Definitely faster on Linux. I went from a 3GHz dual core 4GB DDR3 RAM WinXP machine to a 2.2Ghz dual 2Gb DDR2 Linux server (I'm using http://vortexbox.org/ which is a really nice self-contained RedHat/SBS 7.5 installer) and with the same library and settings it's noticeably snappier, both via web and IR remote, despite being a much lower spec'd machine.
Depends how much you want to tinker, I think: I don't, so VortexBox is great for me (of course all SBS settings etc are still available for alteration). If you've got an old machine you have no use for, it's certainly worth a trial. I'm using a SATA 3GB/s 1Tb Samsung Spinpoint 32Mb cache drive in my VortexBox, and I've not noticed any lag when requesting files in SBS. I think it's still possible to get snappy response for things like thumbnail cached artwork using a conventional HDD. Bigger cache can't hurt, a proper 7200rpm drive (rather than a 'Green' one - my WD Caviar Green 1Tb is soooo slooooow), and as you're running Win7 an Advanced Format compatible drive (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2888) might help, not tried one yet to see if they're faster! And of course, time browsing drive tests on the web will show show which HDDs are fast and which aren't. THey're not fun reading, mind! -- moley6knipe dBpoweramp Reference 13.5 > VortexBox 1.4 > SqueezeCenter 7.5.0 > Squeezebox 3 / Boom > ears ------------------------------------------------------------------------ moley6knipe's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10014 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=79703 _______________________________________________ beta mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/beta
