Zotac MAG MAGHD-ND01-U (1 Viewer)

[WileECoyote]

In my recent quest for a small(er) footprint client, I have been playing around with a few concept PC's. I started with the Dell Zino HD which didnt work out too well for me. Then I purchased the Zotac MAG yesterday ($299 on Amazon) and have been amazed at how easy and quick it was to get it setup and working as a MP Client. I was so excited with this little machine I thought I would share with the community in case someone else is looking for a small client.

Hardware:
Zotac MAG MAGHD-ND01-U:
- Atom 330 Dual-Core processor
- NVidia ION
- 160gb 5400rpm
- 2gb Memory
- 1gb Network card
Microsoft Remote and Transciever
Wired connection 1gb

Software installed in this order...
- Windows 7 (32 bit) Home Premium
- Drivers from the Zotac provided CD
- All Windows Updates
- MP RC2
- SAF 4.0 Stable
- Arcsoft TME (The version that comes with the HDPVR)
- Haali Media Splitter
- Maya Skin
-- Moving Pictures
-- My TVSeries
-- My Netflix

All my content is either H.264, MPEG-2 or VC-1 which the Nvidia ION chipset decodes so this was a good choice for me. SAF sets the codec priorities, so there was no need for me to manually set the priorities. There are reports that it will not come out of standby, but it works just fine for me. The only BIOS tweeks were the fan settings, which I found on Newegg reviews.

I was amazed at how fast this unit loads MP and runs the interface. TV guide runs quick and loads fast. Videos take a few seconds to start, but run just as smooth as my server. My Netflix videos run just as good as the server. Other than not having a optical drive, this unit is otherwise perfect for my content.

I plan to replace one of my other clients with a machine exactly like this one. Zotec is going to release the ZBOX HD-ID11 which uses the Nvidia ION 2 and a newer Intel Atom processor sometime this month. I may wait as you can pick one of those units up without a drive or memory for $100 cheaper (around $200 bucks.) I have a few drives and some memory laying around, so I can make good use of the parts.

Wile E.

 

[joit]

sounds great!!!
why didn't you choose win 7 64bit?

 

[WileECoyote]

sounds great!!!
why didn't you choose win 7 64bit?

Hey Joit,
The box only has 2gb of memory and since MP is 32 bit anyway I dont think you would see much of a performance increase. The 32bit OS is very quick as is, the more I use that little box the more I am amazed at how well it performs.

I have two other clients I am looking to replace and I have been waiting for the Zotac ZBox to be released, that is going to be my next purchase. If its not released soon I may go ahead and get another MAG...

 

[VdR]

Agree. The ZOTAC is fabulous as MP client.

VdR

 

[orph]

old post, but wondering if you're still enjoying this system?

also, you mentioned there was a remote/receiver with it? is that true? everywhere I've seen, there's no sign of remote with it. nice if there was.

 

[VdR]

I am absolutely enjoying mine!

It still is the family room client connected to the projector giving a 108" screen and the Logitech amplifier giving 500W 5.1 sound. It plays TV, DVD and BluRay (from the server, no optical drive) without any problems. It is silent. It is fabulous.

Only downside is that it takes quite a while for Windows (running XP Pro SP3) to start up and MP to start.

I'm seriously considering to replace the chunky HP in the living with one of these.

For remote use an HP MCE remote with an external USB receiver, works like a charm.


VdR

 

[orph]

thank you for the reply. i appreciate it. one last question: wifi? i keep reading the wifi signal isn't really good. any feedback there?

 

[VdR]

Never tried the WiFi on the Zotac, didn't even install the drivers.

I stopped using WiFi for streaming years ago. My experience then was that the average speed was fine, but it was unreliable. I didn't want to bother debugging streaming problems if it 'always could have been a glitch of the WiFi connection'. I have wired 1G network everywhere.

Maybe some else has more recent /n experience.

VdR

 

[orph]

Thanks for the info. I just ordered one (of 2)... and i'll setup and test. Did a lot of research.... i already have an ASRock 330... but I'm with you on another one of you posts, where it has the plain essentials for a MP Client.

I'm not expecting the internal wifiN to be any good... so I'll add a USB wifiN adapter worst case. wifiG works fine with 720p material... not so much with 1080. And i'll connect a esata drive for my content.

thanks again... i'll let you know how it goes.

 

[WileECoyote]

old post, but wondering if you're still enjoying this system?

also, you mentioned there was a remote/receiver with it? is that true? everywhere I've seen, there's no sign of remote with it. nice if there was.

Hey Orph,
I have two units now, the original MAG MAGHD-ND01 and a ZBOX ZBOXHD-ND02-U. I had a few issues with live TV on the ZBox, but after adding a second stick of memory (running in dual-channel mode) it fixed my issue.

I am still VERY impressed with both units. Both are wired as the wireless is pretty useless (at least in my home.)

I use Microsoft remotes with the external receivers, but like VDR said the HP remote works well too.

Wile E.