[bym007]

If you want encoding then maybe I would look at the HP Stream Mini. Basically a Chromebox but the CPU supports Quicksync.

I will say that the Asus Chromebox would work better than anything in its price range and has ample power to run Kodi including playing VC1, 1080i, and almost all of the 4K material readily available.

Since getting an i3/i7 processor does not have much benefit over the default of the Asus Chromebox would upgrading the memory to 8GB and the SSD to 128GB or 256GB make a marked improvement to the operation of the Chromebox or not?

Thank you very much in advance.

Not sure about the processor debate, but my old Zotac ID11 consumes less than 512 MB at any given time while running Kodi, although I have 2GB installed.

For usual Bluray rips (upto 16 MBps), the CPU sits below 10% at any time, but I am only using Confluence.

I can only imagine the increase in SSD space will allow more content to be stored.

HTH