[hyde01]

in that case, why aren't you looking at the HP Stream Mini / Zotax BI320 (Haswell Celeron 2955/57U), or MSI Cubi (Broadwell Celeron 3205U), or even a Core i3 NUC? That Asus is a terrible value with outdated hardware

Thank you so much, I am just getting used to these new processor numbering/naming, I understand now anything 29xx and above is good, of course 32xx is better. No, I am yet to see anything with Core i3, I am sure they are out there, but it gets very pricey, over $400 because all i3's i've seen are barebones, while I like the barebone, I just don't want to spend too much to make it a whole. At $150-$200, it's reasonable but since non of them accept 3.5" drive, I am lucked out when it comes to saving money. This would mean $50 for a drive, $50 for ram, add wifi card, I am over $350 for that.

Thank you once again, so this is perfectly fine for regular HD playback and possible future 4K playback, as well as 4K off youtube?
http://www.amazon.com/HP-Stream-200-010-...B00R7R1GWK

At $180, this is really amazing, although the only thing I am worried about is the storage, this has only 32GB SSD. I guess it should be fine for OS drive and keeping everything outside via USB, should be OK, right?

Yep listen to Matt, he knows his shit.

These recent Intel Haswell and Broadwell Celerons in the HP/Zotac/MSI are perfect for what you want.
- Run Kodi very well and nice for lightweight Windows duties.
- Has all the USB Ports you could want
- Does not sound like a jumbo jet when operating !

You will get far better value and a nice elegant device if you ditch the BluRay. Its really not worth the hassle.
- Definately don't buy dated ASUS hardware.
- Have a read up about the HEVC codec as well. You will most likely want to be able to decode that and if that is the case seriously consider the Broadwell MSI Cubi over anything else mentioned.

I guess the alternative is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6883218045
$255 with shipping, no tax. But specs are nearly identical to HP box, Intel 2957U and 2GB DDR3, except 64GB instead of 32GB. Is it really worth the difference? Perhaps having more ports (5 USB) and flash reader is benefit.

Yep, I gave up on BD playback, I think it's not worth trying to get something that can playback and also worry about codec purchase, compatible driver, etc.. I'll just keep PS3 for BD for now.

Go with something popular and proven here on the forums with a Haswell 2955U Celeron in it. Best low cost VPU/GPU for Kodi.
That being the Zotac BI320. Add RAM, SATA3 SSD and possibly a Flirc IR receiver.

Zotac BI320 thread here:
forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=211925&page=2

RPi2 will give you 3D MVC mkv playback. 3D MVC iso's playback coming down the pipe.
Be aware the RPi2 can also do Optical out if you get a Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro II usb adapter.
You will also then need a IR receiver like a Flirc for the Harmony remote. But HDMI-CEC control is built into the RPi2.

I know your response was to someone else, but it applies to me too, does Zotac take 2.5" regular drive? Just spotted a 500GB for $40 on sale, although it didn't list 9.5mm height but I assume it should be fine.
So that's $105 Barebone, $50 for 8GB RAM, $50 for HDD, $80 for Windows license (or is it more expensive now?), we are up to $280 already.
Is there a reason for anyone to go with Zotac ZBOX-BI320-U instead of ZBOX-BI320-U-W for $255 which comes with everything one needs to run Kodi?

Do these Zotacs and HP's offer sound over HDMI?