I'm starting my new HTPC build; it's been about 5 years since the last one. The display will be a 46" LCD, probably the new Sharp LC-46D62U.

My goals are:

Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Playback (eventually), DVD Playback/Recording, music, web surfing, in near silence (no overclocking). I hate noisy computers. This machine will not be used as a DVR or for watching live TV; I have a HD TiVo for that. I will use it to extract programs from the TiVo to recordable media.

Components ordered so far:

Motherboard: Intel DG965OT (BOXDG965OTMKR)

Rationale: Recent chipset, HD audio with full 7.1 and an HD Audio header may allow eventual integration with an HDMI video card. Gigabit Ethernet. High quality capacitors, decent warranty, MicroATX form factor (a plus for me). I've had pretty good luck with the quality of Intel desktop boards in the past.

Homepage: http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/dg965ot/
Documentation: ftp://download.intel.com/design/motherbd/ot/D5601201US.pdf

The Asus P5B-VM was a close call here.

--

Processor: Intel E6400 Core 2 Duo

Rationale: Price/performance; Qualified by nvidia for Blu-Ray/HD-DVD decoding tasks. Power consumption is not so bad that it can't be cooled quietly.

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Memory: 1GB (2x512) Kingston ValueRAM DDR2-533 (KVR533D2N4K2/1G)

Rationale: I started looking at DDR2-800 and was annoyed by the price and compatibility issues; the Intel board requires 1.8 volt memory. Then I discovered that the faster RAM is only around 1% faster while 80-100% more expensive. I will not be overclocking so this was an easy choice for me.

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Chassis: Antec NSK2400 Media PC Case

Rationale: I hate most media PC cases. I'm sure I'll hate this one too, but it has a few things going for it - namely that it is a solid foundation for a quiet PC, and it doesn't look horrible. It's also cheap.

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Video Card: XFX GF7950GT PVT71JYHE9

Rationale: Upper midrange card with Purevideo HD, HDCP, and still passively cooled -- no noise! On the minus side, no HDMI.

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Hard Drive: Samsung HD300LJ 300GB SATA2

Rationale: I have a few of these laying around. They're quiet and inexpensive.

--

PSU: Seasonic S12-380

Rationale: I have one on the shelf. It may not quite be enough for this system, but I think it will suffice. This is a very quiet PSU with excellent efficiency and active PFC. The efficiency will help keep the computer cool with less fan noise.

-----

Still to go: I'll use the Intel box HSF and bundled Antec cooling fans to get started, but I'll be replacing them soon. The parts above are either on hand or on order. I'll keep this thread updated as the build progresses.

I think that's a great setup.

I don't even think the lack of HDMI is a bid deal.


current HDMI cards only provide SPDIF pass through, if you want real hi-def audio, you'll have to use the analog outs anyway, and DVI is just as capable for video and HDMI 1.1.

Only suggestion is go with 2GB of memory. Vista loves memory.

Good point, sotti, and I do plan to add another 1 GB of memory later.

So far I am very unimpressed with Vista. The machine I tried it on felt several generations older when I installed RC1! (And it had 2G of RAM!)

I went back to MCE.

I don't know for sure if the digital audio header on this board can handle high-bandwidth (HDMI 1.3) audio, but I think it can. I wonder if future video cards may be able to connect to it. I couldn't find much info with google -- other than a pinout.

Maybe things have changed, but the last Intel motherboard I bought had zero chance of over clocking - it was completely locked out.

Maybe things have changed, but the last Intel motherboard I bought had zero chance of over clocking - it was completely locked out.

That's just fine with me. I haven't overclocked a system in years. I've been known to underclock systems to achieve silence and/or lower power consumption, but that won't be needed here.

I was thinking of using a Thermalright XP-120 CPU heatsink, but it doesn't look like it will clear the northbridge heatsink. I also can't find one in stock anywhere.

Now I am considering the XP-90C, but I'm not sure that will fit either. :mad:

I was thinking of using a Thermalright XP-120 CPU heatsink, but it doesn't look like it will clear the northbridge heatsink. I also can't find one in stock anywhere.

Now I am considering the XP-90C, but I'm not sure that will fit either. :mad:


Take a look at the SI-120 and SI-128 from thermalright...better then the XP-120 IMO. clear underneath as oppose to the XP-120 design

Also with the passive cooled XFX 7950GT, you better plan on having some air flow in the case else its going to heat up the inside a lot. I run a ASUS silent 7600GT that looks a lot like the cooling system of the XFX 7950GT and inside my case got hot and I ended up having to add a silenX fan just to cool the vid card...kind of defeted the purpose of the fanless vid card :rolleyes: . Also with the way the heat pipes and top passive coolling used make sure it will fit in the case height wise. My ASUS just barely fit my Ahanix D4 case. It actually touched the top of a Sileverstone LC20 case. LC 20 have about 6 inches of height clearance and the D4 has about 6.5-7 inches..

Oy! Looks like we have a very similar setup. I have the following except the intel board which will be here tomorrow.

Case: Antec Solution Series NSK2400 - $90 (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140134)
Mobo: Intel DG965OT - $162 (http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/dg965ot/index.htm) from pcconnection.com
Proc: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz - $185 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115005)
VC: MSI NX7600GT-VT2D256EHD Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 - $175 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814127217)
HDD: W Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136003)
ODD: LG 16X DVD±R Super-Multi DVD - $29 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827136091)
OS: Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 - $110 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16832116049)
G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) - $125 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231054)
HSync: Thermalright SI-128 CPU Cooling Heatsink - $53 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835109129)
NVIDIA PureVideo Decoder - $20 (http://store.nvidia.com/DRHM/servlet/SecureControllerServlet?Action=DisplayCategoryProductListPag e&SiteID=nvidia&categoryID=3111900)
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $6 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835100007)
Mitsumi 7-in-1 Internal Memory Card Reader/ Writer + Floppy Disk Drive - $23 (http://www.directron.com/fa402a.html)

Apparently I didn't order the Intel board soon enough, and sold out before it could be shipped. I'm not very surprised.

sthapit, does the SI-128 fit the Intel board and the Antec case? I was worried it may be too high. I'd love to know how much clearance the fan has on top ... thanks!

Good point, sotti, and I do plan to add another 1 GB of memory later.

So far I am very unimpressed with Vista. The machine I tried it on felt several generations older when I installed RC1! (And it had 2G of RAM!)

I went back to MCE.

I don't know for sure if the digital audio header on this board can handle high-bandwidth (HDMI 1.3) audio, but I think it can. I wonder if future video cards may be able to connect to it. I couldn't find much info with google -- other than a pinout.

I'm 99% sure the HD-Audio header is analog only, which means an HDMI video card would need to do a DAC step to the header ADC to the HDMI cable, then DAC step on the reciever, so analog out would still be preferable for overall quality.

then again, I could be wrong about that. and HDMI 1.1 is perfectly capable of carring full 8 channel 24b/96k PCM. So it's not like you'll need HDMI 1.3

I think we'll see video cards mid year, next year that have HDMI 8 channel audio on card.

I'm 99% sure the HD-Audio header is analog only, which means an HDMI video card would need to do a DAC step to the header ADC to the HDMI cable, then DAC step on the reciever, so analog out would still be preferable for overall quality.

then again, I could be wrong about that. and HDMI 1.1 is perfectly capable of carring full 8 channel 24b/96k PCM. So it's not like you'll need HDMI 1.3

I think we'll see video cards mid year, next year that have HDMI 8 channel audio on card.

The HD Audio header is a fully digital connection. The pinout is in the Intel motherboard spec. It is not S/PDIF either. Definitely PCM, but I don't know what the bandwidth is or how many channels it can support. I'll have to investigate more.

I have the HDMI 1.3 spec but not earlier specs. If anyone has a PDF of HDMI 1.1 or 1.2, please send me a PM. Thanks!

Ok, I did some research. The HD Audio Link is a bidirectional, multi-channel PCM digital audio and command bus. It allows peripherals to sit between the codecs and the audio controller. In fact it is the same bus that the motherboard hd audio codec is attached to, so in theory this is exactly the sort of thing we need to patch into an HDMI video card.

See page 51 of this tech journal article:

http://www.intel.com/technology/itj/2005/volume09issue01/vol09_iss01.pdf

What puzzles me is that it uses a 48-kHz sync pulse, but it is obviously able to handle sample rates higher than 48 kHz and a tremendous amount of bandwidth. I'm missing part of the picture ... but it's late and I am running on a sleep deficit :)

I am thinking about using a Silverstone NT01 v2.0 heatsink with the Antec NSK2400. This thing can be installed in any orientation, so it looks like it can be used without its own fan, in a side airflow configuration. It will be installed right next to the 120mm case fans.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/nt01v2/34-view/nt01v2.0.jpg

The price is not bad either, about $35

Update: I ordered one of these. Hopefully it will work out :D

Oh, the joys of building custom machines! It looks like the XFX GF7950GT video card will not fit in the Antec NSK2400 case. I just got the video card (will have the case in a few hours) and it's a lot taller than I thought it was. :mad:

that sucks. the case is pretty small, yes. even the MSI Geforce 7600GT takes up two whole slots and just makes it.

that sucks. the case is pretty small, yes. even the MSI Geforce 7600GT takes up two whole slots and just makes it.


Its the height thats the probm not the dual slot it may take up,

I have an extreme mod in mind. Keep tuned :D

Pictures from my build in case anyone's interested in a similar setup.

http://www.writely.com/View.aspx?docid=ajhn74f386bv_11vbtnn8

Pictures from my build in case anyone's interested in a similar setup.

http://www.writely.com/View.aspx?docid=ajhn74f386bv_11vbtnn8

Very nice!

Bicster: How's your mod coming along? ;)

Bicster: How's your mod coming along? ;)

I didn't pick up the case from UPS until about 8PM last night. My wife is flying to Florida this morning, so I'll have the next few evenings to try to break stuff. :D

The DG965OT mobo arrived a few moments ago. I didn't realize this board supported Dolby Digital Live ... bonus! The latching SATA cables are also a nice touch. Now if only I could go home and play, instead of working for the next few hours. Torture!

Bicster,

I like your idea for the Silverstone heatsink - I'm interested to see how it works out.

Here's a link to my NSK2400 build -

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=30945&highlight=

DE

Bicster,

I like your idea for the Silverstone heatsink - I'm interested to see how it works out.

Here's a link to my NSK2400 build -

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=30945&highlight=

DE

Funny we're both on the same forums. I've seen your thread before; I remember the drive suspension you came up with. Nice work! :) I like the black bezel. I wish Antec gave us some more options.

