Anyone useing an AMD E350 for sageTV client?

[ThePaladinTech]

I see a lot of people (me included) looking into the e350 as a possible client.
Zotac and Giada make prebuilt "bare-bones" units that are very small. currently (to me) pros:

giada unit includes remote, Very slim
Zotac unit includes mounting bracket, Optical Audio out

I'm leaning towards the Zotac as I need the optical out for my stereo.

So I again ask - Anyone currently have an E350 solution that they are using for SageTV?

update: I have found one person posting they are using it with SageTV but it's not good enough for netflix. I beleive the problem with netflix is that the version of silverlight they are using doesn't support the hardware acceleration, so that hopefully is a temporary problem. On top of that I am not sure if watching netflix via playon via sageTV would even be affected by that, seems like the heavy lifting at that point would be done on the server.

[jptheripper]

i was seriously considering the asus e3501-I deluxe

wifi, bluetooth, sata 6 .. seems like the most feature filled board.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by ThePaladinTech

I see a lot of people (me included) looking into the e350 as a possible client.
Zotac and Giada make prebuilt "bare-bones" units that are very small. currently (to me) pros:

It works, but the CPU is a bit underpowered to be a recommended solution unless budget is the primary concern.

[jchiso]

I just noticed my notebook has an E350. It works fine as both a Client and Media Center...

[babgvant]

Forgot to mention that I recently reviewed an E350 for Anandtech.

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by ThePaladinTech

So I again ask - Anyone currently have an E350 solution that they are using for SageTV?

I've just built the following to be run as a Sage client / web browser etc.

Case - Antec ISK-100, Black/Silver, Mini-i (with 90w pico psu)
Mobo - E35M1-I DELUXE MITX DDR3 HDMI DVI SATA 6GB/S GLN
HDD - 60GB OCZ Solid 3 SSD, 2.5" SATA 6Gb
Mem - Corsair XMS3 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz
OS - Win 7 Ultimate 64bit

Pro's:

It boots from cold in around 25 seconds.
Its small, low powered and very quiet if not silent.
So far it plays all my media content (1080p MKV, full 45Gb BluRay rips etc).

Cons:

Cpu is quite underpowered.
Doesn't play 1080p YouTube content very well (I think this is a general issue and there's a workaround somewhere).

I've only been running it for a little over a day so I'm sure I'll find more pro's and cons with it soon enough. In saying all that if I were to build another client I would probably go for a Llano setup instead but that would increase the price by a third.

[jptheripper]

wow thats almost the exact build i was specing. Have you tried streaming over wireless?

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

wow thats almost the exact build i was specing. Have you tried streaming over wireless?

No, my wireless network isn't good enough for HD...... the case is abit of a tight squeeze but it all fits in just about.

[alfi33]

I think the only thing holding me back from using an AMD E350 at this point is the reported poor performance of streaming HD Netflix. Although, admittedly this has nothing to do with Sage itself.

[ThePaladinTech]

Originally Posted by babgvant

Forgot to mention that I recently reviewed an E350 for Anandtech.

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

I ultimately went with an i5 sandybridge. I went with the i5 over the i3 for commercial skip reasons. The integrated chipset and tmt 5 do it all. 3d,bitstreaming hd audio everything you need. I hear the amd platforms are good as well but I wanted quicksynch for intel and transcoding speed ups. If you are building new a separate video card is no longer necessary IMHO.

Babgvant - The unit you reviewed is the exact one I am considering the most. Budget is a primary concern, with budget being a concern I do not want to buy something that won't do the job. I've read your review, I'm sure you tried sageTV on it - where specifically did it struggle with SageTV?

PluckyHD - but if it's a client how is comskip a concern? or are you thinking of when it becomes a client for whatever replaces SageTV?

For me the unit has to fit in a fairly height constrained space. (above the tivo in a shelf in the TV cabinet). Not only is the height an issue but with the cabinet being closed a lot I am concerned about heat. and I need one with an spdif out (preferably optical).

The Height and Heat concerns are what makes building a sandy bridge mini-itx system myself a challenge- all cases I have seen are either too big or include comments about how some mb's don't fit due to height - the space I have to work with is 2.5 inches - and that would be wedging it in, so 2inches would be better.

There is the possibility of getting a sandy bridge unit that mounts to the back of the TV Vesa mount. but not sure if that would be ideal in a cabinet either, access to the PC would be a pain.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by ThePaladinTech

Babgvant - The unit you reviewed is the exact one I am considering the most. Budget is a primary concern, with budget being a concern I do not want to buy something that won't do the job. I've read your review, I'm sure you tried sageTV on it - where specifically did it struggle with SageTV?

As a SageTV client it does a decent job - just slowly . Specifically, my biggest gripe as a client is how long it takes to load Sage; once it's open menu navigation is OK, but not as fast as something with a stronger CPU.

[bjterry62]

I just built a Sage client using the following hardware:

Foxconn AHD1S-K
G.Skill RIPJAWS 2gb DDR3 1066
WD Blue 2.5" 80gb 5400 hdd
Antec ISK-100

Total was under $300

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream


I also have another Sage client using this hardware:

Asus E35M1-M Pro mATX
Kingston HyperX 2gb DDR3 1333
WD Black 160gb 2.5 hdd
Samsung Slimm super multi DVD
Pico PSU
Custom case

Total was approx $450

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6498413...in/photostream


Both do a fine job as Sage clients. I do not watch any Netflix streaming as I have always been disappointed with their lack of content that interests me. I also do not use these clients for any Youtube viewing. I do watch some Hulu and haven't had any issues with it. The vast majority of my use is HDTV and DVD playback from hardwired server. This is handled flawlessly by these clients. Power usage is approx 16w idle and 28w load.

BT