This is an re-post of the thread in Hardware Q&A. I don't think that that was the right section as I didn't receive a single reply there, even after 90 views.
Hello People! I don't know if this is the right thread to mention this, but I couldn't find one more suitable.
To start off, I got a Foxconn nT-i1250 Nano PC (Barebone) from Digit. I have been searching about it since yesterday, but I'm not able to find the correct,or to say, appropriate info or reviews about it. According the the box, the details given were:
Intel Cedar View Dual Core 1.86GHz
DDR III 1066MHz (Not included)
VGA+HDMI
USB 3.0
Mini PCIe (Support,Not Included)
GbE LAN
Wireless 802.11 b/g/n (Didn't understand as there is no wifi there.Just Support, maybe?)
I'm unable to understand the exact potential of this PC and there is no proper manual for it. So if any one has experience with one of this, I would request them to post it here.
I was able to boot the PC with 4 GB DDR3 and Linux Mint from USB and was able to gather some info. There are two reports regarding the same in Attachments.(Rename hardinfo_report.html.txt to hardinfo_report.html )
Also, for this PC, I need to buy a RAM, maximum 4 GB DDR3 and 320 GB hdd and a Mini PCIe. I would be attaching it to My HDMI supported TV for Multimedia. I have chosen WD Scorpio Blue 320 GB(WD3200BPVT) and Corsair DDR3 4 GB (CMSO4GX3M1B1333C9) RAM. I have external HDD, so that much HDD space is enough for Me. If someone could suggest Me a Mini PCIe as well, mention it's use and where I can buy it(online is also okay), as I don't know much about it.
And again this is not the place to mention,but even after writing the e-mail to Digit team, they asked Me to mention it here. According to the Give-aways, the PC mentioned was a Series 2000 PC,where as the one I have received is a Series 1000 PC. I would like it to be clarified that it was the one to be intended to be sent.
frankly speaking i wouldn't recommend this as a multimedia playback device reason being a weak processor(dual core atom 1.86GHz) & even weaker graphics(Intel GMA 3650).HD videos are getting more demanding day-by-day in terms of bitrate & anything less than core i integrated graphics simply doesn't cut it.the onboard graphics on this can handle low bitrate HD videos but anything considered good quality & it will choke.of course if your media collection consists mainly of SD videos(avi/divx/xvid etc) & low bitrate HD videos then it is fine.
Well, then what would I use it for? What other use can this pc have, as it can't support gaming too if what You are saying is accurate. Can You shed some light on the processor too?
dual core atom & GMA3650 graphics is suitable to use as a browsing/24 hour downloading/average usage tasks etc.keep it as a secondary/backup system for these usages or make it as a primary system for 24 hour downloading/seeding because of its low power usage.
Oh okay. Thanks for the info. Just curious, how were You able to gather the Graphics details? Also, it supports wifi, but requires a Mini PCI e card, which I have no idea about. Do You have any suggestion about it?
Edit: Don't know if You read it or not, but it has threading too for the cores. Wouldn't that boost up a little?
Foxconn Barebone nT-i1250 Overview & Specs - Barebones PCs - CNET Reviews
mini pci-e cards are hard to find & expensive.most shopkeepers probably haven't even heard the name let alone keep such cards.yes HT(hyper threading)is there but that doesn't change the fact that atom is a weak processor.a single core 1.8GHz atom struggles with moderate to high bitrate 720p so it is logical to assume that a dual core atom too will not be much ahead when it comes to high bitrate 720p/1080p videos.
I suggest you make this as a headless server. It will be more appropriate for such a device.
A better contestant for just media playback will be the raspberry pi. It costs 3k and can handle hd and possible blurry videos ( correct me if I'm wrong ).
Shiva
not sure about blu-ray.the usual 720p/1080p rips on net have 4000-6000kbps video bit rate but original blu-ray bitrate can be as high as 30mbps.
he was talking about mkv & blu-ray rips burned on a blu-ray not an actual original retail blu-ray movie disc.like i said its logical to assume that a 700MHz ARM processor will struggle with a 30mbps bit rate blu-ray.
