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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.
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.