View Full Version : Which Ion based system should I buy?
medicineuk
2009-05-24, 17:01
Hi all so I'm looking at getting a ION based machine to run XBMC and maybe some sort of torrent client. OS will probably be linux, really just so I can utilize VDPAU.
My budget is about £150-£250 I have thought about building my own PC but I'm a linux noob, so I can imagine it would just be a nightmare trying to get to grips with a new OS and making drivers work correctly (I'm currently a Mac user).
The Machines I have been looking at are
ASRock ION 330
http://www.asrock.com/nettop/spec/ION%20330.asp
Pros Dual-Core, DVD Drive Cons Can't find anywhere to buy it, no clue on the price.
Acer Aspire Revo
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-Revo-R3600-Desktop/dp/B00292BR1I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1243172911&sr=8-1
Pros Cheap, Available, doesn't look to bad. Cons Small fan, Small 8gb HD on lower model, not Dual-Core, no Optical or Coaxial audio, I have seen this machine trying to run play flash hulu videos and it was dropping frames.
H1 Hotel PC
http://www.aleutia.com/products/h1-hotel-pc
Pros Silent, Dual-Core, Cons Price seems a bit more pricey compared to others, 8GB Hard drive, No Wifi on low end model.
I needed the machine to
- Run 1080p video
- Run a torrent client
- play SD Flash without issues.
I thought that this info might be helpful for anyone else looking at buying a ION based machine. If anyone knows of a better machine that might be coming out in the near future please let me know.
ultrabrutal
2009-05-24, 20:33
The ASRock has much better specs than the Revo. I think I will wait for it... Thanks :)
Faster dual core CPU
More memory
Near silent
Optical drive
This summer there will come ION netbooks also. Perhaps they will be even cooler for XBMC. Then you can take it on the road also :)
H1 Hotel PC seems to be a good option.
Ubuntu 9.04 pre-installed, so I asume drivers would be working ok (VDPAU an so)
The price (199GBP for the single-core version and 249GBP for the dual-core version) isn't too high, similar to the offers in mini-itx.com
Take a look to this offer from mini-itx.com
ION Bundle (2): Zotac ION-ITX-A Dual Core Atom N330 Motherboard; M350 Universal Mini-ITX Case; 4GB DDR2 800 Memory (2x 2GB DIMMs); Optional HDD/SSD
Lead time approx 1-2 weeks £239.00
It's similar, but without SSD HD and without OS installed and configured.
ultrabrutal
2009-05-25, 16:12
Lenovo S12 ION Netbook (http://gizmodo.com/5268833/lenovo-s12-is-the-first-netbook-with-nvidia-ion-costs-under-500)
medicineuk
2009-05-25, 18:16
H1 Hotel PC seems to be a good option.
Ubuntu 9.04 pre-installed, so I asume drivers would be working ok (VDPAU an so)
The price (199GBP for the single-core version and 249GBP for the dual-core version) isn't too high, similar to the offers in mini-itx.com
Take a look to this offer from mini-itx.com
ION Bundle (2): Zotac ION-ITX-A Dual Core Atom N330 Motherboard; M350 Universal Mini-ITX Case; 4GB DDR2 800 Memory (2x 2GB DIMMs); Optional HDD/SSD
Lead time approx 1-2 weeks £239.00
It's similar, but without SSD HD and without OS installed and configured.
Once tax is added the costs look like this.
ION Bundle (2) from mini-itx.com
£261.05
H1 Hotel PC
£297.85
You end up paying them £40 for a 8GB SSD card and a pre-installed OS. From the amount of time that it would take me to work out how to install Ubuntu and get all the drivers working this might be worth it? If only someone could copy there configured OS then it would be happy days.
H1 Hotel PC
£297.85
€297 = £259
The price of H1 Hotel PC is £259 (shipping cost included), not £297
¿Do you refer to €297?
In order to compare same items ....
mini-itx ION BUNDLE (1) with IONITX-A (N330 dual core) + 2Gb RAM + SSD 30GB = 395GBP (including shipment to spain - 40GBP)
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/basket.asp?action=refresh&c=53&p4017=0&p497=1&p2656=1&p1012=1&d=22
Same items from ALEUTIA, but assembled and with the OS installed, 349GBP (shipment to Spain included)
46GBP cheaper with ALEUTIA, and:
- OS installed (ubuntu 9.04)
- Assembled
- 10GBP shipment flat rate
In addition, mini-itx.com have this board out of stock, they claim to have more in 1-2 weeks.
In this case I selected the 30GB SSD for have identical items to compare, but I think 8GB compact flash can do the work for installing the OS and a external HD - USB can be the storage set.
Do you think Compact Flash is fast enough have good behavior with ubuntu+xbmc? (20MB/sec of CF vs 90MB/sec of SSD)
medicineuk
2009-05-26, 01:51
€297 = £259
The price of H1 Hotel PC is £259 (shipping cost included), not £297
¿Do you refer to €297?
I thought the same thing for a while but that price is excluding VAT so once you add VAT the price ends up at around £297
Starstream
2009-05-26, 11:28
No way to tell until someone buys one but the H1 Hotel PC has a picture of the Zotac Ion motherboard on its specs page.
The Zotac Ion board does not support wake on usb and never will until a new revision of the motherboard ships.
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=601
Something to be aware of if you plan on using it.
TREX6662k5
2009-05-26, 23:29
In addition, mini-itx.com have this board out of stock, they claim to have more in 1-2 weeks.
People who have pre-ordered the Atom330 board get their items shipped on the 27th May. So I expect my delivery to be made on the 29th May if its a inland company.
I ordered the Atom330 bundle, 4GB Ram, no hard drive. = £284.05
Aleutia H1 Deluxe, 4GB Ram, No HDD, No OS = £326.60
Aleutia H1 Deluxe, 4GB Ram, No HDD, No OS = £284.00
+ VAT (15%) = £326.60
(but same price with os installed)
£42 more expensive than mini-itx.com (the assembling work?)
Please, report your experience with this toy. ¿what type of disk will you use for the system? ¿CF card with sata adaptor, ssd, 2.5" sata disk, ...?
:nod:
TREX6662k5
2009-05-27, 00:19
I have a 500gb 2.5" hard drive around that I plan to use with it. Will store OS, music and my video library. It won't take too long for me to fill that up but the case used (both mini-itx and aleutia) can take 2 2.5" drives.
Though I maybe switch to PXEBooting at one point.
what type of disk will you use for the system? ¿CF card with sata adaptor, ssd, 2.5" sata disk, ...?
:nod:
I'm tossing up between a CF card and a USB stick. Any particular reason to choose one over the other?
althekiller
2009-05-27, 02:27
I'd replace that useless wifi card with a pci-e SSD. ;)
I'd replace that useless wifi card with a pci-e SSD. ;)
Or a dvb-t video receiver ....
With this option and wake from usb, it could be perfect for an htpc with xbmc+mythtv
:rofl:
medicineuk
2009-05-29, 00:06
The ASRock ION 330 came out today http://www.asrock.com/nettop/spec/ION%20330.asp and I couldn't resist ordering it. I'm not sure how much it is else where but in the UK it retails at about £300 inc VAT give or take £10. I ended up ordering it from here http://www.zonetronics.com/ but it is slightly cheaper from this site http://wcs-hosting.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=21
Hopefully I will get my hands of the little bugger in the next couple of days :grin:. It doesn't come with an OS installed but I'm going to install windows 7 as it looks like some progress has been made on DXVA http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33323&page=12 and I would rather install an OS that I'm familiar with.
The only thing that might be worth noting is from what I have read it looks like the machine does not come WiFi. This isn't a huge issue for me as I have a couple of wireless USB sticks hanging around but it might be an extra cost for others.
I will report back after I have had a proper play with it.
The ASRock ION 330 came out today http://www.asrock.com/nettop/spec/ION%20330.asp and I couldn't resist ordering it. I'm not sure how much it is else where but in the UK it retails at about £300 inc VAT give or take £10. I ended up ordering it from here http://www.zonetronics.com/ but it is slightly cheaper from this site http://wcs-hosting.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=21
Hopefully I will get my hands of the little bugger in the next couple of days :grin:. It doesn't come with an OS installed but I'm going to install windows 7 as it looks like some progress has been made on DXVA http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33323&page=12 and I would rather install an OS that I'm familiar with.
The only thing that might be worth noting is from what I have read it looks like the machine does not come WiFi. This isn't a huge issue for me as I have a couple of wireless USB sticks hanging around but it might be an extra cost for others.
