Technology Net Top PCs

[THEV1LL4N]

So I'm considering getting the Acer Revo 100 or the Acer Revo R3600 or R3610.

I found the eMachines ER1401 AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core K325 for £200.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130536928802?_trkparms=clkid=1867952777324665935&_qi=RTM849255

Was wondering if this product is one to avoid, or is quite good.

I'm also considering whether or not to get a Net Top with a Blu-ray player (like the Revo 100), or get one without.

 

[Preach]

I don't know much about these types of PCs but just wanted to say, if you intend to use it as a "living room multimedia pc" you should definitely get bluray on it. from what you said in the other thread about a power circuit blowing out and affecting your motherboard i get the impression you are a bit tech savvy, savvy enough to build your own? that gives you limitless opportunities to tailor both performance, utility and price range.

 

[Pittsey]

Acer Revo 3700. Best one. ION chip. Easily plays back HD.

 

[Prize Gotti]

I should slap you for even considering buying an eMachine. Whats wrong with you?

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I don't know much about these types of PCs but just wanted to say, if you intend to use it as a "living room multimedia pc" you should definitely get bluray on it. from what you said in the other thread about a power circuit blowing out and affecting your motherboard i get the impression you are a bit tech savvy, savvy enough to build your own? that gives you limitless opportunities to tailor both performance, utility and price range.

i understand all the basics and some techy stuff. i'd say i'm savvy, but i dont have enough knowledge, time or the tools to build my own. i gave my friend who builds computers a list of specs and he quoted around £500 for a media centre. I'd spend that much on a desktop, not a living room device.

Although a Blu-ray optical drive would make it the complete solution, it adds unnecessary cost to the product. However, it would mean that I would have to use up a lot more HDD memory if I wanted HD movies, certainly ones i want to keep forever. Either that, or i'd have to buy a separate blu-ray player. I can get a Sony BDP S370 for around £80-£95.
http://www.froogle.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/sony/bdps370/sony-bdps370

So it's just a matter of working out the cost, convenience (memory storage vs physical storage; free downloads vs purchased movies) etc.

When my laptop failed, I told my friend to take the hard-drive out so I could keep it. Maybe i could put this in a caddy and use it as an external HDD so give the Net-Top PC more capacity.

Acer Revo 3700. Best one. ION chip. Easily plays back HD.

Doesn't seem too different from the 3610.
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/12427...7-Home-Premium-Nettop-Desktop-PC/Product.html

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I should slap you for even considering buying an eMachine. Whats wrong with you?

I dont know but the price is kinda attractive. Havent heard too much about them.

 

[Prize Gotti]

They're cheap cos they're made from cheap componants, the life span is terrible. They're preloaded with a shit full of junk that does nothing but eat ram. Not only that, in June this year, they released a BIOS update for one of their laptops which completely bricked every laptop that got the update.

 

[Pittsey]

i understand all the basics and some techy stuff. i'd say i'm savvy, but i dont have enough knowledge, time or the tools to build my own. i gave my friend who builds computers a list of specs and he quoted around £500 for a media centre. I'd spend that much on a desktop, not a living room device.

Although a Blu-ray optical drive would make it the complete solution, it adds unnecessary cost to the product. However, it would mean that I would have to use up a lot more HDD memory if I wanted HD movies, certainly ones i want to keep forever. Either that, or i'd have to buy a separate blu-ray player. I can get a Sony BDP S370 for around £80-£95.
http://www.froogle.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/sony/bdps370/sony-bdps370

So it's just a matter of working out the cost, convenience (memory storage vs physical storage; free downloads vs purchased movies) etc.

When my laptop failed, I told my friend to take the hard-drive out so I could keep it. Maybe i could put this in a caddy and use it as an external HDD so give the Net-Top PC more capacity.

Doesn't seem too different from the 3610.
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/12427...7-Home-Premium-Nettop-Desktop-PC/Product.html

It's got the nvidia ion chip. That's the difference.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/sff_ion.html

 

[masta247]

Emachines is the cheapest Acer brand I wouldn't go for them. I'd find a shop that will build you a cheap PC with good quality components.

 

[Preach]

Just out of curiosity Sandeep, what were the specs you were looking for? I prolly won't have time to sit down and look at components and shit before the end of August so if you're getting one soon I'm of no help anyway, but I don't buy the $500. If you add to that list of components what you want the PC to do, and what you absolutely don't want it to do, that will also help. I'm sure me, Prize or masta can sew together a proposed eMachine that your friend could build for you that's not that pricey maybe.

 

[Pittsey]

Revo rocks... Trust me.

