Windows System Requirements

[tchristensen]

I absolutely love this program and I am going to build a dedicated Windows Boxee box. I will be hooking this up to a 42 inch Magnavox HD television. I want to be sure that it will play Netflix movies when the application supports this. Here are my questions.

1. How should I connect the box to the tv? I am assuming HDMI.
2. What processor should I use? I am interested in using all of the Internet video functions (Hulu, Neflix when it is available, Joost, MTV). I will also be streaming my large Divx collection from my server to this television.
3. What video card should I use?
4. What type of remote control should I get?

Can I do all of the above with an old Celeron 2.0 GHz machine that I have sitting around if I put in a better graphics card?

Sorry for all of the questions, just want to be sure I purchase the right equipment the first time around.

Thanks for such great software!

[groovyrock]

You are going to need something more powerful than a Celeron to do alot of the things you would like in Boxee. Things like Netflix will use Silverlight, which is extremely processor intensive. For any HD content as well, it would be hard for old hardware to really play that well.

However, there are quite a few cheap components that could make a great HTPC with boxee.

Something like a AMD Athlon X2 6000+ or a Phenom X3 will meet all your HD needs. Something like a 9600 GT will power HD / Blu-ray great. If you are looking for just SD video, I still would really recommend at least a Dual-Core something.

[tgggd86]

um.... the AMD 6000 is an extremely powerfull and power hungry processor. Not good for a dedicated box. Any dual core over 2GHz won't give you any problems, and a high end graphics card isn't needed either. Look at my HTPC specs, it plays blu-ray and boxee beautifully.

[subvertbeats]

Before Xmas, I costed up building an HTPC.

In terms of the following criteria:

- cost
- hassle
- size
- aesthetics
- complete system warranty

I decided just to buy a mac mini.
Unless you need a Windoes based machine specifically, or need a BD player built into the box, take a look at the mini

[bmoura]

Before Xmas, I costed up building an HTPC.

In terms of the following criteria:

- cost
- hassle
- size
- aesthetics
- complete system warranty

I decided just to buy a mac mini.
Unless you need a Windows based machine specifically, or need a Blu-Ray Disc player built into the box, take a look at the mini

If you're looking at the Mac Mini, you may want to wait until March when the new version - potentially featuring the Nvidia Ion graphics technology (http://hothardware.com/Articles/NVIDIAs-Ion-Small-FormFactor-PC-Platform-/) - is rumored to appear.

Other options include the Dell Studio Hybrid (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-studio-hybrid) (now reduced to $399 base price - it has a variety of Core Duo CPUs to choose from) and some of the "Mini PCs" at web sites like www.thebookpc.com (http://www.thebookpc.com/index.php/cPath/38?osCsid=b01265f74c8c3e8f11afe7fd3b0037a6) and www.boldata.com (http://www.boldata.com/config.cfm/model_id/462/config_for/base)

In short, many choices !

[psynaptic]

If you will not be playing 1080p, I'd suggest the Intel Atom. On my MSI Wind, I am able to play 720p tv shows. When stuff gets really slow, I just bust out the Windows Media Player + Coreavc and overclock it by 14%. Not only is the Atom energy efficient, but because it radiates so little heat, it gets away with a smaller and hence quieter fan. Might be worth investigating!

[groovyrock]

I would agree, any dual core over 2 ghz would work, but your bang for the buck now-a-days on the 6000+ is great.

This would do fine to, about the same as his (i don't think that model is made anymore) for $50 :)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103204

[Dannydeman]

Make sure NOT to get a Intel X3100 (gma965), works terrible with boxee/fullHD. Lots of tearing etc.

[nalthien]

I just built an HTPC for approximately the same price as I would have paid for a Mac Mini.

Here are my specs:

ASUS p5q-em motherboard (Intel G45 on-board chipset with HDMI and ac3 output)
Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 (2.66ghz)
2gb 800mhz RAM
Lite-On BD-ROM
Antec Fusion v2 Black
Western Digital 640mb HDD

All this totaled about $640 at my local Fry's--and I have Blu Ray capability which sets me ahead of the Mac Mini (at least currently). The G45 also has full support for dxva--so in programs that support it I'm offloading almost all of the video work to the graphics card rather than the processor (and the card is optimized to handle video). Note: you'll need the latest drivers running under Vista to support Blu Ray--XP is not supported.

The downfall is that, as I have not yet been invited to the Windows Alpha, I had to build my own copy of Boxee from source (which, for me, was a fun experience).

[tchristensen]

Thank you all for your responses. I am leaning toward the Dell Studio Hybrid. Will the default specs be powerful enough to use Boxee to its full potential? If I am going to purchase this, I want to make sure that I do it right the first time around. Thanks for all of your help.

Intel® Pentium™ Dual Core T3400 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Service Pack 1
Slate
1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
No Monitor (System includes DVI and HDMI ports. VGA is not supported)
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz (2 DIMM)
160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive)
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Integrated Stereo Audio with 5.1ch digital output (S/P DIF)
Dell USB Multimedia Keyboard & Optical Mouse
No Modem Included

Also Includes
Dell 7 in 1 Media Card Reader
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Windows Vista™ Basic Tablet

[richbutler1]

A few things to consider with your HTPC...I hope this gives you another perspective on low cost, low power, solid performance...

Power consumption....go with a 45watt CPU like the AMD 4850e (check out the 5050e also) You may have this HTPC on 24/7 for torrents/TV recording so a power hungry CPU and motherboard design will cost you more in the long run. If you're not going to do video processing, heavy photo editing or high end gaming the combo below will serve you well.

Cost ....AMD has lower total cost, been rock solid

Motherboard...Gigabyte below is ready for Blu-Ray, HD Audio, HDMI, Optical Audio, nice expandability, best in class, cheap. PS: It does support the newest 140W Phenoms for some superjuice down the road if you re-purpose :)

Flexibility....Blu-Ray drive, got most common sold for support and info
Drive Space....cheap, get 500Gb or better, you might keep an eye on quiet tech. specs., if you record TV or torrents you'll need it and want local

Case...get decent power output

O/S...I went Win Vista Ultimate for MCE to be my DVR (trying to figure out how to get Boxee to recognize the TV shows natively or with some minor filename morphing)


Here's my under $500 HTPC with Blu-Ray and HD Audio (look for the Realtek 889 audio chip for solid sound) not listed below is a scavenged drive, TV tuner card(your call) and 2Gb Memory(DDR2800 would serve you well, MB below supports 1066 depending on CPU tho)...all from Newegg.com

HT CASE APEVIA(ASP)|X-MASTER-BK/500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144231) $74.99

MB GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2HP 780G RTL (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128360) $79.99

CPU AMD|A64 X2 4850E 2.5G AM2 R (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103255) $53.99

BD/HD-ROM COMBO LG|GGC-H20L SATA RT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133) $119.99

Payment Summary:
Subtotal:$326.45
Tax:$25.07
Shipping and Handling:$31.70
Total Amount:$383.22

Conclusion and Results: Blu-ray discs play great, Boxee solid so far, can access my network shares, browse on TV (a 42" 720p philips via hdmi)

[JSchloegel]

It's been a few months since you posted this, how is it running for you? How's MCE working for a DVR? The mobo you posted is currently 'deactivated' from NewEgg, but there is this -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379&Tpk=GA-MA78GM-US2H

Seems like it's related to the mobo you posted, so might that be a useable option?

The case you suggested, I read it only has a single HDD bay. Have you found this to be a problem?

Hopefully you can get back to me with these answers, I'd like to cut the cord from the cable company soon. Thanks.