Hey guys,

I'm looking to upgrade the CPU in my ex495 as it's just too slow for 1080p LiveConversion with the AirVideoServer + iOS app. I know it works well on a Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33Ghz Q8200 CPU in my HTPC, but that means running both my HTPC and my WHS just to stream something to my iPhone/iPad (and that's a lot of power). Hence, me wanting to upgrade the CPU so that everything is in one box.

Would it be better to go for a cheaper dual-core chip like the E6800 ($95 on Amazon) or do I really need a Quad core chip like a Q8400S ($248). Going quad core would mean it'd need to be a low power 65W chip, which would easily double the price. The Q8200 in my HTPC doesn't have any skips, but typical quad core chips run too hot to stick into the ex495.

Any suggestions? Anyone know if the E6800 is fast enough for smooth 1080p Live Conversion with AirVideo?

Good question. I found that doing a SD conversion with AirVideo was pretty taxing on the MSS hardware. Although I didn't have any skipping/stuttering issues, the CPU was taxed near 100% while converting. So I'm guessing that a Quad Core would help with your situtation as peraps would a 4 GB memory uprade.

Or... you could do batch conversions on your PC and move the files to your MSS. That might mean having duplicate videos, but the beauty is that you could stream the videos or copy them over and watch them when you are away from home. That is the tactic I've chose. I have ~300 ripped video and am about 1/3 of the way through the converting process. I typically load the conversion que with 10-15 videos and let it run for 24 hours or so at a time. Then I copy the converted files over to my iTunes library that is stored on the MSS. Come streaming time, the MSS CPU barely registers a blip while streaming the pre-converted file. Of course, there is the space penalty I mentioned, but I have plenty of hard dive space and if I didn't at ~$100 for a addition 2 TB drive, that is cheaper than a CPU/memory upgrade.

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X510 w/7 TB (100% WD Green EARS)
Stock Processor, 4 GB Memory Upgrade