[JustSomeGuy]

> looks like it's down to this barebones machine:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856205006
>
> and this video card:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814500230

I'm concerned about the low profile card slot on the bare bones system referenced. The PCI spec for low profile is 2.536." (Spec). The OEM Production product page (Chassis Spec) says very low profile: 2.1" A low profile video card won't easily fit. If you decide to go with it, please let us know if it works. I'm attracted to this price.

The video card choice is tempting, and I've suggested it to my friends. However I don't know anyone who has tried it. Note on the support page for the card (ZOTAC GT218IONGPU-A-E): "Compatible with only Intel Atom D410 and D510 CPUs." I don't understand why this would be so, but it is a risk given your bare bones choice. The D510 is adequate for a HTPC, so you might just select a new motherboard to guarantee a good match given the possible conflict of slot height and CPU in your OEM Products choice.

[whatiwonder]

yeah, turns out the pcie x1 port is not in a good spot for video cards.

i'm going to go with the zotec id80 book-size computer. a little more than i was looking to spend, but i think it'll be worth it.


What i Wonder

[dandirk]

In Linux right now the only 2 chips that handle HD audio, proper de-interlacing and 23.x fps support is the ION2 and GT430 I have read.

As for the GT520, read this: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=108097 (maybe fixed in new drivers).

Personally I am using a Zotac ID41, not a beast but runs confluence fine and currently bitstreaming HD audio with an openelec AE build.

[FernetMenta]

In Linux right now the only 2 chips that handle HD audio, proper de-interlacing and 23.x fps support is the ION2 and GT430 I have read

This is wrong! I am doing development on this in particular de-interlacing. I haven't had any issue with e.g. GT220 or GT520M. As mentioned earlier I do most of my developemtn on the ID80. I would have noticed if de-interlacing or adjusting frame rate did not work.

[dandirk]

I stand corrected, it will work just not as well as a GT430..

"Pay particular attention to the deinterlacing performance of the GT 520. Compared to the other 4 cards in the test, this one emerges as the worst of the lot in the Cheese Slices test as well as the real world video test. When this was brought to NVIDIA's attention, they indicated the lack of shaders on the GF119 as the main reason for this issue. It looks like driver updates are not going to solve the issue in the future either. This is a big letdown for the prospective customers of the GT 520. Even though the deinterlacing performance of the GT 430 looks pretty good, a closer look reveals that it is not as effective as AMD's vector adaptive deinterlacing strategy."

That is a quote from Anandtech when they did specific HTPC testing of the 520 430 and 2 ATI cards... Not even fixable with drivers, hardware limitation.

As with anything, especially video/audio quality your own impression is what matters... You may think its fine, while the OP may or may not.

Here is the anand HTPC review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4380/discr...shootout/3

Obviously these are Win7 tests, so any driver related results need to be taken with a grain of salt since obviously drivers are different between version and Linux.

[FernetMenta]

You can't compare Windows world with the one of Linux. E.g. AMD offers adaptive de-interlacing on Windows, as well as support for h.264 Level 5.1, mpeg2. On Linux AMD offers just very basic bob de-interlacing. With regard on de-interlacing (Linux) Intel is catching up and is better than AMD but both behind of NVidia.

I would not give much on a test done on Windows in this case.

[macaraeg]

Just to throw some information on the fire...

I did buy the OEM Production 2700L2D-MxPC from newegg and 1 stick of 4gig ram.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856205006

I had a spare 60gig ssd to be used as my hard drive. Plan was to use xbmcubuntu with hdmi support.

Due to no HDMI/graphic drivers for linux, I was forced to use windows 7 32bit for OS. VGA always works...but HDMI is what i wanted.

I do not think there is enough space for a low profile video card..it's pretty small in there. It gets too warm for my tastes so i added a 40mm x 10mm fan inside the case to pull air/heat from the heatsink (suprised they had one at frys).

Since i didn't use linux as my base OS, I had to install windows 7 32bit ultimate or enterprise to add NFS support- without using 3rd party NFS client ($). All my DVD folders and videos live on an ubuntu server- with NFS and Samba.

As of now everything works fine...haven't really tested stuff...still figuring which "skin" seems the best for my needs/wants.---Still waiting for intel to prvide linux drivers for the D2700.

[artrafael]

update:
as i'm looking around and researching, i'm narrowing down what machine i want to purchase.

looks like it's down to this barebones machine:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856205006

and this video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814500230


any suggestions/advice/criticism?


What i Wonder

How is the graphics card going to fit in that case? (Use the rotational view to look at the back of the case)

EDIT:
Ah crap... should have read the rest of the thread before posting my reply... already pointed out by others.

[dandirk]

You can't compare Windows world with the one of Linux. E.g. AMD offers adaptive de-interlacing on Windows, as well as support for h.264 Level 5.1, mpeg2. On Linux AMD offers just very basic bob de-interlacing. With regard on de-interlacing (Linux) Intel is catching up and is better than AMD but both behind of NVidia.

I would not give much on a test done on Windows in this case.

Normally you cannot, but the anand article specifically says the 520 de-interlacing performance is tied to hardware and not software (Nvidia themselves said it was due to shader support). So driver platforms do not apply. Obviously moot if the issue IS driver related.

Now is this performance difference so bad that exclude the card... that is up to the user.