[spicewalker]

........well almost! thanks to that fabulous jockey Ben Curtis riding a 4 timer today (and more importantly me having them all in combinations) I have a bit more money to spend on whatever box i was going to buy. I was pretty much going to get 1 of the openELEC wetek boxes but, if need be i can go much better. As I've indicated on my other thread i am a simpleton when it comes to computing and anything would have to be simple to set up and run - I'm not a complete idiot and give things a go but you get the drift!
I don't want to break any forum rules but if people could indicate which of the top end boxes are worth the money and which are show ponies and also what features to look for in my search I'd be really grateful. I see that the nvidia 'shield' is mentioned a lot - is that the gold standard or just up there and hyped a bit? It would pretty much be dedicated to kodi as i can do everything else on my mini and would mainly be for watching sport/movies on a 40" hd tv - i might consider getting a 4k tv but prob not. Gaming isn't important to me, pic/sound quality and ease of use/good support if needed is. I won about £7k (for £15!) but don't really want to spend more than a few hundred if poss - UK based. I don't even know if it might be worth waiting for anything in the pipeline - but money doesn't last long in my house!
I have had a little search and will continue to do so but started this thread in the hope of some sound advice from those that know what they are on about as opposed to web reviews that can't really be trusted!
Thanks for any help.

[jinkyjim]

Well done mate,
7K for £15...what was it, a quid yankee and a quid on each?

back to your question....the intel nucs are great for Kodi.

i have the celeron nuc 120GB SSD and 4GB ram, all for about 200.

[spicewalker]

Cheers mate - it was a Lucky 15 - 12, 10, 7 and 5/2. All won with plenty in hand which made it less nerve racking - didn't lay any off either. i had the winner of the Leger on Sat as well - dq'd but paid on fpp and laid if off in the S.E on betfair at 1.12 for £100 - it's one of those weeks! Thanks for that I shall give it a butcher's.

[spicewalker]

This is getting silly - just had the correct score in both Manchester matches (not the double!) and won another £400. Anywhoo done a bit of a search and would this type of thing be ready to go, if installing openelec on it?

Intel Computing NUC5i3RYH Barebone PC

Processor Brand Intel
Processor Type Core i3
Processor Speed 2.1 GHz
Processor Count 1
RAM Size 16 GB
Memory Technology DDR3L-SDRAM
Computer Memory Type DDR3 SDRAM
Maximum Memory Supported 16 GB
Graphics Card Description HD Graphics 5500

I don't want to put any links but it can be found for about £200. Are these the sort of numbers i should be looking for and should i add anything to it or can i do much better? I have a 4tb WD mycloud unused if that makes a difference. I'm off to study the bets for tomorrow now - betting with free money!

[spicewalker]

From what i can see i need to install all sorts of stuff onto these nuc's and I'm not sure I'm capable of this:

You will need to purchase your own DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM, mSATA SSD, and if desired, MiniPCIe WiFi card. All current NUCs have 2x DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, allowing a maximum of 16GB of RAM (8 GB per slot). Newest models based on the 4th-Generation Core processor require DDR3L SO-DIMMs (1.35V). Although NUC boards will work with DC power ranging from 12VDC~19VDC, NUC kits come with a 19VDC 65W switching power adapter. However, not all SKUs have the AC power cord included. There are multiple SKUs of the latest NUC models, each of which has a different type of AC power cord, depending on the country/region/plug type.

so I'll have ti go down another route.

[Soli]

Those Nucs are your best bet. i can guarantee that you will be able to mount the ssd/ram etc. It's easier than lego.

[spicewalker]

I hated lego as a kid! I do like the look of some of those. With this computer stuff it's just a case of me not knowing how to do something and not being confident in myself that I'll do it right - certainly the first time. There'll be lots of swearing taking place before it's right and do these boxes bounce off walls well as that's been known?
I've found with iptv and kodi that there is definitely an assumption of a knowledge above what i and anybody that a) isn't confident doing this type of stuff and b)didn't really know this existed until a short time ago. I can turn not very much money into quite a lot (without losing a lot) quite often but pretty much anything practical/techincal and i know my (very obvious!) limitations! i have spread the word of kodi in the last 2 weeks and most I've told have given or are giving it a go - my 'tech mates' all live up in Newcastle though which is miles away.
I'll have a peruse and see if it's possible for me to do. If i'm shown something i can do often do it but if i have to partly work it out for myself then no bloomin chance. Thanks soli you've helped a couple of times now.

[jinkyjim]

If your not sure about the Nucs,

Just get a mini PC, with everything installed and ready for you to install Kodi.

Acer Revo One RL85 Mini PC..
ZOTAC ZBOX ID18 PLUS Intel Celeron 1037U 2 Mini PC
Eggsnow Aluminum Fanless Haswell i3 Mini PC
MSI DC111-027XEU Wind Box mini PC

i found them after a quick search on amazon.

PS...forget that, just noticed you have a mini pc.

[Miguix]

I have two minix boxes, NeoX8H+ and NeoX7mini
Android based boxes and come with Kodi installed

Its basically just plug and play. If you have a large movie lib, u need to hook up a HDD or NAS (i have latter), but that is also pretty straightforward. The X8H+ (note there are also X8 and X8H boxes - just go for the X8H+ as its the top end from Minix) is really a powerful box and supports 4K resolution
I am sure amazon UK carries them. (Amazon.de does for sure). I did notice tho that some shopping for price makes a difference, many web shops carry the Minix boxes

[bry]

If you don't care about Netflix and amazon instant video get a NUC. If you do get a sheild. Should also maybe look into investing in a NAS. Most here would probably suggest a qnap or a synology.

