ARCTIC MC001-N ~ MultiMedia Barebone PC - €114.95 Delivered. [Amazon.de]

stephendevlin

stephendevlin wrote: »

Having my doubts about that HD 5430. Benchmarks look low enough from what I am reading its lower that Intel's integrated HD3000

Correct me if I am wrong.

Might try openelec on my laptop and see how it fairs out, might be a good judging point

For a HTPC the GPU is important for video acceleration and audio output. Ranking something as above/below something else based on benchmarks is pretty much irrelevant - it either does the things you want or it doesnt.

Under Linux HD5430 will do some things but not others.

stephendevlin

Deleted User wrote: »

For a HTPC the GPU is important for video acceleration and audio output.

Obviously

Deleted User wrote: »

Under Linux HD5430 will do some things but not others.

Kindly explain

Calibos

Hopefully there will be progress on the Linux drivers front from AMD this year what with Valves Steam launching on Linux now too. A developer over on the Openelec forum said he expects progress this year and they have a good relationship with the linux driver guys over at AMD.

ie. Hopefully AMD/ATI GPU's might finally achieve the same feature set as nVidia with VDPAU on Linux sometime this year. Full acceleration of all codecs and HD audio.

That said, seeing as I only play H264 stuff and don't care about HD audio nor have the gear to play it , AMD GPU's with Openelec already do all that I need with DXVA.

I tested the HD5430 the other night with the 1080p 40 mbit Killa sampla Birds 5.1 High profile H264 video. Not a single dropped frame. I think of it like this. If my 10,000 dollar a week Basketball player can reliably score a basket from the other end of the court, is there any point buying a 50,000 dollar a week player to replace him that can reliably score a basket from the back of the stands.

stephendevlin

Deleted User wrote: »

For a HTPC the GPU is important for video acceleration and audio output. Ranking something as above/below something else based on benchmarks is pretty much irrelevant - it either does the things you want or it doesnt.

Under Linux HD5430 will do some things but not others.

Do you mean a descrete chip will work better than the intergrated?

One is better than the other?

I would like this to be the answer to a full openelec system but want to make sure that this is going to be up to scratch HD Video/Audio at max

stephendevlin

stephendevlin wrote: »

Obviously
Kindly explain

Under Linux H.264 acceleraton works fine, up to 1080p and L5.1 (ie above Bluray spec).

VC-1 is fine up to Bluray spec.

MPEG-2 acceleration doesnt work at all. It will be done on the CPU which in this case is a weak Atom. SD MPEG-2 (ie DVD) is no issue, higher resolution and bitrate MPEG-2 may be problematic.

The only deinterlace available is bob.

HD audio bitstreaming is not supported. It will not bitstream DTS-HD or TrueHD. I don't think it'll even output multi-channel PCM. Regular AC3 and DTS are fine.

These limitations go for any ATI GPU in Linux. It doesnt matter if it's a 5430 or HD7990. Its a Linux driver issue (which may be fixed in future) rather than a performance one.

FWIW Intel has lots of these limitations also in Linux. Nvidia is best.

Most people in this thread won't ever encounter these limitations let alone understand them. But it is something to be aware of.

stephendevlin

Deleted User wrote: »

Under Linux H.264 acceleraton works fine, up to 1080p and L5.1 (ie above Bluray spec).

VC-1 is fine up to Bluray spec.

MPEG-2 acceleration doesnt work at all. It will be done on the CPU which in this case is a weak Atom. SD MPEG-2 (ie DVD) is no issue, higher resolution and bitrate MPEG-2 may be problematic.

The only deinterlace available is bob.

HD audio bitstreaming is not supported. It will not bitstream DTS-HD or TrueHD. I don't think it'll even output multi-channel PCM. Regular AC3 and DTS are fine.

These limitations go for any ATI GPU in Linux. It doesnt matter if it's a 5430 or HD7990. Its a Linux driver issue (which may be fixed in future) rather than a performance one.

FWIW Intel has lots of these limitations also in Linux. Nvidia is best.

Most people in this thread won't ever encounter these limitations let alone understand them. But it is something to be aware of.

Thanks I understand them and this is what I was watching out for. I did test xbmc under ubuntu and did find limitations which you have mentioned.

Best for me to take a pass and maye look for a Nvidia box instead

Headshot

I had a busy Sunday. I formatted the whole computer and reinstalled windows and delighted to report its way better. My only problem at the minute is borders on tv screen. I've the gpu driver installed from the arctic site but no difference. I'm not sure what is up, any help please?

