[sampson]

Currently I have a mini-itx PC in my living room that I built myself, running Windows 7 w/XBMC. I've loved it so much over the past 18 or so months that I'm ready to go ahead and buy another (smaller) machine for the bedroom. Since I plan on running XBMC to navigate through my media, this seemed like a good place to ask questions regarding the appropriate hardware.

The current PC I have in the living room is a ZOTAC IONITX-A-U Atom 330 and I'd like to stick with the Zotac brand if possible. I've been doing a lot of comparisons on Zotacs website, and generally I understand everything that's being mentioned, but I don't know squat about onboard graphics. Can you folks help me narrow down my search?

The machine will mostly be used to handle 1080p x264 movies.

I read this full article about the 'Zbox Nano AD10 Plus nettop' and it looks like a solid machine, and with the integrated IR as well as the USB IR receiver + remote, it looks like a solid deal as well.

Is there anything I should be looking at as well? How about the ZBOXHD-ID40-U?

[SquirlKiller]

dont take my opinion as a smart one, but if it has hardware acceleration, it should play 1080p

[MidnightWatcher]

I'd recommend the Zbox ND-22 if you can find one. It is superior to any Atom-based solutions. See link in my sig.

[Jetster]

Midnight What do you think of this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173022

[eskro]

+1 for ZOTAC ND22 http://www.provantage.com/zotac-zboxhd-n...OTC06T.htm

[sampson]

I guess I'm going to buy one of those Zbox ND-22 boxes in a day or two if someone hasn't posted back with another good option to at least research.

@Midnight (or anyone else) - What has been your experience over wifi? Reading the reviews on Amazon and Newegg, easily the top complaint is the poor wifi. I'm going to try out the factory wifi, but if I find it to be be as undesirable as many others have, I may go ahead and replace it with a dual band card that includes an antenna.

[eskro]

adding a wifi card or even wifi usb stick is an e-z fix if u ever have issues

[bluray]

how about this- ZBOX NANO FUSION SFF E350 DDR3-1066 WL BLUETOOTH REMOTE US PLUG

more info- nano

since it is tiny, it'll be great for bedroom!

[eskro]

for the $20 price difference, i'd buy the ND22 all the way

[MidnightWatcher]

Midnight What do you think of this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173022

If you're only going to be using Windows, it's a good option. If you want to use Linux without the curse of incessant migraines it's best to stick to something like the ND22 until Fusion hardware is completely ironed with Linux.

[MidnightWatcher]

@Midnight (or anyone else) - What has been your experience over wifi? Reading the reviews on Amazon and Newegg, easily the top complaint is the poor wifi. I'm going to try out the factory wifi, but if I find it to be be as undesirable as many others have, I may go ahead and replace it with a dual band card that includes an antenna.

I don't use the built-in WiFi. I've instead opted to use a second 302.11n router as a repeater (300 mbps). With this setup I am able to stream 1080p over WiFi without issue using NFS (Read more here).

[bluray]

@Midnight (or anyone else) - What has been your experience over wifi? Reading the reviews on Amazon and Newegg, easily the top complaint is the poor wifi. I'm going to try out the factory wifi, but if I find it to be be as undesirable as many others have, I may go ahead and replace it with a dual band card that includes an antenna.

wifi is not recommend it for 1080p streaming, unless you use two routers as midnight. if you're in a single family home, you might have better luck with this- TRENDnet 500 Mbps Powerline.

[CpTHOOK]

wifi is not recommend it for 1080p streaming, unless you use two routers as midnight. if you're in a single family home, you might have better luck with this- TRENDnet 500 Mbps Powerline.

Powerline is kool, but way to intermittent!! No guarantee it will work properly at all outlets in your home. Your home's wireing and distance between devices can degrade signal significantly!

MoCA.... Here! Will solve all of your problems if your home is wired with coaxial cables. Most cable or satellight subscribers like you and I have coaxial cable running throughout!!

With these you can hook up two theater areas. Buy two sets and you can connect four separate theater areas. Check my sig for more details!!

In short, MoCA is the truth no need to do wireless when HTPC'n!!

[bluray]

Powerline is kool, but way to intermittant!! No guarantee it will work properly at all outlets in your home. Your home's wireing and distance between devices can degrade signal significantly!

it should be fine in a single family home circuitry. i have been using 200mbps 4-port powerline in my entertainment center for nearly 3 years now. i connects directv2pc (the most picky one), htpc, network avr and ps3 to it. it never give me any trouble so far. it can stream just about everything other than 1080p. 1080p is flaky with 200mbps version, but i truely believe that the 500mbps should be fine.

[sampson]

One last question before I pull the trigger:

What is the "u" in the model name representative of? ND22 vs ND22-U.

I keep seeing the two different ones and I'm not sure which one I should be going for.

(Also, midnight, do you mind if I PM you later if I have any questions on the setup?)