2009-02-05, 04:14
I'm a hardware nut, even more so then software and movies.
For Full HD Playback (1080p)
For case - I like these two
This one's awesome (also in silver)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811204035
(cheaper case that's ok - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811108058)
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.8ghz, fast enough for 1080p using nothing but the cpu, 45nm, lower power use chip.)
For a mobo, GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H, awesome little board with everything, and a fast enough gpu to play some new games as well.
4gb of ddr2 (corsair) for $30, might go with 8gb, a 32gb solid state drive and lite-on dvd burner/ blu-ray reader drive rounds out the system.
pico psu and scyth mini-ninja cooler will keep it silent, 60mm case fans will be removed and mesh installed in there place.
To me, that's my ultimate xbmc machine (for power use, noise level, and overall cost).. it's also got room to put in a bunch of drives and act as the file server as well as a frontend machine.
For 720p Playback (or re-compressed 1080p with a modified x264 main profile for less cpu usage, with a hit to the overall bitrate, but still looking great)
Atom 330 board, some ram, a different northbridge cooler as the stock one is a touch loud, and a ssd drive.
when gpu decoding gets working, add an nvidia 8400 pci card to it (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814187042)
When the new atoms come out, or the Ion hits the market, both will be awesome with gpu assisted decoding for 1080p
For Full HD Playback (1080p)
For case - I like these two
This one's awesome (also in silver)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811204035
(cheaper case that's ok - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811108058)
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.8ghz, fast enough for 1080p using nothing but the cpu, 45nm, lower power use chip.)
For a mobo, GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H, awesome little board with everything, and a fast enough gpu to play some new games as well.
4gb of ddr2 (corsair) for $30, might go with 8gb, a 32gb solid state drive and lite-on dvd burner/ blu-ray reader drive rounds out the system.
pico psu and scyth mini-ninja cooler will keep it silent, 60mm case fans will be removed and mesh installed in there place.
To me, that's my ultimate xbmc machine (for power use, noise level, and overall cost).. it's also got room to put in a bunch of drives and act as the file server as well as a frontend machine.
For 720p Playback (or re-compressed 1080p with a modified x264 main profile for less cpu usage, with a hit to the overall bitrate, but still looking great)
Atom 330 board, some ram, a different northbridge cooler as the stock one is a touch loud, and a ssd drive.
when gpu decoding gets working, add an nvidia 8400 pci card to it (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814187042)
When the new atoms come out, or the Ion hits the market, both will be awesome with gpu assisted decoding for 1080p