[88keyz]

This X88 Pro X3 is also a good candidate for a cheap CoreELEC box from Amazon.co.uk.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Android-Player-...088R56SJF/

I can also recommend the Vontar X3 or the Vontar HK1 from AliExpress if you want a decent S905X3 box with gigabit and don't mind a bit longer shipping time.  I'm running CoreELEC on the Vontar X3 and its buttery smooth and works well with my TV remote via CEC.

[MrCrispy]

I don't see any listed for ~$40. I see this - https://smile.amazon.com/Upgrade-Android...B07PX1JD2V for $60. And the 64GB one is $3 more (https://smile.amazon.com/Android-Amlogic...B07SJZJ39Z). 

Is this the best buy today? I'm looking for a fast CoreElec box. Sadly the Ugoos ones are not available easily. Buying from Amazon gives some peace of mind w.r.t delivery and returns.

The only S922X based box is the Beelink GT-King which is $140. Is that worth the ~$90 premium, for faster cpu? I don't see any other capabilities lacking vs S905X3, correct?

[Master One]

I have made use of this offer, but it really comes down to where you are located because of shipping costs and delivery time, you just have search long enough till you find the most suitable offer.

There are three Options for X96 Air：
-2GB+16GB+2.4G Wifi+LNA 100 M (No Bluetooth)
-4GB+32GB+2.4&5.8G Dual Wifi+BT4.1+LNA 1000 M
-4GB+64GB+2.4&5.8G Dual Wifi+BT4.1+LNA 1000 M

The difference in price between the 32GB and 64GB eMMC version was so small that it was a no-brainer to go for the better one. AFAIK the version with 64GB eMMC always had gigabit LAN, however the 32GB version likely was also available with just megabit LAN at some point as well.

Beware of X96 Max+ offers, some have dubious text added in the description telling that "+" and none-"+" versions are shipped randomly depending on stock. I wasn't sure about the X96 Max+ anyway, which is why omitted that one and only searched for the X96 Air.

[88keyz]

I don't see any listed for ~$40. I see this - https://smile.amazon.com/Upgrade-Android...B07PX1JD2V for $60. And the 64GB one is $3 more (https://smile.amazon.com/Android-Amlogic...B07SJZJ39Z). 

Is this the best buy today? I'm looking for a fast CoreElec box. Sadly the Ugoos ones are not available easily. Buying from Amazon gives some peace of mind w.r.t delivery and returns.

The only S922X based box is the Beelink GT-King which is $140. Is that worth the ~$90 premium, for faster cpu? I don't see any other capabilities lacking vs S905X3, correct?

You don't really need an S922X for CoreELEC.  The S905X3 will play back all local content with the same ease because of the hardware acceleration.  The only advantage of the S922X would be for the Netflix plugin because those streams aren't hardware accelerated they have to be played back in software and the extra grunt of the faster processor becomes useful at that point for higher resolutions.

This X88 Pro X3 (review) should make a good CoreELEC box but its worth checking out this thread before you buy.

https://www.amazon.com/X88-PRO-X3-Quad-c...0894RZJQ3/

For more recommendations I suggest checking out the CoreELEC Forums.

[MrCrispy]

I don't see any listed for ~$40. I see this - https://smile.amazon.com/Upgrade-Android...B07PX1JD2V for $60. And the 64GB one is $3 more (https://smile.amazon.com/Android-Amlogic...B07SJZJ39Z). 

Is this the best buy today? I'm looking for a fast CoreElec box. Sadly the Ugoos ones are not available easily. Buying from Amazon gives some peace of mind w.r.t delivery and returns.

The only S922X based box is the Beelink GT-King which is $140. Is that worth the ~$90 premium, for faster cpu? I don't see any other capabilities lacking vs S905X3, correct?

You don't really need an S922X for CoreELEC.  The S905X3 will play back all local content with the same ease because of the hardware acceleration.  The only advantage of the S922X would be for the Netflix plugin because those streams aren't hardware accelerated they have to be played back in software and the extra grunt of the faster processor becomes useful at that point for higher resolutions.

This X88 Pro X3 (review) should make a good CoreELEC box but its worth checking out this thread before you buy.

https://www.amazon.com/X88-PRO-X3-Quad-c...0894RZJQ3/

For more recommendations I suggest checking out the CoreELEC Forums.

Thanks. I understand the codec support is same in both chipsets. My only concern is how much difference cpu speed when browsing esp with fancy skins and large libraries. Thats why I asked - "Is that worth the ~$90 premium, for faster cpu".

Thanks for the link to X88. Its hard to find these yourself without being familiar as I was just searching on the brands mentioned.

e.g. that page also shows - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RY8N2WV/ which is same SOC but newer Android etc. How do I find if that has working CE without knowing the brand name? It looks like CE device tree is different for each brand.

[ontap]

I don't see any listed for ~$40. I see this - https://smile.amazon.com/Upgrade-Android...B07PX1JD2V for $60. And the 64GB one is $3 more (https://smile.amazon.com/Android-Amlogic...B07SJZJ39Z). 

Is this the best buy today? I'm looking for a fast CoreElec box. Sadly the Ugoos ones are not available easily. Buying from Amazon gives some peace of mind w.r.t delivery and returns.

The only S922X based box is the Beelink GT-King which is $140. Is that worth the ~$90 premium, for faster cpu? I don't see any other capabilities lacking vs S905X3, correct?

