Speed up EeeBox EB1012P to use as HTPC

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
N

nemesis18082

Reputable
Aug 7, 2014
2
0
4,510
A few years back when I was strapped for cash, I bought an Asus EeeBox EB1012P (http://www.asus.com/EeeBox_PCs/EeeBox_PC_EB1012P/). It's seldom used now, and I was hoping to set it up as a HTPC in the living room. I'm running into problems with performance though. With Win7, it has disruptive lag problems when trying to play HD (or even standard def) from Amazon or Netflix.
I have 4GB ram in it right now. I looked into overclocking but can't find any tools. Looks like the clock on this setup was one-of-a-kind. Any recommendations on what I could do to speed it up? I can wipe the drive and start fresh, but I don't know if that'll make a big difference.
Thanks!
 
Solution
Solandri
Netflix on a PC uses Silverlight to decode its video stream. In other words, it's completely up to the CPU to decode it. The GPU doesn't help at all. That's why Netflix is able to stream on a Roku but not on a low-end PC. Amazon uses Silverlight or Flash (you can switch between the two in your video options), but is likely running into the same problem.

Unfortunately there's no simple solution to this if your CPU isn't capable of decoding these streams without stuttering. Blame Hollywood. They require these streaming services to encrypt the streams for copyright protection. On dedicated hardware like a Roku or Chromecast, they can write a custom app which uses the GPU's video decoding hardware and get it approved by the...
Sort by date Sort by votes
L

LostAlone

Distinguished
Jan 3, 2011
296
0
18,960
You absolutely do not want to overclock an HTPC machine, and you won't pick up much desktop performance from that anyway. You want to keep the insides cool and comfy, so it can just sit and run for months if not years.

I think it is possible to make the box do what you want, but you may have to make some compromises. Atom chips are just not very powerful, and shockwave/flash based players are actually very demanding in CPU terms. You should be able to at least stream in SD from Netflix, and to be honest I would suspect the connection more than the machine for the stutters there. Netflix etc runs fine on plenty of Rokus and similar that have far less resources than an Eee PC. So hook it up by wired connection and see if the problem persists.

My personal suggestion is to forget about windows 7. You don't need it for what you are doing, and it'll just slurp up resources you want to have available to you. Go with a lightweight Linux distro, ideally a designed HTPC one. It's not an easy path, and may take some getting used to, but people use RaspberryPis as media players - You shouldn't have any problems in getting the EeeBox to play ball.

Off the top of my head I have to imagine there is a comunity for modding these machines, and if you google around you should be able to find them and get their more expert advice.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solandri

Solandri

Illustrious
Jan 4, 2012
4,919
98
39,240
Netflix on a PC uses Silverlight to decode its video stream. In other words, it's completely up to the CPU to decode it. The GPU doesn't help at all. That's why Netflix is able to stream on a Roku but not on a low-end PC. Amazon uses Silverlight or Flash (you can switch between the two in your video options), but is likely running into the same problem.

Unfortunately there's no simple solution to this if your CPU isn't capable of decoding these streams without stuttering. Blame Hollywood. They require these streaming services to encrypt the streams for copyright protection. On dedicated hardware like a Roku or Chromecast, they can write a custom app which uses the GPU's video decoding hardware and get it approved by the Hollywood overlords. But on generic Windows hardware, Hollywood feels the only way to keep the stream "safe" from copying is to keep its decoding locked up entirely within the CPU. Low-end CPU + no GPU assist = stuttering.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom