For two ATSC channels, HDHomeRun (http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun).

I'm in the same boat looking at all of the HDTV cards and hadn't seen this. I really haven't found one that I was totally sold on. The HDHomeRun isn't really that expensive compared to other higher end TV cards and it works on the whole network. Very cool! Thanks for the post. I'm going to read up on it more as it's a serious consideration for me. Especially since it doesn't take up a card slot in the HTPC!

FYI from wiki: "256 QAM is a cable standard, not an ATSC standard"
Thansk for the heads-up. My knowledge came fromVideo Demystified: A Handbook for the Digital Engineer, 5th Edition, by Keith Jack (http://www.amazon.com/Video-Demystified-Handbook-Digital-Engineer/dp/0750683953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232553428&sr=1-1) (page 765):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=130613&stc=1&d=1232553555

As you can see, there are a variety of modulation methods in ATSC. Limiting the term "ATSC" to OTA (8-VSB) is surely not a correct usage. 256-QAM will be eventually included in the ATSC standards. :)

Does anyone know if I can use an ATI video card (HD4830) to output video and then use my onboard nvidia 8200 to output audio at the same time? I have an ASUS M3N72-D for my motherboard and I have found that ATI alternatives are a lot cheaper than the NVidia counterparts, so that is why I'm going with a HD4830. I am not too worried about 24p since my current LCD doesn' support 24p inputs. I will not be gaming so maybe a HD4830 will be overkill, but I do need a video card to properly handle all of the high-def formats as my processor X2 BE-2300 and my onboard 8200 probably won't be able to handle watching HD-DVDs/Blu-Rays. Are there any other video cards that people would recommend that I can use to handle high-def formats that won't break the bank? I'm trying to keep it no more than $100.

Does anyone know if I can use an ATI video card (HD4830) to output video and then use my onboard nvidia 8200 to output audio at the same time? I have an ASUS M3N72-D for my motherboard and I have found that ATI alternatives are a lot cheaper than the NVidia counterparts, so that is why I'm going with a HD4830. I am not too worried about 24p since my current LCD doesn' support 24p inputs. I will not be gaming so maybe a HD4830 will be overkill, but I do need a video card to properly handle all of the high-def formats as my processor X2 BE-2300 and my onboard 8200 probably won't be able to handle watching HD-DVDs/Blu-Rays. Are there any other video cards that people would recommend that I can use to handle high-def formats that won't break the bank? I'm trying to keep it no more than $100.
Athlon X2 BE-2300+GeForce 8200 is enough for HD DVD/BD.

Radeon HD 4xxx has its own HDMI audio controller. If you use it, you don't need GeForce 8200 at all (BTW you can use both only under Windows XP). I recommend Radeon HD 4670 (in particular HIS H467QT512P). Radeon HD 4830 is not only overkill, but also consumes much more power (+30W or more at idle).

Athlon X2 BE-2300+GeForce 8200 is enough for HD DVD/BD.

Radeon HD 4xxx has its own HDMI audio controller. If you use it, you don't need GeForce 8200 at all (BTW you can use both only under Windows XP). I recommend Radeon HD 4670 (in particular HIS H467QT512P). Radeon HD 4830 is not only overkill, but also consumes much more power (+30W or more at idle).


Ok, thanks for the notice. So my current setup will work also with 1080p MKV files? How much CPU usage will expect on my current setup while watching HD formats without a discrete GPU? I guess I wouldn't have to worry about using Geforce 8200 combined with an nVidia discrete gpu since I'll be running Vista Ultimate on my machine. Thanks for the advice.

Ok, thanks for the notice. So my current setup will work also with 1080p MKV files? How much CPU usage will expect on my current setup while watching HD formats without a discrete GPU? I guess I wouldn't have to worry about using Geforce 8200 combined with an nVidia discrete gpu since I'll be running Vista Ultimate on my machine. Thanks for the advice.
If HA works, then 20-30% typically. If HA does not work, then your CPU may be pegged to 100%. Buy you should be able to overclock it to ~2.5GHz, and playback should be smooth.

GeForce 9500 GT is enough. But you have to use to cables, one for video from 9500 GT, and the other for HDMI audio from 8200, because GeForce discrete cards lacks HD audio controller.

As you can see, there are a variety of modulation methods in ATSC. Limiting the term "ATSC" to OTA (8-VSB) is surely not a correct usage. 256-QAM will be eventually included in the ATSC standards. :)

This is absolutely right. The only problem, which can cause some confusion, is that many/most manufacturers use ATSC only in the sense of OTA/8-VSB, and refer to ATSC/16-VSB as QAM.
Silicondust does the same for the HD Homerun (from the product page):
-ATSC over-the-air digital TV (USA/Canada).
-ClearQAM unencrypted digital cable (USA/Canada).

This is absolutely right. The only problem, which can cause some confusion, is that many/most manufacturers use ATSC only in the sense of OTA/8-VSB, and refer to ATSC/16-VSB as QAM.
Silicondust does the same for the HD Homerun (from the product page):
-ATSC over-the-air digital TV (USA/Canada).
-ClearQAM unencrypted digital cable (USA/Canada).
It looks like that "over-the-air" is explicitly stated in the formal specifications or at least somewhere in the product description (naturally to avoid ambiguity) and it is omitted elsewhere, assuming implicitly that "ATSC" means "ATSC OTA". Not ideal, but should not cause a serious problem.

(BTW 16-VSB [vestigial sideband] is a different modulation scheme from QAM [quadrature amplitude modulation].)

If HA works, then 20-30% typically. If HA does not work, then your CPU may be pegged to 100%. Buy you should be able to overclock it to ~2.5GHz, and playback should be smooth.

GeForce 9500 GT is enough. But you have to use to cables, one for video from 9500 GT, and the other for HDMI audio from 8200, because GeForce discrete cards lacks HD audio controller.

How would the 9600GSO (768MB DDR3) compare to the HD4670 that you recommended? I will be able to score the 9600GSO for a good price and may be tempted to get that instead of the HD4670 that you recommended.

Can anyone help? I am trying to make my newly built HTPC run quieter. I am a complete beginner at this and having taken the cover off, the case fans seem quiet loud. They are 2 x 60mm exhaust fans, 3000rpm. If I were to replace them, would I have to find some that equalled 3000rpm for each individual fan? I have found quieter fans but they are at a much lower rpm of course.

Also, is this the best way to make it run quietly? Or should I be trying to change some of the settings?

I am also currently running the stock cpu fan as the one I initially bought does not fit into the case. I have no idea how to choose a cooler that will fit, other than trial and error. I tried to measure but it is hard to understand the overall height of the units in relation to their mounts etc once on the board. I will hopefully find a better cooler and heat sink. I presume I still need to run the case fans, even with the new CPU cooler?

Sorry to be such a beginner, I am trying to read as much as I can but have been doing so for days now!

Elle

well im no pro, but i'll try to help
usually speaking, bigger fans tend to be quieter, as you can run them slower and get the same airflow, so see if you can replace your 60mm fans with 80mm 92mm or even 120mm
your case is a major factor also, but beyond modding it, or adding soundproof material, tour probably stuck with your case

and it helps to try to determine where your noise sources comes from first before buying your gear
sometimes it can be your power supply, or your cpu fan, so try to "hear" where the most noise comes from
silentpcreview.com is a great place for getting info on quiet pc products as well

edit : also if you list your case and cpu, people might be able to point you towards a fan/heatsink that would work for you

Couple of Graphics card questions.........

Note: The setup is a plasma not going through an amp, and a projector through an Onkyo 875. They are in the same room but different areas of the room. I only need to watch one display at a time, but don't want to have to reboot when switching displays.

1) If I am wanting to run dual monitiors (both at 1080x1920) in clone mode am I better off going with;
HIS Hightech ATI HD4670 ICEQ PCI-E2.0 1G vs
HIS Hightech ATI HD4670 ICEQTurbo PCI-E2.0 512MB GDDR3 780/2000MHz HDMI?

2) Will the current CCC drivers support audio over 2 ATI dongles simultaniously (like 7.7 did with the HD2600)?

3) Am I better off just throwing a spare test box there as well and have one linked to the Plasma and the other to the projector. I guess in this scenario I would be running Windows 7 so homegroup would easily solve the sharing of recorded tv between these and a third box??

What do you think?

How would the 9600GSO (768MB DDR3) compare to the HD4670 that you recommended? I will be able to score the 9600GSO for a good price and may be tempted to get that instead of the HD4670 that you recommended.
If you don't need HDMI audio, then 9600 GSO is another good choice.

Can anyone help? I am trying to make my newly built HTPC run quieter. I am a complete beginner at this and having taken the cover off, the case fans seem quiet loud. They are 2 x 60mm exhaust fans, 3000rpm. If I were to replace them, would I have to find some that equalled 3000rpm for each individual fan? I have found quieter fans but they are at a much lower rpm of course.

Also, is this the best way to make it run quietly? Or should I be trying to change some of the settings?

I am also currently running the stock cpu fan as the one I initially bought does not fit into the case. I have no idea how to choose a cooler that will fit, other than trial and error. I tried to measure but it is hard to understand the overall height of the units in relation to their mounts etc once on the board. I will hopefully find a better cooler and heat sink. I presume I still need to run the case fans, even with the new CPU cooler?

Sorry to be such a beginner, I am trying to read as much as I can but have been doing so for days now!

Elle
The case fans can run at any speed as long as the temperature inside the case is kept reasonably low. The mb temperature is a good indication of the case temperature (try to keep it below 40°C). Use Zalman Fan Mate 2 to control fan speeds or replace them by quieter ones.

Attach the CPU to the mb and measure the distance between the surface of the CPU lid to the case cover. The height of a CPU cooler must be smaller than this.

Couple of Graphics card questions.........

Note: The setup is a plasma not going through an amp, and a projector through an Onkyo 875. They are in the same room but different areas of the room. I only need to watch one display at a time, but don't want to have to reboot when switching displays.

1) If I am wanting to run dual monitiors (both at 1080x1920) in clone mode am I better off going with;
HIS Hightech ATI HD4670 ICEQ PCI-E2.0 1G vs
HIS Hightech ATI HD4670 ICEQTurbo PCI-E2.0 512MB GDDR3 780/2000MHz HDMI?

2) Will the current CCC drivers support audio over 2 ATI dongles simultaniously (like 7.7 did with the HD2600)?

3) Am I better off just throwing a spare test box there as well and have one linked to the Plasma and the other to the projector. I guess in this scenario I would be running Windows 7 so homegroup would easily solve the sharing of recorded tv between these and a third box??

What do you think?
1. Either card is OK.

2. I don't know if you get audio simultaneously in clone mode. But you don't need clone mode if you watch one display at a time. Use hotkey to switch between displays. Then you will get audio from the HDMI port you enabled.

Thanks

Intel 2009路线图：普及Nehalem 年底32nm (http://news.mydrivers.com/1/126/126426.htm)

Some details of Lynfield/Havendale here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14049839#post14049839).

I think maybe I was asking for too much in my first post so I'll start small and try to build up. That and apparently pictures weren't loading so I didn't see the massive chart explaining the differences.

I think I'm going to go with the low end Intel/Nvidia setup. It seems like a good spot to start and I can add on a video card later on if need be. It says it supports LCPM. What is that? Is that audio?

What output would I need to connect the audio, or would HDMI do both? The TV I have is a Toshiba 40RV525U. I keep seeing people talk about 24p. I assume that is picture quality, but is that related at all to 1080p?

After years and years and hundreds of hours thinking i'm finally putting together a dedicated HTPC. The only component left to get is a video card and i've been literally losing sleep over which one to buy.

Relevant parts are Antec 500w phantom PSU, E6400 Core 2 CPU. It needs to provide 1080p video to a plasma and a projector. Will use Mediaportal and PowerDVD for HD video. Has to be ATI as my panasonic plasma has an annoying incompatibility with nVidia GPUs.

Contenders are Radeon 4550 and the HIS 1GB iceq4 4850 non-turbo card.

4550 would be very quiet and use minimal power so is ideal for leaving on 24/7 for downloading and as a TV server. The only reservation is that it's been mentioned above that it's not good for a dual screen setup. I'd have 2 devices plugged in but only watch one at a time. Would I have to select and de-select the relevant one to get it working well? Not really acceptable.

The lower power might also mean that I had to swap over to a smaller PSU which isn't a major problem.

The 4850 is obviously great for playing games. The extra power used would be significant over time but not the end of the world. Main concern is that it would be blowing heat out the back directly into a wall where my plasma would be about 1.5 metres above it. Is that anything really worth worrying about?

The bizarre idea I eventually had was to just buy both cards! I could leave the 4550 in for most of the time and swap over the 4850 for occasional gaming. I suspect this 'might' be possible due to the shared driver package. Is that a possibility or am I just totally on the wrong track with that idea? Would the driver issues be too annoying and/or affect performance?

I hope the topic fits here?
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1724/building_an_amd_htpc_capable_of_blu_ray_hd_audio_playback/index.html

I am highly considering going with this setup you have for micro-ATX, but just have a few questions.


