[eskro]

Let me know when any of you guys can beat this for $250, including W7, keyboard, mouse, and 500GB HDD (why assume someone has a HDD and W7 laying around?)

because my friend beer40 told me thats his case via IM

[maddog808]

Two best Nettop's.....

Sapphire Edge HD3: AMD E-450 Mini PC

Sandy Bridge DualCore Mini PC

why should he pay more here?

My question to you, exactly. Why would I pay more for that build, when I get everything I need in the RL70 for $250.

I'm just messing with you, anyway. You are still the king of putting together the best value builds. Just so happens that the RL70 is perfect for this job I'm working on; and I thought it was a crazy coincidence that Beer started this thread at the same time I was negotiating with the Craigslist lady.

You're still the man. Don't worry!! LOL.

[Beer40oz]

Because you got lucky man for $250.... not everyone will....

[bluray]

Two best Nettop's.....

Sapphire Edge HD3: AMD E-450 Mini PC

Sandy Bridge DualCore Mini PC

Those are nice. I'm just talking bang for your buck on this Revo thing. I never said it was the best nettop. Just the best deal, because of all it comes with that you don't have to spend more $$ on (keyboard, mouse, hdd, remote, W7).

Thanks for the links, tho, for those who aren't on a budget.

OK......I thought that you guys are looking for the best Nettop.....you're fine then...

[maddog808]

Good stuff.... good deal! enjoy hommie! Let us know how XBMC is on it! Good stuff for people who want to get something made with everything in it....

Thanks, Beer!! I'll definitely be watching out for your next build thread. I always enjoy them. Keep up the good work. I'll let you know how the Revo works out. I'm curious about the remote, and if I'll be able to control the Revo while it sits between the 55" TV and the wall in the doctor's office lobby.

[maddog808]

Because you got lucky man for $250.... not everyone will....

Not luck. I just keep my eyes peeled for good deals. So far on either Craigslist or Cheetahdeals.com, I've gotten:

• Revo 3610 for $250 1.5 years ago
  
• Revo 3610 for $200 1 year ago
  
• Revo 3700 for $240 1 year ago
  
• Revo 3610 for $180 8 months ago
  
• Revo 3610 for $170 4 months ago
  
• Revo RL7 for $250 tonight
  

Although, even at $305 on Amazon, the RL7 is a better deal than most will find because of what it comes with. I believe a lot of newcomers to this forum might be looking for an easy solution for a first time XBMC client. This seems to fit the bill perfectly. Maybe we have W7 licenses and all kinds of computer parts laying around, but not everyone does. That's what is nice about these nettops. W7 alone is $100!

Also, just in case you're wondering, all those Revos I bought on Craigslist are with friends/family, and they all could not be happier. Especially since they all cancelled Netflix and have SAB, SB, CP running on the Revo flawlessly.

That being said, I wouldn't trade in my A6-3500 build for another Revo.

[Beer40oz]

Because you got lucky man for $250.... not everyone will....

Not luck. I just keep my eyes peeled for good deals. So far on either Craigslist or Cheetahdeals.com, I've gotten:

• Revo 3610 for $250 1.5 years ago
  
• Revo 3610 for $200 1 year ago
  
• Revo 3700 for $240 1 year ago
  
• Revo 3610 for $180 8 months ago
  
• Revo 3610 for $170 4 months ago
  
• Revo RL7 for $250 tonight
  

Although, even at $305 on Amazon, the RL7 is a better deal than most will find because of what it comes with. I believe a lot of newcomers to this forum might be looking for an easy solution for a first time XBMC client. This seems to fit the bill perfectly. Maybe we have W7 licenses and all kinds of computer parts laying around, but not everyone does. That's what is nice about these nettops. W7 alone is $100!

Also, just in case you're wondering, all those Revos I bought on Craigslist are with friends/family, and they all could not be happier. Especially since they all cancelled Netflix and have SAB, SB, CP running on the Revo flawlessly.

That being said, I wouldn't trade in my A6-3500 build for another Revo.

+1

[dkaris]

That is a great question...I will test this on the weekend and give a full review Sunday night or Monday afternoon.

Thanks homewrek for this. I will wait for the results. It will be a decision factor. Please if you are in a position try some big mkvs.....

That being said, I wouldn't trade in my A6-3500 build for another Revo.

Keeping that last phrase of maddog...It will be a difficult decision.....build an htpc or get the revo....it gets down to a very detailed comparison.
A8-3850, that I can find here, is for sure more powerful and build my own system is a good challenge. But the form factor and good comments of the revo cant go unnoticed!

[Hail.ceasar]

Well just thought I add my penny's worth to this thread

I have had the revo RL70 for a few months now and it is a beautiful machine. Aesthetically I cannot fault it as it can be seamlessly integrated into any AV setup with no problem.