I will report back after I have had a proper play with it.
Do you have your Asrock yet because I'm very interested to here how it performs with 1080p not just with XBMC but obviously that as well
Be nice if you could try XBMC live see how it does with VDPAU acceleration, would have been nice to know how well it performed using CoreAVC and CUDA on 1080p but as your using win 7 I doubt it would work as CoreAVC doesn't officially support win 7
Any feedback in general would be great
Starstream
2009-06-02, 16:34
I've ordered an Asrock Ion 330 unit from here (http://www.shinyhardware.co.uk/prods/showprod.asp?pid=12168) so I should have it hopefully in 2-3 days.
I'll post my impressions of it with XBMC Live once I get it.
I've ordered an Asrock Ion 330 unit from here (http://www.shinyhardware.co.uk/prods/showprod.asp?pid=12168) so I should have it hopefully in 2-3 days.
I'll post my impressions of it with XBMC Live once I get it.
If they go out of stock now I'll blame you :laugh:
Nice company they have 100% rating on ebay from 11359 customers :shocked:
Look forward to hearing how it performs especially with Aeon
You can blame me too ! I've ordered mine from the same website.
Yesterday, my status was awaiting despatch...
You can blame me too ! I've ordered mine from the same website.
Yesterday, my status was awaiting despatch...
The more the merrier :;):
The more people testing them the better AFAIC
joebrady
2009-06-02, 20:01
http://gizmodo.com/5275640/pc+in+a+vase-was-created-by-a-real-company-not-a-dodgy-hacker
theonwtwo3
2009-06-03, 08:27
Thanks guys for your comments about IONSTAR 330. I finally bought the black model from http://www.zonetronics.com (http://www.zonetronics.com/products/IONSTAR_330_SFF_PC_BLACK_DC_ATOM_330_ION_DX10_GFX_ 2GB_320GB_DVDRW_NO_O_S-36848-47.html), they seem to be the cheapest at £298.97 inc vat and I also included in my order a copy of Win Vista 32bit (http://www.zonetronics.com/products/MICROSOFT_WINDOWS_VISTA_HOME_PREMIUM_EDITION_32_BI T_OEM_DVD_SINGLE_COPY-36540-1055.html?SBSRecClicked=SBS.Events.recClicked(%2C1 45409000%2C44764272)&sbswidgetid=widgetDetailPage) for £94 inc vat. I called their customer service to enquiry about delivery and I ended up getting a promo code for £5 off my order (PROMO5). They only do next day delivery.
I'm quite happy with the performance and video quality of this little machine. I really recommend it and Zonetronics.com were very friendly and speedy delivery.
medicineuk
2009-06-03, 13:47
Do you have your Asrock yet because I'm very interested to here how it performs with 1080p not just with XBMC but obviously that as well
Be nice if you could try XBMC live see how it does with VDPAU acceleration, would have been nice to know how well it performed using CoreAVC and CUDA on 1080p but as your using win 7 I doubt it would work as CoreAVC doesn't officially support win 7
Any feedback in general would be great
Got the IONSTAR on Monday and have been playing with it for the last couple of days.
Video playback
I have installed windows 7 so can't really comment on the VDPAU performance. DVXA under windows is brilliant I can play full 1080p movies without dropping a frame at the moment I'm using Windows Media Center which works with DVXA out the box. I'm going to install XBMC and set it up to open videos in an external player but haven't got round to that yet.
Without DXVA you basically can't play 720 or over it's really close to being able to play 720 the video is completely watchable. Only problem is every now and again it drops a frame which means the audio goes out of sync. Maybe 720 will be possible on a less demanding OS like linux
Windows 7
Using windows 7 for general browsing is pretty nippy every now and again you might have to wait for something to load but I was surprised about how fast it is.
Flash Content
SD Flash plays without any problems and you can get pretty close to HD, maybe one day we will see DXVA or VDPAU in flash :grin:
Instant Boot
This sounds amazing but after trying it out, not so much. When you shutdown your machine instant boot will basically turn it back on again and then put it to sleep just before it get to the login screen. Next time you press the on button instant boot just turns the PC back on from where it was before, so to some people this looks like it's taken 4 seconds to boot up. :sniffle:
The main issue that people may have with the IONSTAR is the fan, although you can change it to silent in the BOIS you can still hear it. It's by no means loud and maybe I'm just being to picky but in a completely silent room at the dead of night you can hear the fan spinning :nerd:
On the whole so far so good, I'm really happy with the machine it's pretty quick works well and when DXVA is enabled it preforms like a power house. The BOIS is really easy to use and you can overclock the machine at a touch of a button.
I'm going to try out xbmc live in the next couple of days will let you know how it goes.
Got the IONSTAR on Monday and have been playing with it for the last couple of days.
I'm going to try out xbmc live in the next couple of days will let you know how it goes.
So you haven't tryed installing XBMC in windows 7?
Preformance with AEON skin is my biggest doubt.
TREX6662k5
2009-06-03, 14:30
So you haven't tryed installing XBMC in windows 7?
Preformance with AEON skin is my biggest doubt.
Whats the point. XBMC can't hardware accelerate in Windows7. If it would be any OS it would have to be Linux.
medicineuk
2009-06-03, 15:37
Whats the point. XBMC can't hardware accelerate in Windows7. If it would be any OS it would have to be Linux.
Yer without hardware accelerate it kinda takes the shine off XBMC. Having said that I have installed XBMC with Aeon and it run smoothly. The only problem is at the moment I can't get fan art and cover art to load http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52109
Maybe with the extra over head of loading in the fanart it will cause problems? I will let you know when I have everything fixed.
I would imagine that Aeon would run fine under linux as I it's not struggling under Windows7.
Got the IONSTAR on Monday and have been playing with it for the last couple of days.
Video playback
I have installed windows 7 so can't really comment on the VDPAU performance. DVXA under windows is brilliant I can play full 1080p movies without dropping a frame at the moment I'm using Windows Media Center which works with DVXA out the box. I'm going to install XBMC and set it up to open videos in an external player but haven't got round to that yet.
Without DXVA you basically can't play 720 or over it's really close to being able to play 720 the video is completely watchable. Only problem is every now and again it drops a frame which means the audio goes out of sync. Maybe 720 will be possible on a less demanding OS like linux
Windows 7
Using windows 7 for general browsing is pretty nippy every now and again you might have to wait for something to load but I was surprised about how fast it is.
Flash Content
SD Flash plays without any problems and you can get pretty close to HD, maybe one day we will see DXVA or VDPAU in flash :grin:
Instant Boot
This sounds amazing but after trying it out, not so much. When you shutdown your machine instant boot will basically turn it back on again and then put it to sleep just before it get to the login screen. Next time you press the on button instant boot just turns the PC back on from where it was before, so to some people this looks like it's taken 4 seconds to boot up. :sniffle:
The main issue that people may have with the IONSTAR is the fan, although you can change it to silent in the BOIS you can still hear it. It's by no means loud and maybe I'm just being to picky but in a completely silent room at the dead of night you can hear the fan spinning :nerd:
On the whole so far so good, I'm really happy with the machine it's pretty quick works well and when DXVA is enabled it preforms like a power house. The BOIS is really easy to use and you can overclock the machine at a touch of a button.
I'm going to try out xbmc live in the next couple of days will let you know how it goes.
Thanks for the detailed reply, the problem with DXVA is unless x264/mkv are encoded correctly it cant be used so its hit or miss whether you get hardware acceleration or not unless your encoding your own
Where if you use CoreAVC and CUDA it can hardware accelerate all x264/mkv, someone told me they could play 1080p using CoreAVC without CUDA enabled with CPU at around 50% - 55% (but they where using win7 and that's not supported by CoreAVC, when they enabled CUDA it made no difference so its possible it was actually using it) it really needs XP or Vista for CoreAVC to function correctly
I believe VDPAU also accelerates everything ?
Is hyper threading turned on in the bios by default might be worth checking its on :laugh:
medicineuk
2009-06-03, 16:09
Thanks for the detailed reply, the problem with DXVA is unless x264/mkv are encoded correctly it cant be used so its hit or miss whether you get hardware acceleration or not unless your encoding your own
Where if you use CoreAVC and CUDA it can hardware accelerate all x264/mkv, someone told me they could play 1080p using CoreAVC without CUDA enabled with CPU at around 50% - 55% (but they where using win7 and that's not supported by CoreAVC, when they enabled CUDA it made no difference so its possible it was actually using it) it really needs XP or Vista for CoreAVC to function correctly
I believe VDPAU also accelerates everything ?
