[eskro]

i recommend HDHOMERUN devices

[hakova]

@Eskro:

How come one cannot use XBMC on Linux on A6 and A8 builds? Just out of curiosity.

[eskro]

as we always say, avoid Linux and AMD/ATI...
driver issues

[Excreator]

Great info, your time is much appreciated.


I've use p3s media server, a couple media boxes and nothing comes close to the compatibility I get when just throwing a file into VLC and watching it on PC (high bitrate movies/shows etc. So I want to build my first HTPC and use the XBMC with it.

I thought about initially going with a Revo 3700 but figure that is limited as well, based on quite a bit of the information in this post and others I would like to ask if this setup appears to be a solid build for an HTPC.
Graphics/power/quietness etc.

Going to go Win 7 64bit, XBMC,

[CPU+GPU] AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D
[MOBO] GIGABYTE GA-A75M-UD2H FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) Micro ATX
[RAM] G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600
[SSD] Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F60GB3A-BK 2.5" 60GB SATA III
[CASE] nMEDIAPC HTPC 7000B Micro ATX
[PSU] Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V
[HDD] WD20EARX 2TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

please, any comments are very much welcome.

[bluray]

Graphics/power/quietness etc.

Going to go Win 7 64bit, XBMC,

[CPU+GPU] AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D
[MOBO] GIGABYTE GA-A75M-UD2H FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) Micro ATX
[RAM] G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600
[SSD] Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F60GB3A-BK 2.5" 60GB SATA III
[CASE] nMEDIAPC HTPC 7000B Micro ATX
[PSU] Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V
[HDD] WD20EARX 2TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

please, any comments are very much welcome.

You'll have a powerful media player!

If you want XBMC to natively playback BD in full 1080P video with DTS-HD/TrueHD audio, you can use the latest XBMC patches- XBMC Beta3 + HD-Audio + Global AV Delay.

If you want to enjoy the original blu-ray menus, previews, chapters, 3d, etc, you can use this "External Player", and you can simply named your BD files "title_ext.iso" and use this protocol "<rule filename=".*_ext.iso*" protocols="*_ext.iso*" player="ext_Player"/>". The rest of the blu-rays still can playback using the latest XBMC patches.

The latest XBMC patches and external player "TMT5" are excellent combination for XBMC!

[lagledavid]

You'll have a powerful media player!

If you want XBMC to natively playback BD in full 1080P video with DTS-HD/TrueHD audio, you can use the latest XBMC patches- XBMC Beta3 + HD-Audio + Global AV Delay.

If you want to enjoy the original blu-ray menus, previews, chapters, 3d, etc, you can use this "External Player", and you can simply named your BD files "title_ext.iso" and use this protocol "<rule filename=".*_ext.iso*" protocols="*_ext.iso*" player="ext_Player"/>". The rest of the blu-rays still can playback using the latest XBMC patches.

The latest XBMC patches and external player "TMT5" are excellent combination for XBMC!

I guesss i burglarized your conversation but that link you provided with the patches was great and i wanted to say thanks

[Hypknox]

In regard to Excreator's build, I think it's very solid and should deliver excellent performance. I do have a couple of questions regarding it though.

• RAM -Would the 8 gig of RAM be overkill? Wouldn't he be able to run XBMC on win 7 with 0 stutter and stream 1080p (hard wired ethernet not wifi, possibly even wifi) seamlessly with 4 gig of RAM?
  
  What about something like this for example - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820104203

• Case Temperature - Will he need an after market CPU fan or will the stock CPU fan be sufficient? I'm sort of on the fence regarding this one as the case he chose has 2 120mm fans in it. Would these fans compensate for the weaker stock CPU fan and keep the overall case components cool?

Building a present day HTPC, aside from my two questions above does anyone else have any objections / suggestions to the build Excreator has posted? He and I have actually looked into this together and are currently ironing out the final touches before purchase.

We've circumvented macroblocking by going the AMD/ATI route. Are we missing anything crucial?


Any additional feedback is greatly appreciated

[Hypknox]

One a side note -

I would prefer to run my OS in 64bit, is there a preference for XBMC? Will it run just as fine in 64bit as it does in 32bit?

I noticed that the Eden beta was only offered in win 32. Would that work in 64bit or would one need to wait for the official release?

[bluray]

One a side note -

I would prefer to run my OS in 64bit, is there a preference for XBMC? Will it run just as fine in 64bit as it does in 32bit?

I noticed that the Eden beta was only offered in win 32. Would that work in 64bit or would one need to wait for the official release?

All three of my HTPC's are running 64x, and it's doing fine with XBMC.

[bluray]

I guesss i burglarized your conversation but that link you provided with the patches was great and i wanted to say thanks

I'm glad that it work out good for you!

Bitstreaming is getting more popular than ever, and XBMC with the patches is the best solution at the moment.

[Hypknox]

Thanks for your responses bluray.

In regards to my initial post, what are your thoughts on the RAM and case temperature with Excreator's build?

Also, I tried following your guide for XBMC in 1080p w/ DTS-HD/TrueHD audio and the audio codec downloads cycle you through an endless loop. After you check the box for accepting the above terms and hit next it brings you to a blank page with only "Object moved to here". When you click on here it loops you back to the same initial download page.

[diarmaidbrown]

i have purchased a hfx micro m2 mini itx case is there any set that can be advised to become group 7 htpc. Also fanless if possible.
cheers

[bluray]

Thanks for your responses bluray.

In regards to my initial post, what are your thoughts on the RAM and case temperature with Excreator's build?

Also, I tried following your guide for XBMC in 1080p w/ DTS-HD/TrueHD audio and the audio codec downloads cycle you through an endless loop. After you check the box for accepting the above terms and hit next it brings you to a blank page with only "Object moved to here". When you click on here it loops you back to the same initial download page.

I believe that 2Shared site is having issue. I'm suggesting the latest XBMC/W7 with DTS-HD/TrueHD patches that I suggested in this post #755 instead.

As far as RAM, 4GB is more than enough to run XBMC with W7 64x. You shouldn't need more than 4GB to playback BD using XBMC or any media player. I don't pay close attention to Excreator's build. What is it? As far as temperature, you can try everything stock first. If it is too hot or too noisy, you can always replace CPU cooler and case fan later.

[Ishmayl]

Hi eskro,
I've registered on these forums just because of your awesome thread here!

I wanted to ask you what would work best for me. Here's what I'm looking to do:

I have HDMI on my TV. I would like to watch 720 & 1080 videos. My idea is to use XBMC to play movies off a USB hard drive, as well as use my TV as a general music player. Ideally, I would be able to do netflix (though it doesn't have to be HD, we just watch TV shows, not movies) & Spotify, but neither of those are 100% necessary. My guess is I'm in group 4 or 5.

Using your recommendation in Group #4, I found a good deal on a "Zotac ZBOX HD-ND02-U."

Does that seem like the right way to go? My idea would be to install XBMC Live on the ZBOX, then just keep a USB Hard drive plugged up to it at all times (except when I'm adding movies to it).

Thanks so much for this awesome thread!

[eskro]

Netflix is a windows thing...
forget Linux if u cant live without Netflix...

otherwise, your good to go.
but i'd use OpenELEC version of XBMC instead of live.