2010-12-20, 10:49
Hi all,
I've been scanning through all the posts but not seeing a clear picture emerge about the best route for me. I used XBMC a long time ago with the original Xbox and loved it, but gave it up when it couldn't do HD content. I switched to an WDTVLive, which has been OK, but I sorely miss the awesomeness of XBMC. Time to go back!
I plan to run Win7 with the latest XBMC build, and don't need to convert bluray, play games, or anything else too CPU-intensive on there. I can't do the Linux route because I haven't learned how to tinker there yet, but i'm comfortable building my own PC. I might try dual-boot Win7/XBMCLive, but i have a feeling the Win7 setup might be all I need.
A few more specifics: I don't have an AV receiver, but I do have an HDMI plasma. (So, no special audio setup, but will consider that in the future). I have ethernet running to my WDTVlive now, so I'd like gigabit ethernet. I would love for the box to be quiet/low power consumption. I mostly play 720p, but would like 1080p support. I don't much care how it looks, except for size. I will likely be always running my main Windows desktop which has tons of internal hdd space to serve as the media source for this box.
A few specific questions:
Should I Newegg build it, or is the Revo 3700 just as good/cheap as anything I could construct? Or is there something more highly recommended than the Revo? The Zotac boxes also look interesting, but their website gives me an overwhelming 15 different options. I would love to build my own, but also don't want to necessarily have to do major troubleshooting because of some wonky combination of BIOS/chipset/etc not producing HDMI audio or whatever. That makes me think about going the Revo/Zotac route, but maybe i'm just needlessly worrying and should just grab a couple Newegg items.
If building it:
2gb vs. 4gb RAM? Any need to go 4?
i3 550 vs. ION, if I don't need to encode or do anything but stream/decode?
Suggestions for Mini-ITX case?
I don't need a separate vidcard, right?
Suggestions for a remote?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
I've been scanning through all the posts but not seeing a clear picture emerge about the best route for me. I used XBMC a long time ago with the original Xbox and loved it, but gave it up when it couldn't do HD content. I switched to an WDTVLive, which has been OK, but I sorely miss the awesomeness of XBMC. Time to go back!
I plan to run Win7 with the latest XBMC build, and don't need to convert bluray, play games, or anything else too CPU-intensive on there. I can't do the Linux route because I haven't learned how to tinker there yet, but i'm comfortable building my own PC. I might try dual-boot Win7/XBMCLive, but i have a feeling the Win7 setup might be all I need.
A few more specifics: I don't have an AV receiver, but I do have an HDMI plasma. (So, no special audio setup, but will consider that in the future). I have ethernet running to my WDTVlive now, so I'd like gigabit ethernet. I would love for the box to be quiet/low power consumption. I mostly play 720p, but would like 1080p support. I don't much care how it looks, except for size. I will likely be always running my main Windows desktop which has tons of internal hdd space to serve as the media source for this box.
A few specific questions:
Should I Newegg build it, or is the Revo 3700 just as good/cheap as anything I could construct? Or is there something more highly recommended than the Revo? The Zotac boxes also look interesting, but their website gives me an overwhelming 15 different options. I would love to build my own, but also don't want to necessarily have to do major troubleshooting because of some wonky combination of BIOS/chipset/etc not producing HDMI audio or whatever. That makes me think about going the Revo/Zotac route, but maybe i'm just needlessly worrying and should just grab a couple Newegg items.
If building it:
2gb vs. 4gb RAM? Any need to go 4?
i3 550 vs. ION, if I don't need to encode or do anything but stream/decode?
Suggestions for Mini-ITX case?
I don't need a separate vidcard, right?
Suggestions for a remote?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!