Go for S905x2 or S905x3 rather than S912. That way you get the new (Ng) kernel and it’s features. 2/16 will be enough. I run happily with 100m ethernet but I don’t go beyond 1080p resolutions.
I’m on record about my favourite cheapie in this thread so I’m assuming you’ve discounted that one already.
You write very well by the way. I’m a few steps ahead of you but we’re on the same path. I started with S805
$50 should get you an S905X3 with gigabit ethernet and would be the preferred option at this price point.
If saving money is near the top of your list though, don’t completely rule out the S912 though as it works very well and one of the advertisers over at Freaktab has a Tanix TX9S 2GB RAM + 8GB ROM Android 9.0 with gigabit ethernet (only 2,4Ghz WiFi though) for $22.99
Thank you for the responses guys @sonofdibnah @Compent ! The ethernet and wifi capabilities are very secondary to me because I’ll only be using the box to playback things from my USB stick/external drive so the only thing I want is for it to playback everything I throw in its general direction not worrying about the codecs and formats 
Looked through the S905X3-powered boxes that you mention and found that for example an X96 Air 2/16 or a Tanix TX3 2/16 are both under $30 right now - would they be a good bet, in your opinion? They’re only a couple of bucks pricier than the S912 Tanix I mentioned.
The x96Air is an excellent little box, but has some thermal issues out of the box.
I would strongly advise against the S912. Its software support is very much behind the S905x3 and will likely remain so indefinitely, this means its likely to develop more bugs as things evolve with less likelyhood of those bugs getting resolved. The S905x3 betters the performance of the S912 in almost every respect, it was as good as orphaned by AMLogic as soon as it was released which means its full potential was never realised in anything but Android.
Shoog
Well im happy with the H96 (S905x2 Version lol) Its doing exactly what i like, great for the price.
Good to know that Roden because I almost bullied you into buying it!
Sorry for a rookie question but what do thermal issues mean with regards to these boxes and CE? Does it mean it’s overheating and throttling? Shutting down? Risks permanent damage?
It runs at between 50 and 70 centigrade in normal use. That’s a bit high for my taste.
Shoog
I see. But do other boxes run cooler? So for example, would I be better off going for, say, Tanix TX3 from these cheap S905X3 boxes instead?
The H96 Max is doing great for me. Cool as ice and it’s doing everything I want it to. I paid £20 for it.
It’s as good as my mecool Km9 Pro wich was double the price and more.
I created temperature thread.
I agree totally with shoog above, there is no throttling I guess, but for long term view, I wouldnt let run these device higher than, lets say 50-53 in idle… You can feel temperature even just been around, when temps are 53 and higher.
Personally, I have 8-9y boxes, running 38-48, nothing wrong with them works still as new (Rpi, Rpi2, later C2 but Ive got those only like 1y or such). So I get this as good rule of thumb, if temp is between 35-55 (55 is max, and only when under load, like 4K movie etc.), devices should be fine and live long.
Dont have long experience with cheap chinese Androids, but compare with Odroid/Khadas SoC, I think they could be in similiar long span, if user take care about heat - if you have screwdiver, drilling machine, solder, tweezer, knife etc. at home,using it reguralrly, those boxes can provide great value for much cheaper price, as you are able to easilly improve it practically free.
If not, I would recommend a bit pricier solution with better cooling out of the box. AFAIK, I didnt hear about PROOVED cheap chinese unknown with cool temperatures and PROOVED justOS for them. I just jump into S905X3 boat, as they seems to be more likely wide supported within (future) CE. 912 could be cooler but dont have deeper experience how well are supported within CE.
As I wrote in that topic, feel free to all with some nice temperature test @other device share with community in temperature topic (with enough description,it would be great to have utilized summary, and not 20posts about the same device in different conditions 
P.S.: I dont claim that X96 cannot be operable in 60°C by 6 years… I just dont have that experience and like to treat my things nicelly in general
My solution to cooling the X96A. took me about an hour and cost me nothing.
Dropped temps by about 25C, a good 12V fan run at 5V is virtually silent.
Shoog
I would like to see a replacement housing that could take a variety of boards and have room for a heatsink and cooling fan, and provision made for airflow in and out.
Something akin to the examples of R-Pi cases produced by individuals.
The two case sides with connections to the board could have replaceable parts to suit individual boards, so the main housing would be near universal for a range of boards.
Maybe someone with a 3D printer and the inclination would produce something …
Thank you all for the replies! So all things considered, would you recommend going for any of these cheap S905X3/X2 boxes rather than the other one? Since X96 Air has this overheating problem, maybe just going for the Tanix TX3 which is the same price would be sensible?
The H96 Max is problematic cause I see it’s basically twice the price of the two boxes above on Gearbest which is a bit hard to justify I think 
The X92air doesn’t have an a proven overheating problem, it just runs hot.
Shoog
I take it you’re in the USA @Tigro because your first post mentioned dollars. In the UK roden and myself have bought the H96 for 23.99 pounds with next day delivery. Then again we haven’t yet got a prime minister who’s intent on a trade war with China😂
No just a prime minister who through away every trade deal we had, without a plan.
I’m actually based in Poland but where did you find the H96 for this price? All the H96’s I see that are good price are not the amlogic-based ones but rather those with the RK chip.
It was on a site named after a rain forest. Sadly that deal is no longer there.
I see, thanks!
In the end, I decided to go for the X96 Air. We’ll see if I’m gonna regret it 
Thanks a lot to everybody for guiding me through the process despite my cluelesness!
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