Is hyper threading turned on in the bios by default might be worth checking its on :laugh:
Thanks for the info, I noticed one of two of my files are not playing correctly maybe this is the issue.
In an ideal world I would be running linux but it just looks to hard to setup drivers etc. I come from a mac background so even the windows world is a little to complex. Maybe if one of you guys get linux install you can post info on how easy/ hard it was to get everything working correctly.
My only really problem with linux is that at the moment I'm using uTorrent to automate all my downloading, it pulls shows off RSS and the places them in the correct folder, which is really nice. Is there anything that can do this on linux the main linux torrent client is transmission isn't it?
Thanks for the info, I noticed one of two of my files are not playing correctly maybe this is the issue.
In an ideal world I would be running linux but it just looks to hard to setup drivers etc. I come from a mac background so even the windows world is a little to complex. Maybe if one of you guys get linux install you can post info on how easy/ hard it was to get everything working correctly.
My only really problem with linux is that at the moment I'm using uTorrent to automate all my downloading, it pulls shows off RSS and the places them in the correct folder, which is really nice. Is there anything that can do this on linux the main linux torrent client is transmission isn't it?
I believe people use ktorrent as an alternative to utorrent under linux which I believe supports RSS
http://ktorrent.org/
The manual is here which mentions RSS
http://ktorrent.org/wiki/index.php/Manual
Don't forget you can install XBMC Live to USB and use it that way if it supports booting from USB in the bios then you don't need to install linux
Or dual boot linux and windows is another option
Yer without hardware accelerate it kinda takes the shine off XBMC. Having said that I have installed XBMC with Aeon and it run smoothly. The only problem is at the moment I can't get fan art and cover art to load http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52109
Maybe with the extra over head of loading in the fanart it will cause problems? I will let you know when I have everything fixed.
I would imagine that Aeon would run fine under linux as I it's not struggling under Windows7.
Thanks a lot .....keep us posted
HexusOdy
2009-06-03, 16:45
How about this?
http://yertech.blogspot.com/2009/06/asus-c2n7a-i-spotted-pairs-celeron-220.html
My only really problem with linux is that at the moment I'm using uTorrent to automate all my downloading, it pulls shows off RSS and the places them in the correct folder, which is really nice. Is there anything that can do this on linux the main linux torrent client is transmission isn't it?
Hello medicineuk,
For P2P, you can complement your XBMC Linux system with MLDonkey.
The good news:
- It works as a service, so you can manage it via web, via telnet, or via GUI (like sancho GUI), from the same machine or from other machine over the lan or over internet.
- It supports many protocols/networks (edonkey, torrent, ftp, overnet, ....)
- Autoload of torrents (all torrents that you drop to /usr/lib/mldonkey/torrent/incoming automatically starts the download)
- Easy installation with synaptic or apt-get
The bad news:
- A bit tricky configuration (maybe)
- Doesn't pulls torrents RSS nativelly, but here (http://mldonkey.sourceforge.net/Broadcatch) is a practical workaround, using autoload of torrents, a little bash script and scheduling with the crontab.
MacGyver
2009-06-03, 21:24
medicineuk,
As far as drivers go with linux, Ubuntu 9.04 had EVERY driver for my netbook in it. I hadn't used linux in a long while, and I installed it, installed XBMC, installed a bluetooth driver, lirc, and setup my PS3 remote. It was pretty easy, Ubuntu is really close to a general public OS now, if not already. Some things I had to look up, but all I needed were these forums and the search box. All you really need to be able to do is type sudo apt-get install xxxxxx and it does most if not all the work. Just pull an old harddrive out of the closet, and give it a try.:nod:
Are there devices where i can put two 3,5" HDD's into it?
(..)
My only really problem with linux is that at the moment I'm using uTorrent to automate all my downloading, it pulls shows off RSS and the places them in the correct folder, which is really nice. Is there anything that can do this on linux the main linux torrent client is transmission isn't it?
Just run utorrent with wine, it works just like it does in windows. You only have to make sure to use a newer wine version than 1.1.6, since there was a bug which slows down speeds.
althekiller
2009-06-03, 22:24
Why is the last page and a half of the "Which ION based system should I buy" thread on about bittorrent clients?
medicineuk
2009-06-04, 04:41
Why is the last page and a half of the "Which ION based system should I buy" thread on about bittorrent clients?
Opps sorry about that, it's probably my fault :rofl: but thanks for all the suggestions all the same.
Ok so I have just installed linux and windows 7 dual boot on my IONSTAR. I have one thing to say LINUX KICKS ASS.
It took a bit of doing but I now have everything setup and working under linux, Wireless, Optical Sound, Nvidia drivers, VDPAU, XBMC. All my videos play perfectly this setup rocks.
I'm going to remove windows completely tomorrow.:laugh:
If there are any beginners, like myself that would like a write up on how to get all this stuff working on the IONSTAR let me know. I'll post something up in a new thread. Maybe we should bring this thread back on topic and start a linux thread for IONSTAR owners like the REVO one.
are you running the live version or did you install ubuntu + xbmc as an application?
clackerdacker
2009-06-04, 10:59
If there are any beginners, like myself that would like a write up on how to get all this stuff working
That would be cool.
I'd like to know about remote controls and the IonStar.
What remotes and sensors are people using? Also, does it resume from standby? Interested in both Linux and Windows stories if anyone wants to share.
Cheers,
Alex
medicineuk
2009-06-04, 14:00
I'd like to know about remote controls and the IonStar.
What remotes and sensors are people using? Also, does it resume from standby? Interested in both Linux and Windows stories if anyone wants to share.
Cheers,
Alex
I haven't setup a remote control but I can resume from sleep with my wireless RF mouse and keyboard on both windows and linux, don't know if that helps. I have a harmony 555 so hoping to get that setup at some point.
are you running the live version or did you install ubuntu + xbmc as an application?
did a full ubuntu install.
@medicineuk
Did you notice much difference between how well the GUI functioned ie speed, smoothness etc between Linux and Windows
I would like to know as I was thinking of using it in XP and launching an external player mainly because of the video and audio codecs I could then use assuming I could get my head around doing this in XBMC :rolleyes:
If anyone installs XP or Vista I would really like to know how CoreAVC performs with and without CUDA enabled
Which reminds me are the SATA drivers on the driver disk so I could slipstream them into XP ?
medicineuk
2009-06-04, 22:36
@medicineuk
Did you notice much difference between how well the GUI functioned ie speed, smoothness etc between Linux and Windows
I would like to know as I was thinking of using it in XP and launching an external player mainly because of the video and audio codecs I could then use assuming I could get my head around doing this in XBMC :rolleyes:
If anyone installs XP or Vista I would really like to know how CoreAVC performs with and without CUDA enabled
Which reminds me are the SATA drivers on the driver disk so I could slipstream them into XP ?
Linux is much faster. To be honest when I installed it I thought that it was going to be a nightmare to get everything up and running but it really wasn't a problem at all.
If you looking to use your ION computer as just a media center i would install Linux and forget windows altogether. I did a clean install today and completely removed windows I took screens as I went along so I will post them soon with full install instruction.
eddietop
2009-06-04, 22:51
Cool that would be useful medicineuk. My revo is on order with play.com ordered the £150 linux version weeks ago but its still not shipped :(
Linux is much faster. To be honest when I installed it I thought that it was going to be a nightmare to get everything up and running but it really wasn't a problem at all.
If you looking to use your ION computer as just a media center i would install Linux and forget windows altogether. I did a clean install today and completely removed windows I took screens as I went along so I will post them soon with full install instruction.
Always nice to have a guide, I'm familiar with linux, ubuntu and other systems although a bit rusty not familiar with XBMC
I'm currently in the process of upgrading to a new amp and speakers so as a stop gap I'm using my PC system (logitech Z-5500) this is fine under windows with ac3 filter and zoom player as you can have a lot of control of 5.1 over optical and can achieve a pretty decent sound, using passthrough only and its pretty crap I'm guessing under XBMC Linux its just passthrough ?
Just trying to get a feel of whats possible before I decide to buy an Ion system or build something more powerful, if an Ion is perfectly capable then I'm not going to build
medicineuk
2009-06-05, 01:35
Hello all, as promised the guide is up
Guide to installing XBMC on a ION machine
http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52259
I'm really excited about the Ionstar 330 as a XBMC platform. I think the Revo is better looking and it has a memory card slot (which I like...), but the Ionstar has the dual core 330 and an optical drive and I'm not ready to abandon or rip my 300+ disc DVD collection just yet.