Today I ordered a pair of Nexus 120mm fans and some rubber fan isolators. I'm building the machine tonight with the retail HSF and the Antec Tri-Cool fans... I'll post some temps once I get the silverstone and nexus stuff installed, probably the weekend of the 30th.

I'd like to compare the Silverstone to the Thermalright SI-128 heatsink sthapit is using - I considered using that one but the fins are so close together! It seemed like it might not work as well. There is a lot of guesswork in this hobby.

The computer works. The XFX video card looks ridiculous in the NSK2400, it sticks up about 3/4" above where the lid should be...

The DG965OT motherboard shipped with a very old BIOS (0816), so I upgraded it. MCE was a bit of a pain to install because I had to go find an old floppy drive to load the ICH8 AHCI (SATA) driver. The driver DVD that came with the board didn't work either; it has a weird manufacturing defect and is seriously off-balance. The DVD drive feels like it's going to break into pieces when I try to use that disc.

This is the first machine I've built in a while that feels as fast as I think it should. Aside from the video card not fitting, I am quite happy so far. I'll address that issue tomorrow.

post some pics when you figure out a way to put the cover on :) i'm very curious.

Also, are you having any problems with a soft boot? The motherboard makes 3 long beeps when I try to restart the computer and shuts off (But only when I do "Start -> Turn Off Computer -> Restart". When I turn it off, and turn it on using the power switch it starts fine.

post some pics when you figure out a way to put the cover on :) i'm very curious.

Also, are you having any problems with a soft boot? The motherboard makes 3 long beeps when I try to restart the computer and shuts off (But only when I do "Start -> Turn Off Computer -> Restart". When I turn it off, and turn it on using the power switch it starts fine.

I've not encountered that problem! Are you running MCE? Do you have any missing drivers according to device manager?

I've not encountered that problem! Are you running MCE? Do you have any missing drivers according to device manager?

Yes, I'm running MCE and I've installed all the latest drivers for all devices. It does the beep thing before it even starts windows (right after it turns on the power) - I'm thinking it's the memory... But the thing is it runs perfectly with a hard boot and since I hardly every restart it's not a big problem, but it's still annoying.

I'm too lazy to look that up right now, but the beep codes are all detailed in the manual.

Ok, finally all the parts are here. I got a chance to snap a few quick pics. I still need to tidy up the cables and modify the lid so I can close the damn case.

Top view:

http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/635/crw204701ot6.jpg

Silverstone NT01 v2.0 is a perfect fit for this application. CPU temps dropped ~ 10 degrees celsius over stock Intel HSF! Right now idle is 36C with one Nexus @ 1100rpm and the other @ 600rpm.

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5683/crw204801qc7.jpg

The XFX problem:

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/8861/crw205001yl7.jpg

Hi Bicster. Since you're using the same mobo as I am, I was wondering if you were able to get any sound out of your rear speakers using the optical SPDIF that comes with the Intel DG965OT mobo. I'm getting zero sound from them no matter what I try! Thanks for any info.

sthapit, I haven't tried the SPDIF yet, but I'll attempt to do so soon ...

hey all,

Thanks everyone for the very informative thread. Been looking at getting a better than average powered HTPC like this up and running. My setup's pretty similar to those here. Couldn't wait any longer for the Asus P5B-VM.

Had a hard time with RAM though. A couple of visits to the shop. Initially grabbed some GEILs (2x1Gb PC-6400 800MHz 1.8v) but the PC wouldn't even post. Finally switched it out for some Corsairs (2x1Gb PC-5300 667MHz) and it came up straight away.

Things I still need to do are
1. Get a PSU with a long enough motherboard cable that doesn't have an 80mm fan.
2. Get a video card (Looking at an Inno3D 7950GT 512Mb) Was initially looking at the XFX, but not now that I have seen the pics of the ill fitting heatsink :(
3. Get the silverstone CPU heatsink. (I really liked that it fits so well)
4. Find a way to fill the gaps between the Pioneer (silver) optical drive and the box :( (I've got about a 2mm gap on the sides and top)
5. Work out a way to get more volume, especially to the subwoofer.

I've got this with an optical cable to my 6.1 receiver. Worked out that you need to specify Dolby in the advanced section to get 5.1. PCM stereo just outputs to the front 2 speakers.

Anyway, thanks again

Hi beeker, welcome to AVS.

Keep in mind that when you configure the optical out for 5.1, it's doing on-the-fly dolby digital encoding. You can still get uncompressed 5/6/7.1 out, but only if you use analog...for now... Eventually that HD Audio Link header on the motherboard should be able to connect to an HDMI video card, but it might be years before that type of product appears.

I very highly recommend you check out the power supply reviews over at silentpcreview.com. Get an 80 plus certified model if you can. Definitely get one with a single 120mm fan and a good fan speed controller. The PSU shown in my pics is a Seasonic S12-380.

I had this problem too - whenever I changed my RAM settings.
The mobo did not detect the proper settings using the auto spd mode. Even though it displayed what they should be, it set them up different! I manually changed them to the right values and it boots up fine.
I have 2x512M OCX value ram 677mhz
Auto mode went to 567Mhz 4-4-4-12
But the bios spd reported they should be 5-5-5-13
So I set to 667Mhz and 5-5-5-13 and it seems to be working great.

BTW, what wireless keyboard mouse combo are people using for this HTPC?

Just to be clear, if we're all talking about the Intel DG965OT motherboard, it ships with a very old BIOS. There is a fairly recent one on Intel's website.

Coderiver: I have a Gyration wireless keyboard/mouse set, but I'm not super pleased with it.

Keep in mind that when you configure the optical out for 5.1, it's doing on-the-fly dolby digital encoding.

Can you please explain what you mean by this? It was my understanding that only products with Dolby Digital Live do on-the-fly DD 5.1 encoding and this board does not have Dolby Digital Live.

Can you please explain what you mean by this? It was my understanding that only products with Dolby Digital Live do on-the-fly DD 5.1 encoding and this board does not have Dolby Digital Live.

The DG965OT does have DD Live. In any case, the only way you can transmit >2 channel audio via S/PDIF is with DD or DTS.

The DG965OT does have DD Live.

Awesome. Looks like this might be the board for me. So do I assume correctly that the board:

1. Can use Dolby Digital Live to send multichannel audio for games via S/PDIF
2. Will pass through DD 5.1 via S/PDIF from a DVD w/o processing the signal
3. Will output 2-channel 16/44 PCM via S/PDIF from a CD? Bit Perfect?

Awesome. Looks like this might be the board for me. So do I assume correctly that the board:

1. Can use Dolby Digital Live to send multichannel audio for games via S/PDIF
2. Will pass through DD 5.1 via S/PDIF from a DVD w/o processing the signal
3. Will output 2-channel 16/44 PCM via S/PDIF from a CD? Bit Perfect?

Although I have not personally verified any of those things, I believe the answer is yes to all your questions. That is based on settings the sound driver will let me select, and information from Cyberlink showing that the Sigmatel chip should work fine for DD pass-through. I did notice something odd: If I prevent the Intel Audio Studio from loading at bootup, I get no sound at all until I start it.

I just noticed you did say 16/44. I do not know if this is one of those chips that will only output at 48... Any suggestions on how I find out?

Bonus: The Intel Audio Studio is also accessable as an MCE applet.

I haven't bought my LCD TV yet (waiting on the new Sharp), and my old TV is too primitive to connect this HTPC up to it ... so it's in my office, far away from any DD 5.1 capable AVR.

IMHO the only reason not to like this board is that it's not overclocking-friendly.

Bicster,
I was tooling around the net trying to find the dimensions/measurements of your XFX 7950GT card. I couldn't find them anywhere. If you wouldn't mind could you post exact HxWxD
More specifically I'm interested in the distance in height between where the screw hole is where you mount it in the slot and the top of the heatsink.
Thanks ;)
I'm trying to figure out if it will fit in a Zalman HD160.

If I don't post the measurements by tonight, send me a PM reminder.

Cool thanks :)

FYI I ended up controlling the fan next to the Silverstone NT01 with a Zalman Fan-Mate. It's set to ~ 650 rpm now and cools just fine. I couldn't figure out how to use the motherboard PWM to get the fan speed any lower than about 1100 rpm.

I manually changed them to the right values and it boots up fine.
I have 2x512M OCX value ram 677mhz
Auto mode went to 567Mhz 4-4-4-12
But the bios spd reported they should be 5-5-5-13
So I set to 667Mhz and 5-5-5-13 and it seems to be working great.

BTW, what wireless keyboard mouse combo are people using for this HTPC?

Hi codedriver:

I'm using the G.SKILL 1GB (2 x 512MB) 667 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231054) and I still get the 3 beeps when I restart. I went BIOS -> Advanced -> Chipset Config -> Memory config -> SDRAM Control = Manual, CPC Override = Disabled, Mem Freq = 667 and 5-5-5-15. But I still get the 3 beeps. Can someone tell me what else to try? Thanks!

BTW, I'm using the vidabox wireless keyboard/mouse (http://www.vidabox.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=8) and I'm extremeley happy with it (review here (http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Peripherals/Vidabox-HTPC-Wireless-Keyboard/). ).

Sounds like you did the same thing I did.
Have you upgraded the bios to the latest version?
There is a 9/16 version that I used.
The cd-rom based bios flashing utility is pretty easy to use.
The web site doesn't seem to help much, read this page (http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-010249.htm) and see if any of these steps help.
Also make sure you are using the same color ram slots - every other one - you know what I mean?

Sounds like you did the same thing I did.
Have you upgraded the bios to the latest version?
There is a 9/16 version that I used.
The cd-rom based bios flashing utility is pretty easy to use.
The web site doesn't seem to help much, read this page (http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-010249.htm) and see if any of these steps help.
Also make sure you are using the same color ram slots - every other one - you know what I mean?

I finally "fixed" the three beep problem. I tried updating the BIOS etc etc but it would still beep 3 times and then hang when I would do Start -> Turn Off -> Restart (but would start fine with off/on). My memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231054)is rated as DDR2 667 but I found that when I set it manually in the BIOS as 533 it works and doesn't do the 3 beeps.

BTW, there really isn't a reason to go with DDR2-667 unless you are planning to overclock. There is a site that did a test on the various speeds of DDR2, and found that for the most part, DDR2-533 was slightly faster than 667. I'll try to find the link, since it was a while ago that I was researching my next HTPC build.

Bicster,
I was tooling around the net trying to find the dimensions/measurements of your XFX 7950GT card. I couldn't find them anywhere. If you wouldn't mind could you post exact HxWxD
More specifically I'm interested in the distance in height between where the screw hole is where you mount it in the slot and the top of the heatsink.
Thanks ;)
I'm trying to figure out if it will fit in a Zalman HD160.