 

[Prize Gotti]

Id go with the Acer Revo like Pittsey has. Ive read alot on the XBMC forum recommending them for use as a HTPC.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

the quote my friend gave me was for a media centre for about £500 (if i remember correctly). He doesnt do net-top PCs like the Revo. The closest he does to that is the media centre or maybe a mini pc.

This is the email that he sent me:

The cheapest Media Centre I can build you in this small form factor
> style is around £470, this includes:
>
> Small media centre case as shown in picture
> DVD-RW Drive
> Intel Core 2 2.8GHZ Cpu
> 250GB Sata2 Hard Drive
> 2GB DDR2 Ram
> ATI 512MB HDMI/DVI and VGA Graphics card
>
>
> To add remote control facility you could add this:
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Remote-Control-Receiver-Windows/dp/B0007SQH3E
>
> This will allow you to browse through your media centre with no keyboard
> or mouse. Allows you to play/pause/forward/navigate through your media
> collection.
>
>
> To add wireless functionality please add £20 for a wireless-n graphics
> card (Allows you wireless access to internet and ability to add files to
> your media centre wirelessly through a network share.

In response to these specs:

AMD chip (Single core/Dual core?)
1GB/2GB RAM
80GB/120GB/160GB/180GB/320GB HDD
2/3/4 USB ports
HDMI port
Decent Graphics card (for skype, video playback etc)
Operating System (Windows 7/Ubuntu 11)
Ethernet/Wireless


Thinking of hooking this up as a media centre in the living room.


The idea is to have, Sony Bravia 46 inch TV + Wireless keyboard & mouse + webcam = media centre; and basic entertainment use.

I think he took the words 'media centre' literally. I might as well get the Revo for that price, because it's wireless and i'd be getting a Blu-ray player included. His Media Centre PC quote was a bit pricey.

 

[Pittsey]

If you're getting a media centre and you don't buy the acer revo 3700 and install xbmc on it.... Then you've fucked up.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

i will install XBMC on whatever computer device i get for the living room. I'm saving up for whatever i get.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I bought the Acer Revo R3700 yesterday. Linux, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, nVidia Ion 2 and a Wireless Keyboard/Mouse according to the description. Awaiting delivery.

Just two months ago, I could've bought it for £199 with free delivery, but the price then went up to £230. I got it for £218 in case the price went back to £230 or more. I'll hook this up to the living room TV.

@Pittsey: Does it have Ubuntu on it, or just simply Linux?

 

[THEV1LL4N]

If you're getting a media centre and you don't buy the acer revo 3700 and install xbmc on it.... Then you've fucked up.

I've always remembered this post so I will take your advice.

I'm also pretty excited to install Spotify using WINE, and finally be able to use my YouTube Remote Android app.

I've got the rest of Season 1 of Modern Family to watch (and i'll just watch Season 2 again for the sake of it) before I watch Season 3 via Sky Anytime. The Sopranos, Da Ali G Show, Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Coupling, and I might download The Big Bang Theory for the sake of it. Then there's the movies that don't work on the Sony TV via USB, so I'll be able to watch those. I'm looking forward to Fast & Furious 5 in 1080p, and Toy Story 3 in 720p.

I love looking through photos with the family, so it'll be better with the PC. The Sony TV has Picasa built in but its not quite the same (plus i've been having log in issues). The Picasa application should be sick for this.

Emulators!!

Edit: This should allow for channels to be cut from Sky (meaning cheaper bill) and perhaps render a DVD/Blu-ray player useless as movies can be streamed or downloaded = buying fewer DVDs and thus less space consumption. I just have to figure out what im going to do with some of the DVDs I already have (e.g. Limited edition box sets of Scarface and The Godfather, and some of the other classics). Maybe just keep them and get rid of many.

Thanks very much Pittsey and co.

 

[Pittsey]

I don't know if it was ubuntu, possibly. I didn't even boot it up before I messed with it.

I am going to be putting a windows build on it now though, with XBMC of course. As I just purchased a server with WHS11 on it. Made myself £300 as well, when I sold my QNAP. I now have a better CPU, more ram and loads more storage. And running windows... Which I understand more easily than Linux...

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Im hoping it comes with Ubuntu, otherwise i'll probably install it via usb. I heard the latest (beta) version of Ubuntu is a major improvement. Something to do with Long-term Support and a new kernel.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

So the Acer Revo R3700 arrived today.

It has Linpus Linux (with Acer 'Nagware' on it). I want to install Ubuntu from USB. Is it safe to do this, or do I need to update the kernel or something?

Also experienced sound issues. I'm using a HDMI cable but there is no sound available. I've checked the system settings, TV settings and web browser settings. All seem to be fine. I did read that Linux often treats HDMI as just an output for display and by default ignores audio transmission. Any tips?