Edit

Found the solution I think

Go into your driver software and set the over scan to 0%

quad_red

For those who have openelec installed and content on an internal HDD/SSD.

How do you back your media up?

quad_red

quad_red wrote: »

For those who have openelec installed and content on an internal HDD/SSD.

How do you back your media up?

You can copy files around using the XBMC File Manager.

Its a little bit awkward compared to drag and drop but you set up the source on one window and the destination on the other and then press C/context to bring up the context menu which has options to copy.

Alternatively if your network is fast enough you can backup things over the network. Everything in the Openelec Videos folder etc should be visible from a Windows machine with networking enabled.

cgc5483

Headshot wrote: »

I had a busy Sunday. I formatted the whole computer and reinstalled windows and delighted to report its way better. My only problem at the minute is borders on tv screen. I've the gpu driver installed from the arctic site but no difference. I'm not sure what is up, any help please?

Edit

Found the solution I think

Go into your driver software and set the over scan to 0%

probably a stupid question but which is the gpu driver on the website. don't see one there or else I'm blind.

Headshot

its called vga driver on their site afaik

I noticed it Catalyst and thought that had to be the gpu driver and I remember the Germans usually refer to the gpu drivers as vga over there iirc

cgc5483

Headshot wrote: »

its called vga driver on their site afaik

I noticed it Catalyst and thought that had to be the gpu driver and I remember the Germans usually refer to the gpu drivers as vga over there iirc

ah i see. should have guessed it was that one. cheers.

Headshot

so iv tried XBMC and media portal and they are just to slow for me. Granted Media portal was alot quicker for me than XBMC but I hate loading up of the software.

I dont watch tv, I just want to access all my video files from on simple program, Can anyone please suggest a quick media center program please (maybe it doesnt have to be a media center program?)

For example on my tv theirs a media server and I really like the simple but easy way that goes thru the videos that on a hard drive but where this fails is that its far to simple in terms of you cant switch to a new source without stopping what your watching, rewind and fast forward are poor enough etc etc

please any advice?

Calibos

You've tried xbmc as a program within windows 7 on the mc001 headshot??

In my case it worked fine as program within win 7 on my 8 year old dell. It should have worked just as well on the mc001 as its actually a bit more powerful than the old desktop dell. However it was dog slow with weird laggy mouse movement etc when I did my mc001 win 7 test. I'm not sure if there is just some setting we are missing and that this could be resolved.

That said, openelec xbmc on the mc001 is a totally different experience. If you definitely still need to have win 7 on the mc001 for whatever reason, how about this. You set boot order in the bios to USB removable drive first and internal HDD where you have win 7 installed second. When you want to use openelec xbmc you insert openelec USB stick and reboot. It will boot straight into openelec with zero effect on your windows install. To use windows one just removes USB stick and robot machine. It checks USB first, finds no bootable media and boots from second boot device which is you HDD.

ie. when you want to use machine for xbmc and not windows you just have to insert openelec USB stick and boot from it.

quad_red

Aggggggggghh.

It's here - but my ram hasn't arrived yet.

Agggggggggghh.

<first world problem> :P

quad_red

A quick question - is ram backward compatible?

I have two 1GB sticks of laptop ram here.

1GB 2Rx16 PC2-5300S-555

No way they would work?

inforfun

Headshot wrote: »

so iv tried XBMC and media portal and they are just to slow for me. Granted Media portal was alot quicker for me than XBMC but I hate loading up of the software.

I dont watch tv, I just want to access all my video files from on simple program, Can anyone please suggest a quick media center program please (maybe it doesnt have to be a media center program?)

For example on my tv theirs a media server and I really like the simple but easy way that goes thru the videos that on a hard drive but where this fails is that its far to simple in terms of you cant switch to a new source without stopping what your watching, rewind and fast forward are poor enough etc etc

please any advice?

I use tvrename but that is for tv series only afaik.
Simple to set up and it keeps track on when next episodes are available.

neacy69

quad_red wrote: »

Aggggggggghh.

It's here - but my ram hasn't arrived yet.

Agggggggggghh.

<first world problem> :P

When did you place your order?

quad_red

neacy69 wrote: »

When did you place your order?

