[manekineko]

I'm thinking about jumping on this deal:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-MD120&c=CJ

Seems like a nice looking device, and has a dual core Atom and Ion, plus comes with a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo for $225 after rebate.

Only things that need to be added are memory and IR receiver. Are there general recommendations on the amount of RAM needed, and on the cheapest IR receiver that works?

Only things that worry me:
1. I've seen others report that the Atom 330 can't fully handle demanding skins like Aeon. They'll display, but with lag and not perfectly smoothly.
2. With a no name brand like ECS, who knows whether it will support USB wake so that I can wake with a remote.
3. No one has any experience with this brand as far as I can tell, and can comment on potential issues or experience like power draw.

Other than that, this thing seems like a great deal. What are everyone's thoughts?

[CrashX]

You are missing harddrive as well..

Acer Aspire for $199 does seem a like better deal which includes memory and harddrive.

[manekineko]

You are missing harddrive as well..

Acer Aspire for $199 does seem a like better deal which includes memory and harddrive.

But that one only has a single core Atom, which I heard handles high end skins even worse.

Regarding the hard drive, is there a downside to just using XBMC live on a USB stick? I thought that I would keep noise and heat down by not using a hard drive, since all of my media is already on a server.

[althekiller]

You mistake "high end" for "pretty, yet poorly coded" apparently. n230 is fine here.

[manekineko]

You mistake "high end" for "pretty, yet poorly coded" apparently. n230 is fine here.

How does it handle skins? Have you tried Aeon? Are there any skins that it has trouble with?

I'm mainly concerned about the fact that if a phenomenal (but possibly poorly coded) new skin comes out in the future, not being able to run it if I skimp now on the processor.