These are great units, I use these for Media Center PC's. I use Windows 7 w/ My Movies plug-in and Windows Home Server on the back end. Pair this up with the Lenovo Multimedia Remote with Keyboard that can be had for $45ish from time to time and your done.
My only complaint about these refub deals is:
A) They come with Windows XP, so the OS is pretty much useless if you are going to use them as Media Centers. So you need to have a copy of Windows 7 floating around or plan on using another Media Center application like XBMC.
B) If you are going to use a Windows based OS 1GB of RAM can be a bit cramped, 2GB is much better for Windows 7.
I have used several of the refub deals on personal Media Center builds, but they dont make much sense for clients I work with.
That being said you can get the REVO 3610 which comes standard with Win7/2GB ram/ATOM 330 (dual core) for $325 and my clients seem much happier.
So, using 800mhz over 667mhz DDR2 won't make a difference.
In a traditional Intel system architecture, you'd be correct, however the ion is a single chip graphics/memory controller/yada yada yada. The cpu is just hanging off of it as a spoke.
The Ion uses the system memory as it's texture buffer since it doesn't have it's own memory to draw from and will run at full 800Mhz throughput, dual channel if available, when the gpu component is accessing ram. There is a small asynchronous loss of cpu to memory performance to accommodate this, but its negligible (less than 3%) compared to the substantial improvement in ram access speed for the gpu, if one is running video centric applications. And I'm guessing anyone buying one of these will be using the gpu pretty heavily, otherwise there isnt much point to it.
Therefore, you're screwing yourself by buying slower ram. If it was $30-40 or more, I'd see an argument, but you can get 800MHz sticks for $20-22 with no tax, vs $18 plus tax for "the deal".
Acer specifies and incorporates 800MHz parts. Crucial and Kingston specify the use of 800MHz parts in this system, as I'm sure any other ram manufacturer would. The cost difference (if any) is negligible. The part would be more useful for transplanting into future systems when the use in the revo is over.
And as I mentioned in other threads, you probably dont need the 2nd gigabyte at all. An XBMC or ubuntu based system will have considerable free memory while running a media player and showing a movie. I have 2gb in my 1600 and I get >1.3GB of free ram under XP while playing a movie, so even thats not that heavy. I even disabled the page file with no problems. Fer crying out loud, 6-7 years ago running a full GB of ram with XP was considered a crazy luxury.
So the bottom line is: dont bother with the 2nd GB until you've got your rig set up and you see that ram is a problem because most likely it wont be. Break out the ten year old "how to skinny down XP and make it run faster" articles and remove some components, disable some useless services, shut off indexing services and system restore, etc. I think you'll find the single GB to do the job just fine, and the tweaks will make the system pretty snappy.
Also, dont bother with the 512MB video ram allocation that many Ion guides suggest. Its absolutely not necessary for playing hd video. Unless you have a game that the ION can actually play that requires the 512MB for textures and whatnot, save it for system cache.
But if some of you guys want memory you probably dont need, think you're getting a better deal by buying the slower ram for a couple of dollars less, and that its a good idea with no downside, you ought to buy it. I dont recommend it.
igor1960
Member
posted: Mar. 10, 2010 @ 11:35p
I assume the HDMI and VGA ports are for output. So if you were going to use this for an HTPC how would you get the video/audio signal into this box from a Comcast or Cox Cable box?
igor1960 said: I assume the HDMI and VGA ports are for output. So if you were going to use this for an HTPC how would you get the video/audio signal into this box from a Comcast or Cox Cable box?
Most don't, we use it for playback only. Recording would be accomplished by another device on your network. In my case I record shows from my daily workstation. That's one of the really nice things about Windows Home Server and Media Center, there is a Media Center Service that sweeps my tuner based computer and moves the content to the WHS share where its available to all.
If you really needed the functionality I am sure you could find some external device to get the job done (for example they have network based tuner cards now), but I am not sure I would want the ION based system encoding content, plus it can only read clear QAM which is a total drag. Later this year they have network based tuner cards that will support Cable Card which should make things real interesting.
igor1960 said: I assume the HDMI and VGA ports are for output. So if you were going to use this for an HTPC how would you get the video/audio signal into this box from a Comcast or Cox Cable box?
Yes, it has HDMI and VGA. Out of the box I don't think there is any method to use this with a cable box, consider something like THIS if you want it to do cable playback, or get a USB tuner device. But most people are using it for streaming from the local network, or online streaming (Netflix, hulu, etc).
have one of these running xbmc live optimized for ION chipset add a media center remote and works perfectly as a media center. WHS on the backend and all is righteous...