Monday last week (11 February).

neacy69

quad_red wrote: »

Monday last week (11 February).

hmm i placed my order on the 7th and got this info:


Estimated ship date: 8th February 2013 - 11 February 2013
delivery date: 16th February 2013 - 7th March 2013 1 delivery by DHL

I wonder how you got yours before me....

quad_red

neacy69 wrote: »

hmm i placed my order on the 7th and got this info:


Estimated ship date: 8th February 2013 - 11 February 2013
delivery date: 16th February 2013 - 7th March 2013 1 delivery by DHL

I wonder how you got yours before me....

No idea.

I got an estimated delivery date from 21st February to 12th March.

I only ordered ram from memoryc yesterday cos I didn't expect it til next week at the earliest.

RoflHarris

I'm looking at using this for xbmc as well as handling all my usenet and torrent downloading. I downloaded xbmc on a Windows Vista laptop to hopefully set everything up on that now and then just mirror my set up on the Arctic when it arrives.

However, I found setting up sabnzd within xbmc plus add ons for finding TV shows a painful process that didn't end up working for me. So I think I'm going to go down the windows root. If I'm lucky windows 7 will work but has anybody thought of putting XP on it? It requires much less processing power and I assume it would fulfill all needs, e.g. xbmc plus a browser integrated with usenet and a torrent client.

Or for a more lightweight option, Ubuntu could be great!
I'm so confused...

p.s. I've tried not to give too many specifics re torrents and usenet but if this kind of talk isn't allowed just let me know

Headshot

Calibos wrote: »

You've tried xbmc as a program within windows 7 on the mc001 headshot??

In my case it worked fine as program within win 7 on my 8 year old dell. It should have worked just as well on the mc001 as its actually a bit more powerful than the old desktop dell. However it was dog slow with weird laggy mouse movement etc when I did my mc001 win 7 test. I'm not sure if there is just some setting we are missing and that this could be resolved.

That said, openelec xbmc on the mc001 is a totally different experience. If you definitely still need to have win 7 on the mc001 for whatever reason, how about this. You set boot order in the bios to USB removable drive first and internal HDD where you have win 7 installed second. When you want to use openelec xbmc you insert openelec USB stick and reboot. It will boot straight into openelec with zero effect on your windows install. To use windows one just removes USB stick and robot machine. It checks USB first, finds no bootable media and boots from second boot device which is you HDD.

ie. when you want to use machine for xbmc and not windows you just have to insert openelec USB stick and boot from it.

ya the part in bold is the exact trouble im having alright. Thats a great suggestion about openelec, thanks

inforfun wrote: »

I use tvrename but that is for tv series only afaik.
Simple to set up and it keeps track on when next episodes are available.

ill have to check that out thanks

cgc5483

Headshot wrote: »

ya the part in bold is the exact trouble im having alright. Thats a great suggestion about openelec, thanks

ill have to check that out thanks

I tried this last night but for some reason I could get it to boot from the usb with openelec. It was working previously but then i installed a SSD running Windows 8. Changed the boot priority in the Bios and put in the usb with the Openelec installed on but still boots Windows 8 everytime. Maybe the Windows 8 installation did something to my openelec usb.

neacy69

ok got mine today so panic over!!

going to get the RAM out of my donor laptop and get it booting openelec off a usb key....(might get the dvd drive out of it but i havent watched dvds in a long time)

I also have a spare 120gb hdd should i stick this in aswell? (It has xp installed on it- will it have any problems cos xp is already installed?)

neacy69

neacy69 wrote: »

ok got mine today so panic over!!

going to get the RAM out of my donor laptop and get it booting openelec off a usb key....(might get the dvd drive out of it but i havent watched dvds in a long time)

I also have a spare 120gb hdd should i stick this in aswell? (It has xp installed on it- will it have any problems cos xp is already installed?)

If you have an unused 2.5" HDD (sata) then I would use that as the boot drive. The installer will/should wipe and format it automatically.

neacy69

Deleted User wrote: »

If you have an unused 2.5" HDD (sata) then I would use that as the boot drive. The installer will/should wipe and format it automatically.

Ok i will do that. Thanks

Do you recommend the 2.99.2 build?
(OpenELEC Testing - Generic i386 Version:2.99.2 (3.0 RC 2))

neacy69

neacy69 wrote: »

Ok i will do that. Thanks

Do you recommend the 2.99.2 build?
(OpenELEC Testing - Generic i386 Version:2.99.2 (3.0 RC 2))

Yes, that works well and has most things working out of the box.