34.5mm per my digital caliper. (About 1 3/8")

Hi beeker, welcome to AVS.

Keep in mind that when you configure the optical out for 5.1, it's doing on-the-fly dolby digital encoding. You can still get uncompressed 5/6/7.1 out, but only if you use analog...for now... Eventually that HD Audio Link header on the motherboard should be able to connect to an HDMI video card, but it might be years before that type of product appears.



Thanks for the welcome :)

Yeah, I have not been able to get anything out of the rear speakers on any settings other than Dolby, using the optical out straight to my receiver (Cambridge Audio Azur), so getting it to preprocess dolby is fine. I have set my receiver to passthru instead of reprocess it and it works. Don't even have a TV card in it yet.

I'll check out the PSU soon. I'm thinking of leaving the original one there for now until I get a vid card for it. At the moment, the only noise I can hear from it is the occasional hard drive chug. Too many other things making a noise. Having said that, I have not listened that intently to it in the middle of the night as yet :)

Edit: Once up and running, the firmware was one of the first things I updated.
I found a Adesso wireless keyboard with a touchpad on it, but have not checked it out to see if it is any good or not. As my other PC is a notebook, I thought it might feel the same :)

34.5mm per my digital caliper. (About 1 3/8")Thank You :)

Ok been tinkering with my setup. For the life of me, I can't find out where to turn off LFE and get the subbie to work properly with this motherboard. It's so weak, it sound like it's not working at all :(

I'm in a bit of a fix. My friend had this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144326) RAM (it's rated at 2.1V) and we thought we'd try it with the DG965OT board to see if it would work. I popped it in my mobo and set it manually to DDR2 800 and 4-4-4-12.

The computer now just starts and doesn't do anything (or even go that far that lets me hit F2 to change the settings back). Putting the memory that did work before also doesn't work because I changed the settings.

So now basically, with the DDR2 800 RAM I get no beeps but it just hangs and with the DDR2 667 RAM I get 3 beeps and it also hangs. Either way I'm unable to get to the BIOS screen that lets me hit F2 so I can change the settings back. Any suggestions?

DG965OT only supports 1.8V RAM. Some RAM rated at a higher voltage may work, especially with only one DIMM, but there are likely to be consequences to undervolting RAM like that.

...consequences to undervolting RAM like that.

consequences to the RAM or the mobo? i didn't think it was possible to fry your mobo by inserting the wrong memory, but maybe i'm wrong.

consequences to the RAM or the mobo? i didn't think it was possible to fry your mobo by inserting the wrong memory, but maybe i'm wrong.

Sorry, I meant consequences to stability, etc. The beeping is the mobo's way of telling you the RAM is not compatible. You can fry RAM by overvolting it (though unlikely) but not by undervolting it.

Unfortunately Intel does not validate chips/modules the way ASUS does. (If you look, you can find a table ASUS publishes with chip p/n and module p/n that they have tested and confirmed to work, and they also note what restrictions there are with regard to using a particular module.) Instead Intel publishes specifications which are a little more confusing and tell you which module configurations "should" work.

Anyway ... Intel boards are notoriously picky about DDR2. I usually recommend people stick with top-tier brands like Kingston, Crucial, or Corsair when using an Intel mobo.

Also remember the speed of the RAM is not important. 800 costs a lot more than 533 and the performance is generally within 1% ... 533 can even outperform 800 on some tests. The Core 2 CPUs are not memory bandwidth starved. 800 makes sense for overclocking, which the Intel boards are unsuited to. 533/667 also allows you to run more modules on the board and the relaxed timings make it easier to find compatible RAM.

Ok been tinkering with my setup. For the life of me, I can't find out where to turn off LFE and get the subbie to work properly with this motherboard. It's so weak, it sound like it's not working at all :(

Not sure if this is what you are asking but.... I could not get any love from the audio until I used the Intel Audio Studio Application thingy. I set that to just do dolby out on the digital output. I have an optical spdif connection to my receiver. The receiver does all the work - now the pc just shoots out the raw data ( at least I think that is what is happening! :) )

Yes, definitely, sound does not work until the Intel Audio Studio thing is running. And that program has options for LFE routing (front speakers, dedicated channel, etc)

Also there seems to be a bug in the installer for one of the sigmatel apps. It adds itself to HKLM/Run but doesn't put the full pathname in there, so it doesn't start on boot. I fixed it by putting the full path in there. I have no idea what the thing does, but it may be necessary. I suggest you google for "startup control panel" (by mike lin) and install it, it makes it easy to look at and correct such things.

Sorry, I meant consequences to stability, etc. The beeping is the mobo's way of telling you the RAM is not compatible...

Thanks Bicster. The situation I'm in is like this -

RAM A (DDR2 667) - beeped 3 times when restarted but would work on hard boot.
RAM A (DDR2 667) - stopped beeping when set as 533 manually. everything was stable.

RAM B (DDR2 800) - inserted it and set it manually to 800, 4-4-4-12 but hangs.

I would think reinserting RAM A would work since it was working before but I can't get to the screen that lets me hit F2 so I'm stuck...

Thanks Bicster. The situation I'm in is like this -

RAM A (DDR2 667) - beeped 3 times when restarted but would work on hard boot.
RAM A (DDR2 667) - stopped beeping when set as 533 manually. everything was stable.


That tells me something about this RAM is not compatible with board requirements at 667.


RAM B (DDR2 800) - inserted it and set it manually to 800, 4-4-4-12 but hangs.

I would think reinserting RAM A would work since it was working before but I can't get to the screen that lets me hit F2 so I'm stuck...

The manual says DDR2-800 only works at 5-5-5 or 6-6-6.

Look on page 16 of the manual.

If the system won't POST or go into setup, you need to clear the CMOS settings. Instructions are in the manual.

If the system won't POST or go into setup, you need to clear the CMOS settings. Instructions are in the manual.

thanks! i did that and it's working now :) my apologies for all these basic questions, this is my first time assembling my own computer.

i was also impressed that you're idle temp is 36C. mine is more around 42C using the Thermalright SI-128 fanless. Is the fan that's next to the Silverstone NT01 blowing into it? or are both fans sucking air out of the case?

thanks! i did that and it's working now :) my apologies for all these basic questions, this is my first time assembling my own computer.

i was also impressed that you're idle temp is 36C. mine is more around 42C using the Thermalright SI-128 fanless. Is the fan that's next to the Silverstone NT01 blowing into it? or are both fans sucking air out of the case?

Great!

Both my fans are pushing air into the case. Keep in mind I don't have the lid on yet. I'll post new temps when I do.

As a general rule of thumb, CPU heatsinks work slightly better with the fan blowing instead of sucking. Ordinarily I would set up those as exhaust fans, but in my situation it seemed to make more sense to do it the other way around. You can always try it both ways. There's nothing wrong with 42C though.

My video card checked in at 65C at idle last night. I'm a little more concerned about that. I'm not sure what the thermal limit is for that chip. I know its tolerances are high but I don't want to push my luck. I'll have to check it while a 3DMark is running, I suppose.

Your system is similar to the system I just built. I think the 120mm fans in your case will be quieter than my setup. My CPU temps are 42C @ 700 RPM. The video card is quiet when playing DVDs but is louder when playing games. This causes a slight case hum. Maybe I can pad the top of the case with something that dampens sound?

I'm eyeing the AJA XENA LHe card for hi-def capture. This card is also the reason for the MB since the universal PCIe slot is x4. Most mobos only suppoty x2 in universal mode.

Rick

Silverstone Lascala LC20M-B BLACK, HTPC Desktop Case 2X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT W/VFD W/REMOTE No PS
Seasonic Power Supply 500HT-F3BLR - PS-SEA-500HT-F3BLR
Nexus 80MM Real Silent Case Fan Black 1500RPM 17.6DBA 20.2CFM 3/4PIN
Nexus 80MM Real Silent Case Fan Black 1500RPM 17.6DBA 20.2CFM 3/4PIN
Mitsumi FA404A-BK 7-IN-1 Floppy Drive & Flash Reader CF/SM/SD/MMC/MS Black
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Retail
ASUS P5B Deluxe / WIFI-AP ATX LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 8 SATA2 Sound
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM
Corsair TWIN2X 2048MB 240-PIN DDR2 XMS2-6400 RAM - RAM-TWIN2X2048-6400C4
Hard Disk : Raid0 (149 GB)
- Western Digital Raptor 74.6GB SATA 10000RPM 8MB 4.5MS Hard Drive 5 Year MFR Warranty
- Western Digital Raptor 74.6GB SATA 10000RPM 8MB 4.5MS Hard Drive 5 Year MFR Warranty
BFG GeForce 7900 GTX 650MHZ 512MB 256BIT 1.6GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV
Zalman VF900-CU Copper Dual Heatpipe 1350-2400RPM 18.5-25.0DBA VGA Cooler
Pioneer DVR-111D Black DVD-RW 16X6X16 DVD+RW 16X8X16 DL 8X IDE OEM DVD Burner
Microsoft Remote Keyboard for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition - Keyboard
Microsoft Remote Control /W USB Receiver OEM for Windows XP Media Center Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with SP2 OEM English Single Pack
AJA XENA LHe (future-micro.ca) <- didn't purchase yet

Not sure if this is what you are asking but.... I could not get any love from the audio until I used the Intel Audio Studio Application thingy. I set that to just do dolby out on the digital output. I have an optical spdif connection to my receiver. The receiver does all the work - now the pc just shoots out the raw data ( at least I think that is what is happening! :) )

Sorry didn't explain it clearly. I'm using an optical spdif connection to my receiver too. The front, rear and centre speakers come through crisp and clear, but the subbie is really soft.

I already have the Intel Audio Studio installed. When I use Sonic Focus, it is a bit better. The only difference between the subbie working well and really soft is that the receiver detects a subbie from my cable TV connection and my PS2 connection, but when I plug the PC in, it comes up as LFE instead of SW, so I'd like to work out a way to get the receiver to detect SW as well from the PC instead of LFE.

:)

Sorry didn't explain it clearly. I'm using an optical spdif connection to my receiver too. The front, rear and centre speakers come through crisp and clear, but the subbie is really soft.

I already have the Intel Audio Studio installed. When I use Sonic Focus, it is a bit better. The only difference between the subbie working well and really soft is that the receiver detects a subbie from my cable TV connection and my PS2 connection, but when I plug the PC in, it comes up as LFE instead of SW, so I'd like to work out a way to get the receiver to detect SW as well from the PC instead of LFE.

:)


..my knowledge level |---|
your knowledge level |-------------|----------------|
point of understanding.............^

sorry but you seem to have exceeding my PoU! :p
Good luck - I will probably be asking you some questions soon!


.

LFE goes to the subwoofer. What's the difference? I don't get it.

... Unless you have your LFE configured to go to the front speakers, not the subwoofer. You can configure that in the Intel Audio Studio.

LFE goes to the subwoofer. What's the difference? I don't get it.

... Unless you have your LFE configured to go to the front speakers, not the subwoofer. You can configure that in the Intel Audio Studio.

Well, LFE (Low Frequency Effect) contains bass only information, not necessarily the discrete subwoofer channel.

Here's a quote from Mediatwin's knowledgebase. It explains it better than I can.

"LFE does not equal subwoofer. Dolby Digital programs may include a bass-only LFE channel, but this channel does not correspond directly to a subwoofer output. It is possible for a program to contain an LFE channel, but a decoder may provide no subwoofer output because all of the bass information in the program, including the LFE channel, can be reproduced by the main speakers. The opposite is also true: it is possible for a program to not contain an LFE channel, yet a decoder may provide a subwoofer output because some or all of the main speakers are unable to reproduce the bass information in the program. The difference between the LFE channel and the subwoofer output is that the LFE channel is used to carry additional bass information in the Dolby Digital program while the subwoofer output represents how some or all of the bass information will be reproduced."

I've configured the LFE to go to the subwoofer in the Intel Audio Studio already, but there is a massive difference in bass effects from the subwoofer through LFE effects only from the PC vs an actual .1 channel subwoofer from the console or cable TV.

Might have to be something I live with if I can't find a fix, or might have to buy an actual PCI soundcard... Still very happy with the PC though. :)

Have you tried calling Intel support?

I was wondering why when you guys build these new HTPC that you don't buy newer audio cards that have these standards? I guess they add to the price but..what's the idea behind this?

I was wondering why when you guys build these new HTPC that you don't buy newer audio cards that have these standards? I guess they add to the price but..what's the idea behind this?

The built-in audio on this board supports all the latest standards. HD Audio, DD Live, etc. And it has the HD Audio bus connector which should allow for future HDMI connectivity. The only reason I can think of to use an aftermarket sound card would be to improve the quality of the analog outputs...

I was wondering why when you guys build these new HTPC that you don't buy newer audio cards that have these standards? I guess they add to the price but..what's the idea behind this?

Well, one of the reasons I bought this mobo is because it already has all these new standards built in. As Bicster mentioned, the main reasons to get an add on card are to get better quality outputs, extra breakout boxes or if you really need EAX3 :)

I'd rather stick with the mobo if possible and not get an addon card.

I havent called Intel support as yet. Want to work through the issue first before I make the call.

Still have to try a few more things like plugging it using the 3.5mm jacks or trying out the coax spdif. Havent even uninstalled and reinstalled the Intel Audio Software yet either... Was hoping someone else have come across the same issue :)

Your system is similar to the system I just built. I think the 120mm fans in your case will be quieter than my setup. My CPU temps are 42C @ 700 RPM. The video card is quiet when playing DVDs but is louder when playing games. This causes a slight case hum. Maybe I can pad the top of the case with something that dampens sound?

I'm eyeing the AJA XENA LHe card for hi-def capture. This card is also the reason for the MB since the universal PCIe slot is x4. Most mobos only suppoty x2 in universal mode.

Rick

Silverstone Lascala LC20M-B BLACK, HTPC Desktop Case 2X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT W/VFD W/REMOTE No PS
Seasonic Power Supply 500HT-F3BLR - PS-SEA-500HT-F3BLR
Nexus 80MM Real Silent Case Fan Black 1500RPM 17.6DBA 20.2CFM 3/4PIN
Nexus 80MM Real Silent Case Fan Black 1500RPM 17.6DBA 20.2CFM 3/4PIN
Mitsumi FA404A-BK 7-IN-1 Floppy Drive & Flash Reader CF/SM/SD/MMC/MS Black
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Retail
ASUS P5B Deluxe / WIFI-AP ATX LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 8 SATA2 Sound
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM
Corsair TWIN2X 2048MB 240-PIN DDR2 XMS2-6400 RAM - RAM-TWIN2X2048-6400C4
Hard Disk : Raid0 (149 GB)
- Western Digital Raptor 74.6GB SATA 10000RPM 8MB 4.5MS Hard Drive 5 Year MFR Warranty
- Western Digital Raptor 74.6GB SATA 10000RPM 8MB 4.5MS Hard Drive 5 Year MFR Warranty
BFG GeForce 7900 GTX 650MHZ 512MB 256BIT 1.6GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV
Zalman VF900-CU Copper Dual Heatpipe 1350-2400RPM 18.5-25.0DBA VGA Cooler
Pioneer DVR-111D Black DVD-RW 16X6X16 DVD+RW 16X8X16 DL 8X IDE OEM DVD Burner
Microsoft Remote Keyboard for Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition - Keyboard
Microsoft Remote Control /W USB Receiver OEM for Windows XP Media Center Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with SP2 OEM English Single Pack
AJA XENA LHe (future-micro.ca) <- didn't purchase yet

I'm looking at the exact same case!
and I had not decided on a lot of the items you've spec'd out already.
quick question... I was planning on getting the Asus P5W DH Deluxe, where would I find out if that also has teh 4x universal slot?

thanks!
-josh

Both my fans are pushing air into the case. Keep in mind I don't have the lid on yet. I'll post new temps when I do.

As a general rule of thumb, CPU heatsinks work slightly better with the fan blowing instead of sucking. Ordinarily I would set up those as exhaust fans, but in my situation it seemed to make more sense to do it the other way around. You can always try it both ways. There's nothing wrong with 42C though.


I couldn't resist when I saw your temperatures so I ordered the Silverstone NT01 and installed it last night :) I highly recomend this heatsink with this mobo and case. Using some Arctic Silver 5 (applied thin and in a straight line on the center) my idle temps are now 33C with the case closed. With otho running, the temp jumps no higher than 54C. I'm running this with the Yate Loon case fans only (which are at 5V, one blowing in on the heatsink and one as exhaust) so it's quiet quiet quiet.

I've been noticing that the core 1 temps are always 3C higher than the core 2 temps. I was wondering if this is "normal".

I'm looking at the exact same case!
and I had not decided on a lot of the items you've spec'd out already.
quick question... I was planning on getting the Asus P5W DH Deluxe, where would I find out if that also has teh 4x universal slot?

thanks!
-josh

You can't use that motherboard in the Antec case. It is a full ATX board and the Antec is microATX.

I couldn't resist when I saw your temperatures so I ordered the Silverstone NT01 and installed it last night :) I highly recomend this heatsink with this mobo and case. Using some Arctic Silver 5 (applied thin and in a straight line on the center) my idle temps are now 33C with the case closed. With otho running, the temp jumps no higher than 54C. I'm running this with the Yate Loon case fans only (which are at 5V, one blowing in on the heatsink and one as exhaust) so it's quiet quiet quiet.

I've been noticing that the core 1 temps are always 3C higher than the core 2 temps. I was wondering if this is "normal".

How is that working for the temps of the other components? I'd worry about that fan configuration creating a thermal short-circuit where the CPU gets cooled but nothing else does. It is highly unorthodox :)

I'm running this with the Yate Loon case fans only (which are at 5V, one blowing in on the heatsink and one as exhaust) so it's quiet quiet quiet.


Why dont you have both of them as exhausts?

webrant: by trial and error i found this provided the coolest cpu temp.

Also, I wasn't able to get Intel Desktop Utilities to get my system temps. Anyone have luck with them with this board? And speedfan doesn't like this board either. Screenhots included.

p.s. yes, i installed the latest BIOS and this is the latest version of speedfan and Intel Desktop Utilities.

webrant: by trial and error i found this provided the coolest cpu temp.

Also, I wasn't able to get Intel Desktop Utilities to get my system temps. Anyone have luck with them with this board? And speedfan doesn't like this board either. Screenhots included.

Intel desktop utilities works fine for me. Are you using the latest version? Throw away that CD that came with your motherboard.

It has a way to force it to re-detect sensors (look under options, I think). Double check your BIOS settings too. If the sensors are disabled there they won't show up in the Intel program.

Both processors fully loaded

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/9959/tempsgr2.jpg

i downloaded the latest version of the BIOS (there's a brand new i.e. 9/28/06 version on the site btw) and also downloaded the IDU and speedfan programs 5 mins ago. is there something i need to "turn on"?

IIRC there are some relevant BIOS settings

Turns out I just needed to restart the computer. Screenshot of my system temps after running Ortho for 10 mins and it stabilized.

Bicster: Are you connecting the fan that's blowing on the heatsink to the PSU or the mobo CPU fan? I noticed that IDU for you gives the processor fan speed.... And you also have a Chassis Inlet fan and a 3rd mobo temp that I'm not seeing :)

Turns out I just needed to restart the computer. Screenshot of my system temps after running Ortho for 10 mins and it stabilized.

Bicster: Are you connecting the fan that's blowing on the heatsink to the PSU or the mobo CPU fan? I noticed that IDU for you gives the processor fan speed.... And you also have a Chassis Inlet fan and a 3rd mobo temp that I'm not seeing :)

Both fans are connected to the motherboard. The Antec fans are not speed sensing. And you can only get fan speeds when using the mobo headers.

The chassis inlet fan is the 2nd 120mm fan.

YMMV but I've found with multiple system boards and fans (especially larger quiet type fans) that they would cause instability with the system in certain situations. The electrical interference from the motor would feedback to the motherboard and cause problems. I've learned to deal w/ loosing the ability to monitor fan speed and use a cheap fanmate2 to control the speed.

YMMV but I've found with multiple system boards and fans (especially larger quiet type fans) that they would cause instability with the system in certain situations. The electrical interference from the motor would feedback to the motherboard and cause problems. I've learned to deal w/ loosing the ability to monitor fan speed and use a cheap fanmate2 to control the speed.

Seems like a small tantalum capacitor would fix that problem.

I've never encountered it but it does sound possible. Did you consider feeding the tach output to the motherboard anyway?

I'm looking at the exact same case!
and I had not decided on a lot of the items you've spec'd out already.
quick question... I was planning on getting the Asus P5W DH Deluxe, where would I find out if that also has teh 4x universal slot?

thanks!
-josh

sorry bicster, I meant the LC20 from his description :)

I'm looking at the exact same case!
and I had not decided on a lot of the items you've spec'd out already.
quick question... I was planning on getting the Asus P5W DH Deluxe, where would I find out if that also has teh 4x universal slot?

thanks!
-josh
The P5W is a great mobo. I believe P5W supports non-graphics devices up to x8 on the secondary PCIEX16_2 (black) slot. The manual is inconsistant when describing the Universal PCIEX4 slot ... it suggests a max x2 mode but everywhere else says x4!?!?

Rick

I joined you guys aswell :)
I've gone for DVI output for now, but will get the pegasus or prolink hdmi add2 card when it gets out, or maybe wait for a proper DX10 graphics card.

INTEL CPU CORE 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHZ S-775 1066MHZ 4MB "CONROE" BOXED
INTEL MAINBOARD G965OT MATX LGA775 DDR2 GBIT-LAN X3000 VGA RAID BOXED VIIV "STOUGHTON"
ANTEC NSK2400-EC
SILVERSTONE NITROGON NT01 V2.0 CPU-KYLARE
2* SCYTHE S-FLEX 120MM CASE FAN 20.1DBA
KINGSTON VALUERAM - 2 GB ( 2 X 1 GB ) - DIMM 240-PIN - DDR II - 800 MHZ PC2-6400 - CL5 - 1.8 V
WD CAVIAR XL+ 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
ASUS R-DVI-ADD2 DVI-D OUTPUT

webrant: if you're going to use the computer for your home theater, perhaps you should get 2 hard drives. i have mine setup so that one holds the operating system and programs and the other is my "scratch" disk. basically, i use the scratch disk to copy and delete large files many times. for example, i use the scratch disk to capture HDV from my high def camcorder which is about 13GB per tape and consequently delete them when i finish editing it on premiere. And also multiple downloading/recording/deleting shows will be more efficient with a scratch disk. I would also recommend this (http://store.nvidia.com/DRHM/servlet/SecureControllerServlet?Action=DisplayCategoryProductListPag e&SiteID=nvidia&categoryID=3111900).

I considered trying using a capacitor and running the signal wire to the motorboard but in the end the award wasn't worth the effort. ;)

webrant: if you're going to use the computer for your home theater, perhaps you should get 2 hard drives. i have mine setup so that one holds the operating system and programs and the other is my "scratch" disk. basically, i use the scratch disk to copy and delete large files many times. for example, i use the scratch disk to capture HDV from my high def camcorder which is about 13GB per tape and consequently delete them when i finish editing it on premiere. And also multiple downloading/recording/deleting shows will be more efficient with a scratch disk. I would also recommend Nvidia Pure Video.

It's foremost a HTPC, but also a little gaming rigg... I only play a racing game called LFS S2 (DX8 only) so I wont need any GFX card with high performance for it.
I'm going to use the X3000 to drive a 42" Amoi 1080p LCD TV with a DVI ADD2 card (later hdmi) and a 17" LCD monitor with the motherboard VGA port. I hope that will work... Got an old ATI card that works well now, but I dont know if Intel support multimonitor in the way I want it.

The 500gb HD will be for recordings only. I'm planning on sticking with my old ATA drive for the OS until the new flash based drives comes out.
For extra storage I got a Maxtor Shared Storage 500gb with a Maxtor Onetouch II 300gb connected to it in the network to share pictures/songs etc.
For TV I'm going to use Hauppauge HVR1300 (DBVT), PVR150 (analog). FireDTV (DVBC with CI).
For recordings I'm going to use the new Mediaportal TV Engine since it handles all my cards and I'll proberly use XP or Vista MCE to play them since it works best in a multi monitor setup. Might have a go at the new SageTV 6.0 that is in beta now.

I use Nvidia Pure Video + CoreAVC + Haali + AC3Filter + FFSHOW (video only). But the current Amd XP2500/Nforce2 cant hande the H264 files, hence the upgrade :)

My Sharp Aquos LC-46D62U came in yesterday.

Looks great connected to the HTPC @ 1920x1080/60p ... no overscan ... and HDCP is working!

I haven't hooked up the AVR yet, so no audio or DD Live testing yet.

I need a better keyboard/mouse designed for lap use. Preferably something with a touchpad. Right now I have the Gyration set and it sucks. I want keys in their proper place (i.e. pgup/pgdn).

The Sharp is set to RGB colorspace but the colors are a little off. I wonder if I need to put it in a different colorspace. The NVIDIA drivers detected that it's a HDTV so perhaps it's using YCbCr colorspace. Failing that I guess I will need to find some software that will let me create a profile for the display. As far as I can tell, Sharp does not have one.

Now if BenQ or Plextor would ship their Blu-Ray drive already!

My Sharp Aquos LC-46D62U came in yesterday.

Looks great connected to the HTPC @ 1920x1080/60p ... no overscan ... and HDCP is working!

I haven't hooked up the AVR yet, so no audio or DD Live testing yet.

I need a better keyboard/mouse designed for lap use. Preferably something with a touchpad. Right now I have the Gyration set and it sucks. I want keys in their proper place (i.e. pgup/pgdn).

The Sharp is set to RGB colorspace but the colors are a little off. I wonder if I need to put it in a different colorspace. The NVIDIA drivers detected that it's a HDTV so perhaps it's using YCbCr colorspace. Failing that I guess I will need to find some software that will let me create a profile for the display. As far as I can tell, Sharp does not have one.

Now if BenQ or Plextor would ship their Blu-Ray drive already!

Nice. You should post some pictures if you can of the sharp in action. You can get some 1080p sample videos with digital surround here (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/musicandvideo/hdvideo/contentshowcase.aspx). I was able to get the DD Live working on my Onkyo and I'm sure it will for you as well and everything is working great as it should. I also have not turned off my htpc for about a week and have stressed it many times using Premiere Pro to encode high def wmv's and the system is rock stable. And if you're not totally set on a touchpad, I'm very happy with my vidabox (http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Peripherals/Vidabox-HTPC-Wireless-Keyboard/1/) wireless keyboard/trackball.

My only "complaint" so far is the bright blue light around the power button of the Antec NSK2400 case. I found it too bright and distracting when the lights are turned off so I unplugged both the blinking blue led for the hard drive and the power button. I like the way blue looked around the power button though - anyone have thoughts on how to dim it?

Very nice sthapit. I have a bunch of 1080i/1080p videos including some in-store demo loops from Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, Hitachi, Benq, Panasonic, Sharp ... The Benq is one of my favorites. It looks stunning.

Unfortunately I lack the motor skills to use a trackball. I could never get the hang of them.

With all the household projects I have it could be months before I have surround sound. I am converting one bedroom into a nursery, my old media room into a guest room, and the den into my new media playground. Currently the den is not wired for surround and the layout of the room means there will be lots of compromises when I finally do get it set up.

I'd post pictures of my setup but I really don't think they'd do it justice, and there are already so many pictures of the Sharp on the forum. ;)

Hey Bicster,

Glad to hear that you've received your TV and it is working fine!!

I've had some bad luck with my PC today. Got home and the damn thing would turn on. Kept on giving me 3 long beeps. Tried resetting the CMOS but it didn't work.

After much trial and error, it looks like the Channel0 DIMM0 and DIMM1 slots are faulty. Anytime I have a DIMM in either of those, it beeps. I tried the RAM in either slots of Channel1 DIMM0 and DIMM1 and the PC works :(

I'm going to have to contact the vendor tomorrow and see if I can qualify for a swap as a best case, or an RMA at a worst case scenario :(

As for some HD content, there's also MariposaHD (http://www.mariposahd.tv) There used to be a teeny weeny bit more content but from what I've heard, it's more just eye candy in the latest episodes...

I've downloaded several episodes of Miraposa HD but I've yet to watch them. Thanks for the reminder. They seemed like fluff to me when I skipped through one.

I have plenty of stuff to watch on my HD TiVo. It's not as pretty, since it's overcompressed HD-Lite, but the Sharp handles it pretty well anyway. I need to work on getting an OTA antenna set up. So many projects...

Ok no idea what happened overnight, but my PC booted up without any issues this morning. Gonna call the vendor and see if I can swap it out or not anyway.

Lots of fluff on MariposaHD, and getting worse. I only got up to EP3, but that's enough to check the TV with :D

Also, have you checked out the Adesso keyboards? They've got a built in trackpad and requries no special drivers. A bit on the pricy side though

Thanks for the tip, I will check out Adesso.

I hooked up the optical output to my AVR last night (finally) ... works fine. Both DD Live and PCM.

Is there some way to instruct Windows MCE to not allow volume control/mixer adjustments? I want volume control done in the AVR only...thanks!

Is there some way to instruct Windows MCE to not allow volume control/mixer adjustments? I want volume control done in the AVR only...thanks!

It only works for me when I'm playing DVD's and properly encoded mpegs (not being able to adjust the volume through windows) and I select MCE -> Settings -> DVD -> Audio Advanced Settings - > Speaker Setup -> No Downmixing (S/PDIF Passthrough)

webrant: if you're going to use the computer for your home theater, perhaps you should get 2 hard drives. i have mine setup so that one holds the operating system and programs and the other is my "scratch" disk. basically, i use the scratch disk to copy and delete large files many times. for example, i use the scratch disk to capture HDV from my high def camcorder which is about 13GB per tape and consequently delete them when i finish editing it on premiere. And also multiple downloading/recording/deleting shows will be more efficient with a scratch disk. I would also recommend this (http://store.nvidia.com/DRHM/servlet/SecureControllerServlet?Action=DisplayCategoryProductListPag e&SiteID=nvidia&categoryID=3111900).
How are you capturing HDV footage to your HTPC? I have the Sony HDV-HC1 high-def camcorder and having just completed my HTPC build, I am very interested in this. Are you using HDV split to capture raw HDV data? and how are you playing the captured file on your HDTV? (VLC media player? Nero? PowerDVD?)

How are you capturing HDV footage to your HTPC? I have the Sony HDV-HC1 high-def camcorder and having just completed by HTPC build, I am very interested in this. Are you using HDV split to capture raw HDV data? and how are you playing the captured file on your HDTV? (VLC media player? Nero? PowerDVD?)

Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 can capture and edit HDV and supports the HC1 (as well as many other HDV camcorders) though HDV split works as well. You can play back the capture anyway you like, it's just an mpeg. But I'm assuming you'll want to do some editing, and for that I use Premiere and then encode using Adobe Media Encoder and use the Windows Media Video 9 Advanced Profile codec (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/codecs/video.aspx) for high def content.

Great thread. I'm finishing up a build, too, and it was good to read other users' experiences.

One thing I still need to decide on is a keyboard/mouse combo. I think I might go with the Logitech MX3000 desktop. What are you guys using?

Yeah, that's a hard one. I was looking for something that didn't require a mousing surface and bought a Cantech keyboard with a trackball. However, I don't think it is that good. My next thing would be to save up for an Adesso keyboard with a built in trackpad, although I see that Microsoft is coming out with some really nice Vista ready packages next year. (Both with a mouse and the ability to control the mouse from the keyboard, so I might hold off on that)

If a mouse doesn't hinder, I can't see anything wrong with a Logitech MX300 desktop :)

I'm really liking how the panel you have is looking, but I'm still paranoid about a couple of things. Since I'm building things onto an HTPC as well, I was hoping you could help.

While my current video card does not support HDCP, my planned system will and I was curious as to how you confirmed that your system was connected to the panel using HDCP. I've read a number of reviews that have had difficulty establishing a HDCP link and the lack of a VGA port on this panel doesn't give a fall-back option.

My other question is: where did you get your DVI->HDMI cable? I know there are some cheap options out there but I've also read about people having issues with the budget cables. What was your solution?

Thanks so much.

I'm really liking how the panel you have is looking, but I'm still paranoid about a couple of things. Since I'm building things onto an HTPC as well, I was hoping you could help.

While my current video card does not support HDCP, my planned system will and I was curious as to how you confirmed that your system was connected to the panel using HDCP. I've read a number of reviews that have had difficulty establishing a HDCP link and the lack of a VGA port on this panel doesn't give a fall-back option.


Cyberlink's Blu-Ray / HD-DVD Advisor program confirmed it. It supports the beta PureVideo HD drivers from nVidia, which I am using.

There may be a VGA fall-back option anyway. I've been saying I will try it, and I've not yet had the chance. But I have a VGA -> Component adapter, and I still intend to check if the TV supports 1080p over component. XBOX 360 owners are interested in that. Even if 1080p over component works, it's likely that text mode and the VGA splash screen will not. Interestingly the Sharp TV does support those modes over DVI.


My other question is: where did you get your DVI->HDMI cable? I know there are some cheap options out there but I've also read about people having issues with the budget cables. What was your solution?


I ordered a cable from Monoprice, but I haven't tried it yet. My father pointed out that my HD TiVo came with an HDMI to DVI cable. I checked the box and he was right! It's obviously a very cheap cable but it works fine. The cable I ordered from Monoprice is very impressive looking and was quite a bargain. I think it was $15+$5 s/h for a 6' 24awg cable. When you get a cable I suggest you go for the smallest awg # you can find in the length you want. Smaller awg numbers mean fatter wires, so less electrical resistance in the cable.

A similar (probably inferior) DVI to HDMI cable was $140 at Circuit $hitty. ;)

Thanks for the quick reply! monoprice.com is a great site! Those are by far and away a better deal for DVI->HDMI cables. Thanks!

I'm moving in 2 weeks and will be getting that panel when I get into the new place. Will post my results.

Since Monoprice is a forum sponsor I assume it's OK to talk about their prices.

Anyway, I will test the cable soon. It is gold plated, heavy duty with a nice looking braid.

Good luck, hopefully you get one of the trouble-free Sharps. Mine has been nearly perfect except for the buzz. It sounds like a cicada. I only really notice it when it's dead silent in the room; It's never been an issue watching TV, although when I was watching a nature show on the rainforest it was awful - not because of the TV, because of the cicadas in the rainforest :D

I decided to go with the Intel DG965OT for my HTPC build and while I'm ordering parts I wanted to know if there was a need for this motherboard to have a floppy drive. Will DVD/CD drive and/or usb flash drive be enough?

I decided to go with the Intel DG965OT for my HTPC build and while I'm ordering parts I wanted to know if there was a need for this motherboard to have a floppy drive. Will DVD/CD drive and/or usb flash drive be enough?

I had to use a floppy to load the SATA drivers and Windows XP. Linux probably doesn't require that but I don't know. But once I had XP up and running I could remove the floppy.
That seemed to me to be the only way to get the drive to work in SATA mode. The regular way looked to me like only PATA was supported, but I might be wrong.

I decided to go with the Intel DG965OT for my HTPC build and while I'm ordering parts I wanted to know if there was a need for this motherboard to have a floppy drive. Will DVD/CD drive and/or usb flash drive be enough?

Depending on the OS you install, and how you configure the hard drives in the BIOS, you may need a floppy drive to install Windows. Alternatively you can use another PC to slipstream the Windows install CD with the ICH8 SATA/AHCI driver (using something like nLite). Slipstreaming MCE is not as easy as Windows XP.

I'm installing XP Media Center. Sounds like I better pick up a floppy drive... :(

I'm installing XP Media Center. Sounds like I better pick up a floppy drive... :(

I would just borrow one from another machine for a few minutes.

Note - USB floppy drives do not work.

Wierd, I didn't need a floppy drive to install MCE on my Samsung SATA drive? I didn't configure the computer for RAID or anything like that, and it worked perfectly.

Wierd, I didn't need a floppy drive to install MCE on my Samsung SATA drive? I didn't configure the computer for RAID or anything like that, and it worked perfectly.

I think it is possible if the SATA controller is in legacy mode. Never tried it.

I would just borrow one from another machine for a few minutes.

Note - USB floppy drives do not work.

According to intel's documentation that came with the motherboard, installing the raid driver should work with a usb floppy drive. Has anyone tried it?

According to intel's documentation that came with the motherboard, installing the raid driver should work with a usb floppy drive. Has anyone tried it?

Microsoft has some KB articles on this. The quick answer is: no, it will not work. The long answer is that there are a _few_ USB floppy drives supported by the windows installer. Odds are tremendously against any of you having one of those drives. They are obscure and no longer sold.

I think Vista finally addresses this problem.

I think Vista finally addresses this problem.


Vista might fix the floppy USB drive - but RC1 did not fix the real problem - should not have to do it at all or should be able to use an USB thumb drive. Shouldn't have to use a floppy at all.

Vista might fix the floppy USB drive - but RC1 did not fix the real problem - should not have to do it at all or should be able to use an USB thumb drive. Shouldn't have to use a floppy at all.

If the final release of Vista does not fix that problem, all I have to say to Microsoft is: WTF??? It should have been done years ago. It's not rocket science! It's not an obscure problem, either.

Well things aren't going so good for me and my build. I got the three beeps thats says it has a problem with the memory and now I get nothing. I didn't even get a post screen. I have basically the same memory as Bicster, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144157 (KVR533D2N4K2/2G) but for some reason it doesn't work. Now I'm stuck! I even tried reseting cmos but still nothing. Any ideas guys...

I had weird memory problems with this board at first too. I don't think it recognizes some ram params automagically. When I manually entered the values - it worked great. I had to set mine to 5-5-5-12 or something. I am at work now but I can check at home tonight to get the exact values if you don't get it working before then.

Weird, those modules seem to use Elpida RAM chips. My modules use Micron. I'd probably return those and get Crucial modules.

Bicster, how about these two... http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0209163 and this one http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0245599 . Right now I just want to get my system up and runing. These two I can just pick up at the store, anything else I'll have to order.

The former Corsairs are only 512MB each; I thought you wanted 1GB modules? The latter Corsairs are 1.9 volts, so they will likely not work.

Stupid Question:

IS the memory in the correct slots? I would try putting only one memory unit in the slot closest to the cpu. Will it boot up then?

512mb is smaller but I just want to get the system up and runing and I can easily pick those up without waiting for them to be shipped to me, and yes I did try just one memory unit in channel A Dimm 0 with no luck. Also, should I be worried that it doesn't even do the three beeps any more? :eek:

Is it possible bad motherboard?

Could be.

I would try all of these things first. I am only suggesting this because these are things I have done. :)

Did you clear the CMOS using the jumper?
Did you move the jumper back?
Is it really booting maybe but using the onboard video instead of your video card? (since you cleared the cmos)
Last but worse: Did you use stand - offs on the bottom of the board when you put it in the case? Funny things happen when you don't!

If none of these apply , then I would guess the mobo or the ram is bad.

Another thing to check - did you leave a stand-off in the case that doesn't have a corresponding mounting hole on the motherboard?

ahhh - the things they don't mention in the manuals. :)
( that I probably wouldn't read anyway )
LOL

What is the manual and how is it different from an automatic?

Well I brought the memory that I linked to ( http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0209163 ) and still nothing so I'm returning my motherboard. And I did try all the things list above including checking the to see if there were any extra stand-offs in the case that weren't needed. Can't get the board to do anything. RMA time...

Does the intel board you chose support Dolby Digital Live out? i.e. I can set it to upmix all sources to AC3 and have it decoded by my Home Theatre Receiver via SPDIF?

**EDIT: Just re-read through some of the posts. Yes it does!

RMA time...

Bummer. When mobo's go bad it is a drag. I have an old board I am futzing with and one of the ide slots is broken. Took a long to figure that out. Good luck with the new board.

I'm thinking about adding a pair of VBOX DTA-150 ATSC tuner cards and switching to the RTM (final) version of Vista Ultimate, which I will be able to get from Microsoft tomorrow.

Originally I was looking at the FusionHDTV5 RT Lite cards. They have the 5th gen LG tuner. Unfortunatley it looks like they are not fully supported under Vista. The Gold versions are, but they are too expensive and have a lot of extra crap I don't need.

I am wondering if I should wait. Intel does not have any Vista drivers for this motherboard. Has anyone tried RC1 or RC2 with it? Experiences? I am particularly wondering if I will be able to get audio to work. I am also concerned about AC3Filter. Last but not least, is there a region-free DVD solution for Vista?

Hi, just recently joined this forum as I am setting up my first system.

I did also end up with the XFX GeFORCE 7950GT 512MB PCIe 570M videocard, and the Silverstone LC20 case. I have also been trying to get the dimensions for the card, and found your measurments very helpful. The LC20 is higher though, but ofcourse Silverstone does not have measures between the top screw and the case cover. I printed out a picture of the case, and accordind to this the videocard would just fit (probably touch the top).

Does anyone have the LC20 and could measure the distance between the screw on the card slot top, and the inside of top cover?

Would it be a problem if the heatpipesink touch the top cover?
Will it be possible to grind of 1-2 mm on the heatsink on the videocard?

Hi, just recently joined this forum as I am setting up my first system.

I did also end up with the XFX GeFORCE 7950GT 512MB PCIe 570M videocard, and the Silverstone LC20 case. I have also been trying to get the dimensions for the card, and found your measurments very helpful. The LC20 is higher though, but ofcourse Silverstone does not have measures between the top screw and the case cover. I printed out a picture of the case, and accordind to this the videocard would just fit (probably touch the top).

Does anyone have the LC20 and could measure the distance between the screw on the card slot top, and the inside of top cover?

Would it be a problem if the heatpipesink touch the top cover?
Will it be possible to grind of 1-2 mm on the heatsink on the videocard?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8858503&&#post8858503

please followup here or in that thread with your exact final configuration (number of fans including make model etc) and how the performance is regarding heat of your components in that case.

Well it took two weeks from the day that I shipped my motherboard back to get it returned. Zipzoomfly SUCKS!!!

So far so good. Turns out there was nothing wrong with the first memory I bought. Oh well instead of two gig I guess I can live with three. :D

Two quick questions guys.

One for some reason I'm getting a negative (-36 c) temp reading for my processor temp. What could I be missing?

Two, for those who installed MCE 2005. After installing, did it set up another user account called (ASP.NET Machine A...)? Its a limited account and if its supposed to be there what is it used for? :confused:

Dunno about the answers to Renegade's questions, but I have to agree wholeheartedly with him that ZipZoomFly sucks. They pretend to have things in stock -- things that don't even exist anywhere in a warehouse -- and getting them on the phone for something like a refund is damn near impossible.

I got Vista RTM today from MSDN. I may get a chance to play with it next week. Woohoo! I also have a VBOX DTA-150 which should arrive today.

I even found a way to get around the analog tuner requirement in MCE 2005 ... sort-of. I found some open source WDM drivers for a very old bttv (Conexant) analog tuner card, and I installed the demo version of the Mainconcept MCE Encoder. Presto, MCE thinks I have a hardware MPEG-2 encoder/ntsc tuner card. It works really poorly - horribly in fact - but it was enough to convince MCE that I can set up a digital tuner now! And it did not cost anything!

I think the ASP.Net user is created when you install the .NET framework. You can go ahead and delete that user.

As far as the abnormal temp reading, dunno. Are you using the software that came with the motherboard, or a third party app?

As for the .net framework, will do!

The abnormal temps corrected them selves when I updated my bios...

Thanks guys.

Ok guys here's my setup...

Antec Fusion Case
Intel DG965OT Motherboard
Intel E6700 Core 2 Duo CPU
SilverStone Nitrogon SST-NT01 CPU Cooler
XFX 7600GT Video Card
Segate 250g SATA harddrive
WesternDigital 500g SATA harddrive
2 1g Kingston KVR533D2N4K2 MEM STICKS
2 512MB CORSAIR VS1GBKIT533D2 MEM STICKS
PowerColor PCI Express TV Tuner
Plextor PX-760A DVD burner
Microsoft MCE 2005 SP2
Microsoft MCE Remote
MyMovies Addon

With the exception of the noisy Video card, I love this thing... :D

Can anyone confirm and share experience of fitting the XFX 7950GT passive into a Silverstone LC-20 (or LC-18) case? If it does then that's a charm.....power and silence!

Can anyone confirm and share experience of fitting the XFX 7950GT passive into a Silverstone LC-20 (or LC-18) case? If it does then that's a charm.....power and silence!
Several have according to one or two other related threads here. Just be aware this card will run pretty darn hot in an HTPC, make sure you have adequate airflow.

Several have according to one or two other related threads here. Just be aware this card will run pretty darn hot in an HTPC, make sure you have adequate airflow.


OK thanks. If anyone has set this up and obtained a good airflow solutions, please post !

Well this is turning out to be one He!! of a computer build. My computer has been running great for exactly a week until this morning. After just finishing copying a DVD to the hard drive, I hit eject and it just shuts down. Like I unpluged it or something, then it keeps trying to turn its self back on repeatedly. I had to unplug it. It won't even get to a post screen. After already having a bad motherboard the first go around I hope its not the same thing. :mad: I would think after a week of running it couldn't be the memory, could It. I'm just grasping at straws here, just when I thought I was in the clear BAAMM! I couldn't stop laughing. :eek:

After dealing with AMD all these years this is turning out to be one crazy reintroduction to intel. :D

Anyway!
Bicster, did you ever finish your mod to the top of your case for the video card you were trying to fit in there? If you did, you have to post some pics...

Hmm... Is it a new or old power supply? Last time I was having similar issues (components dying, weird resets etc.) my power supply finally proved to be the culprit. Do you have an extra one around to test?

FWIW, if it was easy to build a new computer, everyone would do it. :) Keep at it! :o

Well this is turning out to be one He!! of a computer build. My computer has been running great for exactly a week until this morning. After just finishing copying a DVD to the hard drive, I hit eject and it just shuts down. Like I unpluged it or something, then it keeps trying to turn its self back on repeatedly. I had to unplug it. It won't even get to a post screen. After already having a bad motherboard the first go around I hope its not the same thing. :mad: I would think after a week of running it couldn't be the memory, could It. I'm just grasping at straws here, just when I thought I was in the clear BAAMM! I couldn't stop laughing. :eek:

After dealing with AMD all these years this is turning out to be one crazy reintroduction to intel. :D
.

Its the power supply that came with the case. I'll have to check it, I hope its something that simply.

Quick note on testing your PS from a Computer Nerd (as opposed to an AV one)

If you pull the PS completely out, you can grab a paperclip and jump the GREEN and Adjacent Black Wires on the 20/24 pin Connector and the PS will spin up.

In the DG965OT motherboard, what company does the bios? Is it Intel or someone else? I was thinking of picking up one of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815158065 to make it easier to diagnose some of these problems. That is, if it works with my motherboard...

In the DG965OT motherboard, what company does the bios? Is it Intel or someone else? I was thinking of picking up one of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815158065 to make it easier to diagnose some of these problems. That is, if it works with my motherboard...

The DG965OT has an AMI BIOS.

I installed Vista RTM on the DG965OT yesterday. It works ... no driver problems ... no Intel Audio Studio (or other Intel downloaded drivers) needed. S/PDIF works great, DD/DTS pass-through too. Vista Media Center is a bit of an improvement over MCE 2005. The vbox ATSC tuner driver works fine.

On the minus side, there are no PureVideo HD drivers from NVIDIA for Vista yet. I just used the graphics drivers that came bundled with Vista.

Bicster, did you finish your mod?

Bicster, did you finish your mod?

Not yet. I finally received all the parts I need. Been pretty busy, I can only find an hour here and there to work on my projects. Our first baby is coming in a few months! :eek:

I installed the release version (WHQL) of the nVidia PureVideo HD drivers last night.

I've had problems watching 1080i content from my VBOX HD tuner. With nVidia's PureVideo MPEG-2 decoder, the screen would flash occasionally and I could occasionally see frame drops. I also tried Intervideo's decoder, which drops frames more noticably (but no flashing), and Cyberlink's decoder, which was by far the worst performing (most dropped frames) of the bunch. I noticed that some decoders mask the effects of macroblocking better than others. I think Intervideo gets the nod there.

Interestingly I do not have any trouble watching 1080P recordings. Could be the lower framerate (24p) or the fact that the decoder doesn't need to de-interlace. Perhaps both.

Anyway, after the upgrade to the new nVidia driver ... I did not have any 1080i content to watch...arrgh. I hope it fixed something ;)

Mhhkay ... So the new nvidia did not fix my 1080i playback problems. Anyone else have this? It's incredibly annoying. I figured an E6400 would be plenty to handle this. Apparently the purevideo dvd codec doesn't use the purevideo accelleration in the GPU?

Hey guys how is everyone hooking up there sound with this motherboard(DG965OT) to their receivers? Specifically I'm trying to find the best way for games. For movies and everything else, I've been using optical out. I thought for games I would just have to use the analog connections to my receiver but it still sounds like crap. Unless I just don't have something set right. Or should I not even bother and just get a dedicated sound card?

Btw I'm on motherboard #3 and so far so good... :)

Where is the best and cheapest place to buy this motherboard (DG965OT)? Also, how quiet is the power supply that comes in the antec fusion case? Is there a way to turn off the VFD display while the pc is on?

Webrant:

Did you buy the S-Flex SFF12D (800 RPM) model fans? If so how do you have them blowing? 1 in/1out, both in, both out?

Thanks!

Hi Guys,

Great thread - been following it as I built my system -
Intel DG965OT
Antec Fusion case
Core2 Duo 6300
2GB Corsair 533 DDR2
400GB Samsung SATAII
Samsung DVD-RW

Has anyone successfully got output from both analog and optical audio in DD5.1 mode or PCM stereo mode? It's one or the other for me. Can't find any info about it on Intel's site. Is it a known limitation?

I'm running the latest BIOS and audio driver.

TIA.

What case fans are you guys using in the antec fusion? Also what rpms are the fans and do you have them both blow in, out or one in one out?

I’m using stock Antec Tri-Cool fans on the lowest setting both turned around to blow into the case. With Zalman 7700 the Opteron 165 CPU runs 26-35 C.

R.P.

How quiet are the tri-cools on low?

I am trying to make my htpc as quiet as possbile.

Thanks!

How quiet are the tri-cools on low?

I am trying to make my htpc as quiet as possbile.

Thanks!

I am using basically the same case. I use one fan on low, one on medium, have 3 hard drives, stock AMD cpu fan, fanless video card and the power supply fan and I do not even hear my system when the tv is off and the room is quiet. I sit about 8 feet away.

If that helps any.

Is it ok to have both case fans blow in and none out?

I am using the silverstone passive cpu cooler.

Do you find that alot of dust builds up??

Is it ok to have both case fans blow in and none out?

I am using the silverstone passive cpu cooler.

Do you find that alot of dust builds up??

I figured that would be best, not sure if it is, but it seems to work fine for me. Plus I need the extra intake to keep the graphics card cool. Yes a lot of dust can build up so you will need to blow it out from time to time. They make filters that you may be able to fit on the outside of the fans.

I suggest having both fans blowing in the same direction. In or out, you decide based on temperature data.

I added another 2 GB of RAM to my machine last week. What a huge difference going from 1GB to 3GB. I used Kingston again. I think the chips are Elpida (SPD just says Kingston). No problems with bootup or BIOS or anything like that.

I also replaced my Gyration keyboard/mouse with the Logitech LX710 Laser Cordless Desktop. The LX710 is a huge improvement. The range is much better, the keyboard is tremendously better, and so is the mouse.

Also my 1080i playback problems are gone now. No idea what I did ... nothing that I am aware of!

Need help!!!!

I just built my new htpc using the DG965OT motherboard and my pc is acting very weird. When i turn it on it turns off, then i turn it on again and it turns on and stays on but i cannot install mce 2005 because it locks up or reboots.

I tried to run memtest on the pc and it reboots during the test.

This is the memory that I am using, should it work with this board?

Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231098)

Question: Does the memory for this motherboard HAVE to be 1.8V only ram?

If so this might be my problem since my ram is not strictly 1.8V only.

Can you guys post what memory you used in your htpc that is known to work?