I also got one of these during the last deal. It is very quiet. Ubuntu installed with no drama and I have been using this as my primary desktop just cuz. It is quite slow when browsing sites like gmail that are java heavy. It took me a good 2 hours to uninstall all of the crapware that came on it's XP install. I would have installed XP from scratch, but I didn't feel like figuring out a way to either do it from USB stick or buying an external CDROM to do the install from. Lots of expansion, but one minor annoyance is that the audio out is on the front instead of the back like the rest of the ins and outs. This detracts from the look having something plugged into the front.
Thanks, this works out better for me, since I would have to pay tax at TD.
kuctoo
Ancient Member
posted: Mar. 11, 2010 @ 10:40a
someone in another forum reported this machine had difficulty playing SD videos and DVDs, while HD stuff are fine. Does it make sense?
igor1960
Member
posted: Mar. 11, 2010 @ 11:12a
nneelix said: igor1960 said: I assume the HDMI and VGA ports are for output. So if you were going to use this for an HTPC how would you get the video/audio signal into this box from a Comcast or Cox Cable box?
Most don't, we use it for playback only. Recording would be accomplished by another device on your network. In my case I record shows from my daily workstation. That's one of the really nice things about Windows Home Server and Media Center, there is a Media Center Service that sweeps my tuner based computer and moves the content to the WHS share where its available to all.
If you really needed the functionality I am sure you could find some external device to get the job done (for example they have network based tuner cards now), but I am not sure I would want the ION based system encoding content, plus it can only read clear QAM which is a total drag. Later this year they have network based tuner cards that will support Cable Card which should make things real interesting.
Yup, a network based tuner card with Cable Card is exactly what I think I need. I'm a skeerdy cat when it comes to buying the Homerun HD network tuner because I hear Comcast is starting to scramble the signals. Someone should just make a box that does it all - tuner/streaming/recording/encoding/HD output and make it easy for people like me.
I also have WHS running on the Intel SS-4300 and it's fantastic. I hear it will run Playon and will look into that.
I tried one of these out for a few weeks as a media center extender running Windows 7 and I had a hell of a time getting my MKVs to play back properly. You have to have very specific codecs installed in order to get the ION chip to do the video playback and it seemed like I was always missing the one I needed to watch a specific movie title. I ended up returning it.
igor1960 said: Yup, a network based tuner card with Cable Card is exactly what I think I need. I'm a skeerdy cat when it comes to buying the Homerun HD network tuner because I hear Comcast is starting to scramble the signals. Someone should just make a box that does it all - tuner/streaming/recording/encoding/HD output and make it easy for people like me.
I also have WHS running on the Intel SS-4300 and it's fantastic. I hear it will run Playon and will look into that.
breaux124, thanks for you help too!
FYI - They can't scramble content that is freely avaialable OTA in your area. So this means you should be able to get all your local channels in both SD and HD clear. The channel numbers might be in some funny places though.
It used to be that all SD broadcasts below 100 were also clear, so your TV could tune the channels w/o a box, but Comcast decided to hop on the Digital TV Transition and started requiring a "free digital box" for all channels 30 and above. Of course they scrambled those channles as well when doing this. Now all I get is Discovery Channel and the OTA signals, the other 15 channels are Govement Access, Holly Rollers, & Home Shopping. BLAH!! Keep in mind your area may be totally different.
Long Ago I gave into the concept that if I wanted to record HD content I was going to have to pay-the-man, hopefully before the year is out those chains will finally be broken. On a side note, Comcast provides the Cable Cards for free, but you have to pay to use the outlet. Funny, I have about 8 outlets in my house now that I don't pay for.
TheFinalProphecy said: I tried one of these out for a few weeks as a media center extender running Windows 7 and I had a hell of a time getting my MKVs to play back properly. You have to have very specific codecs installed in order to get the ION chip to do the video playback and it seemed like I was always missing the one I needed to watch a specific movie title. I ended up returning it.
MKV?? What in the heck are you watching, torrented anime? That about the only thing I can think of that regularly comes as MKV. Did you try the K-Lite Codec Pack?
nneelix said: These are great units, I use these for Media Center PC's. I use Windows 7 w/ My Movies plug-in and Windows Home Server on the back end. Pair this up with the Lenovo Multimedia Remote with Keyboard that can be had for $45ish from time to time and your done.
My only complaint about these refub deals is:
A) They come with Windows XP, so the OS is pretty much useless if you are going to use them as Media Centers. So you need to have a copy of Windows 7 floating around or plan on using another Media Center application like XBMC.
B) If you are going to use a Windows based OS 1GB of RAM can be a bit cramped, 2GB is much better for Windows 7.
I have used several of the refub deals on personal Media Center builds, but they dont make much sense for clients I work with.
That being said you can get the REVO 3610 which comes standard with Win7/2GB ram/ATOM 330 (dual core) for $325 and my clients seem much happier.
igor1960 said: I also have WHS running on the Intel SS-4300 and it's fantastic. I hear it will run Playon and will look into that.
PlayOn Runs great (at least within XBMC). Make sure to check out PlayOn Plugins I added SyFy, and HGTV (for the wife).
