Recommended hardware for XBMC Live
#1
I'm planning to replace my old Xbox with a HTPC to be able to play HD content.
The XBOX with XBMC is great in simplicity. Power it on and it runs in seconds.

XBMC live looks great as a more powerful replacement and I would love to use this. During tests it looks like ATI cards could be a problem.

Does anybody have recommendations on what hardware to use.
I would especially like to buy hardware that is powerfull but energy efficient, like mobile versions.

Thanks in advance Smile
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#2
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=34235

15 Pages of advice on what works, and what doesn't....

You're gonna need a 3Ghz+ CPU... and a real video card as results vary greatly from chipset to chipset.
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#3
Hi,

I´m planning to build a noiseless mini-ITC HTPC based on a Intel DG45FC motherboard. The onboard GPU is a X4500HD.

Will XBMC live be able to use the hardware accelaration of HD material provided by this motherboard?

Are anyone running on XBMX live using this motherboard, if the answer is yes...what does the rest of your configuration (chassi, cpu, fan/heatsink memory) look like?

Br, Daniel
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#4
Please also see this thread on reference video material: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=41475
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#5
dannybullit Wrote:Hi,

I´m planning to build a noiseless mini-ITC HTPC based on a Intel DG45FC motherboard. The onboard GPU is a X4500HD.

Will XBMC live be able to use the hardware accelaration of HD material provided by this motherboard?

Are anyone running on XBMX live using this motherboard, if the answer is yes...what does the rest of your configuration (chassi, cpu, fan/heatsink memory) look like?

Br, Daniel

I have the Intel DG45FC and its not supported in XBMC Live 8.10. It might be supported in XBMC Live 9.04 when we have a better driver base due to new kernel and new xserver.

Basically it depends if Ubuntu 8.10 will get good support for the x4500HD or not as this is what we will use for XBMC Live 9.04, it works now but I experience random crashes. Trying jaunty now to see if the issues work better. Looks like jaunty will bundle HDMI Audio atleast for the board.

Cheers,
Tobias
If you have problems please read this before posting

Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.

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"Well Im gonna download the code and look at it a bit but I'm certainly not a really good C/C++ programer but I'd help as much as I can, I mostly write in C#."
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#6
Topfs2 Wrote:I have the Intel DG45FC and its not supported in XBMC Live 8.10. It might be supported in XBMC Live 9.04 when we have a better driver base due to new kernel and new xserver.

Basically it depends if Ubuntu 8.10 will get good support for the x4500HD or not as this is what we will use for XBMC Live 9.04, it works now but I experience random crashes. Trying jaunty now to see if the issues work better. Looks like jaunty will bundle HDMI Audio atleast for the board.

Cheers,
Tobias

Thanks for the feedback! Can you recommend a mini ITX motherboard that has a GPU with HD accelleration that is supported by the current XBMC live?

Br, Daniel
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#7
Topfs2 Wrote:I have the Intel DG45FC and its not supported in XBMC Live 8.10. It might be supported in XBMC Live 9.04 when we have a better driver base due to new kernel and new xserver.

Basically it depends if Ubuntu 8.10 will get good support for the x4500HD or not as this is what we will use for XBMC Live 9.04, it works now but I experience random crashes. Trying jaunty now to see if the issues work better. Looks like jaunty will bundle HDMI Audio atleast for the board.

Cheers,
Tobias

Tobias,

Do you mean that the DG45FC is unsupported in XBMC live or only the HD acceleration of DG45FC?

Br, Daniel
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#8
Hi,

From reading lots of posts on this forum, it seems like Nvidia is the best supported GPU in XBMX Live

Does anyone run XBMC Live on a Jetway NC62K?

The Nvidia GF8200 (MCP78S) is integrated on the motherboard

Does it work out of the box?
What CPU do you use to get 1080p run smooth?

Br, Daniel
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#9
Hi,

Does anyone have a working XBMC Live / mini-itx configuration?