I will be using the Zotac 9300 motherboard, with a decent intell dual core in it.


I see it has HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub.

For sound it has coax spdif.



I already have my Yamaha HTIB setup, it has SPDIF inputs obviously.


What will be the best way to get 5.1 out of the HTPC going to my receiver?

The SSPDIF is really only way, correct?




Thanks!


~J

I think maybe I was asking for too much in my first post so I'll start small and try to build up. That and apparently pictures weren't loading so I didn't see the massive chart explaining the differences.

I think I'm going to go with the low end Intel/Nvidia setup. It seems like a good spot to start and I can add on a video card later on if need be. It says it supports LCPM. What is that? Is that audio?

What output would I need to connect the audio, or would HDMI do both? The TV I have is a Toshiba 40RV525U. I keep seeing people talk about 24p. I assume that is picture quality, but is that related at all to 1080p?
LPCM is the standard uncompressed digital audio format in PC and CE. Various audio formats are first decoded into LPCM (by players), then sent to audio devices (HDMI, an analog sound card etc.).

HDMI carries both video and audio in one cable. In the case of the system you mentioned, the supported audio formats are multichannel LPCM, DD and DTS. If you connect to your TV with HDMI, you will get both video and audio (stereo only?). 24p is a refresh rate at which video is played back. p is "progressive". Please read Progressive Scan DVD (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/dvd-benchmark-part-5-progressive-10-2000.html) for this subject.

After years and years and hundreds of hours thinking i'm finally putting together a dedicated HTPC. The only component left to get is a video card and i've been literally losing sleep over which one to buy.

Relevant parts are Antec 500w phantom PSU, E6400 Core 2 CPU. It needs to provide 1080p video to a plasma and a projector. Will use Mediaportal and PowerDVD for HD video. Has to be ATI as my panasonic plasma has an annoying incompatibility with nVidia GPUs.

Contenders are Radeon 4550 and the HIS 1GB iceq4 4850 non-turbo card.

4550 would be very quiet and use minimal power so is ideal for leaving on 24/7 for downloading and as a TV server. The only reservation is that it's been mentioned above that it's not good for a dual screen setup. I'd have 2 devices plugged in but only watch one at a time. Would I have to select and de-select the relevant one to get it working well? Not really acceptable.

The lower power might also mean that I had to swap over to a smaller PSU which isn't a major problem.

The 4850 is obviously great for playing games. The extra power used would be significant over time but not the end of the world. Main concern is that it would be blowing heat out the back directly into a wall where my plasma would be about 1.5 metres above it. Is that anything really worth worrying about?

The bizarre idea I eventually had was to just buy both cards! I could leave the 4550 in for most of the time and swap over the 4850 for occasional gaming. I suspect this 'might' be possible due to the shared driver package. Is that a possibility or am I just totally on the wrong track with that idea? Would the driver issues be too annoying and/or affect performance?
If you use only one display at at time, then you can switch between the displays by hotkey (in CCC) and HD 4550 should be fine.

The max power consumption of HD 4850 is 110W (40W at idle, 60W at video playback). You shouldn't worry about it. If you install both HD 4550 and HD 4850, then HD 4850 always consumes at least 40W whether you use it or not.

I recommend HD 4670 instead; 9W at idle, 23W at video playback, 49W at 3D; as good as HD 4850 in video playback.

I am highly considering going with this setup you have for micro-ATX, but just have a few questions.


I will be using the Zotac 9300 motherboard, with a decent intell dual core in it.


I see it has HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub.

For sound it has coax spdif.



I already have my Yamaha HTIB setup, it has SPDIF inputs obviously.


What will be the best way to get 5.1 out of the HTPC going to my receiver?

The SSPDIF is really only way, correct?
If your receiver does not support HDMI, then S/PDIF from the onboard audio codec is perhaps the best option.

If your receiver does not support HDMI, then S/PDIF from the onboard audio codec is perhaps the best option.



I see. Thanks! PM sent regarding other matters.

Hi there I am about to buy a new graphics card and I would like to upgrade my NV 8600GTS its connected to a 36” CRT TV via component I am looking at a HD 4550 or HD 4670 will ether off these cards be ok via component or am I better of keeping the NV 8600GTS ?
Thanks Juls

Hi there I am about to buy a new graphics card and I would like to upgrade my NV 8600GTS its connected to a 36” CRT TV via component I am looking at a HD 4550 or HD 4670 will ether off these cards be ok via component or am I better of keeping the NV 8600GTS ?
Thanks Juls
Is there a complaint on the PQ of 8600 GTS? There is not much difference of PQ between 8600 GTS and Radeon.

No complaint but I am building another system for everyday use and the old system will be left to serve as a dedicated MCE machine straight to the TV so my thinking was if one of those ATI cards are better I would swap the cards around? So maybe I am better off just getting the cheaper on for the new system?
Thanks Juls

No complaint but I am building another system for everyday use and the old system will be left to serve as a dedicated MCE machine straight to the TV so my thinking was if one of those ATI cards are better I would swap the cards around? So maybe I am better off just getting the cheaper on for the new system?
Thanks Juls

I'd think, with the PC being devoted to the TV, that you won't be doing much heavy lifting with it (encoding, transcoding, editing). The cheaper, cooler card seems a better fit for that PC.

No complaint but I am building another system for everyday use and the old system will be left to serve as a dedicated MCE machine straight to the TV so my thinking was if one of those ATI cards are better I would swap the cards around? So maybe I am better off just getting the cheaper on for the new system?
Thanks Juls
If you want to use HDMI audio with a HDMI receiver, then Radeon HD 4xxx is worth considering. Otherwise you might want to keep 8600 GTS for HTPC and build a new system with IGP (assuming you don't play games).

Thanks guys I was also thinking that I could sell the ASUS geforce EN 8600 GTS SILENT card as it is still worth a few £ and get 2 new cards with the change almost. Say the HD 4670 for the HTPC and the HD 4550 for the daily use pc gaming is not an interest in the House or does anyone have any other card solution that I should look at?
Thanks Juls

This is my first post on this forum. Thank you to everyone who has posted. I've been researching for several month on what parts to buy for my htpc and I found renethx's recommendations very helpful. I am wondering if anyone can give me advice on my power supply for this system. Will a CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V be enough for the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
HIS Hightech H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850
ASUS P5Q-EM LGA 775 Intel G45 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
Fusion Remote Black Case

If I wanted to add a sound card or other pci cards in the future would I need more power? Thanks.

This is my first post on this forum. Thank you to everyone who has posted. I've been researching for several month on what parts to buy for my htpc and I found renethx's recommendations very helpful. I am wondering if anyone can give me advice on my power supply for this system. Will a CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V be enough for the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
HIS Hightech H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850
ASUS P5Q-EM LGA 775 Intel G45 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
Fusion Remote Black Case

If I wanted to add a sound card or other pci cards in the future would I need more power? Thanks.
Yes. Even if you add two PCI cards and two additional HDDs, the power consumption of the total system will be less than 300W. If you want to be sure, you can use CMPSU-550VX (costs only $6 more at Provantage.com).

renethx -

hoping maybe you could provide a next step for me:

background: fresh install of vista home premium, HD 4670 installed on a socket 939 mobo with amd x2 4800 processor. Bios is updated to the most recent (which is old b/c the board is very old - MS-7093). audio chipset is AC'97.

When the 4670 is installed, immediately the CPU usage jumps to 50% at idle and 100% under use. The GPU gets pinged to about 99% constantly. Through doing a bunch of searches, i've tracked down the problem - "High definition audio controller" in system devices. the second i disable this service, the cpu and gpu usage drop to normal. if i uninstall this controller it is just reinstalled the next time i boot. any suggestions?

Now, the next issue i have is that hdmi over the card is not working at all. I have to assume the issues are connected. if i try to install the ati hdmi update from realtek i get the "no supported driver" issue. so i can't use the microsoft hd audio driver and i am not able to update the audio drivers. not sure what my next step should be.

one of the main reasons i got this card was for audio over hdmi and it isn't working.

renethx -

hoping maybe you could provide a next step for me:

background: fresh install of vista home premium, HD 4670 installed on a socket 939 mobo with amd x2 4800 processor. Bios is updated to the most recent (which is old b/c the board is very old - MS-7093). audio chipset is AC'97.

When the 4670 is installed, immediately the CPU usage jumps to 50% at idle and 100% under use. The GPU gets pinged to about 99% constantly. Through doing a bunch of searches, i've tracked down the problem - "High definition audio controller" in system devices. the second i disable this service, the cpu and gpu usage drop to normal. if i uninstall this controller it is just reinstalled the next time i boot. any suggestions?

Now, the next issue i have is that hdmi over the card is not working at all. I have to assume the issues are connected. if i try to install the ati hdmi update from realtek i get the "no supported driver" issue. so i can't use the microsoft hd audio driver and i am not able to update the audio drivers. not sure what my next step should be.

one of the main reasons i got this card was for audio over hdmi and it isn't working.
Which HD audio controller, onboard, or on the graphics card? The onboard controller should be disabled in BIOS.

Use R2.09.

Which HD audio controller, onboard, or on the graphics card? The onboard controller should be disabled in BIOS.

Use R2.09.

to be honest, not really sure how to tell what controller it is. It is a microsoft driver that didn't exist pre-install within "system devices". or it was there but didn't have a conflict. there is no HD audio device under sound video and game controllers in device manager - only in the system devices.

I think the onboard controller is still on b/c the AC-97 is still one of my sound devices. I will try disabling that when i get home tonight. because the card installed without use of the audio controller i would assume that it is likely i will need to reinstall the card?

Thank you for the help.

Any system should be fine. You'd better wait for the revision of Xonar HDAV1.3, its slim version, and X-Fi HomeTheater HD, and compare them.

Yep, I'll wait for the dust to settle between those sound cards before making my decision. Am I correct in understanding that if I don't do any ripping, encoding, burning,.....than even the lowest priced HTPC will work, to just play isos of BD movies? I guess, then, that the price level of my HTPC will be determined by which motherboard will work with my sound card.

Thank you,

Which HD audio controller, onboard, or on the graphics card? The onboard controller should be disabled in BIOS.

Use R2.09.

disabled on board audio and used r2.09 and still get the same issues - it runs through the install program and at the end of the install it gives a warning: "No driver was supported in this driver package".

any ideas?

I am looking to upgrade my htpc, running vista 64, FI90-HD Mobo, 8GB ram, 2.5Tb HD.

I started watching some MKV files and noticed some stuttering and figured the built in video from the Mobo was not cutting it any longer. I think it is a radeon 1350 integrated.

What I like is that the FI90-HD has hdmi out with audio and video. So I would like to be able to do that with any card I get.

Also I am not going to any real gaming on it, just surfing the net and light gaming so I am not looking for a screamer in video cards.

What I was thinking was getting a radeon 3000 series, possibly the 3650. and also was leaning towards one with passive/silent cooling.

Will this card let me output audio along with the video on the HDMI out? or with a DVI to HDMI out to the tv?

What are my choices and recommendations. I could go to the 4xxx series or the 38xx series if something there can do the same, but I think when you get into the 4xxx it is overkill for my needs.

any thoughts and knowledge would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I was looking at power supply for my HTPC and I am confused as to the difference between atx 12v ver 2.2 and 2.3. Could someone explain what is the difference?

I also confuse about the memory. If my motherboard support ddr2 1300 would getting a ddr2 800 memory slow down the system. What is the advantage of ddr2 1300 from ddr2 800. Is ddr2 1300 overkill for HTPC? I do not do gaming at all.

thanks.

I am planning to get intel core 2 duo 8500 for my HTPC, could anyone recommend a good Asus motherboard for the cpu? How is Asus compare to gigabyte motherboard? And also what is the difference between chipset p45, x38, x48? Which on is better for HTPC?

thanks

Yep, I'll wait for the dust to settle between those sound cards before making my decision. Am I correct in understanding that if I don't do any ripping, encoding, burning,.....than even the lowest priced HTPC will work, to just play isos of BD movies? I guess, then, that the price level of my HTPC will be determined by which motherboard will work with my sound card.
You can do ripping and burning with a low-end system easily. Encoding takes longer time than, for example, a high-end system with a quad-core processor (you can still do it of course).

If you use a graphics card, a sound card, a tuner(s) etc., you'd better choose a mb carefully so that it has enough expansion slots.

disabled on board audio and used r2.09 and still get the same issues - it runs through the install program and at the end of the install it gives a warning: "No driver was supported in this driver package".

any ideas?
I recommend you to clean install Vista (32-bit, I assume) first without the discrete graphics card.

- Download :

--- Catalyst Software Suite (32 bit)
--- South Bridge Driver
--- HydraVision Package (if you want to use it)

from here (http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx?p=vista32/integrated-vista32). Download

--- Realtek RTL8100C Auto installation program (support Vista 64 and Vista) 6.110

from here (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=14&PFid=6&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false). Download

--- Realtek AC'97 Audio Codecs Vista Driver (32/64 bits) Driver only (ZIP file)

from here (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=14&PFid=23&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false). If you disabled AC'97 Audio Codec, then you don't need it however.

- Install Vista, then all the drivers and Vista patches. Open the device manager from the control panel and see if all the necessary drivers are installed (no yellow exclamation mark).

- If you succeeded, then turn off the system (switch off PSU) and install the HD 4670, then start your system. The graphics driver will be installed automatically. Restart the system and you can use the video part of HD 4670.

- To use HDMI audio from HD 4670, install Realtek ATI HDMI audio driver R209.

I am looking to upgrade my htpc, running vista 64, FI90-HD Mobo, 8GB ram, 2.5Tb HD.

I started watching some MKV files and noticed some stuttering and figured the built in video from the Mobo was not cutting it any longer. I think it is a radeon 1350 integrated.

What I like is that the FI90-HD has hdmi out with audio and video. So I would like to be able to do that with any card I get.

Also I am not going to any real gaming on it, just surfing the net and light gaming so I am not looking for a screamer in video cards.

What I was thinking was getting a radeon 3000 series, possibly the 3650. and also was leaning towards one with passive/silent cooling.

Will this card let me output audio along with the video on the HDMI out? or with a DVI to HDMI out to the tv?

What are my choices and recommendations. I could go to the 4xxx series or the 38xx series if something there can do the same, but I think when you get into the 4xxx it is overkill for my needs.

any thoughts and knowledge would be much appreciated.

Thanks
HD 3xxx HDMI audio supports 2 ch LPCM, DD, DTS, while HD 4xxx HDMI audio supports 2/4/5.1/7.1 ch LPCM, DD, DTS. If you are going to use a HDMI receiver, you'd better choose HD 4xxx. Otherwise HD 3xxx is fine (if you can find it cheap). HD 3650 or higher, or HD 4550 or higher is recommended. Make sure the card comes with a DVD-HDMI adapter or has a native HDMI port.

I was looking at power supply for my HTPC and I am confused as to the difference between atx 12v ver 2.2 and 2.3. Could someone explain what is the difference?

I also confuse about the memory. If my motherboard support ddr2 1300 would getting a ddr2 800 memory slow down the system. What is the advantage of ddr2 1300 from ddr2 800. Is ddr2 1300 overkill for HTPC? I do not do gaming at all.

thanks.
Even form factors.org (http://www.formfactors.org/formfactor.asp) does not mention ATX12V v2.3.

Read this article (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/core2duo-memory-guide.html) if you want to know the advantage of memory of a higher clock. If you can get it cheap, go for it. Otherwise DDR2-800 is enough for most applications (HTPC or not).

I am planning to get intel core 2 duo 8500 for my HTPC, could anyone recommend a good Asus motherboard for the cpu? How is Asus compare to gigabyte motherboard? And also what is the difference between chipset p45, x38, x48? Which on is better for HTPC?

thanks
P45 is enough for a normal HTPC. X38/X48 has an extra PCIe x16 link for dual graphics (CrossFire) or another PCIe device of x4, x8, x16 (e.g. a RAID controller card). Even P45's PCIe x16 link splits to dual PCIe x8 for dual graphics or another PCIe device of x4, x8, x16.

I recommend either P5Q PRO, P5Q-E, or P5Q Deluxe.

HD 3xxx HDMI audio supports 2 ch LPCM, DD, DTS, while HD 4xxx HDMI audio supports 2/4/5.1/7.1 ch LPCM, DD, DTS. If you are going to use a HDMI receiver, you'd better choose HD 4xxx. Otherwise HD 3xxx is fine (if you can find it cheap). HD 3650 or higher, or HD 4550 or higher is recommended. Make sure the card comes with a DVD-HDMI adapter or has a native HDMI port.


Do you have any recommendations on a fanless one on either series you mentioned? I saw one for the 3xxx series, but wonder if there are aftermarked fanless kits I could get for any of them.

I did not see one for the 45xx series that I could find online. I thought I saw some reviews on ones, but no place with them. But it was late and I could have just overlooked it.


Also does the number of steeam processors in the card make a difference in movie/tv viewing? I see that the 3870 model has 320 but some 4xxx series only have 80? PLus the memory bus ranged from 64 to 256 bit. And lastly should I stay gddr 3 or higher or would gddr2 work good?

I was leaning towards the 3870 (if I could find one) after posting I looked around last night and it seemed to have better specs for HTPC use than the 4xxx series ones I could find, and in the 4xxx series I could not find one that was fanless. I did see a 4550 that had a giant black heatsink on it in a review but had problems finding it when I went to look.


Thanks for the input...
Pat

I did not see one for the 45xx series that I could find online. I thought I saw some reviews on ones, but no place with them. But it was late and I could have just overlooked it.

I've come across two fanless HD 4550 cards while I've been doing my research - one by Gigabyte (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2925) and one by Force3D (http://www.force3d.com/products/hd4550.html). I'm planning to pick up the Gigabyte card for the HTPC I'm building, I was reading some promising comments about the card's heat in this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1109922&).

Do you have any recommendations on a fanless one on either series you mentioned? I saw one for the 3xxx series, but wonder if there are aftermarked fanless kits I could get for any of them.

I did not see one for the 45xx series that I could find online. I thought I saw some reviews on ones, but no place with them. But it was late and I could have just overlooked it.


Also does the number of steeam processors in the card make a difference in movie/tv viewing? I see that the 3870 model has 320 but some 4xxx series only have 80? PLus the memory bus ranged from 64 to 256 bit. And lastly should I stay gddr 3 or higher or would gddr2 work good?

I was leaning towards the 3870 (if I could find one) after posting I looked around last night and it seemed to have better specs for HTPC use than the 4xxx series ones I could find, and in the 4xxx series I could not find one that was fanless. I did see a 4550 that had a giant black heatsink on it in a review but had problems finding it when I went to look.
4550 has 80 sps, but is not bad in pp. 3650/4650/4670 and higher have enough sps and are more or less equivalent in pp. 4650 has pp problems however.

I think Sapphire will release a fanless 4550 (http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=260&grp=3) and a fanless 4670 (http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=280&grp=3) soon (if it fits your case is another problem).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=130848&d=1232711301

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=130849&d=1232711767

[QUOTE=renethx;15629372]4550 has 80 sps, but is not bad in pp. 3650/4650/4670 and higher have enough sps and are more or less equivalent in pp. 4650 has pp problems however.

I think Sapphire will release a fanless 4550 (http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=260&grp=3) and a fanless 4670 (http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=280&grp=3) soon (if it fits your case is another problem).

which cards are these in the pics? is the top one a 4550? I like the built in HDMI port as then I do not have to worry about that adapter. Also did you see them listed online somehwere?

And is the bottom one a 4670? That should fit in my case. I have the Antec Fusion Micro-ATX case. and I think the full size card would fit.

Hi renethx,

I see you recommend Gigabyte motherboards over Asus, Intel, etc. Are Gigabyte motherboards build to fit HTPC/multimedia PC needs better than the other motherboards brands?

Thanks.

which cards are these in the pics? is the top one a 4550? I like the built in HDMI port as then I do not have to worry about that adapter. Also did you see them listed online somehwere?

And is the bottom one a 4670? That should fit in my case. I have the Antec Fusion Micro-ATX case. and I think the full size card would fit.
The bottom is 4670. It may not fit Antec Fusion Remote/430 because of a large heatsink. 4550 (top) will fit Fusion. It looks like 4550 is already available at several retailers.

Hi renethx,

I see you recommend Gigabyte motherboards over Asus, Intel, etc. Are Gigabyte motherboards build to fit HTPC/multimedia PC needs better than the other motherboards brands?
I chose GIGABYTE because of better features.

Even form factors.org (http://www.formfactors.org/formfactor.asp) does not mention ATX12V v2.3.

Read this article (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/core2duo-memory-guide.html) if you want to know the advantage of memory of a higher clock. If you can get it cheap, go for it. Otherwise DDR2-800 is enough for most applications (HTPC or not).

I did find this article mentioning atx v2.3. Just Fyi.

http://www.enermax.co.uk/Forum/showthread.php?p=460

Ion-based PCs to hit the market by 2Q or 3Q this year, says Nvidia (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090123VL200.html)

Although no PC vendor has yet officially confirmed it is planning to produce products based on Nvidia's Ion platform, according to Nvidia, some PC vendors have adopted the chipset and will launch products by late second-quarter or early third-quarter this year. The company declined to reveal any further details.

Market rumors have suggested Apple is the most likely candidate to get onboard with Ion, but these are unconfirmed as yet.

In order to try and drum up support for Ion, Nvidia has suggested consumers contact their favorite PC vendors asking them when, or if, they plan to release Ion-based products.

as I mention in my previous post, I am planning to get intel core 2 duo 8500. would that be enough for playing blue ray, and high definition stuff? What about for recording high definition program?

thanks

I chose GIGABYTE because of better features.

can you please elaborate more as far as the feature that Gigabyte has that other motherboard does not?

thanks

can you please elaborate more as far as the feature that Gigabyte has that other motherboard does not?

thanks
For example, GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P and ASUS P5Q Pro are both $115 (after rebate) at Newegg.com. The differences I noticed are:

|heatsink|# controllable fan|eSATA|Gb LAN|S/PDIF|audio feature|USB wakeup
GA-EP45-UD3P|covering all MOSFETs|2|a bracket bundled|dual|optical & coaxial|Dolby Home Theater|BIOS
P5Q Pro|no HS on the upper MOSFETs|3|none|single|coaxial only|no DHT/DTSC|physical jumpers

P5Q Pro has one more fan connector that supports fan control. Otherwise GA-EP45-UD3P offers better features. There are good reasons why GA-EP45-UD3P sells better than ASUS. BTW P5Q Pro was used in the previous recommendations of the ATX mid-range/high-end Intel/Intel systems.

P5Q Pro has one more fan connector that supports fan control. Otherwise GA-EP45-UD3P offers better features. There are good reasons why GA-EP45-UD3P sells better than ASUS. BTW P5Q Pro was used in the previous recommendations of the ATX mid-range/high-end Intel/Intel systems.

Which Gigabyte mbo can be compared with P5Q DeLuxe ?
P5Q DeLuxe vs. P5Q PRO is it worth the extra money?

Thanks.

Which Gigabyte mbo can be compared with P5Q DeLuxe ?
P5Q DeLuxe vs. P5Q PRO is it worth the extra money?
Maybe GA-EP45-DQ6? (Clearly GA-EP45-DQ6 is a better buy than P5Q Deluxe.)

If you insist on ASUS, P5Q-E is a good compromise between features and price. Otherwise I recommend GA-EP45-UD3P.

as I mention in my previous post, I am planning to get intel core 2 duo 8500. would that be enough for playing blue ray, and high definition stuff? What about for recording high definition program?

thanks


would this be good for what i want to do with my htpc?

would this be good for what i want to do with my htpc?
Yes. Even Pentium Dual-Core is enough for these tasks. If you are encoding, I recommend a quad-core. Q6600/Q8300 is in the same price range as E8500, more than 1.5 times faster in encoding. (That's the ATX high-end Intel/Intel system in my recommendation. :))

Howdy guys...been reading through some of the recommendations and thought I'd throw in my own post. I had ye old RCA 8030n (which I think I've posted about in another forum). I believe it finally bit the dust, so now I'm trying to figure out what to do. My wife has basically given me permission to build one so she doesn't miss lost :-). I would like to do something for a fairly small budget, and be able to add on blue ray and such later if needed.

Right now I'm looking at 3 options:

1) Just buy a system - this system (http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/825845/HP-Pavilion-Slimline-s3700f-Desktop-Computer/) is only $350 after a rebate. I am still on an older TV, so I'd need to add in a video card, I suppose, that has S-video out (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139030) (I have an older tv for now) and I was considering the HD Homerun (http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun_atsc) after reading the recommendations post. Yes, I have a distaste for "bought" computers, but it seems it would be a quick way to get going with a decent machine.

2) Build a machine. Obviously if I did this, I'd want to have the same target price or less of the bought computer. This is where I would need some help for sure.

3) Buy a tuner (HD Homerun?) and a new hard drive and slap them in my existing computer for now until I get around to building the rest. I could run the video over to the tv with an S-video cable. Obviously this option would just be a stall as I figure out what else I want, and would be somewhat annoying, but would work.

Please be gentle on me as I am new to HTPC building.

Hi Renethx,

Thanks for such an awesome guide! I've been lurking around here for awhile but the sheer amount of info can be overwhelming! Let me throw a question at you...

I just inherited a Sony KF-50WE610. You can see the specs at crutchfield.com by searching on the model number.

This TV includes a DVI connector although the specs don't show it there.

I'd like to put together an HTPC that can, to start, playback tv shows in Divx/XviD .Avi format as well as DVD's residing on a hard drive. I'll eventually want to get into recording my own tv from OTA HD signals but that's a whole other post I'm sure!

I'm mostly stumped on the best configuration and best way to connect to the TV properly.

Thx!
Mike

PS. I'd like to use a Media Center app like VMC or Media Portal if possible!

Howdy guys...been reading through some of the recommendations and thought I'd throw in my own post. I had ye old RCA 8030n (which I think I've posted about in another forum). I believe it finally bit the dust, so now I'm trying to figure out what to do. My wife has basically given me permission to build one so she doesn't miss lost :-). I would like to do something for a fairly small budget, and be able to add on blue ray and such later if needed.

Right now I'm looking at 3 options:

1) Just buy a system - this system (http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/825845/HP-Pavilion-Slimline-s3700f-Desktop-Computer/) is only $350 after a rebate. I am still on an older TV, so I'd need to add in a video card, I suppose, that has S-video out (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139030) (I have an older tv for now) and I was considering the HD Homerun (http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun_atsc) after reading the recommendations post. Yes, I have a distaste for "bought" computers, but it seems it would be a quick way to get going with a decent machine.

2) Build a machine. Obviously if I did this, I'd want to have the same target price or less of the bought computer. This is where I would need some help for sure.

3) Buy a tuner (HD Homerun?) and a new hard drive and slap them in my existing computer for now until I get around to building the rest. I could run the video over to the tv with an S-video cable. Obviously this option would just be a stall as I figure out what else I want, and would be somewhat annoying, but would work.

Please be gentle on me as I am new to HTPC building.
s3700f is a sub-par system, not worth considering. GeForce 7200 GS is two generation-old, not up to HD contents. I don't know what RCA 8030n (specs) is, so I can't give an upgrade advice.

s3700f is a sub-par system, not worth considering. GeForce 7200 GS is two generation-old, not up to HD contents. I don't know what RCA 8030n (specs) is, so I can't give an upgrade advice.

The RCA 8030n was a standalone DVR and dvd player - it worked well for awhile but had some inherent cooling issues. At this point I dont' want to buy a dvr, i'd rather go the htpc route so its something I can work on myself...but again, I am trying to go with limited funds since it was somewhat unexpected....I can add on other options later.

Hi Renethx,

Thanks for such an awesome guide! I've been lurking around here for awhile but the sheer amount of info can be overwhelming! Let me throw a question at you...

I just inherited a Sony KF-50WE610. You can see the specs at crutchfield.com by searching on the model number.

This TV includes a DVI connector although the specs don't show it there.

I'd like to put together an HTPC that can, to start, playback tv shows in Divx/XviD .Avi format as well as DVD's residing on a hard drive. I'll eventually want to get into recording my own tv from OTA HD signals but that's a whole other post I'm sure!

I'm mostly stumped on the best configuration and best way to connect to the TV properly.

Thx!
Mike
Basically any system in my recommendations is good. Use DVI to connect to your TV.

I noticed that the Mini ITX and Micro ATX cases are pretty small wattage PS...I am assuming that won't cause any sort of problem?

I noticed that the Mini ITX and Micro ATX cases are pretty small wattage PS...I am assuming that won't cause any sort of problem?
The power consumption of the low-end system (CPU, mb, two sticks of memory, onboard graphics, 1 HDD, 1 OD) is surprisingly small. AC input to PSU (measured with Kill-A-Watt):

|idle|BD|Prime95
4850e+AMD 780G|46W|86W|98W
E5200+GF9400|52W|70W|78W
E8400+GF9400|56W|74W|96W

The power consumption of the low-end system (CPU, mb, two sticks of memory, onboard graphics, 1 HDD, 1 OD) is surprisingly small. AC input to PSU (measured with Kill-A-Watt):

|idle|BD|Prime95
4850e+AMD 780G|46W|86W|98W
E5200+GF9400|52W|70W|78W
E8400+GF9400|56W|74W|96W

Plus if I use the hd homerun, its on the network, so thats another item that wont' be on the system drawing power, i guess. My main concern with using it is that I would probably house it closer to my main PC. and plug it into the wireless router there. The question is, how would it work over say a wireless G network?

Maybe GA-EP45-DQ6? (Clearly GA-EP45-DQ6 is a better buy than P5Q Deluxe.)

If you insist on ASUS, P5Q-E is a good compromise between features and price. Otherwise I recommend GA-EP45-UD3P.

So GA-EP45-UD3P is your recommendation. What memory, CPU and fan would you recommend. This HTPC will not be used for gaming at all. Also I want the most silent solution so maybe you can recommend a silent power supply.

Many thanks. You're doing a great job with this thread.
Thanks again.

Plus if I use the hd homerun, its on the network, so thats another item that wont' be on the system drawing power, i guess. My main concern with using it is that I would probably house it closer to my main PC. and plug it into the wireless router there. The question is, how would it work over say a wireless G network?

I had very little luck with streaming HDHomerun over a G network. Very choppy. An N network might be feasible, but I found 100Mbps CAT5e was my friend.

I had very little luck with streaming HDHomerun over a G network. Very choppy. An N network might be feasible, but I found 100Mbps CAT5e was my friend.

Ok...glad to know that. That tuner may not be feasible for me at this time then. I guess that is ok though, as it is more expensive, and using another tuner would lower my costs.

My network may be saturated. I'd ask around a bit more, but, yeah, I think you might be out of luck for now unless you want to do a client/server architecture.

So as far as what is recommended on page 85 - that points me to the AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe- I notice its a dual tuner...seems like i saw that someone mentioned that one tuner is analog and one is digital...can't seem to find where that is recorded and that wouldn't make much sense. Can anyone comment on this?

On edit: Also that card doesn't have very good ratings on newegg... but it doesn't look like many do - would it be a better deal to go with the combo and get the remote with it for $99?

2nd Edit: Found the comment on newegg: Don't be fooled into thinking this is a dual tuner card. You won't have the ability with just one of these to record one channel and watch another. It's got one standard analog tuner (aka regular cable) and one digital tuner (over the air HD signals.) I bought two of these so I could watch one channel and record another at the same time, either over regular cable or in HD.

This seems to be more of an actual dual tuner where you could watch and record 2 shows at a time: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116036

Yes. Even Pentium Dual-Core is enough for these tasks. If you are encoding, I recommend a quad-core. Q6600/Q8300 is in the same price range as E8500, more than 1.5 times faster in encoding. (That's the ATX high-end Intel/Intel system in my recommendation. :))

Can you please explain what do you mean by encoding? In what situation will I do encoding? Sorry if my question sound stupid, I just don't quite understand what do you mean with "encoding".

"Encoding" = compressing recorded video into a smaller size for archival/size reduction purposes. I forget the exact number, but I thought typical broadcast HD video was on the order of 8GB per hour for MPEG2. You can get significant savings on that by re-encoding to H.264 or WMV9 or even Divx.

The bottom is 4670. It may not fit Antec Fusion Remote/430 because of a large heatsink. 4550 (top) will fit Fusion. It looks like 4550 is already available at several retailers.

I checked and I have decent clearence above the card slot, but worse case is I get a little taller case down the road or make a mod it it. But the other one is a good choice too so I will wait a bit to see if it might be coming out soon..


Thanks for the info... now I have it down to these two and a 36xx series card with passive cooling I like. But the 4670 is darned tempting.

The audio specs are interesting on this board. Will we be able to finally get lossless audio from a motherboard?
http://www.gigabyte.co.nz/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2946&ProductName=GA-E7AUM-DS2H

Yes. Even Pentium Dual-Core is enough for these tasks. If you are encoding, I recommend a quad-core. Q6600/Q8300 is in the same price range as E8500, more than 1.5 times faster in encoding. (That's the ATX high-end Intel/Intel system in my recommendation. :))

If I am just pulling stuff I don't want out my Blu-rays (extra audio tracks, etc) and then outputting it right back into a Blu-ray structure using tsmuxer, is that considered "encoding"?

I am building a new PC and debating between dual and quad.

Thanks in advance.

I was looking at asus P5q e and the gigabyte motherboard that you recommend and none of them has wireless internet connection. I remember a while back, almost every motherboard has built in wireless internet. Do you know any motherboard that has built in wireless internet?

thanks

So GA-EP45-UD3P is your recommendation. What memory, CPU and fan would you recommend. This HTPC will not be used for gaming at all. Also I want the most silent solution so maybe you can recommend a silent power supply.

Many thanks. You're doing a great job with this thread.
Thanks again.
Look at page 85. (This type of question is depressing me. :()

I was looking at asus P5q e and the gigabyte motherboard that you recommend and none of them has wireless internet connection. I remember a while back, almost every motherboard has built in wireless internet. Do you know any motherboard that has built in wireless internet?

thanks

There is the ASUS P5Q3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP board that is a little over $200. There are several other Asus boards that have WIFI, not too familiar with the Gigabyte boards.

Can you please explain what do you mean by encoding? In what situation will I do encoding? Sorry if my question sound stupid, I just don't quite understand what do you mean with "encoding".
Encoding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcoding)

I recommend you to clean install Vista (32-bit, I assume) first without the discrete graphics card.

- Download :

--- Catalyst Software Suite (32 bit)
--- South Bridge Driver
--- HydraVision Package (if you want to use it)

from here (http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx?p=vista32/integrated-vista32). Download

--- Realtek RTL8100C Auto installation program (support Vista 64 and Vista) 6.110

from here (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=14&PFid=6&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false). Download

--- Realtek AC'97 Audio Codecs Vista Driver (32/64 bits) Driver only (ZIP file)

from here (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=14&PFid=23&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false). If you disabled AC'97 Audio Codec, then you don't need it however.

- Install Vista, then all the drivers and Vista patches. Open the device manager from the control panel and see if all the necessary drivers are installed (no yellow exclamation mark).

- If you succeeded, then turn off the system (switch off PSU) and install the HD 4670, then start your system. The graphics driver will be installed automatically. Restart the system and you can use the video part of HD 4670.

- To use HDMI audio from HD 4670, install Realtek ATI HDMI audio driver R209.

Thank you for the help renethx but still have the same error. No audio device is installed and no driver in the pack is supported. I guess I can still use the xbox streaming to get 5.1 sound but I wanted to run it through my denon receiver. If you have any other ideas i'm all ears.

I also submitted a ticket with amd when I posted the question here - this is the response I received:

From the information provided, the issue appears to be a limitation on the motherboard with MS HD audio and/or ATI hdmi audio configuration.

Update the motherboard NB and SB chipset drivers to ensure proper communication with all expansion buss interfaces. Install the catalyst and compare results. if you continue to notice an issue, install a motherboard manufactured within the last year and compare the issue with compatibility.


I guess I am back to square one sinking more money into this little project then i really wanted to but oh well. Thanks again.

The audio specs are interesting on this board. Will we be able to finally get lossless audio from a motherboard?
http://www.gigabyte.co.nz/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2946&ProductName=GA-E7AUM-DS2H
Yes, if a player supporting it is released.

If I am just pulling stuff I don't want out my Blu-rays (extra audio tracks, etc) and then outputting it right back into a Blu-ray structure using tsmuxer, is that considered "encoding"?
No.

I remember a while back, almost every motherboard has built in wireless internet. Do you know any motherboard that has built in wireless internet?
(Only) ASUS "Deluxe/Premium" version used to have WiFi. ASUS removed it in the current Deluxe/Premium version. I see a new release P5Q-E/WiFi-AP, maybe available soon?

Thank you for the help renethx but still have the same error. No audio device is installed and no driver in the pack is supported. I guess I can still use the xbox streaming to get 5.1 sound but I wanted to run it through my denon receiver. If you have any other ideas i'm all ears.
Will you post a couple of screenshots of Device Manager and the error messages (use Snipping tool in Accessories)? Don't install the graphics card. Did you disable the onboard audio codec in BIOS?

Will you post a couple of screenshots of Device Manager and the error messages (use Snipping tool in Accessories)? Don't install the graphics card. Did you disable the onboard audio codec in BIOS?

Graphics card is already installed - works fine. Everything is fine until the last step with the hd audio. onboard audio is disabled. attached is the error from r2.09install (you can see at bottom no audio device installed).

and second pic is of device mgr - let me know what you want expanded. right now the microsoft hd audio system device is disabled to prevent my processor and gpu from going nuts.

sorry - no errors in device mgr. is there a way to add legacy devices to the selectable options in device mgr? if so, could i install the rt hdaudio codec device manually?

Graphics card is already installed - works fine. Everything is fine until the last step with the hd audio. onboard audio is disabled. attached is the error from r2.09install (you can see at bottom no audio device installed).

and second pic is of device mgr - let me know what you want expanded. right now the microsoft hd audio system device is disabled to prevent my processor and gpu from going nuts.

sorry - no errors in device mgr. is there a way to add legacy devices to the selectable options in device mgr? if so, could i install the rt hdaudio codec device manually?
Manual installation of the HDMI audio driver should be easy. Right click "High Definition Audio Device" in Device Manger and click "Update Driver Software". Point to the folder that includes HDAATI.inf (first unzip HDMI_R209.exe).

If you have another mb with a PCIe x16 slot, you'be better try it to identify the problem: the mb or the graphics card. The graphics card might be defective.

Manual installation of the HDMI audio driver should be easy. Right click "High Definition Audio Device" in Device Manger and click "Update Driver Software". Point to the folder that includes HDAATI.inf (first unzip HDMI_R209.exe).

If you have another mb with a PCIe x16 slot, you'be better try it to identify the problem: the mb or the graphics card. The graphics card might be defective.

i don't have another one - i was trying to avoid that if possible. if i point to the folder with the driver it just says that the driver is up to date. can i just go into system32, delete the hdaudbus.sys and replace it with the correct driver (just rename it). apologies if this is a stupid question.

also, how would i unzip an executable zip file? i have the r2.14 in zip format but i only have r2.09 in exe

i don't have another one - i was trying to avoid that if possible. if i point to the folder with the driver it just says that the driver is up to date. can i just go into system32, delete the hdaudbus.sys and replace it with the correct driver (just rename it). apologies if this is a stupid question.
Then choose "Let me pick a list of device drivers on my computer", then "Have disk ...".

Then choose "Let me pick a list of device drivers on my computer", then "Have disk ...".

ok, did that and got a new error - see attached. and i am going into the vista folder, not vista 64

ok, did that and got a new error - see attached. and i am going into the vista folder, not vista 64
Yep, HDAATI.inf is for 32-bit, HDXATI64.inf is for 64-bit.

If your OS is Vista 32-bit and you point to the "Vista" folder containing HDAATI.inf, and get an error message, I feel your graphics card is defective.

Yep, HDAATI.inf is for 32-bit, HDXATI64.inf is for 64-bit.

If your OS is Vista 32-bit and you point to the "Vista" folder containing HDAATI.inf, and get an error message, I feel your graphics card is defective.

ok, i will take it back and try a new one. thank you very much for all of your help - it must be very frustrating dealing with those such as myself that are relatively computer illiterate.

Hi Rene,

A little more than a year ago I put together my first HTPC with an ASUS M2A-VM (690G, m-ATX)/AMD BE-2300 and an MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH. It was to be used for some surfing, music ripping & playback, recording & playback of OTA HD (no cable), DVD playback and eventually BD playback--when I get a BD drive; no gaming. After using it for a while, it became obvious that the system was underpowered and the 8500GT would not deliver as promised.

Deciding to upgrade it this week, I impulsively went out and picked up a GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2HP and an Athlon X2 5600+ (65W). Then I started to read this thread. After a 100+ pages, I think I'm starting to get a handle on it, but I have a few nagging questions that I would like to ask.

I have some flexibility on spending. I'd like to keep the cost down, but will spend enough to ensure that I get the functionality that I need while avoiding another rebuild in 2+ years.

First, is a 5600+ enough for my needs and, if so, would exchanging the 5600+ (65W) for an Athlon X2 5050e (45W) be a good move; is the 5050e powerful enough to do what I want?

Next, from what I understand, to get acceptable HD playback I will obviously need more than an x1250 or any other IGP, for that matter. (Why would anyone even consider an IGP for OTA rec/playback in an HTPC anyhow? Even the nvidia 9400/Intel Core 2 quad isn't enough, right?) You like to recommend the ATI HD 4550 or HD 4670 based cards, but since I am not a gamer, would a 3450 be sufficient? The cost differential between all these cards is insignificant; low noise and power consumption are important.

Concerning the motherboard: I'm wondering since I am going to get a new graphics card and not use the IGP, if I should just keep the M2A-VM and run with that. For my needs, does replacing it with the GA-MA78GM-S2HP make a difference; am I missing something here? (Its audio quality and capabilities are better than the M2A-VM, but significantly so?)

And last, am I being pennywise and pound foolish: Would an nvidia 9400/Q8200 combo be more cost effective than an Athlon X2 because, presumably, it would have a longer service life, i.e. not be rendered obsolete as quickly?

Thanks for your generosity&time.
Peter

Hi Rene,

A little more than a year ago I put together my first HTPC with an ASUS M2A-VM (690G, m-ATX)/AMD BE-2300 and an MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH. It was to be used for some surfing, music ripping & playback, recording & playback of OTA HD (no cable), DVD playback and eventually BD playback--when I get a BD drive; no gaming. After using it for a while, it became obvious that the system was underpowered and the 8500GT would not deliver as promised.

Deciding to upgrade it this week, I impulsively went out and picked up a GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2HP and an Athlon X2 5600+ (65W). Then I started to read this thread. After a 100+ pages, I think I'm starting to get a handle on it, but I have a few nagging questions that I would like to ask.

I have some flexibility on spending. I'd like to keep the cost down, but will spend enough to ensure that I get the functionality that I need while avoiding another rebuild in 2+ years.

First, is a 5600+ enough for my needs and, if so, would exchanging the 5600+ (65W) for an Athlon X2 5050e (45W) be a good move; is the 5050e powerful enough to do what I want?

Next, from what I understand, to get acceptable HD playback I will obviously need more than an x1250 or any other IGP, for that matter. (Why would anyone even consider an IGP for OTA rec/playback in an HTPC anyhow? Even the nvidia 9400/Intel Core 2 quad isn't enough, right?) You like to recommend the ATI HD 4550 or HD 4670 based cards, but since I am not a gamer, would a 3450 be sufficient? The cost differential between all these cards is insignificant; low noise and power consumption are important.

Concerning the motherboard: I'm wondering since I am going to get a new graphics card and not use the IGP, if I should just keep the M2A-VM and run with that. For my needs, does replacing it with the GA-MA78GM-S2HP make a difference; am I missing something here? (Its audio quality and capabilities are better than the M2A-VM, but significantly so?)

And last, am I being pennywise and pound foolish: Would an nvidia 9400/Q8200 combo be more cost effective than an Athlon X2 because, presumably, it would have a longer service life, i.e. not be rendered obsolete as quickly?
GA-MA78GM-S2HP+AM2 processor is good for progressive HD contents, but weak for interlaced contents. You need GA-MA78GM-S2HP+AM2+ processor, or a good discrete card (HD 3650 or higher, HD 4550 or higher) for interlaced contents. But if you add a discrete card, then you don't need GA-MA78GM-S2HP, M2A-VM is enough; BE-2300 is enough for BD movies/OTA/many mkv files, but a (AM2/AM2+) processor of higher clock may be required for some mkv files.

Which audio output do you use, analog, S/PDIF or HDMI (multichannel LPCM)? HD 4xxx supports multichannel LPCM over HDMI. HD 3xxx supports stereo LPCM only.

Hi. I'm planning on building a new htpc and i have a question.

i have a spare ati 2600xt lying around and i was thinking of using this temporarily until ati comes out with the 5xxx series. If i buy a mobo w/c can output 8ch pcm thru hdmi such as the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H, how will the video from the dgpu be handled? can it be outputted thru the mobo's hdmi?

Hi. I'm planning on building a new htpc and i have a question.

i have a spare ati 2600xt lying around and i was thinking of using this temporarily until ati comes out with the 5xxx series. If i buy a mobo w/c can output 8ch pcm thru hdmi such as the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H, how will the video from the dgpu be handled? can it be outputted thru the mobo's hdmi?
You can't use HD 2600 XT with IGP supporting 8 ch HDMI audio under Vista. You can use both under XP (video from HD 2600 XT, audio from onboard HDMI).

if using xp, w/c output do i use? the igp or the gpu?

Look at page 85. (This type of question is depressing me. :()

Thanks.

hmm after thinking about it maybe i can switch between the 2600xt for light gaming and the igp for watching movies? would that work? would the igp still be enabled if there is a discrete gpu connected? i only plan on occasionally playing nba 2k9 on the htpc since i already have a gaming rig.

thanks

if using xp, w/c output do i use? the igp or the gpu?
You will use discrete GPU for video, IGP for audio if you prefer ATI for video.

hmm after thinking about it maybe i can switch between the 2600xt for light gaming and the igp for watching movies? would that work? would the igp still be enabled if there is a discrete gpu connected? i only plan on occasionally playing nba 2k9 on the htpc since i already have a gaming rig.
If you always want multichannel LPCM over HDMI, you always turn on the onboard video. Yes, you can use either 2600 XT or GeForce 9400 as the main display.

so i have to connect both hdmi outputs(2600xt & 9400) to the receiver and just switch between the receiver inputs?

so i have to connect both hdmi outputs(2600xt & 9400) to the receiver and just switch between the receiver inputs?
You could use them in that way, but if you select 2600, you lose 7.1 HDMI audio from 9400. You'd better connect 2600 to the display and 9400 to the receiver (then to another HDMI port of the display). There is no need of connecting 2600 to the receiver because you won't use HDMI audio from 2600.

ok now i get it :) i just read your post on "Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly!". Does this mean that right now there is no one hdmi cable solution for both gaming and htpc except by using the 4xxx series?

in this regard, if i want to bitstream using a sound card like the asus xonar i would still need 2 cables for the audio and video right?

ok now i get it :) i just read your post on "Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly!". Does this mean that right now there is no one hdmi cable solution for both gaming and htpc except by using the 4xxx series?

in this regard, if i want to bitstream using a sound card like the asus xonar i would still need 2 cables for the audio and video right?
Yes, a perfect NVIDIA gaming HTPC supporting 7.1 ch HDMI audio exists: GeForce 8200/8300/nForce 750a/780a SLI+GeForce 9800 GT or higher (the mATX high-end, ATX high-end, and ATX premium AMD/NVIDIA systems are them). When you play games, turn on the discrete graphics card and turn it off otherwise (save power). HDMI audio from the mb chipset always works. One HDMI cable (video+audio) is enough. An advantage of this system over HD 4850 or higher is that you can save power when you don't play games. Hybrid Power also works with Xonar (use GTX 260 for games, IGP for everything else).

If you use Xonar HDAV1.3 (or X-Fi HomeTheater HD) with, for example, GeForce GTX 260, then video signals from GTX 260 go to Xonar via a short HDMI cable, are muxed with audio in Xonar, then go out to the receiver via a HDMI cable. So only one HDMI cable (video+audio) goes to the receiver.

i see. it looks like i'm jumping over to nvidia when i build my htpc. thanks a lot renethx. you've been very helpful

I too am building a HTPC. I call it my HD PVR HTPC. I know long name but I am replacing a lot of equipment and thought I would try and take various single pieces of equipment and combine it into one solution. I will have a music library, a movie library, a blue ray burner and seperate blue ray drive ( I chose this because I will most likely us BDD to backup my old content and new content) I havent replaced my storage server yet.

I am going to link to my other post as it has my components list and also a few of my questions. I will be updating that list in the next few weeks to round out all the components I plan to buy and install.

Thread is digital transition 09 HTPC PVRS

Yep, HDAATI.inf is for 32-bit, HDXATI64.inf is for 64-bit.

If your OS is Vista 32-bit and you point to the "Vista" folder containing HDAATI.inf, and get an error message, I feel your graphics card is defective.

What are the chances that two cards are defective? Pretty slim I would assume. I exchanged and still have the same problem so all signs point the the need for a new motherboard.

Is it possible that some other setting in the bios could impact this or should i just assume that the motherboard is not compatible with the hdmi driver?

Another idea and tell me if this is just crazy: what if I opened RtHDMIV.sys in notepad, copied all of the data (which is all encoded somehow) and pasted that into the hdaudbus.sys which is installed in windows/system32/drivers (and is the driver associated with my high definition audio controller? could this potentially screw anything up other than needing to reinstall the HD audio controller (which is worthless b/c it doesn't work anyway)? also, if i were to copy this data which is encoded, would it paste encoded in the same way or would it somehow get altered?

because the driver won't install, i'm hoping to just point the computer to the same file but with the detail within the driver to force the ati driver.

thank you,

brian

Does anyone see anything in this list I may have overlooked, like conflicts or missing components? I'm trying to put a system together and this is my first attempt.

Any input is appreciated.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000333AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Item #: N82E16822148373
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy $109.99

1 ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817194034
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $35.00 Mail-in Rebate
$149.99

1 A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K
Item #: N82E16820211188
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy $44.99

1 ASUS EN9800GT HB/HTDI/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Item #: N82E16814121268
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$5.00 Instant
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$134.99
$129.99

1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders
Item #: N82E16832116488
Return Policy: Software Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$109.99
$99.99

1 LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L
Item #: N82E16827136133
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy -$15.00 Instant
$134.99
$119.99

1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8300
Item #: N82E16819115207
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy $189.99

1 Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Item #: N82E16811129054
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$20.00 Instant
$189.95
$169.95

1 Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835185046
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$4.00 Instant
$39.99
$35.99

1 GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128363
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy $129.99

GA-MA78GM-S2HP+AM2 processor is good for progressive HD contents, but weak for interlaced contents. You need GA-MA78GM-S2HP+AM2+ processor, or a good discrete card (HD 3650 or higher, HD 4550 or higher) for interlaced contents. But if you add a discrete card, then you don't need GA-MA78GM-S2HP, M2A-VM is enough; BE-2300 is enough for BD movies/OTA/many mkv files, but a (AM2/AM2+) processor of higher clock may be required for some mkv files.

Which audio output do you use, analog, S/PDIF or HDMI (multichannel LPCM)? HD 4xxx supports multichannel LPCM over HDMI. HD 3xxx supports stereo LPCM only.

That settles it. I'm going to keep the m2a-vm for now, exchange the 5600+ for a 5050e and get an HD4xxx vid card. I have analog sound now, but that will cover me if&when I upgrade to a better HT amplifier and MB.

Thanks again.

What are the chances that two cards are defective? Pretty slim I would assume. I exchanged and still have the same problem so all signs point the the need for a new motherboard.

Is it possible that some other setting in the bios could impact this or should i just assume that the motherboard is not compatible with the hdmi driver?

Another idea and tell me if this is just crazy: what if I opened RtHDMIV.sys in notepad, copied all of the data (which is all encoded somehow) and pasted that into the hdaudbus.sys which is installed in windows/system32/drivers (and is the driver associated with my high definition audio controller? could this potentially screw anything up other than needing to reinstall the HD audio controller (which is worthless b/c it doesn't work anyway)? also, if i were to copy this data which is encoded, would it paste encoded in the same way or would it somehow get altered?

because the driver won't install, i'm hoping to just point the computer to the same file but with the detail within the driver to force the ati driver.
Two cards failed usually means the cause is something else, perhaps the mb.

You can do whatever you want, but I think this type of work doesn't work properly.

Did you try Windows XP? As I said before, you don't have to use Windows Media Center. There are several free good front end, for example, MediaPortal.

That settles it. I'm going to keep the m2a-vm for now, exchange the 5600+ for a 5050e and get an HD4xxx vid card. I have analog sound now, but that will cover me if&when I upgrade to a better HT amplifier and MB.
BTW you'd better avoid HD 4650 (there are lots of complaints about non-working post-processing).

Does anyone see anything in this list I may have overlooked, like conflicts or missing components? I'm trying to put a system together and this is my first attempt.

Any input is appreciated.
Beware of a potential problem of 7200.11 1TB. Otherwise good.

Is that potential problem solved with the firware upgrade - obviously applied prior to any boot of death?

Some say its solved, some say its not. Im one that says its not.
Im recommending everyone stay away from those seagate drives for the time being. Just do some searches around this forum... or even google.. you will get more than enough opinions.

Here is what i think:

My conclusion thus far is if you dont create a RAID array with these drives you should be ok (as long as you have the latest firmware).

Since they randomly "freeze" under load, any RAID controller will think that there is a problem with the drive, and try to fix the problem. Usually this means failing the drive in the array and or rebuilding the array automatically. Its definetly a drive problem.. but since you can get away with using them outside of an Array, Seagate fails to acknowledge that there is a problem. When they freeze as a single drive, your Operating System will wait long enough (say mid file copy as an example) so that you probably wont even notice that there was a hiccup.

The bricking problem seems to have been resolved from alot of sources... however i dont have an opinion on that only because i have no direct experience with it. This bricking issue appears to be affecting the SDXX firmware revisions. The freezing issues seem to target the CCXX revisions.

Seagate 2TB in March.

Source (http://www.gdm.or.jp/voices_index.html#09012401)

Beware of a potential problem of 7200.11 1TB. Otherwise good.

could you guys recommend a 1T alternative please?
also, could you explain the conflict in a little more of a "dumbed down" explaination, please?

could you guys recommend a 1T alternative please?
7200 rpm: Western Digital WD1001FALS, Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ

5400 rpm: Western Digital WD10EADS, Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UI

Does anyone see anything in this list I may have overlooked, like conflicts or missing components? I'm trying to put a system together and this is my first attempt.

Any input is appreciated.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000333AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Item #: N82E16822148373
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy $109.99

1 ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817194034
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $35.00 Mail-in Rebate
$149.99

1 A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K
Item #: N82E16820211188
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy $44.99

1 ASUS EN9800GT HB/HTDI/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Item #: N82E16814121268
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$5.00 Instant
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$134.99
$129.99

1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders
Item #: N82E16832116488
Return Policy: Software Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$109.99
$99.99

1 LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L
Item #: N82E16827136133
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy -$15.00 Instant
$134.99
$119.99

1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8300
Item #: N82E16819115207
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy $189.99

1 Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Item #: N82E16811129054
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$20.00 Instant
$189.95
$169.95

1 Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835185046
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$4.00 Instant
$39.99
$35.99

1 GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128363
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy $129.99



Ok, I've switched out the Seagate for the Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ. Thanks.

One other question, can you guys give me an idea of what to expect in the quality of playback of archived Blu ray and Sd DVD. I guess i'm going to use Media Center to navigate the archive. Not sure exactly what program everyone uses to actually copy the discs byte for byte. Is there a program built into Media Center that does it or will I need something else?

I am building a low profile HTPC. On my first HTPC I used the Auzentech
X Mystique and it sent Dolby Digital to the receiver. I am using the SIIG 5.1 low profile and it says it supports Dolby digital and DTS, but what it sends to the receiver looks like PCM and Dolby prologic. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sid

Thanks for your thoughts on the drives. I don't have a raid set-up so it might be ok. I was planning on putting them in my whs?? Possibly would be ok as long as firmware was up to date and both didn't die at the same time. I will have to see how low the price gets on them....

Seagate 2TB in March.

Source (http://www.gdm.or.jp/voices_index.html#09012401)

My Japanese isn't that great - is there anything in there about price on either it or the WD?

can you guys give me an idea of what to expect in the quality of playback of archived Blu ray and Sd DVD. I guess i'm going to use Media Center to navigate the archive. Not sure exactly what program everyone uses to actually copy the discs byte for byte. Is there a program built into Media Center that does it or will I need something else?
Check page 85.

is there anything in there about price on either it or the WD?
No. Check this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15540342#post15540342) for WD20EADS.

Two cards failed usually means the cause is something else, perhaps the mb.

You can do whatever you want, but I think this type of work doesn't work properly.

Did you try Windows XP? As I said before, you don't have to use Windows Media Center. There are several free good front end, for example, MediaPortal.

I did some searching and it seems that the same issue exists with my motherboard/chipset in xp with the hd audio... http://forum.sysinternals.com/printer_friendly_posts.asp?TID=12982

With how many problems have been reported from new Seagate drives i would stay away from them altogether. I used to be a huge fan, but what has happened recently is very dissappointing and discouraging.
Maybe by the time the 2tb is release they will have their act together... but that remains to be seen.
Either way the point remains valid... stay away from the new Seagate drives right now.

So do I just need to add a BD player?

Conroe 6400 @ 3.2
2x4gb ram
280GTX
X-Fi Titanium w/ optical output.
Gigabyte P45 mobo
21" Sony E500 w/ RGB adapter. Max is 2048x1536 72hz

I game more than anything else. Music second, movies third. I was actually more inclined towards building an inexpensive mini for my den 1080i Phillips 37" lcd tv. It has a Denon 589 AVR w/ the Odyssey tech. Decent sound.

Yeah it is a noisy pc. Especially with the open case. I use a tech bench which is essentially a skeleton. I can build a sound proof cabinet for it easy enough. I have a whole 1200 Sq ft basement to play in lol. Just a bit rough atm. We just moved in.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s204/davidandrewway/DSC01486.jpg

My first attempt at HTPC:

General availability for the Windows 7 Beta to end (http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/01/23/general-availability-for-the-windows-7-beta-to-end.aspx)

First off: thank you for your interest in beta testing Windows 7! As we near January 24th, we wanted to update everyone again on the next steps for the Windows 7 Beta. The amount of feedback we have received has been amazing and continues to pour in. We are at a point where we have more than enough beta testers and feedback coming in to meet our engineering needs, so we are beginning to plan the end of general availability for Windows 7 Beta.

Because enthusiasm continues to be so high for the Windows 7 Beta and we don’t want anyone to miss out we will keep the Beta downloads open through February 10th. Customers who have started but not completed the download process will be able to do so through February 12th.

The shutdown of general availability for the Windows 7 Beta will occur in 3 phases over the course of the next few weeks:

* Starting January 27th, the Windows 7 page will be updated with a warning that time is running out on downloading the Windows 7 Beta and that we will be limiting downloads shortly. People will be encouraged to register and start the download of the Windows 7 Beta sooner rather than later.
* February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.
* February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn’t finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.

Product keys for the Windows 7 Beta will continue to be available. So if you have the Windows 7 Beta but didn’t get a product key you will be able to do so even after February 12th.

MSDN and TechNet Subscribers will continue to have access to the Windows 7 Beta bits throughout the Windows 7 Beta phase. The above dates do not apply to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers.

renethx, have you considered the new Silverstone SG05 as a suitable mini-ITX case?

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG05&area=usa

renethx, have you considered the new Silverstone SG05 as a suitable mini-ITX case?

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG05&area=usa
Thanks for the link. That case escaped my attention. It's not available yet in US, right?

Hi, I am new to this community and need help with my amd htpc system. I new build a computer before and totally lost.

My Config:

AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz
GIGABYTE GA-MA78G-DS3H
MSI RX3850-T2D512E OC Radeon HD 3850
LG GGC-H20L 6x Bluray/3x HD-DVD Reader, 16x DVD+/-RW
ZEROtherm BTF90
Antec Fusion Black 430
G.Skill 4GB (2X2GB) Ram
Samsung HD103UJ 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32MB
Silicondust Homerun
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V

Is there anything wrong with this configuration?

Thanks for your help in advance. Awesome Community!!!!

Hi, I am new to this community and need help with my amd htpc system. I new build a computer before and totally lost.

My Config:

AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz
GIGABYTE GA-MA78G-DS3H
MSI RX3850-T2D512E OC Radeon HD 3850
LG GGC-H20L 6x Bluray/3x HD-DVD Reader, 16x DVD+/-RW
ZEROtherm BTF90
Antec Fusion Black 430
G.Skill 4GB (2X2GB) Ram
Samsung HD103UJ 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32MB
Silicondust Homerun
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V

Is there anything wrong with this configuration?

Thanks for your help in advance. Awesome Community!!!!
Which audio output do you use, analog, S/PDIF or HDMI (multichannel LPCM)? HD 3850 supports only stereo LPCM.

As Fusion Black 430 comes with a PSU, you don't need another PSU.

Which audio output do you use, analog, S/PDIF or HDMI (multichannel LPCM)? HD 3850 supports only stereo LPCM.

As Fusion Black 430 comes with a PSU, you don't need another PSU.

I am using HDMI output.
Ok, So I'll take out the PSU from my system.

Other than that, is my system ok?

Thanks you very much

I am using HDMI output.
Ok, So I'll take out the PSU from my system.

Other than that, is my system ok?

Thanks you very much

Just confirm that it is the fusion black model (PSU included) and not the fusion black remote model (PSU replaced by remote)

Just confirm that it is the fusion black model (PSU included) and not the fusion black remote model (PSU replaced by remote)

"The Fusion Black 430 comes with a 430 Watt power supply and features an IR receiver that is compatible with Windows MCE & VISTA and an LCD display and a volume control knob, giving you full control over all your media in just one case"

This is it right?

Thanks

I am using HDMI output.
Ok, So I'll take out the PSU from my system.

Other than that, is my system ok?

Thanks you very much

Also how good is phenom 9600? Does it fit in this system well?

"The Fusion Black 430 comes with a 430 Watt power supply and features an IR receiver that is compatible with Windows MCE & VISTA and an LCD display and a volume control knob, giving you full control over all your media in just one case"

This is it right?

Thanks

Yeah, that is the one I got. I know a few people who got the Fusion Black but didn't release it was the remote version so no PSU included

Yeah, that is the one I got. I know a few people who got the Fusion Black but didn't release it was the remote version so no PSU included

I didn't realize it come with a psu (didn't read spec). Thank you very much.

I am using HDMI output.
Ok, So I'll take out the PSU from my system.

Other than that, is my system ok?

Thanks you very much
Is stereo LPCM enough?

What kind of tasks do you do?

Thanks for the link. That case escaped my attention. It's not available yet in US, right?

Not as far as I know. I'm in the UK and we should get it soon. The only reason I ask is that I can't see anywhere to get the Apex cases this side of the pond.

There are some other Silverstone mini-ITX cases (e.g. LC12) but I wasn't sure on the cooling capabilities or the PSUs.

Is stereo LPCM enough?

What kind of tasks do you do?

Just for entertainment purposes (watching, recording movies, music, tv)

What kind of card do you recommend with this configuration for the best performance? (With other ouput also, not only hdmi)

Not as far as I know. I'm in the UK and we should get it soon. The only reason I ask is that I can't see anywhere to get the Apex cases this side of the pond.
How about Aopen S150? It's close to Apex.

Just for entertainment purposes (watching, recording movies, music, tv)

What kind of card do you recommend with this configuration for the best performance? (With other ouput also, not only hdmi)
If you need 8 ch LPCM, then HD 4550 or 4670. (Do you need output other than HDMI?) Otherwise 3850 is also good (better 3D). 9600 is good, in particular for encoding. Athlon X2 5050e 45W runs very cool if you are concerned about power consumption.

I overlooked a huge problem. :) GA-MA78G-DS3H is ATX, while Fusion 430 accepts only microATX. So choose GA-MA78GM-S2HP (mATX) instead.

If you need 8 ch LPCM, then HD 4550. (Do you need output other than HDMI?) Otherwise 3850 is also good (better 3D). 9600 is good, in particular for encoding. Athlon X2 5050e 45W runs very cool if you are concerned about power consumption.

I overlooked a huge problem. :) GA-MA78G-DS3H is ATX, while Fusion 430 accepts only microATX. So choose GA-MA78GM-S2HP instead.

How about HD 4850 with this motherboard you recommended?

How about Aopen S150? It's close to Apex.

Not available over here either I'm afraid.

If you need 8 ch LPCM, then HD 4550 or 4670. (Do you need output other than HDMI?) Otherwise 3850 is also good (better 3D). 9600 is good, in particular for encoding. Athlon X2 5050e 45W runs very cool if you are concerned about power consumption.

I overlooked a huge problem. :) GA-MA78G-DS3H is ATX, while Fusion 430 accepts only microATX. So choose GA-MA78GM-S2HP (mATX) instead.

Yep, I just got the S2HP, can I wait for the video card since the motherboard has ATI HD 3200 on it? Or it's not good enough?

Thanks.

Yep, I just got the S2HP, can I wait for the video card since the motherboard has ATI HD 3200 on it? Or it's not good enough?

Thanks.
HD 3200 with an AM2 processor (such as Athlon X2 5050e): good for progressive contents, poor for interlaced contents; stereo LPCM only.
HD 3200 with an AM2+ processor (such as Athlon X2 7750): good for both progressive and interlaced contents; stereo LPCM only.
HD 4550 or higher except HD 4650 with an AM2/AM2+ processor: good for both progressive and interlaced contents; supports multichannel LPCM.

Sorry for my bad english but it's not my language;
I’m near to order my new pc, I think to create an assembly htpc that may be also a good pc rog. This is the configuration I want to order but I’m not sure of the compatibility of oieces and have not idea of what audio card put in. May you help me?
Thanks to all.

Case: 1x SilverStone SST-CW02B – MXR

Power supply: 1x Cooler Master Real Power RS-850-ESBA

Cooling System 1x Noctua NF-P12-1300
2x Noctua NF-B9-1600
1x Noctua NH-U12P SE

Motherboard: 1x Gigabyte GA-EX58-Extreme

Processor: 1x Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition i7-965 3,2GHz

Memory: 2x Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D Dominator 6GB (2GB x 3) DDR

Hard disk: 2x Western Digital Caviar WD3000GLFS VelociRaptor configuration sataraid 0

1x Samsung Spinpoint F1 F DT HD103UJ 1TB

Video Card: 1x Gigabyte GV-R487X2-2GH-B HD 4870

Tv Tuner: 1x Hauppauge HVR-4000 HD
1x Modulo CI Usb Hauppauge

Optical Device: 1x LG GGW-H20L, OEM

SO: 1x Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
1x Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64bi

Monitor: 1x Samsung SyncMaster 2693HM

I found a link to an interesting article on another forum, and thought I'd share it here. It's an in-depth test of how a number of graphics cards handle HD playback, including power usage, CPU load, and general quality of playback.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/media-playback.html

HD 3200 with an AM2 processor (such as Athlon X2 5050e): good for progressive contents, poor for interlaced contents; stereo LPCM only.
HD 3200 with an AM2+ processor (such as Athlon X2 7750): good for both progressive and interlaced contents; stereo LPCM only.
HD 4550 or higher except HD 4650 with an AM2/AM2+ processor: good for both progressive and interlaced contents; supports multichannel LPCM.

Thanks renethx for all the suggestions.

My HTPC has been built just over a year, but I guess in tech world that is antique.

CPU=E2180
MB=ASUS G33
GPU=HD 2600XT
Mem= 2GB
OS=WinXP sp3

I managed to get a couple of 1080p .mkv files. I'm using Media Player Classic HomeCinema (MPCH) to play. CPU util does not appear to be saturated. The picture is amazing, but from time to time, I would get a freeze for about sub seconds. There's not pixelation of the any sort, it just freeze and then resume again. At first I thought it was the film, but when it does it so many time, something got to give.

So does anyone have suggestion where to start diagnosing this? or know what component causing this? Is it the hardware? CPU, GPU? or is the software itself MPHC? I have play similar content, but in 720p using MPCH too, and that seems to be OK.

Hi to everyone, I'm planning to build new HTPC so I need some advices. I want to know which option is best value for the money because they are quite the same price:
1. MB nvidia 9400 (GA-E7AUM-DS2H) + Intel C2D 5200
2. MB nvidia 8300(Asus M3N78-EM) + AMD X3 8650
3. Mb Intel p35 + Ati 3850 + Intel C2D 5200.

Will Scythe Ninja Mini be good enough to cool any of these systems and be enough silent?
Which silent power do you recomend for this system?
I plan to use TT mozart (not SX) or Antec fusion.

Hi to everyone, I'm planning to build new HTPC so I need some advices. I want to know which option is best value for the money because they are quite the same price:
1. MB nvidia 9400 (GA-E7AUM-DS2H) + Intel C2D 5200
2. MB nvidia 8300(Asus M3N78-EM) + AMD X3 8650
3. Mb Intel p35 + Ati 3850 + Intel C2D 5200.

Will Scythe Ninja Mini be good enough to cool any of these systems and be enough silent?
Which silent power do you recomend for this system?
I plan to use TT mozart (not SX) or Antec fusion.
If you use only S/PDIF or DD/DTS over HDMI, then the third option is good. Otherwise (i.e. if you want multichannel LPCM over HDMI), then choose the first.

Pentium E5200 runs cool so that you may not even need a fan if you use Ninja Mini.

What is "silent power"?

Antec Fusion.

If you use only S/PDIF or DD/DTS over HDMI, then the third option is good. Otherwise (i.e. if you want multichannel LPCM over HDMI), then choose the first.


I already have SB X-fi xtreme music and Logi Z5500 so I would use HDMI only for picture, not sound.

Pentium E5200 runs cool so that you may not even need a fan if you use Ninja Mini.

Excellent!


What is "silent power"?

Silent power supply, about 450W, I think that would be enough.

TT or Antec - that one which will be available at my store.

Hi all , which one do u think is better for video POV 9800 gt or radeon 4830 ? Why ? i just want it for video. PS - i receive a POV 9800 Gt a just need to pick , but i was think maybe i can change for radeon. Thanxxx in advance

I think I've decided on a 780G based system with IGP so I have 4 questions.

1. I know I can't get more than 2 channel LPCM over HDMI, but will I be able to get DD 5.1 over HDMI?

2.I'm looking at either the Asus M3A78-EM or Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2HP Is there any major difference between the two? Rene, you seem to prefer the Gigabyte board.

3. Based on your recommendation for smooth video and 24p playback, I'm going to go with the Phenom CPU. Will the 8450 be sufficient, or will moving to the 8650 or 8750 make any real difference?

4. I'm getting Vista. I've read that more drivers are available for 32 bit, is that correct? And would going to 64bit give any advantage?

I appreciate the help.

Hello Everyone,

renethx, thanks for the posting on page#85. I am a newby with building my own HTPC. Can you guys on this forum give me advice on the following:

1. Which would you guys prefere Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX? What are the advantages of each?
2. I was thinking about building renethx's suggestion of Mini-ITX with Intel/Nvidia.
- Can I add all the peripherals suggested and also add wireless Wi-Fi? I would like to go on the web and watch HDTV from the web also.
3. Should I buy the remote for Apex MI-008?
- Or can I use my Harmony remote 880 with IR receiver?

Sorry for the basic questions as I am new with this and would like to understand from the expert advice on this forum.

Thank you.

I built the following about a month ago:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16x
Antec Fusion Remote Black

The only problem I have had is that VMC would randomly stop playing any kind of video (ripped dvd, live tv, etc.) and display an error message stating that VMC did not have some necessary component to play the video. This was frustrating, but I assumed I'd work it out eventually.

So today I turned the htpc off. Then later went to turn it back on again and it is just totally dead :eek:. The fans turn on, the little blue light on the front turns on, the blu ray drive turns on, but that is it. No bios, no beeps, no nothing. Just some lights and the fans spinning.

What do I do?

I have the cpu cooled passively, and the two case fans set to medium. I have been using speed fan to monitor the temps and never saw anything above 42 C. However, I am not an expert with speed fan. So maybe it’s possible that I wasn't getting accurate temps and the MB is fried? I only have 2 days left to RMA the MB, but how do I know that it is the MB that is fried?

Any ideas???

Hello all,

Sorry for the completely ignorant question/post. I am new to this whole concept on every level.

I am interested in building the mini ATX system with the spec'd XFX GeForce 8600 GT PV-T84J-USD4

Are there any cards that support direct HDMI out to include the 5.1 audio or is this something that absolutely has to be seperated out to a dedicated audio card?

Thanks in advance.

I think I've decided on a 780G based system with IGP so I have 4 questions.

1. I know I can't get more than 2 channel LPCM over HDMI, but will I be able to get DD 5.1 over HDMI?

2.I'm looking at either the Asus M3A78-EM or Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2HP Is there any major difference between the two? Rene, you seem to prefer the Gigabyte board.

3. Based on your recommendation for smooth video and 24p playback, I'm going to go with the Phenom CPU. Will the 8450 be sufficient, or will moving to the 8650 or 8750 make any real difference?

4. I'm getting Vista. I've read that more drivers are available for 32 bit, is that correct? And would going to 64bit give any advantage?

I appreciate the help.
HDMI from HD 3200 supports stereo LPCM, DD 5.1 and DTS. Either ASUS or GIGABYTE is fine. GIGABYTE supports DTS Connect over analog/S/PDIF, good for analog/S/PDIF gamers. Any AM2+ processor is good. More filters/codecs are available for 32-bit. 64-bit supports > 4GB memory.

I built the following about a month ago:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16x
Antec Fusion Remote Black

The only problem I have had is that VMC would randomly stop playing any kind of video (ripped dvd, live tv, etc.) and display an error message stating that VMC did not have some necessary component to play the video. This was frustrating, but I assumed I'd work it out eventually.

So today I turned the htpc off. Then later went to turn it back on again and it is just totally dead :eek:. The fans turn on, the little blue light on the front turns on, the blu ray drive turns on, but that is it. No bios, no beeps, no nothing. Just some lights and the fans spinning.

What do I do?

I have the cpu cooled passively, and the two case fans set to medium. I have been using speed fan to monitor the temps and never saw anything above 42 C. However, I am not an expert with speed fan. So maybe it’s possible that I wasn't getting accurate temps and the MB is fried? I only have 2 days left to RMA the MB, but how do I know that it is the MB that is fried?

Any ideas???
Try to clear CMOS.

Hello Everyone,

renethx, thanks for the posting on page#85. I am a newby with building my own HTPC. Can you guys on this forum give me advice on the following:

1. Which would you guys prefere Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX? What are the advantages of each?
2. I was thinking about building renethx's suggestion of Mini-ITX with Intel/Nvidia.
- Can I add all the peripherals suggested and also add wireless Wi-Fi? I would like to go on the web and watch HDTV from the web also.
3. Should I buy the remote for Apex MI-008?
- Or can I use my Harmony remote 880 with IR receiver?
WiFi is built in the mb as you can see in the picture (http://www.zotac.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=300&Itemid=227). If you want to use Harmony 880, you have to add an IR receiver such as Antec Multimedia Station Basic (IR receiver for 3.5 external bay with a remote) or Microsoft Remote Control and Receiver for Media Center PC with Windows (a USB IR receiver with a remote).

Hello all,

Sorry for the completely ignorant question/post. I am new to this whole concept on every level.

I am interested in building the mini ATX system with the spec'd XFX GeForce 8600 GT PV-T84J-USD4

Are there any cards that support direct HDMI out to include the 5.1 audio or is this something that absolutely has to be seperated out to a dedicated audio card?

Thanks in advance.
GeForce lacks HD audio controller. S/PDIF pass-through over HDMI (with a DVI-HDMI adapter) from the onboard audio codec is still possible. Radeon HD 4xxx has a HD audio controller and supports multichannel LPCM, DD and DTS.

Hi Renethx,

I'm running a HTPC using the Asus EAH4650. I can't get the Advanced Quality options (de-noise, dynamic contrast) to work in CCC. I've tried newer drivers from AMD (Asus hasn't updated theirs). I've tried two separate PC's (XP and Vista) but no difference. Any ideas what's going on?

Hi Renethx,

I'm running a HTPC using the Asus EAH4650. I can't get the Advanced Quality options (de-noise, dynamic contrast) to work in CCC. I've tried newer drivers from AMD (Asus hasn't updated theirs). I've tried two separate PC's (XP and Vista) but no difference. Any ideas what's going on?
It looks like this is common to many HD 4650 cards. Perhaps you have to wait for a driver update.

WD Caviar® Green 2 TB, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3 Gb/s (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=576)

Capacities: 2 TB, 1.5 TB, 1 TB

TechConnect Magazine (http://www.tcmagazine.com/comments.php?shownews=24231&catid=2)

Three weeks after Seagate broke the record for highest capacity 3.5-inch platter, rival hard drive manufacturer Western Digital has officially introduced the world's first 2TB 3.5-inch drive. Part of the Caviar Green family, the new 2TB monstar features four 500GB platters, 32MB of buffer memory, a SATA 3.0 Gbps interface, a variable working speed and technologies like StableTrac, IntelliPower, IntelliSeek, and NoTouch ramp, which lower its power consumption, vibration and improve reliability.

