the second choice.

My option definitely seems to be

E350
4gb ram
gt430 or 6450
SSd 30gb Kingston is this enough for win7
Mini itx case

As I cannot find a suitable lga775 mobo that is itx or matx.
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#14
@ hr21
buy a cheap USB to Audio converter if all you want is optical out - $10-20 and your are done.

if you want to build a system based on the reasons you posted in the first post, I have provided a ton of guidence. If yo have specific questions you can PM me, I'm done with this thread unless it gets cleaned up.
... and since you never posted a price point and you said you wanted cheap and to use your E5200... I suggest buying used items and for $150 you are all set.


@ Patrick

PatrickVogeli Wrote:well.. the 775 stuff is ok, don't get me wrong. But.. you won't have many option there, I believe. Choosing a 775 mobo may be quite limited, and you're probably stuck with DDR2.

sorry bro but both points here are incorrect... 775 boards were out longer, and there are as many, if not more choices - new & used options combined. I suggested used to save money as was asked by OP in the first post.

Most 775 boards were made to support DDR3. Not that it matters... you will not see any difference from DDR2 or 3 with XBMC (or most any use case)

You have your own preferences and opinions, I respect that and it is fine, but your facts are wrong in many things you are posting. You are leading the OP in a direction that he likely has no need to go, will potentially be wasting money to do so.


<unsubscribing>
I'm not an expert but I play one at work.
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#15
if you really want to go for LGA 775 Mini ITX, these hardwares should work-

1. SILVERSTONE Sugo SG05-B or APEX MI-008
2. Zotac GeForce ITX WiFi LGA 775 Mini ITX
3. Silenx IXP7409 iXtrema Pro Fan
4. LG Black 12X BD-ROM
5. HP OEM Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control
6. SAPPHIRE 100324L Radeon HD 6570 2GB or
PNY VCGGT4301XPB GeForce GT 430
7. Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Processor 2.93 GHz
8. G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
9. Corsair Force CSSD-F40GB2-A 2.5" 40GB
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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New HTPC to replace r36000