Please let me know what kind of motherboard you are using Smile

/Daniel
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#10
Here is a list of the hardware I was going to try:

Here is a Newegg link: b01HTPC

I chose a ZOTAC GF8200-C-E ITX Board for AMD (Cheap powerful CPU), integrated Wi-Fi (leaves slot open for other stuff), 8GB DDR 1066 support, nVidia chipset and 8200-IGP GFX; This board has not been castrated due to sizeShocked. It is also reasonably priced compared to others in its class.

The case is not the greatest, but its affordable and has 250W PSU, very small form, so it looks nice and compact. I like the Antec Fusion, but its just a regular desktop advertised as a HTPC and over-priced.

The G.Skill ram performs well from previous experience and again is not insanely expensive.

I will try an 45W AMD X2 4850e 2.5GHz since it is low wattage, not sure if the stock fan will work, but I'll cross that bridge later.

The total is $276.97 so far, which I feel is pricey as this isn't even the whole system, but at least I will get all the features I want. These companies are REALLY over-pricing the cases and the motherboards. And most don't even have the full feature set.Eek
reading must be magical or something, it's how i find all da anwsers!
------
Ubuntu 8.10 (64bit) | AMD Sempron 2600+ | ATi 2400HD Pro | Asus AE1 Barebone ---- Ubuntu 9.04RC (64bit) | AMD 5000+ | BIOSTAR TA790GX XE w/ ATi 3300
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#11
b01 Wrote:Here is a list of the hardware I was going to try:

Here is a Newegg link: b01HTPC

I chose a ZOTAC GF8200-C-E ITX Board for AMD (Cheap powerful CPU), integrated Wi-Fi (leaves slot open for other stuff), 8GB DDR 1066 support, nVidia chipset and 8200-IGP GFX; This board has not been castrated due to sizeShocked. It is also reasonably priced compared to others in its class.

The case is not the greatest, but its affordable and has 250W PSU, very small form, so it looks nice and compact. I like the Antec Fusion, but its just a regular desktop advertised as a HTPC and over-priced.

The G.Skill ram performs well from previous experience and again is not insanely expensive.

I will try an 45W AMD X2 4850e 2.5GHz since it is low wattage, not sure if the stock fan will work, but I'll cross that bridge later.

The total is $276.97 so far, which I feel is pricey as this isn't even the whole system, but at least I will get all the features I want. These companies are REALLY over-pricing the cases and the motherboards. And most don't even have the full feature set.Eek


The ZOTAC GF8200 seems like a nice option. Have you verified that it´s compatible with XBMC Live 8.10?

Br, Daniel
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#12
b01 Wrote:Here is a list of the hardware I was going to try:

Here is a Newegg link: b01HTPC

I chose a ZOTAC GF8200-C-E ITX Board for AMD (Cheap powerful CPU), integrated Wi-Fi (leaves slot open for other stuff), 8GB DDR 1066 support, nVidia chipset and 8200-IGP GFX; This board has not been castrated due to sizeShocked. It is also reasonably priced compared to others in its class.

The case is not the greatest, but its affordable and has 250W PSU, very small form, so it looks nice and compact. I like the Antec Fusion, but its just a regular desktop advertised as a HTPC and over-priced.

The G.Skill ram performs well from previous experience and again is not insanely expensive.

I will try an 45W AMD X2 4850e 2.5GHz since it is low wattage, not sure if the stock fan will work, but I'll cross that bridge later.

The total is $276.97 so far, which I feel is pricey as this isn't even the whole system, but at least I will get all the features I want. These companies are REALLY over-pricing the cases and the motherboards. And most don't even have the full feature set.Eek
I went with the same CPU as you but with a Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 cooler, a Gigabyte GA-M78SM-S2H GF8200 mobo (same 8200 IGP).

Can I ask why you have so much RAM? Will it make that much of a difference with XBMC Live?
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Recommended hardware for XBMC Live1