[ericH21]

I'm considering my first XBMC. I was first interested by the Android capabilities of the Pivos XIOS DS. But in reading reviews and these forums, it looks like everyone just gets rid of Android and installs Linux because that version of XBMC is much more stable and faster. If I am going to end up using Linux anyway, doesn't it make sense to get a Zotac Zbox or other cheap "nettop" instead?

What am I missing? What are the advantages of XIOS DS over nettops other than cost?

[samukas]

Well, I'm also looking for my first XBMC so I can't speak of experience, but I'm considering the XIOS because it's extremely small, "cheap", it already comes with a remote and it doesn't have a fan.

So far I haven't been able to find that in a nettop. The ZOTAC nano seems really sweet, but it is not fanless.

[Ned Scott]

If you've got the budget for it, go for the Zotac box. The Pivos XIOS is a great box, but it's still ARM, and XBMC for Android (or XBMC for Linux using the Pivos hardware decoders) is still in development, while the Zotac can run stable XBMC today.

So yeah, pretty much cost. Though it's also totally silent and uses less power than the Zotac, but not so much that it would personally bother me to use the Zotac (Zotac makes some really kick ass boxes, too).