HTPC to replace the raspberry Pi

blackice8r

blackice8r

blackice8r

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I think I have been using my Pi as a HTPC for a year or so now, I'm getting fed-up with how slow it moves in the menu (using raspbmc), stock speed

The Odroid-U2 board for $89 looks cool, but with the accessories , shipping costs etc - the price goes up, also the software is still in development for it (and mostly under android ) http://www.hardkernel.com/renewal_2011/main.php


I have my movies on my Hp microserver so I just mainly need my HTPC to be able to play them and stream youtube etc.

I'm in between waiting for a PS4 and building a HTPC.

At a first look I think the price for a good HTPC would be about £250 (I was thinking to use AMD A6 series APU )

Do you guys have some suggestions for replacing my raspberry PI?
I quite like XBMC, that's why I'm not going for something like a WD TV , Roku or Apple Tv (I hate apple)

I want something powerfully but cheap :D I know that is pricey - that's why I'm thinking , maybe it's worth paying more to get the PS4

The Odroid-U2 board with all accessories I need would be about £125 , fast and a decent price, too bad XBMC doesn't work properly on it yet :(...
 
Mirmo said:
Have you played around with raspbmc after overclocking your pi? I only ask because I overclocked mine using the presets and the menu has been smooth as silk since.
Click to expand...

I've been keeping it at stock speed, I can try to overclock it, I have a second one if I kill this one :D , and I have radiators installed on the two chips

"sudo raspi-config" kicks in the wizzard I think, no?
How high did you overclock?

Update: nothing happens when I send the "sudo raspi-config" via SSH, updating debian now etc (sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade )
 
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all good points, I'll start with overclocking the PI, then overclocking + OpenELEC

if that doesn't work, I'll try sticking an AMD 6450 in the Hp microserver

Currently my microserver acts as a File and Print server, OpenVPN server, runs my Utorrent , and now it might run XBMC , I was thinking it might be too much - but if I think of it , it doesn't do them all at the same time so it might cope :D

I do want a new toy but I could spend the money on something else if I can get my existing kit to provide the functionality.

Thank you guys for the suggestions!
 
I wouldn't use the Microserver as an HTPC in the living room - you don't want a small box filled with noisy hard drives whilst you're trying to watch a film.
Click to expand...

my microserver seems to be quiet, maybe because it's not doing much I guess...

I also have a powerful sound system :D I'm not to worried the microserver will beat the sound system :)
 
I take it an AMD 6450 inside the microserver would do a much better job than an overclocked PI?

BTW, I have WHS 2011 on the server, I was reading that some people had problems getting XBMC to work on it, hopefully they were just isolated cases - or is this a known issue?


EDIT: if I come to think of it, XBMC on my microserver might not be so great, I have to remember to always start the XBMC gui when I close my RDP sessions to the server, the beauty of the raspberry Pi is that whenever I switch to it XBMX is loaded , with my server it would be different...

I've tried remotely to overclock the PI and I think it crashed as it didn't come back :D (bloody "raspi-config" is not installed, tried installing APT couldn't find the package so I edited /boot/config.txt with some fairly high numbers:
arm_freq=950
gpu_freq=350
core_freq=450
sdram_freq=500
over_voltage=2
force_turbo=1
gpu_mem=128
disable_overscan=1


I'll install OpenELEC when I get home and see how I can overclock my PI , I checked before trying the overclock from Raspbmc and the CPU was at 800MHz
 
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cokecan said:
You can enable multiple RDP sessions so it's not a problem. I have server 2012 installed on mine and have it set to auto-login with a locked down user account and have XBMC in the startup folder so it automatically launches when the HP is turned on/logged in.

With RDP sessions I can still remote desktop as an admin and it doesn't affect the XBMCuser account
Click to expand...

that is a good point, I can't imagine right now exactly how that works (how does the TV output the "right" user?) but if you got it working then, that would solve my problem
WHS 2011 allows 2 RDP sessions so, one restricted user and the admin should work

just got home , prepared the SD card with OpenELEC just to realize the Pi is dead , RIP my faithful PI :( :o

I promised my second PI to a friend so...time to move on, I have ordered a Asus HD 6450 SILENT EDITION 1024MB GDDR3 Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card , to stick in my microserver...
I don't look forward to opening the little box :(
 
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