[captmuppet]

I just wanted a bit of advice on Operating software.

I have been using my old Dell Desktop with no problems, it has windows 7 on it and I installed a program (cant remember which) that boots up XBMC rather than windows.
When I first started using it I had problems with the video jumping and the picture quality wasn't great. So from advice from here I upgraded my graphics card and the difference was great.
Now I am looking to improve the quality of my movie library, replacing sd with hd etc. Up to last night I had no problems what so ever, until I put my new copy of Avatar on. I noticed a very slight jump every now and again. So today I have ordered so more memory which will increase from 2gb to 6gb.
So my long winded question is what difference will i notice if i remove windows completely? I liked at first as it made it easier to move files from flash drive to the internal hard drives but I just want to milk out every drop of performance that I can. If I am better removing windows, which build should I use and can i do it without losing all my movies that on my main hard drive?

[joelbaby]

Set up a USB stick, and boot from that before deleting anything.
Look at OpenElec, XBMCBuntu as a start.

[captmuppet]

Many thanks, but which one would you recommend? Whats the difference between them

[un1versal]

Oh please no, not another thread on my CENSORED is bigger than yours... But wait... It was cold that day.

If you dont know that reference here it is



For the answer to that question see the other 20 threads on that matter

[Kib]

I recommend testing OpenELEC, because it is easy to test out, it can be run from a USB stick without modifying your current install.

[mayoman]

Whats the difference between them

OpenELEC = Barebones "pure" XBMC experience - fastest, slimmest install, but not particularly modifyable or able to do much outside of XBMC.
XBMCBuntu = Linux based XBMC install, still quite fast but as it has a more standard Linux distro "under the hood" you can switch to a more standard PC desktop and install/use other software.

[nokdim]

use what you have experience with, if you know how to tweak os layer settings under windows stick with that, if you have a spare box to put XBMCBuntu on I would suggest to do that and test so you can enjoy TV/Movies when you are not messing with the test box.

If you are familiar with linux by all means use XBMCBuntu but even though I have used it for almost a decade now I still find little things that take me time to figure out and away from my experience of watching TV.

[joelbaby]

Many thanks, but which one would you recommend? Whats the difference between them

Install them and try them out. See which one you prefer.

[Crssi]

I am using Win 8.1 and OE on NUC i5 4th gen.

Boot up and overall speed is the same.
Power consumption is the same.
Both are very good.

Each one has it own pros/cons.

OE needs smallest disk possible and doesnt need monthly security patching.
Win can be used for other things... some users have netflix which I understood runs on win.
Win licence costs are not minimal. OE is much cheaper.

[captmuppet]

Many thanks for all your replies. I went with Openelec, and I have to say I am not disappointed. I have another computer I can use for renaming and the organizing of my files so I am not going to miss windows. (especially as it kept telling me I had a pirated copy of Win 7 even though I purchased it through a microsoft reseller and ran for years with no problems)
To be honest it makes it a whole better experience, the machine boots in a fraction of the time it did and seems to be running nice and smooth.
Now I have that sorted , gunna find a thread that will tell me how to play old nintendo and Playstation games on it..