Mini PC for LibreELEC

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    • Official Post
    Quote from kerstin23

    I don't need Windows or any other stuff on that.

    In that case, a RPi4B would be the simpler (and cheaper) option. I think there was still a bit of work to do on h264 video, but I have no idea on the current situation. It might as well already be working correctly.

    For any low-power Intel boxes, I'd suggest one with dual-channel memory. It could make a difference compared to single RAM slot devices.

    I use a J5005 board myself, with Ubuntu 20.04 + LibreELEC in a dual boot. It works nicely in both OS'es.

    • Best Answer

    Celeron j4125 is fine, although I cannot comment on those particular boxes. I even run a Celeron N3060 in one system, which is significantly less powerful, and it has no trouble with 1080p or even 4k, but that older generation won't handle HDR. Note that HDR is not yet supported in the standard LE releases for x86, but there is a series of test builds being worked on over here... RE: Intel true 10bits/HEVC/HDR support... ?

    I think, I should have to stick with my RPi 4, 4GB with Argon One M.2 case. It has one M.2 SSD with 1TB capacity, so I think, I have to create some EXFAT partition (due to compatibility with Windows, if I copy some things) on the unpartitioned space to give my movie stuff on there.

    So with my idea I have one problem. The new EXFAT partition is not visible for LibreELEC, if I try to assign this as video source. So I think, I have to manage this parition gets auto-mounted, when the device is started. But how? Any idea?

    Quote from Klojum

    Or stick to EXT4. Copying can also be done in LibreELEC's file manager or via the SMB server, which should go fast enough with a gigabit or a 5Ghz connection.

    I smashed the EXFAT partition and just expanded the existing STORAGE parition to my whole unpartitioned space. Not the best solution, but for my requirments, it should be enough.

    The price of the Argon One on Amazon has nearly doubled in the last few months. It's $110 in Canada, right now.

    I picked up an Argon One M.2 from a random supplier on AliExpress. There are a lot of vendors, selling the identical product. It was $55 (exactly half) and showed up in less than 2 weeks.

    The difference seems to be the fan quality. The three Argon One M.2 cases purchased on Amazon, from Argon40, are very quiet. One does make a squealing noise, sometimes. It stops when I give it a tap.

    The Argon One directly from China is far noisier. It's a problem. I had to swap the fan for a better quality fan I stock for my 3d printer. Other than that, they seem to be identical.

    Note there is a minor variation in magnets that hold the GPIO cover on newer Argon One cases. They look identical, but the lid is the tiniest bit different. One of the cases from Argon40 has the newer style magnets and the random Chinese case also has the newer style magnets. They call it v2.0 on AliExpress. The newer style holds the lid on better but I can't say I care about the difference.

    Just thought I'd mention it in this forum because there is a bit of an ArgonOne community.