[arosequi]

My XBMC box completely died yesterday. I've been looking to get a new one soon, but it just got more urgent. I'm sure there are a lot of annoying posts about this, but I was wondering if this hardware setup would work.

My plan is to load Ubuntu Jaunty and XBMC (w/ Aeon) on it. All I would really need is the ability to smoothly play MPEG AVIs (I have a couple of 720p MKVs, but they don't really matter), play DVDs, and play some emulated games (SNES/Genesis/etc).

I love this barebones:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856101039

Throw in a cheap processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819116039

Maybe 1GB of RAM, an 80GB HDD (all my media is stored on external HDDs), and a wireless card?

The main doubts I have are:

• Is a 1.8GHz single-core processor enough?
  
• Is the onboard graphics card for that Shuttle good enough? I would use the DVI --> HDMI connection.
  

If not, what processor/graphics card would I need? I'd like to stick with hardware on their "approved" list, if possible: http://global.shuttle.com/support_list03.jsp?PI=646

If anyone can provide any insight or anything that you would have doubts on, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a ton!

[prae5]

Stick in a nvidia 8200/8300/9300/9400 and enable vdpua and it will play everything you throw at it, including HD materials.

Can't comment on the emulators as i dont use them.

[DeanM3]

I would honestly opt for the E5200 chip if you can afford the extra $20. You're getting an additional core, and much more cache memory with only a slight sacrifice in power consumption and speed. It will handle AEON more aptly than the single core Celeron.