Before I pull the trigger on yet another HTPC solution, there are some pressing questions:
I've read about the problem that you can't apply VDPAU post-processing filters to MPEG-2 video, meaning DVD's. Does that mean all DVD video looks like shit or is it just a matter of crap de-interlacing methods for interlaced material?
Secondly, how reliable is Suspend on these things and can it be woken up by USB?
I'm being specially diligent this time around after buying the Shuttle X100 with an Radeon Mobility X1400 and an everlasting promise of better VSync, but after one year I'm still getting tearing and the card has just been declared legacy by ATI with no support in new drivers. I'm running the open source xorg-driver-ati driver now, which shows promise, but I'm getting tired of promise and I'm looking for something that delivers now.
When you doing a youtube demo lol :grin:
Starstream
2009-06-06, 09:37
Well I've gotten my Asrock Ionstar 330 & installed XBMC Live
Two significant problems;
* Audio over HDMI doesn't work
* The unit when coming out of sleep displays an X in the center of the screen which will not go away until you reboot the machine.
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8169/p0149.th.jpg (http://img197.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p0149.jpg)
The good news:
* GPU acceleration works great
* The unit is responsive when navigating the UI (not as snappy as a higher end system)
* Wake on USB works perfectly with Microsoft MCE USB IR & MCE remote
* I can stream 1080p MKV from my NAS just fine.
* It is reasonably quiet you should not hear its fan when playing content or if it is sitting in an AV cabinet/stand. Not as loud as an Xbox 360 (with no disc) but not as quiet as a PS3 either.
I'm going to try the SPDIF output later to see if I can coax so some audio out of this but the sleep x issue is a killer as that stays on screen even through video.
Edit: Working audio over SPDIF (http://xbmc.org/forum/showpost.php?p=347185&postcount=56).
I also upgraded the RAM from 2GB to 4GB DDR2 (its super cheap now so why not) there was little difference overall but XBMC Live did seem to be a touch more snappy after the upgrade. In the bios I set the onboard GPU to use 512MB of RAM.
Also does anyone know how to correct in XBMC the colour setting so its not running in 0-255 mode for PC's but in 16-235 which is for TV's, this produces very strong blacks even in the UI, I know you can raise the brightness and contrast in XBMC OSD video controls to compensate but I would prefer for it to run in 16-235 if at all possible ?
Two significant problems;
* Audio over HDMI doesn't work
Have you enable "Onboard HDMI HD Audio" in the bios, other than that its probably a driver problem
Starstream
2009-06-06, 10:17
Have you enable "Onboard HDMI HD Audio" in the bios, other than that its probably a driver problem
Yup, tried several combination, on my test system I built prior to getting the Ionstar 330 all I had to do was set audio output to digital and use iec958 for both the audio outputs to get HDMI audio but I'm not getting anything at all.
inframan
2009-06-06, 11:37
Got the IONSTAR on Monday and have been playing with it for the last couple of days.
The main issue that people may have with the IONSTAR is the fan, although you can change it to silent in the BOIS you can still hear it. It's by no means loud and maybe I'm just being to picky but in a completely silent room at the dead of night you can hear the fan spinning :nerd:
I just got one of these the fan noise is not super loud but it it oscillates which for me is just annoying. I tried speedfan to switch it off when not really needed but didn't get it to work. Probably the mother board is too new.
Does yours oscillate too, just wondering if mine is from a faulty batch.
JUICESIX90
2009-06-06, 12:02
Could someone let me know if the Aeon skin runs smoothly with Asrock 330?
Thanks ;)
Starstream
2009-06-06, 13:07
Just an update but I now have audio working over SPDIF for the Asrock Ionstar 330.
Disable HDMI audio in the bios just leaving HD audio enabled, default settings for digital audio in XBMC Live will work and output audio over the optical SPDIF connection.
Only the X issue to square away after this.
{I also followed medicineuks excellent Ubuntu + XBMC guide but did not get any audio in XBMC linux over HDMI and also it did not work out of the box with the MCE IR receiver and MCE remote unlike XBMC Live. However the XBMC linux UI was far more snappy in the Ubuntu install I'm guessing that's down to the latest Nvidia drivers being installed.}
About the fan for those really bothered by it, I believe there are two inside it, after removing the DVD drive yesterday I'm certain I saw a tiny little fan next to a heat sink (I'll have to double check) the main fan is a 5cm model, you could replace it easily enough with another fan (http://www.quietpc.com/ie-en-eur/products/50mmfans). I have these great Akasa ultra quiet fans but the smallest they go down to is 6cm so I would have tested it out if weren't for that.
Only the X issue to square away after this.
Maybe this will solve the problem if not maybe ask on ubuntu forum
http://osdir.com/ml/linux.ubuntu.user/2004-10/msg02496.html
Starstream
2009-06-06, 15:28
Maybe this will solve the problem if not maybe ask on ubuntu forum
http://osdir.com/ml/linux.ubuntu.user/2004-10/msg02496.html
Thanks for that >>X<< it seems to be the root of the problem, unfortunately I lack the linux experience to correct it in XBMC Live.
I tried booting the ubuntu live disc so I could find the /etc/x11/xf86config-4 file on XBMC Live HD but only found the /etc/x11 folder without that file. I took a guess that xorg.conf is the equivalent and tried to edit it by adding "HWCursor" "false" but it would not let me save the changes saying I did not have proper permissions.
To get root access open terminal and type "gksudo nautilus" without quotes, you should be asked for name and pass then a new file window should open with route access
You should be able to do what you want after that
Some files are hidden as they are in windows but off the top of my head I can't remember how to show them but its pretty easy to find in the menu, stopped using linux a while back and you soon forget stuff unless its in front of you
Starstream
2009-06-06, 17:04
>>X<< my thanks again that did it!
I was able to edit the file and just did a sleep test and the cursor is gone.
I think I might start a separate thread for the various fixes/workarounds being applied to XBMC Live 9.04.1 and the Asrock 330 just for anyone else having difficulty.
>>X<< my thanks again that did it!
I was able to edit the file and just did a sleep test and the cursor is gone.
I think I might start a separate thread for the various fixes/workarounds being applied to XBMC Live 9.04.1 and the Asrock 330 just for anyone else having difficulty.
I'm going to have to get my linux machine running again before I forget everything lol
Glad it worked, a silly little annoyance like that drives you nuts if you cant solve it :shocked:
Has anyone found a vendor & price for the ASRock Ion330 box in the USA? I'm really tempted to get one, but have no idea what the price point is...
Thanks...
Starstream
2009-06-07, 14:23
sion28 I can see some on ebay for about $450.
Most of the units in Europe are from similar smaller channels most of the main online stores I know of do not stock this unit might be a while before the big stores begin selling it.
The only other two things for XBMC Live & Asrock Ion 330 I would like to square away are
* get audio over HDMI working, suspect its a driver issue but don't know how to update the driver, info here shows updating driver (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52328) no idea if it would work or break XBMC Live I'd give it a go but it says "make dependencies" not installed and wont proceed after that. (Ctrl+Alt+F2 gets to command prompt)
* updating the graphics driver to see if it improves anything, when using medicineuks ubuntu+XBMC guide he installed the latest drivers and I found XBMC seemed to run much more snappy but under XBMC Live it wont install the drivers saying I need to shutdown the X server (Google showed me a sudio killall Xorg command but XBMC auto restarts after that and the init 3 command doesn't appear to work) again this may break the XBMC Live install but if anyone knows how to shutdown the X server I will give it a go.
Hopefully a future release of XBMC Live isn't too far off so we don't have to go through all these hacks and tweaks to get everything running nicely on the Asrock Ion 330.
Hey guys any updates on how its going still happy with your decision to buy the Asrock ?
Any of you using 1080p@24Hz on a 1920x1080 screen ?
What about dropped frames how is it on that front has anyone tried the killa.sample ?
What remotes are you using or what would you recommend
JUICESIX90
2009-06-08, 02:23
Could someone let me know if the Aeon skin runs smoothly with Asrock 330?
Thanks ;)
Anyone ???
You know, after reading all this stuff about ion platforms barely being able to handle certain things, whats the point? I mean really? You can get a zotac ITX board with a 775 socket so you can put a much more powerful (or even slightly more powerful) processor in essentially the same package. I would go for that before I would ever think about an actual ion setup. I do not want to pay money for a system to have to second guess if it will be powerful enough to handle the content i throw at it.