TheFinalProphecy said: I tried one of these out for a few weeks as a media center extender running Windows 7 and I had a hell of a time getting my MKVs to play back properly. You have to have very specific codecs installed in order to get the ION chip to do the video playback and it seemed like I was always missing the one I needed to watch a specific movie title. I ended up returning it.
Make sure whatever you are using for playback uses Hardware Acceleration, otherwise you are just trying to use the processor for the video decoding. Try MPC-HC within Windows, or consider buying the CoreAVC codec if you want to use some other app that doesn't have Acceleration. Before putting XBMC, I tried with windows and WinMediaPlayer and VLC wouldn't work well, but MPC-HC worked perfectly even with 1080p MKVs that had DTS audio.
foche911 said: Btw, what is good way to find a copy of Windows 7 floating around?
That would require a discussion that would violate Fat Wallets forum rules, but I am sure google can help.
Personally, if I dont have valid copy sitting in my house (which I usually do), I have a subscription to TechNet Plus that allows me to "permanently evaluate" upto 10 copies of most of MS's software. If you are in the Tech World professionally or simply as a hobbie, I can highly recommend this. Its $350 to join (less if you find the coupons on the internet) and $250 to renew each year, plus its tax ductable as a business expense.
nneelix said: MKV?? What in the heck are you watching, torrented anime? That about the only thing I can think of that regularly comes as MKV. Did you try the K-Lite Codec Pack?
What.
MKV ts the standard for high-def stuff, has been for ages. What the heck are you watching that isn't in an MKV, 90's sitcoms??
nneelix said: TheFinalProphecy said: I tried one of these out for a few weeks as a media center extender running Windows 7 and I had a hell of a time getting my MKVs to play back properly. You have to have very specific codecs installed in order to get the ION chip to do the video playback and it seemed like I was always missing the one I needed to watch a specific movie title. I ended up returning it.
MKV?? What in the heck are you watching, torrented anime? That about the only thing I can think of that regularly comes as MKV. Did you try the K-Lite Codec Pack? Are you kidding me?? Pretty much ALL high def rips online are in MKV format and have been for at least a few years now. Anime?? F- that. And yes of course I tried K-Lite Codec Pack. K-lite has nothing to do with getting the GPU to render the graphics instead of the GPU.
TheFinalProphecy said: I tried one of these out for a few weeks as a media center extender running Windows 7 and I had a hell of a time getting my MKVs to play back properly. You have to have very specific codecs installed in order to get the ION chip to do the video playback and it seemed like I was always missing the one I needed to watch a specific movie title. I ended up returning it.
I found that it was a player problem. Try using Media Player Home Cinema. It's free and plays all my mkv files properly.
andrews
Member
posted: Mar. 12, 2010 @ 7:04a
You don't need an external player. If you put Windows 7 on the Revo, get the latest beta build NVIDIA desktop ION driver and then the latest nightly XBMC, it includes DXVA support (in XBMC settings make sure you change from Auto to DXVA). 1080p .mkv's on my setup run in the 15-20% CPU utilization range.
There is also a DSPlayer build of XBMC you can get in the XBMC forums - which I haven't tried. It uses a different player external to the one built into XBMC. You might have to use that if you stick with XP as DXVA build only works with the DXVA2 in Windows 7 and does not work with XP.
kuctoo said: someone in another forum reported this machine had difficulty playing SD videos and DVDs, while HD stuff are fine. Does it make sense?
Short Story: De-interlacing for DVDs is done in the graphics chip itself, so it depends on your graphics chip size, and the amount and speed of the memory available. Graphics chip size, memory size, and speed vary with price of the card...buy a cheap card, and these capabilities are generally dumbed down from the more expensive versions. Hardware acceleration for decoding Blu-ray or other standard HD material, on the other hand, usually exists in a separate chip, or a separate section of the GPU, but it's one of those "you have it or you don't" things. For the cheap video cards/chipsets, graphics manufacturers have been including the hardware Blu-ray decoding across the board, but tend to skimp on the features necessary to do advanced de-interlacing for DVD and interlaced HD (stuff you would record with a tuner card...if your card has trouble with DVD, then you can bet your paycheck it will have problems with your mpeg-2 bitstream episodes of CSI Miami that you recorded with your tuner).
Persius
New Member
posted: Mar. 13, 2010 @ 1:01a
Chuck101 said: darisma said: Does it come with a wireless built-in? No but it does have a PCIx or whatever that micro PCI slot is internally for you to add one on.
Would you recommend that or a USB n mini wireless adapter? from Newegg etc?
Thanks OP. Got one to run XBMC. Unfortunately, the refurbished unit came with a mouse whose left button didn't work. Probably why the original owner returned it. =/ TigerDirect wouldn't ship me a new mouse. Said I had to return the entire item. Called manufacturer they said no prob it's on it's way.
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