^point taken.
Also , what is the difference between bluray rip and original bluray besides the above mentioned??
Shiva
Well that's a lot of good information, and Thank You all for it. Although I was just going to watch sitcoms, but movies, at least 720 p, were definitely an option too. I will be using it for server then. I definitely won't be buying a Bluray DVD player for it, as I already have that in My laptop with far better config. Further experimenting,what I did was, again using a 4GB ram and Linux, I tried booting it up on My TV. I got the 1280x720 as native resolution in it on TV, with no option to increase it. Maybe it would require Windows for higher resolution as I have got drivers for it in the box for Windows 7(32bit) as I'm not able to find appropriate drivers for it on Linux. And, yes it did struggle while playing a 1920x1080 movie, but can I contribute this struggle to lack of drivers? Wish I could boot it with Windows, but alas, lack of an extra internal hdd. Which also brings Me to My other point, any suggestions for a hdd and the RAM?
External HDD right?? If yes, go for Seagate go flex.
Shiva
@ Shiva: No I need an internal. Need to boot Windows from it. 250GB or 320GB would be fine, as I have more than enough in external.
Get wd blue 250GB at 3000rs.
500GB version costs 3200rs.
Shiva
original bluray is made from master print of the movie & compressed using thousands of $ commercial encoder.bluray rips are made by people using freely available h264 encoders like x264 & a lot depends on the skills of person compressing/encoding it.
@ Shiva: I don't think the drive is supported. I require a for 2.5"HDD(SATA II) for it, and the one You mentioned is of 3.5" form factor.
I just saw the pics and wanted to know, how can you add a HDD to that?? Can you remove top cover of the PC?? Reg. the HDD size. If it supports only 2.5inch drives, then you add only laptop drives. For that you can get either the WD Scorpio blue drive or the Seagate momentus drive.
Links
*www.flipkart.com/seagate-momentus-...BHBS&ref=4e2950dd-9cce-4018-9f29-392263e8a6b1
*www.flipkart.com/wd-scorpio-blue-5...WDSE&ref=4e2950dd-9cce-4018-9f29-392263e8a6b1
They both cost under 3500rs.
Shiva
Oh those are good, thanks. Don't know why flipkart didn't show them when I searched. Yes, I have to open up the top cover, it even shows how to do it in manual.
how much is the inbuilt storage??
Shiva
There is no internal storage. Hence I have been booting with a flash drive. Also, the support for hdd is for SATA II and the WD one You mentioned is of SATA III interface. That won't cause an issue, right?
Incidentally, I was supposed to get a series 2000 pc in the gift but what I got was a series 1000 pc. When asked for clarification, I was told that both have same configuration. Here is the configuration of that other PC:
nT-i2847
Series : Celeron
Processors Supported : Intel Dual Core Celeron 1.1GHz
Chipset : NM70
Memory Supported : One SO-DIMM Socket support DDR3 up to 4GB
VGA Graphics : Intel HD Graphic
Storage Interface : One SATA III connector for 2.5"HDD or SSD
@Whitestar : if the config had been as above, would it have made any difference while using it was media device?
dual core celeron is definitely more powerful than dual core atom & its integrated graphics is also better than intel GMA3650 so it would definitely make a difference when using as media device.still my suggestion for a decent media device which can handle almost all high bit rate HD videos/blu-ray is at least get an intel pentium dual core G2020(2.9GHz 3rd generation costs ~3000) & if you can compromise a bit on size of cabinet then get a graphics card too like 6670(DDR5 version costs ~5000) if you want to do some post processing using graphics card capability.
Thank You for Your suggestion whitestar. I have simply received this product as a gift from Digit, hence I'm just finding use for what I have received. I will surely consider Your suggestion when I go for a media device.
The new configuration posted by Me was in reply for the post by Digit "According to the Give-aways, the PC mentioned was a Series 2000 PC,where as the one I have received is a Series 1000 PC.". I was told in the mail that the nT-i2847 and nT-i1250 have same config. But as it turns out, it doesn't. I have pdf from them too, but unable to post here due to size limitations of pdf files.