Example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500022
Edit: But I guess the platform does have time to evolve - i guess we will see how it all pans out.
You know, after reading all this stuff about ion platforms barely being able to handle certain things, whats the point? I mean really? You can get a zotac ITX board with a 775 socket so you can put a much more powerful (or even slightly more powerful) processor in essentially the same package. I would go for that before I would ever think about an actual ion setup. I do not want to pay money for a system to have to second guess if it will be powerful enough to handle the content i throw at it.
Example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500022
Edit: But I guess the platform does have time to evolve - i guess we will see how it all pans out.
Where has anyone said it can't handle anything ?
Whats the point of having a more powerful CPU if all your content is handled by the GPU leaving the CPU sitting there doing nothing ?
Maybe if your looking for something that's going to be used for more than just media then its not for you
Could someone let me know if the Aeon skin runs smoothly with Asrock 330?
Thanks ;)
It runs on the Acer Revo so I don't see why not
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYGPcwzq_QI
Starstream
2009-06-08, 15:27
Hey guys any updates on how its going still happy with your decision to buy the Asrock ?
Any of you using 1080p@24Hz on a 1920x1080 screen ?
What about dropped frames how is it on that front has anyone tried the killa.sample ?
What remotes are you using or what would you recommend
I'm quite happy with mine the only issues are software ones which will be overcome in due time, the noise from the fan doesn't bother me at all I have mine sitting in a Sony RHT-G900 (http://www.sony.co.uk/product/hcs-cinema-surround-kit/rht-g950) and I don't hear the fan when playing media.
My Panasonic plasma supports 1080p@24Hz but the resolution is not available in XBMC Live probably need to update display driver.
I'm playing my videos from a Synology DS207+ NAS with jumbo frames and gigabit ethernet via SMB, no dropped frames at all (Well there is always at least 1-2 it seems right at start when playing video over network).
Not tried the killa.sample but all of my 1080p H.264 MKV movies appear to play fine. Is the killa sample the one labeled quad high definition the right one I can give it a try and see
Anyone ???
If you can point me to a guide on how to install skins on XBMC Live I'd give it a try though without the latest graphics drivers installed it may be to soon to judge.
Thanks Starstream
The killa.sample is below probably on here somewhere but cant find it, think its the correct one but not checked if its a flock of birds then that's it :)
http://rapidshare.com/files/133938829/killa.sampla.x264.mkv
Starstream
2009-06-08, 15:58
Alright I just tested out that one you linked to >>X<< its the one with the birds.
It dropped 11 frames at the start when playing from my network server.
It dropped 2 frames at the start when playing from USB stick.
No frames were dropped during the remainder of playback only at the very start, there is sort of a green artifacts briefly at the start I'm guessing something to do with VDPAU or the driver built into XBMC Live 9.04.1
Alright I just tested out that one you linked to >>X<< its the one with the birds.
It dropped 11 frames at the start when playing from my network server.
It dropped 2 frames at the start when playing from USB stick.
No frames were dropped during the remainder of playback only at the very start, there is sort of a green artifacts briefly at the start I'm guessing something to do with VDPAU or the driver built into XBMC Live 9.04.1
ok thanks M8 don't think dropping frames at the beginning is really anything to worry about, or at least not the same as dropping frames because it can't cope with it
sion28 I can see some on ebay for about $450.
Most of the units in Europe are from similar smaller channels most of the main online stores I know of do not stock this unit might be a while before the big stores begin selling it.
Are you searching ebay.com, or ebay.co.uk? I'm in the USA, and ebay.com does not return any results when I search for "asrock ion330"...
I guess we in the USA just have to wait... $450 seems a little steep anyway, considering you could build a similar mini-itx system for less...
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509&p=2
Bottom of that page it says that the system *may* have issues playing movies from an optical drive. Apparently all review units for the Revo (and others) are shipped with content ripped to HD, which works perfectly.
...although these reviews aren't using XBMC on linux - like you would need to have hardware acceleration on the platform. So of course there are countless differences.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/acer-aspirerevo-review/
That review says the machine plays all HW accelerated content. But, the system struggles with flash video. Again, even my 700mhz xbox plays flash video fine, so this is probably the os/software (windows + flash) limiting it intead of the hardware.
IF someone wants to use the machine for more than XBMC...or doesn't want to use XBMC linux on it....then it is limited....I personally wouldn't spend a couple hundred dollars on a machine for ONLY xbmc (even though I LOVE it). I'm just putting it out there so people know. In some cases in those reviews the system gets VERY close to maxing out. The original poster also wants a torrent client. It is possible that the addition of a torrent client running in the background may cause it to NOT be able to handle a 1080p video (specifically if it is off of optical media, which it appears the OP is interested in). None of this I can say for certain until someone actually does it though (speculation, if you will).
They're using Cyberlink which is using hardware acceleration if you didn't want to use linux you can just launch an external player from xbmc using CoreAVC and Cuda
Like I said before if your after more than a media player then don't get an Ion based unit although at the press event they had the a 330 running 1080p, encoding a 720p movie and running a powerpoint presentation all at the same time
I'm sure anyone looking at these pretty much knows their limitations at least on this forum
Cant say I think much of those sites "anandtech" said a few months back even an Ion with dual core atom wouldn't be able to play 1080p and single core just about play 720p so I guess they where wrong on that front
inframan
2009-06-10, 10:12
I just got one of these the fan noise is not super loud but it it oscillates which for me is just annoying. I tried speedfan to switch it off when not really needed but didn't get it to work. Probably the mother board is too new.
Does yours oscillate too, just wondering if mine is from a faulty batch.
Kudos to the guys at Asrock. Saturday I sent a tech support request querying the oscillating fan noise, yesterday they sent me a beta bios that stepped up the fan to constant. Overall noise level is slightly up but now constant rather then oscillating (I think it must have been turning over very slowly before.)
I haven't taken the cover off to check but I *think* there are two fans in there. A case fan which is the one the BIOS settings (Auto, silent etc) refer to which is actually quite quiet and a chipset fan which I think was the one which caused me issues.)
Anyway felt they should get credit for the quick response.
medicineuk
2009-06-10, 12:25
Kudos to the guys at Asrock. Saturday I sent a tech support request querying the oscillating fan noise, yesterday they sent me a beta bios that stepped up the fan to constant. Overall noise level is slightly up but now constant rather then oscillating (I think it must have been turning over very slowly before.)
I haven't taken the cover off to check but I *think* there are two fans in there. A case fan which is the one the BIOS settings (Auto, silent etc) refer to which is actually quite quiet and a chipset fan which I think was the one which caused me issues.)
Anyway felt they should get credit for the quick response.
Care to share the updated Bios :grin:
I'm thinking about adding a new fan to the machine and seeing if that makes it any quieter I have a feeling that it won't make much difference but might as well give it a shot. I can hardly hear mine at the moment but I'm getting a bit obsessed with completely drowning out the sound although :rolleyes:
It seems the case fan is the only one making any real noise if you stop the case fan the machine is silent.
Kudos to the guys at Asrock. Saturday I sent a tech support request querying the oscillating fan noise, yesterday they sent me a beta bios that stepped up the fan to constant. Overall noise level is slightly up but now constant rather then oscillating (I think it must have been turning over very slowly before.)
I haven't taken the cover off to check but I *think* there are two fans in there. A case fan which is the one the BIOS settings (Auto, silent etc) refer to which is actually quite quiet and a chipset fan which I think was the one which caused me issues.)
Anyway felt they should get credit for the quick response.
Their tech support are very good I sent them a couple of questions and got prompt replies
medicineuk
2009-06-11, 17:20
Their tech support are very good I sent them a couple of questions and got prompt replies
There tech support is bloody brilliant I have e-mailed them twice and both times they have sent me over me BIOS beta's to try out. The one they sent me over today had two new fan options so that the fan rotates slower to reduce noise.
I have a quick question does anyone know if the 50mm fan has 3 or 4 wires? Just looking at new fans figured I might as well get one as there cheap. With the new BIOS though the system is pretty quite, GPUCore is running at about 69c not sure if that's to hot intel's site seems to suggest that any thing up to 85c is ok http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLG9Y
Starstream
2009-06-11, 21:51
There tech support is bloody brilliant I have e-mailed them twice and both times they have sent me over me BIOS beta's to try out. The one they sent me over today had two new fan options so that the fan rotates slower to reduce noise.
