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 I read about outdated BIOS-versions and the need/fix to connect |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