How to Build the Media Center of your Dreams for Under $500

[JazJon]

I saw this on reddit today, thought I'd share. (nice ideas and bang for the buck)
http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comm ... reams_for/

Here it is:

http://lifehacker.com/5936546/how-i-bui ... -under-500

[JazJon]

Actually this pre-built min-pc is way cheaper and plenty fast.

"Zotac Zbox ID82 UNBOXING and REVIEW! Intel HD 3000 graphics, Smallest PC BIG PERFORMANCE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2xzd-MZy3U

[adam1991]

I never understood the whole "unboxing" thing. It's ludicrous.

[prouton]

And typically induces motion sickness...

[JazJon]

Well the unboxing thing is pointless, but I secretly like to see it all for some strange reason. I'm just happy to see it passes the fast enough for media center tests he does. Mine will be faster since I'll be using SSD for C:

[barnabas1969]

I look at the ZBox and think "Carputer!" I don't think "HTPC!" This has me thinking about the Carputer I've been wanting to build.

EDIT: Hmmm... it uses a 19VDC power input. Darn, that would require an inverter to run it unless there's some way to modify it to work with 12VDC. It's a great price and form factor for a carputer though. Too bad about the power.

[STC]

^^ A DC/DC converter would be all you need. 30-50 bucks depending on quality and current draw.

[JazJon]

Actually this pre-built min-pc is way cheaper and plenty fast.

"Zotac Zbox ID82 UNBOXING and REVIEW! Intel HD 3000 graphics, Smallest PC BIG PERFORMANCE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2xzd-MZy3U

I just gave the ZBox ID82 a test drive, and couldn't tweak it enough to be satisfied. Some recordings have the Macro Blocking pixalation issue. (and moments of dropped audio skips) I have a fast 6GBps SSD drive, and 8GB ram. I used all the latest drivers for everything. (even the latest Intel Graphics package from a few months ago) I give up, I'm going to keep my monster Shuttle PC SX79R5 i7 cube.

Hopefully Zotac comes out with something with a better Graphic option in the near future. The HD 3000 just doesn't cut it it seems for Ceton Cablecard users (Ceton works great on my Shuttle PC)

P.S. the Mini PCIe slot on the back side of the motherboard won't recognize SATA controllers it seems FYI

[barnabas1969]

^^ A DC/DC converter would be all you need. 30-50 bucks depending on quality and current draw.

Yeah, I looked at them. I'll do some more research to see if I would want to do something like this. A little PC like that would be plenty of processing power for a carputer, and it's very energy efficient too.

[JazJon]

I don't mind a slightly thicker nano version of a Zbox.
The new ZBox Nano AD12 looks interesting
ZOTAC ZBOX nano AD12 [ZBOXNANO-AD12-U]

As I said above, I tried the ZBox ID82, but it's HD 3000 graphics wasn't good enough for Ceton Infinitv USB cablecard tuner. (pixalation, and audio pauses)
Worked fine on a regular desktop with basic nvidia card

How is that AMD E2-1800 APU 1.7 GHz Dual-Core CPU vs the Intel Core i3 2330M 2.2 GHz Dual-Core of the Zbox ID82?

I know Ghz numbers don't always add up to true performance when comparing AMD to Intel.

Is the AMD Radeon™ HD 7340 much more powerful than the intel HD 3000? (and likely to work smoother with Ceton?)

Do you know if the eSATA port is Port Multiplier aware?

Also what USB 3.0 controller chip set is used in the AD12?

EDIT: found this "While the old Zbox has to rely on an auxiliary NEC controller to supply SuperSpeed USB ports, the new model has native support thanks to an updated AMD platform hub. Zotac's spec sheet doesn't list a model number for the chip, but I suspect it's the A68."

Here's why I ask thought still:
Not All USB 3.0 Implementations Are Created Equal
tomshardware.com/reviews/nec-controller-usb-3-pd720200,2682.html

May different USB 3.0 Firmware, Drivers and Controller Firmwares
http://forum.mediasonic.ca/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=519
Alex from stablebit.com said the Etron was the most stable in his tests

The AD12 might be good, but it sounds like the next generation Ivy Bridge based Zbox is coming out soon.
http://forums.vr-zone.com/hardware-depo ... yet-2.html

[JazJon]

Since the HD 3000 sucked when paired with Ceton Cablecard tuner, does anyone know if the HD 4000 would be much better? I was looking at the ASROCK HT 311D

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856158032

ASRock Vision HT 311D Intel Core Core i3-3110M Mobile Ivy Bridge Processor Intel HM77 Intel HD Graphics 4000 1 x HDMI Remote Control Barebone

Or is the expensive ASROCK VisionX 321B a safer bet? (WAY more expensive though!!!)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856158033

ASRock VisionX 321B Intel Core i5-3210M Mobile Ivy Bridge Processor Intel HM77 AMD Mobility Radeon HD7850M GPU 1 x HDMI Remote Control Barebone

[foxwood]

As I said above, I tried the ZBox ID82, but it's HD 3000 graphics wasn't good enough for Ceton Infinitv USB cablecard tuner. (pixalation, and audio pauses)

That doesn't make much sense - I don't have any problem with graphics/sound using a Clarkdale 13-540, which has an even weaker graphics core than the HD 3000. (The system is used almost exclusively for recorded TV - maybe playing BluRays would be more taxing).

I'm pretty sure there are lots of people using systems with integrated graphics on first and 2nd generation i3s..

That doesn't help you solve your problem, but I'm pretty sure it's not due to your integrated graphics - there may be an issue with the connections on your motherboard.

[gpatlanta]

Agreed. My HD3000 works Quite well from my second gen i5 and my Ceton card.

[JazJon]

Ok, so it may not be under $500, but I just got the new Apple Mac Mini (see my signature below) The Intel HD 4000 graphics work great. (disable dynamic contrast) I'm loving it! It's the perfect form factor. I have a 3TB USB 3.0 enclosure for recorded tv.