I have a quick question does anyone know if the 50mm fan has 3 or 4 wires? Just looking at new fans figured I might as well get one as there cheap. With the new BIOS though the system is pretty quite, GPUCore is running at about 69c not sure if that's to hot intel's site seems to suggest that any thing up to 85c is ok http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLG9Y
Update:
I opened up mine again to double check the fans
exhaust fan is 50mm (20mm depth - most 50mm fans have 10mm depth) uses motherboard 3 pin fan connector
tiny chipset fan under DVD/HD cage is 30mm (10mm depth) and uses motherboard 3 pin fan connector
inframan
2009-06-13, 19:55
>>Care to share the updated Bios :grin:
They put it up now 1.30
http://www.asrock.com/Nettop/download.asp?Model=ION%20330#bios
Just out of curiosity has anyone check what the CPU usage is when using the GUI with skins like Aeon and MediaStream as I'm assuming VDPAU is only used during video playback ?
stonebat
2009-06-17, 18:28
where to buy asrock ion 330 from usa? ebay?
when will newegg gonna carry the item?
any chance of asrock to release revision of the nettop?
thanks in advance.
HenrikDK
2009-06-19, 00:35
Bluray version of the ASRock ION 330:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2792/
looks mighty interesting :grin:
limaunion
2009-06-22, 03:30
Does anyone know when is going to be realeased the Acer Aspire Revo in USA ? Thanks!
Haven't seen the Acer, but the ASRock ION 330 is available from a couple spots in Canada now. Boggles my mind that a small computer shop in my small city actually has them in stock. Picking one up this afternoon after work :)
Bluray version of the ASRock ION 330:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2792/
looks mighty interesting :grin:
if xbmc worked perfectly on this box...i'd be all over it!
if xbmc worked perfectly on this box...i'd be all over it!
Uhhh it does work fine for me!
Uhhh it does work fine for me!
nice! any issues at all?
Other than not using linux as a desktop OS for over 10 years? :) Had to upgrade alsa and do some fiddling, that's about it. Still need to get off my ass and get 1080p/24 working right.
tstack77
2009-06-29, 21:02
ZOTAC IONITX-D-E in stock @ Newegg. This is the top of the line with wireless N but without the power supply.
Get 'em while they're hot, limit one per customer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500030
jamie1984
2009-06-29, 23:08
just ordered the H1 PC after much deliberating between Aver Revo, ASRock ION 330 and H1.
http://www.aleutia.com/products/h1-hotel-pc
H1 wins on the S/PDIF and being completely silent, plus 3 year warranty and 90 day return if I don't like it.
Ordered the deluxe model but there is a 2-3 week wait, I will post video and review once received and setup.
This will be a good option:
Point of View ION330: http://www.pointofview-online.com/showroom.php?shop_mode=product_detail&product_id=97
Is similar to the ZOTAC but is cheaper.
Anyone has one? I want to install Debian Lenny.
Regards for all.
just ordered the H1 PC after much deliberating between Aver Revo, ASRock ION 330 and H1.
http://www.aleutia.com/products/h1-hotel-pc
H1 wins on the S/PDIF and being completely silent, plus 3 year warranty and 90 day return if I don't like it.
Ordered the deluxe model but there is a 2-3 week wait, I will post video and review once received and setup.
Just ordered one of these for myself.
The big winner for me: I'm in NZ and the Acer and ASRock are not available here yet (and won't be for some time) - Aleutia will ship anywhere in the world for £10!
Hey guys,
The H1 looks good.
One question. I am thinking to order with an SSD, but can´t find any comments here in the forum if its worth the extra money for XBMC.
If I would use it as an Desktop I am shure it would, but only for XBMC, I am not shure.
Hey guys,
The H1 looks good.
One question. I am thinking to order with an SSD, but can´t find any comments here in the forum if its worth the extra money for XBMC.
If I would use it as an Desktop I am shure it would, but only for XBMC, I am not shure.
I've had an SSD drive in my htpc since they were first released and its awesome, well worth the upgrade although it does seem to have slowed down over time. Its still far quicker than any normal hard disk, especially on boot and program launching.
I've had an SSD drive in my htpc since they were first released and its awesome, well worth the upgrade although it does seem to have slowed down over time. Its still far quicker than any normal hard disk, especially on boot and program launching.
Yes, for this reason I would buy it for an Desktop.
But muy HTPC will run 24/7, because will be a Server as well. So boot is not important and its only 1 Program-Lunch--> XBMC.
So can You say me something if XBMC runs smoother with an SSD? Maybe loads the Background-images in AEON faster?
Starstream
2009-06-30, 12:18
The only problem with the H1 is that is appears to use the Zotac Ion motherboard which doesn't support wake over USB so if you have any plans on leaving the unit on in sleep mode and waking it via remote it ain't gonna work.
Check the Zotac Ion thread as someone may know of a workaround. Oh and both the Acer and Asrock have fans in the case given that I'd wonder about a fanless design, dont place it near any heat source thats for sure.
the new version of the zotac has support for wake over usb.
but only on hybernate, as far as i could test it.
there is no setting in bios like "wake from usb".
just "wake over LAN" "ring" "RTC" "PCI".
wake on ps2 isn't mentioned, too.
but, you could leave it in hybernate state.
the power consumption "should" be around 3 to 4 watts.
but the power-consumption of the external psu seems to be a problem.
as described in this thread:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52365&page=2
I will use it 24/7 so no problem, or if i do power of, i will use WOL with my iphoneApp ;-)
As I use the xbmcremote iphone app ass well. (with muy iPood touch)
the new version of the zotac has support for wake over usb.
but only on hybernate, as far as i could test it.
there is no setting in bios like "wake from usb".
just "wake over LAN" "ring" "RTC" "PCI".
wake on ps2 isn't mentioned, too.
but, you could leave it in hybernate state.
the power consumption "should" be around 3 to 4 watts.
but the power-consumption of the external psu seems to be a problem.
as described in this thread:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52365&page=2
I'm going to try and borrow a power meter tonight or tomorrow, so I'll see what mines chucking out. I'll be very interested to see the results.
stogiesam88
2009-06-30, 23:42
the new version of the zotac has support for wake over usb.
but only on hybernate, as far as i could test it.
there is no setting in bios like "wake from usb".
just "wake over LAN" "ring" "RTC" "PCI".
wake on ps2 isn't mentioned, too.
but, you could leave it in hybernate state.
the power consumption "should" be around 3 to 4 watts.
but the power-consumption of the external psu seems to be a problem.
as described in this thread:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52365&page=2
I don't know about the new revision. I emailed support about when the version with wake-on-usb would be available and their only reply was "There is no release information available on this yet." (6/26)
There is a solution somebody posted in another thread though (about $30 I think) - http://www.origenae.com/en/accessory_ir211.htm
The problem the poster had with the above solution was that the zotac model you need (with the ATX psu, I think) consumed lots of power even when turned off.
I don't know about the new revision. I emailed support about when the version with wake-on-usb would be available and their only reply was "There is no release information available on this yet." (6/26)
There is a solution somebody posted in another thread though (about $30 I think) - http://www.origenae.com/en/accessory_ir211.htm
The problem the poster had with the above solution was that the zotac model you need (with the ATX psu, I think) consumed lots of power even when turned off.
I really liked the idea of that, but it needs a 24 pin ATX power supply so a no go for the Ion with an external PSU. Shame they didn't just power it off a 4 pin molex.
stogiesam88
2009-07-01, 04:16
I really liked the idea of that, but it needs a 24 pin ATX power supply so a no go for the Ion with an external PSU. Shame they didn't just power it off a 4 pin molex.
I don't know that much about the differences of 20/24 pin atx, but it seems like they're similar enough to be able to make it work with a 20 pin atx.
@stogiesam88
the actual revision of the zotac board has no ATX connector at all.
it has just an externel 9 Volt PSU.
and this consumes (at least my one) a lot of power.
but lets wait for the results of hermand.
Just ordered one of these for myself.
The big winner for me: I'm in NZ and the Acer and ASRock are not available here yet (and won't be for some time) - Aleutia will ship anywhere in the world for £10!
just ordered the H1 PC after much deliberating between Aver Revo, ASRock ION 330 and H1.
http://www.aleutia.com/products/h1-hotel-pc
H1 wins on the S/PDIF and being completely silent, plus 3 year warranty and 90 day return if I don't like it.
Ordered the deluxe model but there is a 2-3 week wait, I will post video and review once received and setup.
Good luck to the two of you. I ordered a Ion HTPC from Aleutia on 26th May and I still haven't received it and I live in the UK!