[Miguix]

If you don't care about Netflix and amazon instant video get a NUC. If you do get a sheild. Should also maybe look into investing in a NAS. Most here would probably suggest a qnap or a synology.

Agree. NAS ur home while ur buying these toys. I have Synology ds213. Its excellent

[spicewalker]

Thanks for the advice chaps - I'll def take a look at all of them. I've found a youtube (there are prob loads) of putting an nuc together and I'm almost certain I would have trouble with the wi fi bit but I prob could do it - I'd def lose my temper at least a couple of times! I'm not sure whether me putting it together and buying the parts is that much cheaper than finding one that is all done - or even paying somebody nearby to do it once I've got the parts.
I think I'll use the NUC5i3RYK as my default setting and if i can find something more suitable (in all ways) in the next few days then I'll do that. Keep any suggestions coming though and if it goes tits up then I'll have a handy plastic box to store cotton buds or something!

[spicewalker]

Jim - those are exactly the type of things I'm looking at for a comparison's sake with me putting an NUC together. I've got a mac mini atm which is my workhorse and i want to (probably) 100% dedicate what I'm going to buy to kodi - hopefully via openELEC. i think I've got to be careful not to go for overkill/overspec but I'm quite enjoying the hunt!

[spicewalker]

Ok - found a bit of a curveball that seems to fit the bill and have everything ready to go for a decent price. Only thing is, it could well be a cheap genreic China 'knock offs', would be a bit of a gamble and I'm not sure it outspecs other stuff for about the same price. Here are the specs:


Item specifics

Graphics Card Type :
Integrated Card
Operating System:
Windows 7
Memory Capacity :
More Than 4G
Hard Drive Capacity :
250GB
Keywords:
home theater system fanless mini industrial pc super mini windows pc small computer IPC dedicated server gaming desktops micro pc mini computer mini pc dual nic mini pc wifi bluetooth linux
Processor Brand:
Intel
Use:
Commercial

Returns & Refund Guarantee details
Buyers can receive a refund and keep the item(s) once the item(s) are not as described or possess any quality issues by negotiating directly with the seller.
Description

Product Name:
Pentium N3520 Quad Core 2.166Ghz XBMC OpenELEC mini pc hdmi with 300M WiFi HDMI USB3.0 8G RAM 256G SSD Windows linux
Item Code:
229975678
Category:
Mini PCs Add to Favorite Categories
Short Description:
Intel Pentium N3520 Quad Core 2.166Ghz XBMC OpenELEC best mini pc with aluminum palm size 300M WiFi HDMI USB3.0 SOC BTY
Quantity:
1 Piece
Package Size:
1.0 * 1.0 * 1.0 ( cm )
Gross Weight/Package:
1.5 ( kg )

Model IN-N3B
CPU Intel Pentium N3520 Quad Core 2.166Ghz or N3510 2.0Ghz, we will ship randomly per the stock.
GPU Bay Trail M Tntel HD Graphics
RAM Support Dual Channel NB Memory SO-DIMM DDR3 (Maximum to 8G RAM)
Storage Support 1*Mini PCIE Msata SSD(SSD Max.512G,)
Wi-Fi Dual Band Wireless-(150Mbps or 300Mbps optional)
Package

Mini PC+Power Supply+Power Cord (USA, European, UK Types for optional)

Does that mean openlec/kodi is pre-installed and i turn it on and wham, bam thank you maam or they just sneak it in so it looks like that to fool idiots like me?

[spicewalker]

Right, well here's what I've come up with in no particular order:

1) ZOTAC ZBOX MA320 AMD fully assembled PC
8Gb Sodimm (2x4GB)
240gb Kingston SSD
£331

2) "Primo Nano BT" BXBT-2807 Intel Celeron Baytrail Micro PC
8gb Kingston HyperX ddr3 1600mhz
Seagate sshd st1000lm014 1tb sshd hybrid drive
£242

3) Novatech Pockit HD NPI17 Intel Celeron 2807 Dual Core 1.58GHz CPU
8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600Mhz
Seagate SSHD 2.5 1TB Hybrid SSD
£216

4) Gigabyte Brix BXBT-2807
8GB Corsair DDR3 (1333)
1TB Seagate Sata 111 64MB & 8GB SSD (Hybrid SSHD)
£265.32

5Eggsnow Fanless Industrial Small Mini Computer With Intel Celeron C1037U 1.8Ghz,300M Wifi Dual Gigabit Lan,
8GB RAM,
256GB SSD
£264

6) Eggsnow Aluminum Fanless Haswell i5 Mini PC Desktop Computer with Intel Core i5 4200u 1.6Ghz
8GB RAM
128GB SSD 330M Wifi
£321

What do you reckon - am i on the right lines with the specs,, can all those deliver what i'm after? I've gone for hybrid drives as that gives me the best of both worlds and seems cost effective but could maybe go for full ssd if advised otherwise - some had lots of choices and i was obv lost so went for the simplest. Anyway I'll leave this overnight and come back in the morning - there is the poss that somebody could build me one from scratch but this has given me an idea anyway.