[wrxtasy]

So I am looking at the Chromebox. Since my router is a TM-AC1900 Dual-band built by ASUS, I am under the impression that it would make sense to get an Dell Chromebox.
Because I want to use the AC band and the 5GHz operating frequency to connect to the Chromebox by WIFI. The WIFI router to Chromebox distance is about 67 feet and line of sight.

AC dual band will give you all the bandwidth you need for even the most demanding video rips.

I believe the Kingston 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600(PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model KVR16LS11S6/2 will work to bring the Chromebox to 4GB memory. New Egg has it for around $20.

If your running OpenElec on the Chromebox it is a lean and mean Kodi solution that is very efficient and does not need any more than 2GB to run very well. If an extra 2GB gives you peace of mind then it's up to you.

I typically use Private Internet Access as my VPN. Anyone know if a Robolinux 7.5.3 OpenVPN Setup will work ?

Yes this will work with OpenElec on the Chromebox, there is a detailed setup thread for various VPN''s over here:

http://openelec.tv/forum/69-network/6671...ution-open

Any comments or suggestions before I start?

Yes consider a Xbox 360 Media Remote and a cheap MCE IR receiver for an elegant out of the box remote control solution. The $20 saved by not buying the extra memory will buy you these. A FLIRC usb dongle plus any spare remote lying around the house is another solution.

W.

[kdnoel]

poofyhairguy thanks for your clear and concise posting on hardware.
I am no techie and still a newby have been attempting to use XBMC/Kodi with a Matricom G-Box MX2 for nearly a year now. Frustrating!

I feel it is time to get a new box for Kodi. I am looking to spend around $200. And I have not done anything like
it but believe I can install OPENELEC /Kodi ( per the instructions of Matt Devo). Plan to use as a standalone.

So I am looking at the Chromebox. Since my router is a TM-AC1900 Dual-band built by ASUS, I am under the impression that it would make sense to get an Dell Chromebox.
Because I want to use the AC band and the 5GHz operating frequency to connect to the Chromebox by WIFI. The WIFI router to Chromebox distance is about 67 feet and line of sight.

Dell Chromebox 3010 Desktop Computer - Intel Celeron 2955U from New Egg with shipping is $178

I believe the Kingston 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600(PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model KVR16LS11S6/2 will work to bring the Chromebox to 4GB memory. New Egg has it for around $20.

I typically use Private Internet Access as my VPN. Anyone know if a Robolinux 7.5.3 OpenVPN Setup will work ?

Any comments or suggestions before I start?

sfa

The HP Stream Mini is turning out to be a great Chromebox alternative and is 180.00 us. It's pretty much download KODI, install and go if you're happy with the windows environment.

Currently sold out but available on March 1st.

[olympia]

What about the noise of the Chromebox? I read somewhere it actually has a fan?!
That's a kind of a pity...

[Matt Devo]

What about the noise of the Chromebox? I read somewhere it actually has a fan?!
That's a kind of a pity...

With the exception of the HP, the fan in the ChromeBox is damn near silent 99% of the time. The Haswell-U CPUs aren't designed to run fanless; if you want fanless, you're stuck using an inferior BayTrail based device, at least until we see some Broadwell "Core M" based devices hit the market

[mpmp]

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?

If not, would an Intel NUC with a processor that supports Quicksync be more useful for encoding and decoding H265 video?

Thank you very much in advance.

[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

[Philmatic]

How about the ECS Liva over the ChromeBox... similar CPU and $40 less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856501007

CPU comparison: http://ark.intel.com/compare/81072,75608

[Matt Devo]

How about the ECS Liva over the ChromeBox... similar CPU and $40 less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856501007

CPU comparison: http://ark.intel.com/compare/81072,75608

not similar at all - the Haswell Celeron 2955U blows away the BayTrail Atom in all aspects of media center performance; the only downside is that it can't be run fanless.

[Philmatic]

How about the ECS Liva over the ChromeBox... similar CPU and $40 less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856501007

CPU comparison: http://ark.intel.com/compare/81072,75608

not similar at all - the Haswell Celeron 2955U blows away the BayTrail Atom in all aspects of media center performance; the only downside is that it can't be run fanless.

Is it $40 better performance wise though? The Liva is also fanless. I have one coming into today, would you cancel the order and get a Chromebox instead?

Background, I used to have a AppleTV gen 1, then moved up to a full desktop with a Core 2 Duo, then went to the FireTV Sticks. I am very sensitive to UI speed and video start time/seek time so I cannot wait to rid myself of the AppleTVs and FireTV Sticks.

[Matt Devo]

Is it $40 better performance wise though? The Liva is also fanless. I have one coming into today, would you cancel the order and get a Chromebox instead?

Background, I used to have a AppleTV gen 1, then moved up to a full desktop with a Core 2 Duo, then went to the FireTV Sticks. I am very sensitive to UI speed and video start time/seek time so I cannot wait to rid myself of the AppleTVs and FireTV Sticks.

at least. did you read the first post in this thread?

[Philmatic]

Is it $40 better performance wise though? The Liva is also fanless. I have one coming into today, would you cancel the order and get a Chromebox instead?

Background, I used to have a AppleTV gen 1, then moved up to a full desktop with a Core 2 Duo, then went to the FireTV Sticks. I am very sensitive to UI speed and video start time/seek time so I cannot wait to rid myself of the AppleTVs and FireTV Sticks.

at least. did you read the first post in this thread?

Of course I did, and I understand you are a huge ChromeBox fan, but I was curious if you tried out any BayTrail CPUs with Kodi or you were going primarily on specs/benchmarks.

EDIT: I compared the benchmarks of the BayTrail Celeron in the ECS Liva, the Haswell Celeron of the ChromeBox and the Core2 Duo I had in my desktop. The Chromebox is statistically identical to the C2D and the Liva is 50% slower. I chose poorly.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?...&cmp[]=941

[Matt Devo]

I've used several and own one, so I'm speaking from first hand experience. And it's not just an issue of CPU prowess, but GPU as well, which it what makes the difference in video playback.

[poofyhairguy]

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?

No, not really.

If you need HEVC encoding, best wait until Skylake to buy.

[poofyhairguy]

I've used several and own one, so I'm speaking from first hand experience. And it's not just an issue of CPU prowess, but GPU as well, which it what makes the difference in video playback.

I would say it is both. The single core performance of Atom chips is near ARM. Almost all my rants about ARM GUI performance apply to Atom. That is why we see quad core Atoms- Intel is throwing cores at benchmarks to cover up the IPC difference. Add in a Yuck GPU and its a complete failure of a platform and has been since Intel locked Nvidia out of the chipsets.

I mean, Atom was awesome back in 2010 when paired with ION. But in 2015 thankfully Intel has given us better options in the celeron lineup.

[Philmatic]

You guys keep saying "Atom" when describing the Bay Trail CPUs, but the Liva uses a Celeron. Am I just not understanding something or does BayTrail Celeron = Atom?