I e-mailed them at one point and they said they had problems getting the Zotac motherboard and it would be another 2 weeks. That was over 3 weeks ago and now they are not answering any of my e-mails enquirying on progress with my order. They have also removed their phone number from their website - not that it was much use as I must have tried it more than 10 times and no one ever answered it.
Duplu,
regarding H1 PC: not sure from the specs how you gonna control it remotely and whether you can shut it down and power on with an Ir remote.
Any word on this?
thx in advance.
sircube
Duplu,
regarding H1 PC: not sure from the specs how you gonna control it remotely and whether you can shut it down and power on with an Ir remote.
Any word on this?
thx in advance.
sircube
I'll control it either by an MCE IR remote using a USB dongle or via the excellent XBMC remote for my i-phone. I don't think you can shut it down or start it up via the remote, but that doesn't worry me. Also remember I have ordered the HTPC and not the H1 PC, if I ever get it!
Starstream
2009-07-04, 18:45
Good luck to the two of you. I ordered a Ion HTPC from Aleutia on 26th May and I still haven't received it and I live in the UK!
I e-mailed them at one point and they said they had problems getting the Zotac motherboard and it would be another 2 weeks. That was over 3 weeks ago and now they are not answering any of my e-mails enquirying on progress with my order. They have also removed their phone number from their website - not that it was much use as I must have tried it more than 10 times and no one ever answered it.
That sounds pretty bad, to be honest I'm not surprised something didn't sit right with me after seeing their website it felt at best amateurish or at worst a bit suspect.
I would caution anyone buying anything from Aleutia (unless someone else here can vouch for them), they are using off the shelf parts anyway that can be gotten from miniitx.com (http://www.mini-itx.com/store/) & be put together by yourself.
I hope everything works out for you duplu or you can get your money back.
Edit: By the way gerner the place I got my Asrock Ion 330 (http://www.shinyhardware.co.uk/) system from ships internationally, don't know if it goes all the way to New Zealand but you can email and ask they were very helpful.
That sounds pretty bad, to be honest I'm not surprised something didn't sit right with me after seeing their website it felt at best amateurish or at worst a bit suspect.
I would caution anyone buying anything from Aleutia (unless someone else here can vouch for them), they are using off the shelf parts anyway that can be gotten from miniitx.com (http://www.mini-itx.com/store/) & be put together by yourself.
I hope everything works out for you duplu or you can get your money back.
Checking back over my e-mails the last time they responded to an e-mail was 1st June to let me know that it would be another 2-3 weeks because of the motherboard. Since then there have been no replies from the company and it's now 5 weeks and a whole heap of e-mails from me. I found a phone number on my e-mail receipt but when I phone it an american ladies voice tells me the number isn't in operation even though it's a London dialling code (probably re-routed).
The payment went through Paypal via my credit card and Paypal have been less than helpful for my request to open a dispute. This is mainly because the transaction isn't attached to a Paypal account it was simply paid via a credit card link which takes you through Paypal as the middle man. Paypal told me that if I wanted to dispute I would need to set up a new account using the same credit card, name, address etc... and said the transaction would then 'appear' in the new account so I could dispute it.
That didn't work and I'm now so pissed off with the whole thing that I phoned my bank today. They were extremely helpful and said that because I had waited longer than 30 days the company should have refunded me. As the company aren't answering e-mails or phone calls the bank are going to chargeback the funds and said the money will be in my account within 5 days.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone else receives their goods from Aleutia. I've since bought an ASRock 330 and am more than happy with it for 1080p content and the Aeon skin.
Howesound
2009-07-06, 08:33
I'd like to know about remote controls and the IonStar.
What remotes and sensors are people using? Also, does it resume from standby? Interested in both Linux and Windows stories if anyone wants to share.
Cheers,
Alex
I have a Zotac Ion - TX A running Ubuntu 9.04 and I'm using the Logitech Dinovo Mini as my remote keyboard mouse -it's palm sized and comes with a bluetooth usb adapter. It worked right off the bat with no tweaking required. Apart from the lack of function keys I think it's ideal for an XBMC HTPC:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/3848&cl=US,EN
Hi medicine UK, just ordered my ion 330 I also want to setup dual boot (Linux for XBMC) and win xp or vista for some older games i have) -
I would really appreciate a guide on how to do all this - eg setting up drivers and so on.
Cheers
jamie1984
2009-07-06, 19:20
Checking back over my e-mails the last time they responded to an e-mail was 1st June to let me know that it would be another 2-3 weeks because of the motherboard. Since then there have been no replies from the company and it's now 5 weeks and a whole heap of e-mails from me. I found a phone number on my e-mail receipt but when I phone it an american ladies voice tells me the number isn't in operation even though it's a London dialling code (probably re-routed).
The payment went through Paypal via my credit card and Paypal have been less than helpful for my request to open a dispute. This is mainly because the transaction isn't attached to a Paypal account it was simply paid via a credit card link which takes you through Paypal as the middle man. Paypal told me that if I wanted to dispute I would need to set up a new account using the same credit card, name, address etc... and said the transaction would then 'appear' in the new account so I could dispute it.
That didn't work and I'm now so pissed off with the whole thing that I phoned my bank today. They were extremely helpful and said that because I had waited longer than 30 days the company should have refunded me. As the company aren't answering e-mails or phone calls the bank are going to chargeback the funds and said the money will be in my account within 5 days.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone else receives their goods from Aleutia. I've since bought an ASRock 330 and am more than happy with it for 1080p content and the Aeon skin.
now I'm bricking it about the H1 I ordered. Wish I had just gone for the 330 now and saved myself the trouble. My order was supposed to take 3 weeks so in theory it's not gonna be built for another 2. I placed a request to cancel but no surprise in the fact I haven't heard back from them :-( Wish I had something positive to say about them.....at the moment I would advise to avoid
now I'm bricking it about the H1 I ordered. Wish I had just gone for the 330 now and saved myself the trouble. My order was supposed to take 3 weeks so in theory it's not gonna be built for another 2. I placed a request to cancel but no surprise in the fact I haven't heard back from them :-( Wish I had something positive to say about them.....at the moment I would advise to avoid
E-mail them again in a few days and if you don't get a response try michael@aleutia.com the e-mail address for the owner. There might also be a telephone number on your receipt, but if it is the same as the one I have then the number is out of order. If the company are still trading then it's a disgraceful way to treat your customers whatever their excuses might be.
I'm in the same position. I ordered last Tuesday and emailed on Thursday to enquire about the status. Still no reply. I called the number I was given (via Google Checkout) and it rings without reply. I'm hoping that either (a) they get the orders out sooner or later or (b) Google can step in and resolve the problem.
I kind of wish I'd gone with the kit version but I've just finished building a mega custom PC and so went with the lazy option - but also for the fanless option of the H1. Too late now, I suppose...
Over two years since I registered and apparently my first post! :shocked:
kalvybeertje
2009-07-07, 17:05
Hi guys, my first post here, althoug I've lurked for a few years on and off.
Just to let you know I was having this same issue with ordering from Aleutia, so I sent repeated emails to their different email addresses and phoned different telephone numbers and I just received an email from him saying it would ship tomorrow via UPS, apologising for a backlog in orders.
In case you don't have all those details here they are:
The bloke's full name is Michael Rosenberg.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=Aleutia+Limited+1+Noel+Street+London,+W1F+8GA&fb=1&split=1&gl=uk&view=text&latlng=8625887529190513833&ei=bx9TSsrxKoeGjAfQptnLBg&dtab=0&oi=&sa=X
The landline on that page gets you through to a woman's extension at some software company or other, whilst ringing his mobile gets you through to his voicemail where he invites you to text him with urgent messages, or leave a voice message and get back to you in 48 hours.
http://www.yell.com/ucs/UcsSearchAction.do?ssm=1&scrambleSeed=48281532&M=0&keywords=&companyName=aleutia&location=London&intCam=home:intLastSearch:1
This number just rings out, but may be worth trying.
The phone number on your receipt is deactivated so no good.
The various email addresses I tried:
michael@aleutia.com
info@aleutia.com
sales@aleutia.com
michael@mail.aleutia.com
and the one he emailed me back from was sales@aleutia.com
It seems like at least one or all of these methods shook a response out of him.
In case it's necessary here are some addresses he gives:
Bldg 1000
Dockside Rd,
London,
E16
Unit 5f,
Hewlett House,
5, Havelock Terrace,
London,
SW8 4AS
The address given on their website:
1 Noel Street,
Soho,
London,
W1F 8GA
appears to be this bar:
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/n2o-userreview-15237.html
Quite a tangled web eh?