You don't really need an S922X for CoreELEC.  The S905X3 will play back all local content with the same ease because of the hardware acceleration.  The only advantage of the S922X would be for the Netflix plugin because those streams aren't hardware accelerated they have to be played back in software and the extra grunt of the faster processor becomes useful at that point for higher resolutions.

This X88 Pro X3 (review) should make a good CoreELEC box but its worth checking out this thread before you buy.

https://www.amazon.com/X88-PRO-X3-Quad-c...0894RZJQ3/

For more recommendations I suggest checking out the CoreELEC Forums.

Thanks. I understand the codec support is same in both chipsets. My only concern is how much difference cpu speed when browsing esp with fancy skins and large libraries. Thats why I asked - "Is that worth the ~$90 premium, for faster cpu".

Thanks for the link to X88. Its hard to find these yourself without being familiar as I was just searching on the brands mentioned.

e.g. that page also shows - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RY8N2WV/ which is same SOC but newer Android etc. How do I find if that has working CE without knowing the brand name? It looks like CE device tree is different for each brand.

Looks like box above doesn't have gigabit lan.

[MrCrispy]

I don't see any listed for ~$40. I see this - https://smile.amazon.com/Upgrade-Android...B07PX1JD2V for $60. And the 64GB one is $3 more (https://smile.amazon.com/Android-Amlogic...B07SJZJ39Z). 

Is this the best buy today? I'm looking for a fast CoreElec box. Sadly the Ugoos ones are not available easily. Buying from Amazon gives some peace of mind w.r.t delivery and returns.

The only S922X based box is the Beelink GT-King which is $140. Is that worth the ~$90 premium, for faster cpu? I don't see any other capabilities lacking vs S905X3, correct?

You don't really need an S922X for CoreELEC.  The S905X3 will play back all local content with the same ease because of the hardware acceleration.  The only advantage of the S922X would be for the Netflix plugin because those streams aren't hardware accelerated they have to be played back in software and the extra grunt of the faster processor becomes useful at that point for higher resolutions.

This X88 Pro X3 (review) should make a good CoreELEC box but its worth checking out this thread before you buy.

https://www.amazon.com/X88-PRO-X3-Quad-c...0894RZJQ3/

For more recommendations I suggest checking out the CoreELEC Forums.

I read the Corelec forum thread but hard to tell if X88 pro is fully supported? Its not listed in device tree which only has X88 King. There is also no mention of so many other brands.

[88keyz]

I read the Corelec forum thread but hard to tell if X88 pro is fully supported? Its not listed in device tree which only has X88 King. There is also no mention of so many other brands.

It is fully supported you just use the generic S905X3 image.  The reason I recommended reading the thread is because it seems that some users couldn't get it to work with the sm1_s905x3_4g_1gbit.dtb but it worked fine with the sm1_s905x3_2g_1gbit.dtb file.

I have a huge collection in my Kodi database and there are no issues with browsing it on my S905X3 box (or any other device).  I only use the default skin but in general any skin isn't going to tax the system in any significant manner.

As @ontap pointed out the other S905X3 listing you linked to doesn't have gigabit ethernet.  It also doesn't matter what version of Android is on your CoreELEC box since you aren't going to be using Android at all when you boot into CoreELEC as it runs own its own basic operating system.

[Master One]

Well, I couldn't resist and just purchased a second X96 Air with 4GB RAM / 64GB eMMC even though the first unit hasn't arrived yet, but the current special at geekbuying made it possible for me to get that one for just US $46.10 including shipping from Germany (which is US $2.60 less than what I paid on AliExpress for the first unit).

I've also ordered two WeChip G30 Air Mouse on AliExpress, the first one for US $8.49 and the second one for just US $6.49, both with free shipping from China. I'd say that's quite satisfying.

[MrCrispy]

Well, I couldn't resist and just purchased a second X96 Air with 4GB RAM / 64GB eMMC even though the first unit hasn't arrived yet, but the current special at geekbuying made it possible for me to get that one for just US $46.10 including shipping from Germany (which is US $2.60 less than what I paid on AliExpress for the first unit).

I've also ordered two WeChip G30 Air Mouse on AliExpress, the first one for US $8.49 and the second one for just US $6.49, both with free shipping from China. I'd say that's quite satisfying.

Do you have a link? I dont see any for that price now.

[Kodroid]

Like Mecool KM6 or Ugoos X4 Cube, which both should already be around the corner (likely end of October, as mentioned by CNX Software)?

I am about to buy a new device for my home cinema, and yes, I've read START HERE - Pick the Right Kodi Box (updated October 2020), but I'm totally lost with my decision right now.

My current favorite is still the ODROID N2+, but I'm not sure if that isn't a step back now that I have got to know Matrix from LibreELEC nightlies on my laptop.

I've also looked into cheaper alternatives with AMLogic S905X3 and some Intel NUCs, as well as the ODROID H2+. A device with SPDIF out (like any of the Ugoos devices) would be nice, because then I could omit the HDMI audio extractor I am currently using.

But now with AMLogic S905X4 devices for likely less than 100 USD supposedly to be available soon, such a device may be the most logical choice.

Not until it shows on a popular device like a new FireTV stick or a Google TV certified box, and that won't be until 2021.

[hdmkv]

Do you have a link? I dont see any for that price now.

Me neither. Best prices I see are on AliExpress for about $43-45 shipped for the 4GB/32GB version w/Gigabit LAN.