[leedavid]

Hello everbody, I'm David, first post here! Nice to meet you!

So, I'm going to buy my first HTCP where I want to install XBMC on. I think I will go for Xbmcbuntu, but as I am quite worried about GPU driver performance, I may go back to Windows. Having said that, I don't want to spend more than 300€, so, after searching in internet and in this forum, these are the final PC I am considering:

-Intel NUC DN2820FYKH (Celeron N2820) 125€
-Gigabyte GB-BXBT-1900 (Celeron J1900) 160€ (hard to find, not sure about the price)
-Gigabyte GB-BXCEH-2955 (Celeron 2955U) 165€
-Gigabyte GB-BXBT-2807 (Celeron N2807) 95€
-ZOTAC ZBOX MA320 (AMD A4-5000) 185€
-ZOTAC ZBOX CI320 (Celeron N2930) 160€

ZBOX MA320 is the only AMD PC in the list: unfortunately I haven't found any review yet, but I though that the GPU may be better than the Intel counterpart.
NUC and ZBOX CI320 are the only one with a IR receiver: is it so useful?
Brix GB-BXBT-2807 and ZBOX CI320 have passive cooling. Actually I think that if I put it an hard disk, I would have no benefit from a passive cooling system.
In any case, I would like to have your suggestions, all are welcomed.
Thanks!

[noggin]

The Chromebox is also now shipping in Europe. John Lewis in the UK are listing the 4GB HP model for £150. Worth considering - it has a 2955U CPU, 16GB SSD, 4GB RAM, 2.4/5GHz Wifi and Bluetooth, 4 x USB 3, GigE, full size HDMI and Displayport. It's incredibly simple to install a new BIOS and install OpenElec or Ubuntu - and I suspect XBMCbuntu.

[leedavid]

Definitely interesting, but I was considering something where to put an HDD in

[JonSnow88]

you can replace the 16GB mstat SSD for a bigger HDD or just use an external one

[noggin]

[align=left]

you can replace the 16GB mstat SSD for a bigger HDD or just use an external one

Yes - though the Asus (and I think HP) Chromebox isn't mSATA SSD, it's M.2 / NGFF SSD

[n_ice_drone]

Hi, I'm also new here and looking for about the same HTPC specs OP is...200€ - 250€ price range...but I'm more into fanless models.
Particularly the models Gigabyte Brix GB-BXBT-2807 and Zotac ZBox-CA320 NANO (the first is Intel Bay Trail Dual Core N2807 CPU based and the second is AMD's Temash Quad Core A6-1450)

I will be using the HTPC as TV media player so it has to play 1080p videos (mainly h.264, but H.265 compatibility would be nice) flawlessly on my Full-HD plasma. I also have a Pioneer AVR, so I will be connecting everything through HDMI to get 5.1 surround. No gaming! I have PS3 and decent PC gaming rig for that.

So if you had to choose, would you go for the Brix or the Nano?

Also keep in mind I can get the Brix for about 115€ while the Nano is at 170€ in my country.

[leedavid]

you can replace the 16GB mstat SSD for a bigger HDD or just use an external one

As I would like to use the PC as a private cloud system using bittorrent sync, I need the space for an HDD. I know I may go for an external disk, but I like simple and "clean" things

Hi, I'm also new here and looking for about the same HTPC specs OP is...200€ - 250€ price range...but I'm more into fanless models.
Particularly the models Gigabyte Brix GB-BXBT-2807 and Zotac ZBox-CA320 NANO (the first is Intel Bay Trail Dual Core N2807 CPU based and the second is AMD's Temash Quad Core A6-1450)

I will be using the HTPC as TV media player so it has to play 1080p videos (mainly h.264, but H.265 compatibility would be nice) flawlessly on my Full-HD plasma. I also have a Pioneer AVR, so I will be connecting everything through HDMI to get 5.1 surround. No gaming! I have PS3 and decent PC gaming rig for that.

So if you had to choose, would you go for the Brix or the Nano?

Also keep in mind I can get the Brix for about 115€ while the Nano is at 170€ in my country.

Among the two, the Brix seems better (there is a review online). Problem is that inside the case you reach 80 °C, and I think it's slight too much for an SSD or HHD.