Dragon_Cooler wrote:I am days away from purchasing a htpc for our bedroom and really need some advice. The biggest ones I am looking at are the AcerRevo, eeeBOX, or the Dell Zino. (or if i can buy and build what nate built)
All I can say is don't, at least, not unless you know exactly what you're getting into. These little machines aren't for people who are new to HTPC's. The lack of processing power limits them in what they can do and while a lot of the video decoding should be handled by the GPU (keyword: should), there are still some times when you'd need to fall back on the processor.
Dragon_Cooler wrote:-Low footprint
-Low power
-Low noise
-Play 1080p no prob
-GigE lan
-bluray/dvd is a + but not needed
-sub $600
Define "low footprint". If you don't need something ultra small form factor, you can easily save money by going microATX. Lots more options, too. Unfortunately, I'm not as well-versed in microATX options as I live in a small apartment and tend to look only at Mini-ITX components.
If you want Mini-ITX, Intel (with either NVIDIA or Intel chipset) is pretty much your only option. There's an NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Mini-ITX board available but it doesn't compare to the NVIDIA GeForce 9300/9400 chipset.
Right now, I have the following build planned for my next small form factor HTPC (Mini-ITX):
Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHz, $125
Zotac H55-ITX, $130
4GB DDR3 1600, $100
Mini-Box M350, $40
PicoPSU-120-WI-25, $55
19V 120W AC-DC adapter, $35
Seagate Momentus 5400.6 500GB, $85
TOTAL: $570 (no OS, no peripherals, no optical)
Alas, since it's a very new platform and the motherboard has yet to hit retail shelves, I expect I'll have a lot of teething issues. Fun part is it supports HD audio bitstreaming if your receiver can handle it. :D
If you don't fancy being a guinea pig, here's a reasonably powerful, inexpensive Mini-ITX build based on the more mature GeForce 9300 chipset.
Intel Celeron E3200 2.4GHz Wolfdale, $50
Zotac GF9300-G-E, $140
4GB DDR2 800, $100
Apex MI-008 w/250W PSU, $40
500GB 7200RPM 3.5" HDD, $55
LITE-ON 4X Blu-ray iHOS104-06, $60
TOTAL: $445 (no OS, no peripherals)
You'd still need to provide your own operating system, remote and Blu-ray playback software but you can also save on a number of things. For one thing, you can easily get away with just 2GB RAM on HTPC so with current RAM prices, that shaves off $50 from your build price. Heck, if you're like me, you probably have some DDR2 SDRAM lying around. Ditto on the HDD. Blu-ray will add the most expense since you'll need to buy both the drive and playback software. I say build your HTPC first and once you get everything working, just add Blu-ray support if you still have extra funds. Nowadays, it's easy enough to install the OS from a flash drive so you wouldn't even need an optical drive for the OS install.