The BIOSTAR Eco i2 Barebone with remote for 129.00??

[techs]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856115034

BIOSTAR Eco i2 Barebone Supports Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium (LGA1156) Intel H55 Chipset with HDMI Port and Remote Control


I was looking at this model to build a cheap HTPC. The reviews seem decent. Anyone have any experience or opinions?

 

[droshi]

Not a bad barebones right, but from my experience I prefer the slightly larger Shuttle platform. The main reason is that Shuttle has been around for a longer time and because it will have less issues with supporting hardware (ports and sound card) being defective than boxes that are smaller. You also have to deal with excessive heat issues when playing movies for a long time, or if you keep your system online all the time.

Check out the Shuttle SX58J3, price is a bit different, but I think it's worth the increase. Remember, you get what you pay for.

 

[ericlp]

I haven't build a HTPC, but... If I were I'd be seriously looking at XBMC. I would think that if you were to use XBMC then your want an wireless XBOX controller ... So the remote for me would be useless. Just my thoughts.

 

[techs]

Not a bad barebones right, but from my experience I prefer the slightly larger Shuttle platform. The main reason is that Shuttle has been around for a longer time and because it will have less issues with supporting hardware (ports and sound card) being defective than boxes that are smaller. You also have to deal with excessive heat issues when playing movies for a long time, or if you keep your system online all the time.

Check out the Shuttle SX58J3, price is a bit different, but I think it's worth the increase. Remember, you get what you pay for.

Actually I am using that exact Shuttle right now. Its a new build for my sister I am burning in. It's a sweet box. Everything just flat out works, and it literally took less than 15 minutes to put the cpu, burner, hard drive and memory in. With a Core i3@3.06 and only 2gb ram my Win7 32bit screams (I have an ssd and another 2gb ram on order still to add for her).

However, when she gets this Shuttle, I want something that I can put up with on my AV rack, and the Shuttle won't fit. Also, I want to be able to remotely turn it on, which is where the Biostar remote should be able to do. Plus, I want to build it as cheaply as possible. For about 270 for a cpu and the biostar, plus 20 for the memory, I can throw a used sata hd and dvd burner in and walk away for less than 300. The Shuttle is going for 219.00 alone on newegg(I picked hers up about 6 weeks ago on sale for 179.00)