On 06/09/2014 17:00, Grant wrote: >>> I read about outdated BIOS-versions and the need/fix to connect >>> something via DisplayPort and enter BIOS once ... to "reset" things or >>> something. >>> >>> I don't have such a box ... just echoing something I read (as I play >>> with the thought to buy a Intel NUC-Kit D34010WYK for use as a >>> mythtv-frontend). >>> >> >> Going off topic a bit, but I recently bought a DN2820FYKH (Celeron >> model) and it works beautifully with mythtv. Compiling is a litter >> slower due to the processor, but it works well with its built-in IR. >> Very happy with it. I have everything working including HDMI audio >> passthrough. Best ~$250 I spent to date (NUC, RAM, SSD.) > > > The coolest thing about the Gigabyte 2807 is that it's fanless. I > don't need wireless so I'll replace it with one of these mini-PCIe > 128GB storage devices: > > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KWEA88 > > I do wish it had built-in IR. I'm planning to go with xbmc instead of > mythtv. Compiling kernel now....
FWIW, I built my HTPC around an Xtreamer Ultra2: http://www.xtreamer.net/ultra/ I don't think it's for sale any more, but it's the class of device that's important here. It's basically a small motherboard with regular CPU/GPU/RAM etc all built into a small, neat and aesthetically pleasing case. Price is about the same as netops and Zotac square boxes that mount to a monitor with VESA brackets. They are also about 4x the price of basic ARM-based boxes billed as "suitable for HTPCs" (I looked at those and found them all underpowered and not totally suitable after all, mostly due to lack of peripherals). The Ultra2 has a regular familiar Nvidia GPU, none of this ancient crappy Intel-paulsbo nonsense that just.does.not.work. Performance is more than adequate, it ships with a 32G SSD and has a slot for a 2.5" SATA drive. I don't use that (my media is on back-end file server accessed with NFS) but one of these days I'll add a drive and dual boot Windows for the kids and their games. It also has 1G wired ethernet, 802.11n wireless, IR receiver, and 6 USB slots (several are 3.0 I forget how many) In short, I got the best possible bang for buck with this and many annoying facets of trying to use inadequate hardware just went away. The second best decision was ditching a roll-it-myself OS and all the tinkering that involves. Just run OpenElec - a 140M image with the latest and greatest XBMC, plus everything else needed kept current. Flash it to the pc just like your modem firmware, add content, sit back, enjoy. Updates are faster than you can manage yourself :-) -- Alan McKinnon alan.mckin...@gmail.com
