2012-01-10, 04:12
So I am trying to find a box to run Linux, XBMC.
I went through the groups, and was heading towards these because they have a great form factor:
Zotac ZBOX-AD03BR-U
I found only 1 person who seems to have run Linux on it, but it doesn't seem as though he really put it through the paces
http://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-ZBOX-AD03BR-...B004NBZ8C2
Then I found the NewEgg review, and it was less than spectacular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173020
Zotac ZBOX-AD02-U
There is a youtube video of this not being able to handle 1080p videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0MMwjtxH6k
Zotac ZBOXHD-ND22-U
NewEgg says it is out of stock & deactivated.
Is this an end of life product that has been replaced with something better?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173012
Foxconn NTA350-0H0W-B-A-NA
New egg reviews: 1 Positive, Several not, "need to blacklist radeon kernel module", "not so much for linux", "Tried for about 2 weeks to get the AMD video drivers to work in Ubuntu (tried 10.4 and 11.11) but no avail. No 3D acceleration in Ubuntu or XBMC Live."
So that takes 4 of the higher end machines, and some fairly recent feedback, and says that the systems aren't optimal (out of the box, or sometimes at all) or are discontinued / being phased out.
eSkRo, that is an awesome list that you put together, and I almost jumped for joy when I saw it, but researching some of these systems for use with Linux & XBMC, it seems the video hardware isn't up to the challenge.
Am I missing something more recent that makes these issues invalid?
Thanks much! I'm running XBMC on a Mac Mini at the moment, and loving it. I'm just looking to get back to something more familar to me (Ubuntu and/or Mint).
I loved the fact the Mac Mini was plug and play. It has some quirks (like volume settings, size of fonts from a distance, etc.) But I never had an artifact, and the thing is dead silent. I just wish it ran Ubuntu/Mint/Debian/heck, even Fedora.
--Mufasa
P.S. In reality, I'm a group 3, but I'm not interested in jailbreaking a device, I heard the AppleTV1 can be a bit slow, and I'd rather pay a little extra on the front end for something that I KNOW is going to handle the files I ask it to play. (Which is why I was jumping to Group 6)
P.P.S. I realize your list of groups is done on your own time, and totally voluntary. And I'm not here to shoot 'em down or anything like that. The fact you took the time to do the testing is awesome. Just trying to vet the info before I plunk down the cash & spend the time trying to get it to work. If any of those systems used an NVIDIA chipset, looks like I'd be good to go, but it seems I'll probably have to build something to get that recipe.
Again, thanks a lot. It really is a great list, and your other lists are a great resource.
I went through the groups, and was heading towards these because they have a great form factor:
Zotac ZBOX-AD03BR-U
I found only 1 person who seems to have run Linux on it, but it doesn't seem as though he really put it through the paces
http://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-ZBOX-AD03BR-...B004NBZ8C2
Then I found the NewEgg review, and it was less than spectacular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173020
Zotac ZBOX-AD02-U
There is a youtube video of this not being able to handle 1080p videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0MMwjtxH6k
Zotac ZBOXHD-ND22-U
NewEgg says it is out of stock & deactivated.
Is this an end of life product that has been replaced with something better?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856173012
Foxconn NTA350-0H0W-B-A-NA
New egg reviews: 1 Positive, Several not, "need to blacklist radeon kernel module", "not so much for linux", "Tried for about 2 weeks to get the AMD video drivers to work in Ubuntu (tried 10.4 and 11.11) but no avail. No 3D acceleration in Ubuntu or XBMC Live."
So that takes 4 of the higher end machines, and some fairly recent feedback, and says that the systems aren't optimal (out of the box, or sometimes at all) or are discontinued / being phased out.
eSkRo, that is an awesome list that you put together, and I almost jumped for joy when I saw it, but researching some of these systems for use with Linux & XBMC, it seems the video hardware isn't up to the challenge.
Am I missing something more recent that makes these issues invalid?
Thanks much! I'm running XBMC on a Mac Mini at the moment, and loving it. I'm just looking to get back to something more familar to me (Ubuntu and/or Mint).
I loved the fact the Mac Mini was plug and play. It has some quirks (like volume settings, size of fonts from a distance, etc.) But I never had an artifact, and the thing is dead silent. I just wish it ran Ubuntu/Mint/Debian/heck, even Fedora.
--Mufasa
P.S. In reality, I'm a group 3, but I'm not interested in jailbreaking a device, I heard the AppleTV1 can be a bit slow, and I'd rather pay a little extra on the front end for something that I KNOW is going to handle the files I ask it to play. (Which is why I was jumping to Group 6)
P.P.S. I realize your list of groups is done on your own time, and totally voluntary. And I'm not here to shoot 'em down or anything like that. The fact you took the time to do the testing is awesome. Just trying to vet the info before I plunk down the cash & spend the time trying to get it to work. If any of those systems used an NVIDIA chipset, looks like I'd be good to go, but it seems I'll probably have to build something to get that recipe.
Again, thanks a lot. It really is a great list, and your other lists are a great resource.