Although I expect a dedicated MC001 build very soon. So don't waste a lot of time getting everything set up to perfection.

Remouad

Mine arrived today. Wasn't expecting it until march so haven't ordered the RAM yet.

Will an ssd give much of a speed improvement when running openelec?

All my media is on another machine so don't need much space.

neacy69

all my media is on an external drive.there wont be any hassle reading the media directly from the external hdd will there?

EDIT: (Probably a stupid question) do i need to have wired keyboard and mouse to complete the installation? I have a wireless one I can use or do i need one at all

Allyall

neacy69 wrote: »

all my media is on an external drive.there wont be any hassle reading the media directly from the external hdd will there?

Nope, should just be as normal.

neacy69 wrote: »

EDIT: (Probably a stupid question) do i need to have wired keyboard and mouse to complete the installation? I have a wireless one I can use or do i need one at all

Handy to have one whatever you're installing.

I used a Wireless Keyboard with touchpad.

I have mostly just been messing around trying different things.
I have had Mint, Zorin and I am now fiddling with Android x86 Hoping all goes problem free, i expect to have it on by tonight.

neacy69

Allyall wrote: »

Nope, should just be as normal.


Handy to have one whatever you're installing.

I used a Wireless Keyboard with touchpad.

I have mostly just been messing around trying different things.
I have had Mint, Zorin and I am now fiddling with Android x86 Hoping all goes problem free, i expect to have it on by tonight.

Have the ram installed
Have a 250gb hdd installed
Openelec key ready to go
And I can't find a feckin keyboard...

Wonder could I do the install with the ir remote?

networkj

@ I Kill You Scum!

Are you still running this horizontally? Did you do anything with the bare side after removing the stand?

tippgod

Have been following the trend and have decided that i am going to go with a stand alone xbmc unit. Have been messing ariound with it on the laptop and love it


Was the Arctic a success for people and was it easy to set up?

has anyone any post buy recomendations?

thanks

Do-more

Both the barebones and the DVD drive model seem to be out of stock at the moment from Arctic.

They presently have the DVD drive model listed as "Used - Like New Slight signs of wear on the front or side." for €109.95 + shipping.

The barebones went out of stock last week as well but re-appeared after one day, it's anyone's guess if the same happens again this time.

tippgod

Do-more wrote: »

Both the barebones and the DVD drive model seem to be out of stock at the moment from Arctic.

They presently have the DVD drive model listed as "Used - Like New Slight signs of wear on the front or side." for €109.95 + shipping.

The barebones went out of stock last week as well but re-appeared after one day, it's anyone's guess if the same happens again this time.

was on to there website and saw this. Is this good value as i was looking at getting a 1 tb harddive too ?

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/free-shipping-item/638/mc001-xbmc-eu.html?c=2296

tippgod

Do-more wrote: »

Both the barebones and the DVD drive model seem to be out of stock at the moment from Arctic.

They presently have the DVD drive model listed as "Used - Like New Slight signs of wear on the front or side." for €109.95 + shipping.

The barebones went out of stock last week as well but re-appeared after one day, it's anyone's guess if the same happens again this time.

was on to there website and saw this. Is this good value as i was looking at getting a 1 tb harddive too ?

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/free-shipping-item/638/mc001-xbmc-eu.html?c=2296

Why is the EU version dearer than the us version?

neacy69

networkj wrote: »

@ I Kill You Scum!

Are you still running this horizontally? Did you do anything with the bare side after removing the stand?

Interested in running mine horizontally also did you notice any issues with cooling since it was on its side?


Update on my setup: Have the ram and the HDD (250gb) installed from the donor laptop (advent e300). I have the openelec install usb ready to go but since I have no keyboard I can't change the boot order to the usb. Still waiting on my wireless keyboard and mouse from deal extreme (5 weeks) so ill probably borrow one from work

On another note the windows 7 booted no issues since it was already installed on the hdd in the old laptop. if i was going to keep it i would probably need to do a fresh install as there is probably some hangover from it being used in the previous device. I might consider partitioning the drive and having openelec as the primary boot and then win 7 as a secondary boot.

jfk247

jobyrne30 wrote: »

I, got a reply from Arctic about the faulty one I recieved, happy enough seems like a painless enough RMA process, providing postage cost is refunded quickly.

I assume anpost will be expensive enough to post this back to Germany. Is there any cheaper alternatives you guys may be aware of ?

