Curious question on Acer Revo alternatives?

wingnutta · 16 Sep 2010 at 14:52

I am looking at a small HTPC type installation to hook up to main tv. All files are stored on main pc upstairs. I have recently installed XBMC on main pc to get used to it etc.. and i must say i am loving it.
Plan is to put an Acer Revo/win7/xbmc in lounge - My question is - is there any maybe cheaper-but-just-as-good alternatives??
Did look at the AC Ryan HD but cant get to grips with YAMJ at all and as cant install XBMC i guess thats out.

1LANCS · 16 Sep 2010 at 15:10

There are no cheaper alternatives if you want to use XBMC, there is the Zotac ZBOX but its barebones and once you put ram and hdd in you are close to Revo price anyway.

Sootie · 16 Sep 2010 at 16:54

The Revo is hard to beat at its current price - the Revo 3700 with Ion2 is supposed to be out before the end of the year, so there may be some discounting when that happens.

The other option is to build your own ITX system, but that ain't cheaper

chippy08 · 16 Sep 2010 at 18:49

I got acer revo 3600 and i put windows 7 and xbmc but had to take windows off as it struggled to play films so just got xbmc live on it now and its fine but would be better running windows as well.

Sootie · 16 Sep 2010 at 18:53

chippy08 said:
I got acer revo 3600 and i put windows 7 and xbmc but had to take windows off as it struggled to play films so just got xbmc live on it now and its fine but would be better running windows as well.

I upped the memory to 4GB, upped the available graphics memory and multiboot Windows 7 and XBMC. Plenty of threads on AVForums about it.

chippy08 · 16 Sep 2010 at 20:01

Sootie said:
I upped the memory to 4GB, upped the available graphics memory and multiboot Windows 7 and XBMC. Plenty of threads on AVForums about it.

Yes i know i need to put in extra memory but im thinking of building htpc.

Methanoid · 16 Sep 2010 at 20:11

Linux XBMC needs less mem and is better at DXVA acceleration. Its the OS of choice

Alexrose1uk · 18 Sep 2010 at 19:20

Actually, there are bugs with files in the Linux live versions of XBMC that arent present in the Windows version. I had a Revo, and before I sent it back I found some files played much better with XBMC Win/DXVA than Linux/VDPAU.
I'll concede it does need less RAM, but, being honest I found Windows XBMC less hassle! My original preference was to run a Live build as well, so I wasn't rediculously happy to find that the Windows version seemed to work better 'out the box'.

wingnutta · 19 Sep 2010 at 08:56

mmmm... Cheers for help peeps. I think the revo is my choice simply for money/cost effectiveness really. Just a case of finding one as cheap as possible! Was tempted to get a new one but i am just too tight lol

pumaz · 20 Sep 2010 at 22:24

I'm struggling to get network shares or even to get XBMC to see other partitions on the hard drive.

I've got a R3610 4GB and 500GB HD, I'm tripple booting in this order XBMC (Darma Beta 2), Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and Windows 7. Eveything is working great but no matter what i try i can't get networking to work and XBMC doesn't work too well in windows so i want to use the stand alone version.

Any ideas?

wingnutta · 20 Sep 2010 at 22:39

ok, i bought this small form factor from the bay.. i am hoping that it will do what i want which is as above - stream HD content using xbmc.. Advice please?? (I know its missing a graphics card and i will put one in if needed)

Acer Aspire X3200 'Slimline' Desktop PC with Windows Vista 64-Bit Operating System

AMD Phenom 8450 Triple Core 2.2GHz

Memory 3GB DDR2 RAM
320GB SATA Hard Drive
Nvidia GeForce 8200 Graphics

Optical Drive CD / DVD+/-RW
7-in-1 Card Reader
Network Card
PS/2 Keyboard & Mouse Port
9 x USB 2.0 Ports
HDMI Port
eSATA Port

Cheers...

Sootie · 21 Sep 2010 at 07:18

Hopefully you got it nice and cheap?

wingnutta · 21 Sep 2010 at 10:19

Cheap enough that i am happy! Plus monitor i dont need so thats going back on the bay... Will it do the job though???

Sootie · 21 Sep 2010 at 12:46

Dump Vista for Windows 7!
Like you say, if the graphics ain't good enough you can always stick a proper card in.

wingnutta · 21 Sep 2010 at 19:17

So the cpu/memory etc is fine for xbmc??... Was going to run linux but may just go for win7 now.

Alexrose1uk · 21 Sep 2010 at 19:26

CPU and memory are absolutely fine. Where possible most people get a gpu to do most of the decoding, if this isn't possible in your case you know where the first place to look for an upgrade will be, although the phenom should at least have a little oomph

(low profile GT210 would decode most 1080p material absolutely fine as long as you don't ask it to filter as well).

Many people's HTPCs are weaker than a phenom haha!

By contrast my HTPC *WIP* is based on XBMC on Win7 using a AMD X2 5200+, 2GB RAM and a GT220 passive card, running via HDMI inc audio. (Still need to get a decent wireless KB/Remote for it, and replace the PSU with a quiet/passive model)

wingnutta · 21 Sep 2010 at 19:39

Excellent - i was starting to wonder if i had bought a wrong'un! Appreciate the advice. I too was looking for a remote in readiness.. then discovered the android xbmc app! - Works an absolute charm!!!
I had my missus thinking a had turned my normal lcd monitor into a touchscreen!!!

If i hadnt started laughing she woulda believed me too!!!

Alexrose1uk · 21 Sep 2010 at 20:23

Yep, it is a rather nice little app. Unfortunately occasionally it goes CRRRRRAAAAZY on my desire. Like its constantly pressing left/right or whatever

Hope they fix that lol

wingnutta · 21 Sep 2010 at 22:03

There are two different apps??.. I dont use the official one if that helps??

Alexrose1uk · 22 Sep 2010 at 20:45

Ah I've only tried the official one, I'll have to play around with the others (type in xbmc on android and I dont just get 2 options!) and see if I find them any better. It'd be nice to not have to spend cash on a remote, and less complicated to get setup just the way I want it, but on the other hand like the KB setups, I'd be able to tweak the button usage a little more.