[porlock]

I spend some time trying to find a proper hardware, with no luck, maybe You will help me.

What I need:
1. Hardware that will fully support Linux (I use it for VPN, HTTP, SQL etc. server)
2. SATA or USB 3.0 capability (I have a IP cameras that use a NFS partition for video storing and I also use it as a home NAS, and network download system so I need fast disc access)
3. 4 or more Cores
4. 2 or more GB of ram
5. HDMI with CEC support
6. HD Audio 5.1 audio over HDMI
7. Low power consumption (turn on 24h/7d)
8. Full Kodi support with hardware video decoding
9. Gigabit Ethernet

To by honest I do not find anything that support my criteria :-(

I use now cubieboard2 it suits points 1 and 2 but it not good for Kodi usage

Wintel CX-W8 Pro Z8300 looks promising but it does not have a audio support in Linux kernel.

[Matt Devo]

if you can live with 2 cores / 4 threads, then an i5 NUC with a Pulse-Eight CEC adapter should work, otherwise you're looking at building a mini-ITX system with a T-series Core i5/i7 CPU

[doug]

Have you considered splitting your requirements into two boxes? The title says you are looking for a server, but then you mention various specs for a front end. Keep your current Cubieboard as the backend and use a Chromebox or Wetek or a RPi (no GigE, less RAM than quoted) as the frontend.