Performance wise it will play almost everything you need. However I said almost as you can forget about playing a full 3D Bluray rip on this machine!!
The cpu will max out (100% cpu utilization) even with hardware acceleration enabled in PowerDVD11/TMT5. It just cant handle it which is a shame. I think it all falls down to the E450 chipset as the integrated HD6320 GPU should be capable of full stereoscopic 3D playback.

Finally it also suffers with multi-tasking . I upgraded mine to 4GB RAM but i find XBMC stutters when I am performing minimum tasks on the background. Also heavy skins like Aeon are a bit laggy .

Presently I am contemplating building my own HTPC to address these shortcomings. So in a nutshell if you do not need support for 3D full bluray rips then this little box would be perfect for your media needs. The general performance i.e. swift browsing in XMBC and multi-tasking also suffer a bit but I guess you get what you pay for at this price

[bluray]

W7 alone is $100!

I got a couple of this "Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Full - Branded" for $68, and it included licens....

---

Well just thought I add my penny's worth to this thread

I have had the revo RL70 for a few months now and it is a beautiful machine. Aesthetically I cannot fault it as it can be seamlessly integrated into any AV setup with no problem.

Performance wise it will play almost everything you need. However I said almost as you can forget about playing a full 3D Bluray rip on this machine!!
The cpu will max out (100% cpu utilization) even with hardware acceleration enabled in PowerDVD11/TMT5. It just cant handle it which is a shame. I think it all falls down to the E450 chipset as the integrated HD6320 GPU should be capable of full stereoscopic 3D playback.

Finally it also suffers with multi-tasking . I upgraded mine to 4GB RAM but i find XBMC stutters when I am performing minimum tasks on the background. Also heavy skins like Aeon are a bit laggy .

Presently I am contemplating building my own HTPC to address these shortcomings. So in a nutshell if you do not need support for 3D full bluray rips then this little box would be perfect for your media needs. The general performance i.e. swift browsing in XMBC and multi-tasking also suffer a bit but I guess you get what you pay for at this price

This is where DIY HTPC with Mini-ITX come in handy.....you can install this "MSI N430GT-MD1G/LP GeForce GT 430" discrete GPU to playback all the above....

[dkaris]

That is a great question...I will test this on the weekend and give a full review Sunday night or Monday afternoon. Just the other day my brother was complaining about not having an htpc in the bedroom, I replied...Dude in your son's room you have a PS3 and Xbox 360 and a Wii (spoiled) He only plays with the Wii and occasionally the 360, the PS3 is just collecting dust : (
I told him let's connect the PS3 in your bedroom and I'll set up the HTPC (E-350) to share the media and you can watch all the things you watch in the living room in your bedroom...." YOU CAN DO THAT " He's rocking the same set up as me as far as HTPC...let's just hope his router can keep up.

Hey homewrek, have you managed to do the tests? Can you share the outcome?

Thanks

[aoaaron]

how do you guys work sab/sb/cp from the revo?

im setting up something at home for my mum+dad and i use an unraid server myself but it would be too complicated for them.

[maddog808]

how do you guys work sab/sb/cp from the revo?

im setting up something at home for my mum+dad and i use an unraid server myself but it would be too complicated for them.

Just download the windows installers from their websites. It's pretty straightforward. Once installed, you configure them through the Web GUIs, just like you did with your Unraid server.

[homewrek]

That is a great question...I will test this on the weekend and give a full review Sunday night or Monday afternoon. Just the other day my brother was complaining about not having an htpc in the bedroom, I replied...Dude in your son's room you have a PS3 and Xbox 360 and a Wii (spoiled) He only plays with the Wii and occasionally the 360, the PS3 is just collecting dust : (
I told him let's connect the PS3 in your bedroom and I'll set up the HTPC (E-350) to share the media and you can watch all the things you watch in the living room in your bedroom...." YOU CAN DO THAT " He's rocking the same set up as me as far as HTPC...let's just hope his router can keep up.

Hey homewrek, have you managed to do the tests? Can you share the outcome?

Thanks

Managed to setup PS3 Media Server yesterday, worked flawless with all the media we had, although I do got to warn you...If your planning on streaming 1080p across your network, make sure it's wired with gigabit ethernet...as far as 720p rips, they streamed fine over wireless...once we dropped an ethernet jack in the bedroom and wired the PS3, 1080P was streaming fine...once I got that out of the way, started doing some experiments, when ahead and installed Plex Media Server...That also streamed fine to the PS3, my brother has netflix so I said what the hell...updated to the new microsoft silverlight, on the playback tab in settings it now has a use hardware acceleration box...checked that off, went to netflix, started an hd stream and it was working alot better than before, which makes me wanna play with netflix a little more and tweak the system see If I can get it to play nice for all you Zacate owners.

---

how do you guys work sab/sb/cp from the revo?

im setting up something at home for my mum+dad and i use an unraid server myself but it would be too complicated for them.

Here's a complete guide(PDF)...make's it alot easier my friend.
http://totalhtpc.com/TheCompleteUsenetGuide.pdf

[Beer40oz]

homewrek Thanx for the PS3 Update ..... Tecate FTW!

I mean Zacate......