[coltyg]

Hello All,

I have been lurking here regularly, trying to absorb all that I can (thanks Poofy and Eskro for all that you do). I am getting ready to order my system(s) to set up my whole home for XBMC. We will probably be watching 90% SD or 720p.

Here is my plan:

- Living Room (main computer/TV, serves to rest of house) (Win7 x64, 46" lcd)- http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Public...r=22789148 (used to watch saved media via xbmc and stream netflix/hulu) I chose this case to have plenty of room for more drives as needed, and eventually be dedicated server.

- Bedroom (win7 x64, 42" lcd)- http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Public...r=16772346 (used to watch saved media via xbmc and stream netflix/hulu)

- 2 old boxes loaded with ubuntu and xbmc for the kids, standard lcd computer monitors (used to watch cartoons and movies via xbmc, watch dvd's and play edu-games).

Some questions I have:

- Will this work with the equipment I have here, or do I need NAS (i.e. fast enough, concurrent watching, etc.)
- Any advice for cost cutting on these, I am already going over budget?
- Any other advice or ideas you gurus out there may have for me?
- Any pitfalls I may run into with this setup?
- Me and my wife both have Droids, will these be satisfactory as remotes for living room/bedroom computers?

[bmcclure937]

Welcome to XBMC Community!

Here is my feedback for your plan...

Living Room

• Find a cheaper GT210 one of the advantages of the 210 is price... you can almost always get them for ~$20. If you are going to spend $46 then you might as well "future proof" your build and get the GT430 next time you see it on sale. I snagged my GT430 for $53.
  
• I like the mobo, CPU, PSU and RAM.
  
• The Crucial SSD is overkill and overpriced!! If it is only your system drive (no storage) you could get a smaller capacity. I would personally aim for under $100.
  
• I like the WD20EARS drive, but be aware it is an "Advanced Format" drive with 4K sectors. This should not really affect performance.
  
• If you plan to eventually convert to a server then I would highly recommend the Antec 300 case. It is a great value and has awesome room for drive expansion!
  

Bedroom

• Honestly... the best bet for a simple XBMC client machine (great for bedroom) is an ION-based nettop. These will be smaller, quieter, and the same price (if not cheaper) than your build. They work like a champ with XBMC and play back all 1080p content.
  

Other Advice
There are many options you can take.

First, you can stick to your current plan. That would work fine... except for the suggestions I mention above. I would definitely look into a nettop for the bedroom. The smaller form factor alone would be a big reason for me. I do not want a big HTPC case in my bedroom... save that for my media center in the living room.

The second option... I personally feel the best solution for the long term would be building a dedicated NAS to store your media... then you can build dedicated XBMC boxes for the living room and bedroom. No need to cram the functionality of media server/media player all into your living room HTPC. this allows you to have the media server as the back-end and the HTPCs as simple XBMC appliances.

Using this option, you could create a 4TB server for around $500. Then get 2 nettops for XBMC for around $600 total. I am not really sure your budget... you did not mention it. You could play with the different build options to stay in budget (start with less NAS storage, for example).

When going this route you could also consider using the case from your "bedroom" build in the living room and making a custom HTPC and then getting a nettop for the bedroom. All media would be served from your NAS to the living room, bedroom, and 2 Ubuntu boxes.


Let me know if you have any more questions!

[nemek]

mini-itx mobo + micro-atx case is a bit strange cuz u r paying more for small mobo and insert it to "big" case.

[DaGround]

go for a nas!!! energy saving, really silent, can do a lot of other stuff
i got one of this synology 2 bays up to 4-6tb

and 2 of those 4 bays 8-12 tb

i filled them all with 2tb samsung f4 hdd and im happy 8) no hd failed, no hd gets hot, 50-60mb/s copy speed with raid 5.

you can watch from several xbmc systems from a single nas at the same time, works perfect in gigabit lan. i can just recommend them, best price and quality you can get for the money! ( in my opinion )

like bmcc said take a nettop for bedroom! i love the zbox hd11


but the celeron powered is good too, but i dont know how loud they are, the hd11 is totally silent!!

remote, take a nice harmony 650 or one if your budget allows it, for bedroom take a cheaper mce remote.

[Dumb ?]

Actually, I would use an AppleTV2 in the bedroom since you mostly have SD video. It will allow you to play Hulu (Bluecop's repo) and Netflix (through Apple). That would give you more money for your NAS build.