[cooljoe]

I was looking at the Mcubed HFX cases/systems and was wondering what any of you thought about their products. I want to build a system that is "easy on the eyes" yet performs well. For those who haven't seen their product their website is "www.hfx.at". I really like the micro and mini series setups they have.

I'm thinking of starting off with the storage part first since I would like all the data (movies/music) centralized. Then I can decided on what to use for a frontend at a later date. Please give me your thoughts on this or other suggestions on a better setup. Thanks

[andy204]

mcubed is uilding very good cases. i do have one myself. here are my impressions,setup and pictures: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...hlight=hfx

the storage hardware from mcubed is nice but very overprices. have you thourght of buying a "normal" nas? its cheaper and you get more space/features for a smaller price. from what i know are the storage machines running windows with some custom software on it. i would not recommend it. if you buy a real nas you have alot more options.

just my 2c

-andy

[cooljoe]

I have looked at other options that are suitable. I just would like to build a complete solution that looks elegant in the living room yet performs just as well. I wish more mainstream PC case builders would build products around a complete HTPC solution instead just building a PC case or a server/NAS box. A-Tech fabrication is another case builder that has that home theatre approach to their systems. however, their systems are way too over priced.

I pose this question to all who see this thread. If you could build a complete XBMC solution (HTPC and server/NAS solution), how would you do it? What would be your ultimate XBMC system? What would be your budgets? What would you like to see from these PC manufacturers incorporate into their solutions on a hardware level?

I personally would like to see components that look like they were intended for home theatre instead of just cases that look like PCs sitting next to your TVs.

[teaguecl]

I pose this question to all who see this thread. If you could build a complete XBMC solution (HTPC and server/NAS solution), how would you do it? What would be your ultimate XBMC system? What would be your budgets?

I built my dream system this summer, total cost was around $1100 US. I wanted a small/thin/quiet unit in the living room, which meant:
1. fanless
2. can be hidden easily
3. bare minimum, e.g. no storage, just what is needed for 1080P playback.
This also means I went with 2 PC's, one in the living room and a NAS for the closet.

For the HTPC requirement #1 was that it was quiet - for me that meant fanless. That meant very low power, which led me to the ION platform. I bought the Habey BIS-6561 since it was the only fanless ION I could find at a reasonable price. With a SSD and RAM, it cost about $500. I might consider a Shuttle XS350 if I were buying today.

For the NAS I built one using the recommendations from Lime Technologies - http://www.lime-technology.com/home/87-f...m-builders That meant another Atom, boot from USB stick, good single rail power supply, run UnRaid. In total this cost about $600 with two 2TB drives.

I love this setup, I think it's perfect. Bare minimum required to display the video in the living room - everything else in the back end. Its modular so I can upgrade either one independently, and I can add front ends in any room of the house. Of course I don't have cable/satellite TV, so I don't need any PVR functionality.