Also, I put on my silverstone passive cooler and it is not even with the tops of both fans, is this normal? One side of the heatsink is higer in front of one fan and lower in front of the other fan but it is seated correctly.

Thanks guys!!!

Question: Does the memory for this motherboard HAVE to be 1.8V only ram?

If so this might be my problem since my ram is not strictly 1.8V only.


YES! Among other restrictions, as specified in the manual.

There are several memory types known to work mentioned throughout this thread.

Ok, I ordered some Kingston 1.8V ram from newegg, hopefully this solves my problem.

I have a few questiions about the silverstone cpu cooler. When installed do the heat fins sit level compared to the fan tops, or do they slope down on an angle? Also, did you guys install those clear stickers that come in the package? If so where do they go?

Thanks again!!!

Ok, I ordered some Kingston 1.8V ram from newegg, hopefully this solves my problem.

I have a few questiions about the silverstone cpu cooler. When installed do the heat fins sit level compared to the fan tops, or do they slope down on an angle? Also, did you guys install those clear stickers that come in the package? If so where do they go?

Thanks again!!!

The fins are straight.

The clear stickers protect the motherboard from the mounting bracket. Without them the bracket will short out all kinds of stuff under the board!

My under the motherboard bracket came with thick foam on it, do I still need the stickers?

If it does short out the motherboard, thats basicly it right? New motherboard time right? :eek:

I think thats whats been happening with my motherboard. My bracket has the thick foam pad on it but the contacts on the bottom of the mother board seem to be longer than its thickness and since there sharp they slowly work there way through the pad and touch the metal part of the bracket. Ouch! Well I'm not sure if thats whats happening but it would explain alot... :o

To clear up any confusion, the stickers stick to the underside of the chrome mounting brackets of the cpu cooler itself, not to the underside mounting bracket. I swapped the stock mounting brackets for the other ones in the kit that look like half of an X. With these, I dont see anything under them that could touch and cause a short.

My only fear is tightening the brass nuts against the motherboard without any clear washers. If someone were to overtighten them im sure they could eat into the circuit board and cause shorting.

Anyhow, my 1.8V kingston ram should be here today, i hope this fixes my locking up/rebooting issue that i was having.

Well, great news! The memory fixed my issue (thank god)

One little mod that i did that might be of interest is I took a 4 pin power molex plug and cut it in half and soldered a 3 pin power LED harness to it for the cases power led which goes straight to the motherboard now. Now when I hit my power button for QRT the hdd and power led shut off. Great for trying to sleep =)

Webrant:

Did you buy the S-Flex SFF12D (800 RPM) model fans? If so how do you have them blowing? 1 in/1out, both in, both out?

Thanks!

Got one 1200rpm and use it as the CPU fan, my other S-Flex had a ticking sound so I'm using the stock fan on low instead.
Both are blowing out.

Bicster,
sorry if I missed it, but did you end up modding your case to address the graphic card height issue?

I ended up getting the same XFX card and the lid to my case just fits on.....but I have to push down slightly on the lid to get the screw holes align up. I dont feel comfortable leaving it that way - having any extra stress on the heat pipes and into the mb just does not seem like a good idea.

My best idea is to notch out the case directly above the fins of the card. and then re-build a dome over the opening. My case is in a rack, so it does not have to look perfect as it wont be seen directly. just wondering if there are any better ideas out there.

thanks for the help,
Jeff

Hi Guys,

Great thread - been following it as I built my system -
Intel DG965OT
Antec Fusion case
Core2 Duo 6300
2GB Corsair 533 DDR2
400GB Samsung SATAII
Samsung DVD-RW


TIA.
Hello everyone , new here. I found this thread while looking in Google for some answers to this question:
why is my brand new just out of the box Intel DG965OT board not accepting the OCZ 800Mhz DDR2 1024Mb stick? found some info on the strict 1.8V thing so i have to exchange the memory. I saw that you did use CORSAIR brand, what is the actual model are you using? is it 800Mhz , 667, or less.
I will have to go with Kingston Value Ram if i want to stay in the 800Mhz. Would have liked to have better quality, but Kingston is ok .

My kit:(all brand new from 2 days... well still sitting there not working)
Antec Fusion
Intel Core2 Dual 1.86Ghz
Intel DG965OT board
not good... OCZ Gold Premium 1024Mb DDR2 800Mhz
320Gb Sata2 Western Digital
300Gb Sata2 Maxtor
20.1 in. LCD panel DVI-D

can anyone give me some good news about working memory modules in the 667 or 800Mhz.

many many many thanks

ghys,

I ordered (2) of these

Memory Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820134114)

My DG965OT would not work properly until I bought 1.8V only ram. I wanted PC6400 ram and these were in intels supported memory list. Since then my HTPC has been on 24/7 running perfect.

Sorry to hijack, but can I get thoughts on the dimensions of the Antec Fusion? It seems to me that they are pretty big for only holding an mATX board. I know about the different chambers, but doesn't anyone else think that this case is just too big if you are going mATX?

Sorry to hijack, but can I get thoughts on the dimensions of the Antec Fusion? It seems to me that they are pretty big for only holding an mATX board. I know about the different chambers, but doesn't anyone else think that this case is just too big if you are going mATX?

I think the Fusion/NSK2400 is a reasonable size. It cannot be any shorter and still accept full height cards, or 120mm fans. It is not much wider than the CoolerMaster 250 I used to have. The cooling capability is awesome for a HTPC case.

I couldn't be happier with the case.

Brent

I have been watching this thread very closely...

I am about to turn my original HTPC into a new and improved Home Server.

I am working on maximum WAF (Wife Approval Factor) for this new system. I need it to be as powerful as possible and have room to expand, but at the end of the day the biggest thing is that it can't have any glitches... if its not smooth for playback or has "quirks" then she will be unhappy.

Hi

Found this thread on google when searching for DG965OT. I just bought this board and installed it in my Antec Fusion Case. Bought 2 different types of memory (1GB sticks Kingston and OCZ 533Mhz) as I read this board is very picky about it.

When I install the memory in Dimm 0/1 of Module B the system boots up fine. But I get error while updating bios. The board came with very old bios (1612) so I need to update it. I read the manual and it seems ICH8 has requirement to populate Dimm 0 of Module A else you keep getting the error "Dimm 0 Missing" in event log.

So I moved memory to Dimm 0 of Module A and system powers up for about 3 secs and then powers down itself. This goes on in cycle till I turn off the power from PSU. Now I have tried this with both memories just in case one type didn't work and it happens for both. When I move it back to module B, it works fine again.

I have no clue why this is happening. Is my board faulty? Please help.

So how is everyones build going?

My system is running top notch with the excepting of the sound when playing games. Still havn't figured that one out. Oh and by the way, I had to ground the front of my Antec Fussion case. It was the cause of my mother board problems. I started searching around on the net after I realised that everytime things went crazy was right when I would touch the front of the case like for ejecting a dvd or something. :rolleyes:

Have you all finished your build ?

After waiting nearly a year to get a HDMI solution with an ADD2 card for my Intel MB,
i abandoned this project, since it wasn't easy to get a card in europe.
Also Gigabyte stopped their ADD2 product.
Further the promising Broadcom HW acceleration for G965 also died.
So to become HD ready (Video) i ordered Radeon HD2400pro+LG GGC-H20L+Sharp Aquos 46"


Here is my actual config:
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9651/myhtpcnf9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

So now to my real concern.
ICH temperature of my MB seem pretty high, even it is in a only frontdoor open furniture rack next to a Yamaha.
Can someone compare this temps ?
Is there another cooling solution for the ICH heat sink ?

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7883/devicepg5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

ICH is about right. At least, that's what mine looks like. The things run damn hot.

Bicster,
sorry if I missed it, but did you end up modding your case to address the graphic card height issue?

I ended up getting the same XFX card and the lid to my case just fits on.....but I have to push down slightly on the lid to get the screw holes align up. I dont feel comfortable leaving it that way - having any extra stress on the heat pipes and into the mb just does not seem like a good idea.

My best idea is to notch out the case directly above the fins of the card. and then re-build a dome over the opening. My case is in a rack, so it does not have to look perfect as it wont be seen directly. just wondering if there are any better ideas out there.

thanks for the help,
Jeff

Replying a year late ... but I did not end up modifying the case. I bought a Sapphire HD 2600 XT Ultimate passive card, which fits great, but the drivers gave me problems so I pulled it back out. Now I am waiting for an VGA ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/256M to arrive. I did not want a 2-slot card but I still can't find an acceptable 1-slot card with HDCP... All the new BD playback stuff seems to require a GeForce 8 series or ATI HD series anyway.

Bicster, what HD solutions are you using with your build. I want add more use to my build and just wanted to get some ideas from you guys....

Bicster, what HD solutions are you using with your build. I want add more use to my build and just wanted to get some ideas from you guys....

Are you referring to software or hardware?

Mostly on the Software side.

Mostly I've been using Media Center for standard def DVD playback & music. I have a bunch of 1080p demo video on the hard drive but I haven't watched any of it in more than a year. Yesterday I bought PowerDVD Ultra 7 from Newegg, which is nearly $30 cheaper than it is directly from Cyberlink. On Friday, my BD-ROM drive (Pioneer) and new video card should arrive. And I will finally be able to put the lid on the case :D

I occasionally watch OTA HDTV from Media Center, but I mostly use my HD TiVo for that. Media Center's mandatory overscan really annoys the crap out of me.

DirecTV announced a new dual tuner for Media Center at CES. When that comes out, I will be tempted to dump the TiVo. Unfortunately, it will require Vista. I hope SP1 makes Vista a whole lot better.

Overall I spend a lot more time using my HTPC as a general purpose PC - surfing the web with Firefox, etc.

Thats pretty much what i've been doing with mines except i don't have a HD tuner, but i'm looking to get the HD Homerun tuner to take care of that. I didn't know Media Center had mandatory overscan, that does suck.

I occasionally watch OTA HDTV from Media Center, but I mostly use my HD TiVo for that. Media Center's mandatory overscan really annoys the crap out of me.


huh??:confused::confused: You mean your video DRIVER's overscan? MC does not do any overscanning for Video by itself. It has settings for overscan but they are for the MC UI, not video.

Thats pretty much what i've been doing with mines except i don't have a HD tuner, but i'm looking to get the HD Homerun tuner to take care of that. I didn't know Media Center had mandatory overscan, that does suck.

I'm sure they do it so people don't complain about stuff like visible data scanlines (for closed captioning and so on)... But I wish there was some way to disable it.

I've been pretty happy with my Vbox tuner, but if I needed a second tuner I'd definitely look at the HD Homerun. I don't think it was MCE compatible yet when I bought my Vbox.