I also raised a complaint with paypal, and escalated (which I think you can do after 7 days, giving him 10 days to reply or you get your money back)
Anyhow, I wait with baited breath to see if I get a tracking number either today or tomorrow for my order, and I'll let you know.
Otherwise I think i'll make an order for the bundle from mini-itx which is to all intents exactly the same thing (athough they don't appear to stock the 8gb SSD) or alternatively there are plenty of AsRocks on ebay.
Hope that helps,
cheers, kal
Well I was just sitting at my work PC with a mouthful of tea, which I almost spat over the monitor when an e-mail from the Aleutia owner popped up on my PC. A coincidence or a result of my chargeback, who knows?
The unit has shipped today for delivery tomorrow and he has upgraded the optical unit to a blu-ray / DVD-RW for the inconvenience.
There may therefore be light at the end of the tunnel. I'll let you know tomorrow.
jamie1984
2009-07-07, 18:09
no such luck for me, been checking my mail every minute :-(
jamie1984
2009-07-07, 18:12
no such luck for me, been checking my mail every minute :-(
how odd, I posted that and up popped a new e-mail. Getting delivery on Friday :-) I'm guessing they've just received a shipment of parts to build the systems. Finally a result.
No email for me yet...
(I'm posting this in the hope that it will magically make an email appear in my gmail! ;))
jamie1984
2009-07-07, 19:11
zaltman - keep pestering them and I'm sure you'll get a reply, good luck!
UPS attempted to deliver my ION HTPC yesterday so I've arranged to collect it tonight. Once I have it up and running I'll post a review for anyone else that might be interested.
Awesome! I just cant wait for it ... I'm after a few things: fan noise, heat w/o fan, power consumption in different modes, cpu consumption with latest AeON (e.g. andyblac mod), playing 1080p and your remote solution, usb-wakeup.
:grin::grin::grin:
Awesome! I just cant wait for it ... I'm after a few things: fan noise, heat w/o fan, power consumption in different modes, cpu consumption with latest AeON (e.g. andyblac mod), playing 1080p and your remote solution, usb-wakeup.
:grin::grin::grin:
Exactly. I am waiting for a test if AEON (e.g. andyblac mod) working fine.
Exactly. I am waiting for a test if AEON (e.g. andyblac mod) working fine.
I have this running on an Ionstar 330 and it's fine for both the interface and 720p/1080p content. The Aleutia offering is the same processor and graphics so should be much the same.
kalvybeertje
2009-07-09, 21:19
Mine shipped today, should arrive tommorrow according to UPS tracking number...
I have this running on an Ionstar 330 and it's fine for both the interface and 720p/1080p content. The Aleutia offering is the same processor and graphics so should be much the same.
Thx, for Video I knew befor, because of VDPAU. But GUI I wasn´t shure. So now I can buy it.:rofl:
jamie1984
2009-07-11, 11:40
guys, got my H1 yesterday (or you may refer to it as the bundle you can buy from mini-itx.com for a little less money). just a heads up, the description on their site has been updated since I placed my order so be aware that the deluxe model (which you'll prob need for 1080p content) has a fan due to the 2 processors. although it is almost silent.
I'll get a review up at some point...once I have it working :-s
I bought the model with an 8GB usb flash drive but running ubuntu off this has poor performance.
no luck with a live install of xbmc either, keeps crashing. gonna stick in a 2.5inch sata today and follow the same guides for asrock ion 330.
will update @ http://www.techie-tube.com/xbmc/index.php
jamie1984
2009-07-12, 14:30
guys, anyone here got a Aleutia H1 successfull up and running? I've had zero success with mine, check out my thread on the issue:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54503
UPDATE: pretty much diagnosed as a hardware fault. I'm returning it and gonna buy a ASRock ION 330 instead.
anyone have a good store for a 330? All i'm finding is ebay at around $350-430. I'd rather avoid ebay if possible... what the hell is the deal with the ion platform? it's available in europe but not us?
PJ_Hooker
2009-07-13, 13:18
Can anybody tell me how the Asrock handles 720p videos using xp/vista?
I'm not really bothered about 1080P
Thanks.
I'm nearly sure that is too much for the little Atom cpu. However you could use the excellent XBMCLive distro which makes use of VDPAU, hence even 1080p is no problem.
Has anyone found out of the ASRock ION 330 can do Power-On-USB or something similar so remotes can be used for starting it up?
I'm extremely close to buying one of these, but I want to make sure that I can get a remote to work well with it including power on via remote. Has anyone done this with with the ASRock and either XBMCLive or Ubuntu + XBMC?
Has anyone found out of the ASRock ION 330 can do Power-On-USB or something similar so remotes can be used for starting it up?
I'm extremely close to buying one of these, but I want to make sure that I can get a remote to work well with it including power on via remote. Has anyone done this with with the ASRock and either XBMCLive or Ubuntu + XBMC?
Yes it can to quote Asrock
Dear Customer,
Yes, the ION 330 can support wake up from USB device.
Yours Truly,
ASRock Inc.
Yes it can to quote Asrock
Oh, excellent. Thank you!
There is a summary of all ION based products that are actually currently available to buy at the following URL:
http://www.linuxtech.net/features/nvidia_ion_products_overview.html
rflores2323
2009-08-13, 00:11
anyone have a good store for a 330? All i'm finding is ebay at around $350-430. I'd rather avoid ebay if possible... what the hell is the deal with the ion platform? it's available in europe but not us?
anyone have a good store to buy from?? I am also wondering.
anyone have a good store to buy from?? I am also wondering.
On that web page I posted previously ( http://www.linuxtech.net/features/nvidia_ion_products_overview.html ) there are a couple of links to US dealers (assuming you are from the US) in addition to links to European dealers.
stokedfish
2009-08-13, 00:35
There is a summary of all ION based products that are actually currently available to buy at the following URL:
http://www.linuxtech.net/features/nvidia_ion_products_overview.html
Thanks, great link!
I bought up here in Canada from http://www.ncix.com - They do have a US side to their website I believe. $424 is what I paid, and I had it in my hands less than 48 hours after placing my order.
Has anyone found out of the ASRock ION 330 can do Power-On-USB or something similar so remotes can be used for starting it up?
I'm extremely close to buying one of these, but I want to make sure that I can get a remote to work well with it including power on via remote. Has anyone done this with with the ASRock and either XBMCLive or Ubuntu + XBMC?
I bought an asrock ion330 a couple of weeks ago.
I have xbmc running on winxp pro. Remote control brand is Rock but no drivrers for winxp pro. The Rock remote uses eHome drivers which are only available for vista:(
Been forced to use a mouse until I can find a remote control for winxp pro.
It plays all my mkv's without any issues what so ever where my old dvico 6500 couldn't play all mkv's.
I'm based in Australia where these Asrock's have only been out a short while. Other countries have had them for a fair few months.
Here is a review comparing the asrock with other ion based computers.
http://www.hardwarezone.com.au/reviews/view.php?id=2961&cid=26&pg=1
And a video on the asrock playing a video on winxp.
http://www.asrockforum.com/
I bought up here in Canada from http://www.ncix.com - They do have a US side to their website I believe. $424 is what I paid, and I had it in my hands less than 48 hours after placing my order.
This site has the asrock ion330 at $389 Canada currency.
http://www.ncix.com/search/?categoryid=0&q=asrock
In Australia they sell for $399 AU currency.
http://www.salesmart.com.au/pvr/
Can anybody tell me how the Asrock handles 720p videos using xp/vista?
I'm not really bothered about 1080P
Thanks.
I've owned my Asrock ion330 for a couple of weeks. It plays 720p very well as it does with 1080p video. Xbmc runs fine on winxp. Must install all the drivers otherwise there will be problems.
I went with a wd 320gb 7200 sata2.5" drive and 4gb kingston ddr2 800 ram. Installed winxp pro then sp3.
The drive for loading in programs is bloody quick.
Really am thrilled with the asrock ion 330. It plays 1080p without any troubles and 3d games is equally fantastic. Add gigabit lan and its lightning fast between my nas. I've used win media player 11 and other programs.
The only thing I am having troubles with is that I bought a vista mce remote and because I have winxp pro its not working. Will have to move up to vista or wait for win7 and then use mce because I want a remote control so I can sit back and relax.
I bought mine out in Australia from where I am posting from. The ones you are getting from the uk do they work on your power supplies in the US assuming you are from the US ?