[jonhewer]

Hello everyone,

I currently have a Via C7 Mini-ITX based media PC running Debian & Freevo. It's ok, but it doesn't have enough power to play high res videos smoothly and the onboard sound is rubbish.

I'd like to upgrade, and intend on using Ubuntu & XMBC this time around. My question is, what hardware would you suggest I use?

My main requirements are a) compact and quiet, b) will handle 1080p h264 video, and c) will cost about £300 (case, mobo, cpu, ram, & small hard drive for the OS).

I'm currently considering the Zotac ION D board with Atom 330 and Nvidia ION which, from this forum, I can see a number of people are using successfully. However, I'm not really sure what other media-suitable hardware is available and how it compares.

Cheers,
Jon

[jmarshall]

The Zotac will do just fine. A cheaper (single-core) option is the Acer Revo at about half that price, though ofcourse you don't have the fun of putting it together, and it doesn't have digital audio out (other than HDMI).

There's one from Asrock as well. Certainly check that whatever you get has the options for digital audio out that you want.

Cheers,
Jonathan

[jonhewer]

Thanks for your reply. There's a single core Zotac board too which is about cheaper than the dual core one and has all the same outputs I think. Will I not really see any benefits from having a dual core Atom then?

One of the reasons I want to build my own rather than buying the Revo is so that I can buy a case that will house a 3.5" hard drive rather than just a laptop drive.

Cheers

[jmarshall]

You will see benefits with a dual core - primarily when many background operations (eg thumb assignment, scraping etc.) are in progress.

Whether it's worth the difference in cost is up to you!

[Derek]

I've seen the Asrock (not running) but the actual box and it looks very slick and nice, i would go for that as it can be had for around £200 ukp.

[>>X<<]

Asus have a really nice new mobo out which to me looks a much better choice than the Zotac, its the first board I've seen with a full set of analogue audio outs as well as S/PDIF optical & coaxial

Asus AT3N7A-I

There's also a new box like the Asrock except without the optical drive called "Funtwist FIONO 330" which should be cheaper than the Asrock

[jonhewer]

I've seen the Asrock (not running) but the actual box and it looks very slick and nice, i would go for that as it can be had for around £200 ukp.

£200 does indeed sound like very good value for that spec, I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of anywhere selling it for around that amount as I've only seen it going for £230+

Asus have a really nice new mobo out which to me looks a much better choice than the Zotac, its the first board I've seen with a full set of analogue audio outs as well as S/PDIF optical & coaxial

Asus AT3N7A-I

There's also a new box like the Asrock except without the optical drive called "Funtwist FIONO 330" which should be cheaper than the Asrock

Cool, I will check them both out. I don't really need an optical drive, so that might be a good way to go.

[>>X<<]

There's a video of the funtwist below but unfortunately its french but should give you an idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdg0RLLPXvE