WMC on ASRock Beebox N3150/B

[eclas]

Thinking about getting this mini pc for wmc. I have 2 silicondust hd primes so 6 tuners.
I plan on putting 8GB of memory (enough?), a 120gb ssd along with a 3TB external usb 3.0 drive for recordings.

Do you think this system will be enough horse power?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... lsrc=aw.ds

Thanks

[jjwatmyself]

I think CPU will be an issue. Gpu is also important if you plan to watch TV on the display.

http://m.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=I ... Hz&id=2546

As you can see, the score is just less then 1400. Look for something with scores around or above 3000 and you will have no issues recording three shows. Not sure if it would manage six. If you plan to watch TV on the display you will also need a newer gen with good integrated gpu.

[eclas]

Thanks for that feedback. I was wondering about gpu also. I'll look into one of those intel nuc's with a core i3 and intel hd graphics

[jjwatmyself]

Go as high end as the form factor you want will support, else you'll forever want to upgrade in order to achieve the performance available for that class. As time passes, you will be happy with the purchase for longer. Also, Mini-itx presents so many options.

[eclas]

I'm planning on only using it for WMC. I'm using a thinkserver with an i3 now that performs fine.
But you r right, I never have regretted when I've done what u say. It would make the machine last for more years.

Thanks again

[Doctor Feelgood]

What do you plan to do with this machine? Just watch TV and record a few shows? I would be worried about running any extenders or recording multiple simultaneous shows, but I would not be worried about perhaps watching one show and recording another. Are there other PCs sharing those 6 tuners or are they all for this machine?

I have had dual core Celerons with Intel HD graphics that did fine for watching one show and recording one other, but I never asked them to do more.

As was pointed out, more power is better, but depending on your expectations this machine might cut it.

[eclas]

well i'm just going by my existing system.
It has an i3-4130 @ 3.4ghz
Intel HD 4400 graphics

I have tested this system by recording 5 shows at the same time and also watching a live channel. It didn't burp once.
That tells me it's enough horsepower right?

[Ed]

My j1900 Celeron which was a quad core but with a passmark score only 500+ more was able to handle up to 3 extenders at once (had 4, just never had all 4 going together) and I ran 2 primes and some other tuners off of it (though don't think I ever had more than 3 recordings going at once). It even handled transcoding in Plex to my Chromecast and 360.

If you just wanna do WMC (no gaming, no multiple transcode sessions, no gaming, no madvr, just wmc and watching/recording) what you have originally picked should be just fine.

[eclas]

Thanks for the input Ed.
I think I will try my original choice and if it's not up to snuff I'll exchange it.

A side question. would a portable usb 3.0 drive (usb powered) be enough to handle a few recordings at once?

[steveo_in_sd]

GPU is not a factor at all if you use extenders to watch content, which is what I would recommend. You can get a used X360 for $50 and get better overall media performance than a $700 new PC, and it comes with a bunch of streaming apps that work with a remote instead of a keyboard. The rule of thumb is 1 CPU core of any basically any capability and 1 GB of RAM per active extender session. USB 3.0 connection (make sure USB port on PC is USB 3.0 too, of course) will be more than enough to handle 6 streams being recorded, but I might have some concerns with trying to also playback at the same time, especially to multiple extenders. Maybe two separate drives, one for recording and Live TV buffer and one for long term storage and playback? In teh long run, I think you'll be happier using an extender even if the extender is sitting right next to WMC PC under your TV. It takes a lot more work and you get less bang for the buck trying to hook the PC directly up to TV (in my opinion).

[sbaeder]

I disagree that it "takes more work..." whihch is why everyone has their own opinion... But since YMMV, go for what you think works for you. I use a lowly AM1 based board with an AMD Athlon 5350 Kabini Quad-Core 2.05 GHz - basically similar to the J1900 mentioned above. While only one HDHR, so max of 3 rec plus 1 viewing is no sweat for it (with usb3 drive for storage of record and playback). Then again, more power is better to ensure you stay "happy" longer...but it has a price either way.

Whichever way you go - good luck! and ENJOY!

[jjwatmyself]

I agree that extenders offer a better living room experience as the UI is designed for remotes and GPU on PC is no longer applicable, in fact you can even run that machine completely headless.

HD channels run up 15-18Mbps per stream. USB3.0 can handle 5Gbps, but the (spinning) disk will handle far less. Bottom line you won't saturate the disk IO capabilities with 6 tuners being viewed on 6 extenders, but there is a point that the spinning disk won't keep up due to the concurrency of the IO. I would choose eSATA over USB3.0 just because your eliminate a layer.

[eclas]

wow! u guys are awesome. I appreciate all your thoughts on this.
I will only be using 1 extender and the main pc. After reviewing all this info I am going to try my original system in the 1st post. It won't happen for a month or so but I will report back so other people can learn.

[Ed]

Plus you'll be good with 4gb ram. That's all I had and it worked fine since Windows Vista. 8 GB won't hurt but if its cheaper get 4.

[eclas]

ram is pretty cheap nowadays so i'll probably get the 8gb.
that way i can also eliminate insufficient memory right away, if there's a problem.

Plus you'll be good with 4gb ram. That's all I had and it worked fine since Windows Vista. 8 GB won't hurt but if its cheaper get 4.

[eclas]

ok, here's an update...
I got the asrock n3150 with 8gb of ram. I put an older 2.5 in ssd in it
This thing handles all the media fine.
The only downside i've seen so far is the navigation is a little slow but it all works fine.
If i were to do it again, i MIGHT consider a little faster cpu but this is certainly useable.

Thanks for the input people.

[mike_ekim]

Thanks for letting us know how it worked out.