@jobyrne30 - sent Arctic a mail yesterday about returning my faulty unit. just wondering how long it took them to get back to you?

Do-more

jfk247 wrote: »

@jobyrne30 - sent Arctic a mail yesterday about returning my faulty unit. just wondering how long it took them to get back to you?

I had to contact them as there was no nut and washer on my wifi antenna port, it took them a day or two to reply. And the nut and washer has to be sent from Hong Kong!

[Edit] Just checked my emails and it took them 2 days + 1 hour to reply to my initial enquiry.

neacy69

neacy69 wrote: »

Interested in running mine horizontally also did you notice any issues with cooling since it was on its side?

In the end I moved some shelves around and got it fitting vertically in my TV unit.

I didn't have any issues while I was running it horizontally but its a risk you'd have to take yourself and I wouldn't do it unless you knew what you were doing, what your CPU loads were likely to be, how to monitor temps etc.

MOH

Bah, had the barebones MC001-N in my cart on Amazon.de yeserday but it's gone again, up to 200 quid now.

If it does come back in, can I just check what I basically need to get up an running is:
1 x 16GB USB3.0 USB Stick (Transcend JetFlash 700)
1 x 4GB 204-pin DDR3 1066MHz RAM (Kingston)
1 x Logitech Harmony 300i remote

Plus obviously whatever storage I need. That the lot? Then just download openelec onto the USB stick, boot from that, and that's it?

MOH

MOH wrote: »

Bah, had the barebones MC001-N in my cart on Amazon.de yeserday but it's gone again, up to 200 quid now.

If it does come back in, can I just check what I basically need to get up an running is:
1 x 16GB USB3.0 USB Stick (Transcend JetFlash 700)
1 x 4GB 204-pin DDR3 1066MHz RAM (Kingston)
1 x Logitech Harmony 300i remote

Plus obviously whatever storage I need. That the lot? Then just download openelec onto the USB stick, boot from that, and that's it?

To get it up and running you would need another USB stick also. But any old one you have lying around.

And a keyboard of some kind. Again, one you have lying around is fine, just to get it up and running.

guinnessdrinker

I have mine running XBMCbuntu, everything is working well but I have two external drives connected to the unit and XBMC is only showing one, any ideas what the problem could be guys?

Mr McBoatface

jfk247 wrote: »

@jobyrne30 - sent Arctic a mail yesterday about returning my faulty unit. just wondering how long it took them to get back to you?

I had a reply within 24 hours. I shipped out the faulty unit on the 7th Feb, on the 14th Feb I received notification the replacement had been sent and refund for postage cost issued.

In between the 7th and 14th of Feb I came to an arrangement to buy a second unit at a slight discount (5 euro :pac::pac::pac:) ....but i didn't have to pay any shipping costs on the 2nd unit as they shipped it along side the replacement unit.

Received both units yesterday and checked my bank to find the 40 euro postage cost has been refunded.

I'm happy with their service. I did communicate at all times in German and English, they replied in English.

MOH

Looking at this again, it's probably nearly as cheap to go for the full XBMC version - by the time you add the RAM, remote and USB stick to the barebones it's going to come to €55 or so, the extra 1TB drive probably covers the difference. Though it's only 2GB RAM - is that enough, or would I need to throw another 2 in?

Only question is, does Arctic ship from the EU or elsewhere, so are you likely to be hit for VAT on the €194. And if so, does anyone know if anywhere within the EU is reselling this version?

MOH

MOH wrote: »

Though it's only 2GB RAM - is that enough, or would I need to throw another 2 in?

For OpenElec that is tonnes.

networkj

Is anyone suspending to S3 rather than shutting down? Is there any way to disable the blinking LED on standby?

Headshot

Delighted to report im finally happy with my MC001 and XBMC works perfectly now

The formatting of the hard drive worked a treat and getting the logitech k400 is superb on it. I also watered down the options in XBMC like hiding pictures, music etc options and just having videos

The only frustrating thing is Id love to turn off the MC001 by the arctic remote, anyone know how?

Do-more

MOH wrote: »

Only question is, does Arctic ship from the EU or elsewhere, so are you likely to be hit for VAT on the €194. And if so, does anyone know if anywhere within the EU is reselling this version?

It states on the graphic "*Ship by Arctic GmbH, 19% VAT and shipping included."

So you won't be hit for any tax.