"Saving power without sacrificing storage capacity is what consumers want, and what many businesses are requiring today. With the launch of the new WD Caviar Green 2 TB hard drive, customers receive the additional capacities needed to operate today's highly advanced programs and high-resolution digital files while using less power than typical drives with similar performance and capacities," said Jim Morris, WD senior vice president and general manager of client systems.

Already shipping, the 2TB Caviar Green has drive has a recommended price tag of $299. In addition to the record-breaking HDD, Western Digital has also introduced 1 and 1.5TB Caviar Green models.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=131558&stc=1&d=1233138818

It looks like this is common to many HD 4650 cards. Perhaps you have to wait for a driver update.

Funny (not) how companies are happy to sell these products despite being unfinished. I think several ATI updates have been published since the card was available, but apparently no attention given to this common fault.

I built the following about a month ago:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16x
Antec Fusion Remote Black

The only problem I have had is that VMC would randomly stop playing any kind of video (ripped dvd, live tv, etc.) and display an error message stating that VMC did not have some necessary component to play the video. This was frustrating, but I assumed I'd work it out eventually.

So today I turned the htpc off. Then later went to turn it back on again and it is just totally dead :eek:. The fans turn on, the little blue light on the front turns on, the blu ray drive turns on, but that is it. No bios, no beeps, no nothing. Just some lights and the fans spinning.

What do I do?

I have the cpu cooled passively, and the two case fans set to medium. I have been using speed fan to monitor the temps and never saw anything above 42 C. However, I am not an expert with speed fan. So maybe it’s possible that I wasn't getting accurate temps and the MB is fried? I only have 2 days left to RMA the MB, but how do I know that it is the MB that is fried?

Any ideas???

Try unplugging everything (video cards, memory, HDD, rom,etc...) and see if you can get power with only the basics plugged in (start with just the CPU). If that works then slowly add another component and power on, etc.... Also, I think some Mobos have some sort of power LED, don't know if your does?

I have the Antec Fusion with the included PSU, and it died on me in less then a month. Turned out the PSU was bad, so I had to RMA.

Are there any types of DVDs that cannot be ripped?

I am ingorant to the copy protection on any and all DVDs.

What BD and HD-DVD ripping?:confused:

Are there any types of DVDs that cannot be ripped?

I am ingorant to the copy protection on any and all DVDs.

What BD and HD-DVD ripping?:confused:
AnyDVD HD removes copy protection of BD/HD DVD/DVD.

EcoGreen (http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/productSubType.do?group=72&type=61&subtype=78)

HD154UI: 1.5TB, 32MB buffer
HD153UI: 1.5TB, 16MB buffer

HD103SI: 1TB, 32MB buffer
HD102SI: 1TB, 16MB buffer

HD502HI: 500GB, 16MB buffer (already taken up in this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15470080#post15470080))

Firstly, I'd like to thank renethx for all of his work. You've really done an amazing amount of research and put together a first-class resource here, and your work isn't unappreciated.
In recognition of the amount of work that's been done here, I've tried to read and do as much as possible on my end to avoid asking stupid questions that've already been answered. That established, please go easy on me.
I've just ordered the parts for my HTPC rig, and I just wanted to run them by you guys to see if I've made any monumentally stupid mistakes. So, without further ado, here's my setup:
A/V: SamsungHL61A750, HK avr-254 receiver, old procinema front/center channels, old yamaha sub, and a harmony remote
parts I've ordered for HTPC rig (this is the INTEL/Nvidia low-end microATX rig from page 85, with the upgraded Antec Black Fusion Case):
Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.50GHz Socket 775, MSI P7NGM-Digital, 2 x 1GB memory kit, Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA, LG GGC-H20L BD/HD-DVD ROM/DVD-R, and then the Antec Black Fusion Remote Case w/PSU
Software:
I'm thinking about going with Vista Media Center. I'm assuming I'll need to find/install codecs from somewhere to play downloaded HD Content. I'm aware of the LPCM limitations currently in software, but for a guy with my setup, (1)would just about any DVD software work? (2)would Vista MC play BD/DVDs and downloaded media for me?
And my other question seems painfully obvious one way or the other, but I haven't been able to find an answer:
(3)My motherboard will output the appropriate audio and video through the onboard HDMI port, correct? Then what if I install another video card later down the line - (4)Will the video card output the appropriate audio through its HDMI port as well?
Thanks again for all of y'all's input on this thread and in making this place such a kickass resource for DIYers.

(1)would just about any DVD software work? (2)would Vista MC play BD/DVDs and downloaded media for me?
And my other question seems painfully obvious one way or the other, but I haven't been able to find an answer:
(3)My motherboard will output the appropriate audio and video through the onboard HDMI port, correct? Then what if I install another video card later down the line - (4)Will the video card output the appropriate audio through its HDMI port as well?
Thanks again for all of y'all's input on this thread and in making this place such a kickass resource for DIYers.
1. Yes.
2. No, VMC does not support BD playback. You will need a commercial player (PowerDVD, TotalMedia Theater etc.). You can play DVD within VMC. To play media files, you may have to install appropriate codecs.
3. Yes (audio: LPCM, DD, DTS).
4. You can use an ATI card with IGP disabled in BIOS. Radeon HD 4xxx supports the same audio formats as 9400 through HDMI. An NVIDIA card does not have HD audio controller. So you will have to use the onboard HDMI for audio (read Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13897618#post13897618)), or use S/PDIF pass-through from the onboard audio codec with a DVI-HDMI dongle.

Please provide feedback and suggestion on the HTPC build shown below.

Some background: This system was designed in the hope of replacing an older Dell desktop and a Rotel Pre-amp (circa 1998). So, the design envisions an HTPC located in my den where I can both watch TV and work on the PC.

I have some Rotel amps that would remain connected to my 5.1 speaker set-up. (That is the reason the HTOmega Halo XT sound card is included in the build). At the present time, I have an analogue TV connected to DirecTV and a CM-7000 digital to analogue converter. I recently invested in upgrading my outdoor antenna.

I do not play any computer games. I connect to the internet via Verizon DSL. In the near future (< 1 year), I plan to buy an LCD HDTV. So, I would be utilizing 2 screens, one to watch TV and the other as a pc monitor. That is why there are 2 video cards included in the build. (I did not include either monitor in the build).

Let's call the budget $2000. (Still need to spec HDTV monitor for PC side)

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions! Here you go....

Western Digital Caviar RE2 GP WD7500AYPS 750GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$125


SiliconDust HDHomeRun Network-based Dual Digital HDTV Tuner Ethernet Interface - Retail
$160


MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH GeForce 8500 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Silent Heatsink Video Card - Retail
$67

Open Box: MSI N9400GT-MD256 GeForce 9400 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
$37

HT OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier - Retail
$250

PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$70

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
$57

MSI P45 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$160

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550 - Retail
$282

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 - Retail
$222

ASUS Black Blu-Ray DVD Combo Drive SATA Model BC-06B1ST - Retail
$120

Thermaltake Black Aluminum / SECC Steel DH101 VF7001BNS ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail
$250

Total (Newegg) $1,800

Try unplugging everything (video cards, memory, HDD, rom,etc...) and see if you can get power with only the basics plugged in (start with just the CPU). If that works then slowly add another component and power on, etc.... Also, I think some Mobos have some sort of power LED, don't know if your does?

I have the Antec Fusion with the included PSU, and it died on me in less then a month. Turned out the PSU was bad, so I had to RMA.

Try to clear CMOS.

Will try clearing the CMOS. If that doesn't work will try unplugging everything.

I'll start by leaving only the CPU attached to the MB as you suggested. The MB has on board graphics so I'll keep it connected to the monitor.

One question...if I still get no video signal, how do I know if it is the MB, PSU or the CPU that is the source of the problem?

thanks

Please provide feedback and suggestion on the HTPC build shown below.

Some background: This system was designed in the hope of replacing an older Dell desktop and a Rotel Pre-amp (circa 1998). So, the design envisions an HTPC located in my den where I can both watch TV and work on the PC.

I have some Rotel amps that would remain connected to my 5.1 speaker set-up. (That is the reason the HTOmega Halo XT sound card is included in the build). At the present time, I have an analogue TV connected to DirecTV and a CM-7000 digital to analogue converter. I recently invested in upgrading my outdoor antenna.

I do not play any computer games. I connect to the internet via Verizon DSL. In the near future (< 1 year), I plan to buy an LCD HDTV. So, I would be utilizing 2 screens, one to watch TV and the other as a pc monitor. That is why there are 2 video cards included in the build. (I did not include either monitor in the build).

Let's call the budget $2000. (Still need to spec HDTV monitor for PC side)

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions! Here you go....

Western Digital Caviar RE2 GP WD7500AYPS 750GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$125


SiliconDust HDHomeRun Network-based Dual Digital HDTV Tuner Ethernet Interface - Retail
$160


MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH GeForce 8500 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Silent Heatsink Video Card - Retail
$67

Open Box: MSI N9400GT-MD256 GeForce 9400 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
$37

HT OMEGA Claro Halo XT PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier - Retail
$250

PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$70

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
$57

MSI P45 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$160

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550 - Retail
$282

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 - Retail
$222

ASUS Black Blu-Ray DVD Combo Drive SATA Model BC-06B1ST - Retail
$120

Thermaltake Black Aluminum / SECC Steel DH101 VF7001BNS ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail
$250

Total (Newegg) $1,800


- Why do you add 2 videocards just to use 2 screens? AFAIK, any current card has dual output...

- Seems like the sound card is a lot of money for nothing if you use either a motherboard that will output the desired sound, or a card that outputs 7.1 sound through hdmi...

- Don't what "work" exactly you do on the PC, but if it's not anything too processor intensive, I think that quad core y maybe just a little overkill....

Cheers.

AnyDVD HD removes copy protection of BD/HD DVD/DVD.

Kewl. Thanks for taking the time to answer.:)

I'm trying to decide between to different configurations right now:

Western Digital Caviar Green 1000GB, 16MB Cache, SATA II
AMD Athlon X2 5050e, 2x 2.60GHz, boxed
Aeneon DIMM 2GB PC2-6400U CL5
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-DS2H, 780G
Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7203S-0S, SATA, silver
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro PWM
Antec New Solution NSK2480, 380W ATX 2.2

€ 389,-


Western Digital Caviar Green 1000GB, 16MB Cache, SATA II
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200, 2x 2.50GHz, boxed
Aeneon DIMM 2GB PC2-6400U CL5
MSI P7NGM-Digital, GeForce 9300
Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7203S-0S, SATA, silver
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Antec New Solution NSK2480, 380W ATX 2.2

€ 419,-

I slightly altered the builds from page 85 (thx for that btw) and I'm wondering which system better suits my needs. I want to be able to play 1080p, preferably at 24hz since my TV supports it, and have good picture quality with my xvids. I know from the screenshot on page 85 that the second system is fully capable of doing that, but is the AMD system as well?

Also, since the NSK2480 is a full height case, does this mean that the CPU coolers I picked will fit and that I don't have to buy the shuriken?

Basically what I'd like to know is if it's worth it to shell out an extra 30 Euro for the Intel System.

One more thing, I have a Harmony 555 which I'd like to use with the new system, what's my best option for that? Neither the Antec Remote Kit nor the Microsoft MCE remote seem to be available online in my country. Can I just buy any USB IR adapter and use that?

Thanks in advance!

I'm trying to decide between to different configurations right now:

Western Digital Caviar Green 1000GB, 16MB Cache, SATA II
AMD Athlon X2 5050e, 2x 2.60GHz, boxed
Aeneon DIMM 2GB PC2-6400U CL5
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-DS2H, 780G
Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7203S-0S, SATA, silver
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro PWM
Antec New Solution NSK2480, 380W ATX 2.2

€ 389,-


Western Digital Caviar Green 1000GB, 16MB Cache, SATA II
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200, 2x 2.50GHz, boxed
Aeneon DIMM 2GB PC2-6400U CL5
MSI P7NGM-Digital, GeForce 9300
Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7203S-0S, SATA, silver
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Antec New Solution NSK2480, 380W ATX 2.2

€ 419,-

I slightly altered the builds from page 85 (thx for that btw) and I'm wondering which system better suits my needs. I want to be able to play 1080p, preferably at 24hz since my TV supports it, and have good picture quality with my xvids. I know from the screenshot on page 85 that the second system is fully capable of doing that, but is the AMD system as well?

Also, since the NSK2480 is a full height case, does this mean that the CPU coolers I picked will fit and that I don't have to buy the shuriken?

Basically what I'd like to know is if it's worth it to shell out an extra 30 Euro for the Intel System.

One more thing, I have a Harmony 555 which I'd like to use with the new system, what's my best option for that? Neither the Antec Remote Kit nor the Microsoft MCE remote seem to be available online in my country. Can I just buy any USB IR adapter and use that?
Check the feature comparison table and the remarks in the mATX Low-End AMD/AMD system at page 85.

Arctic Cooling will not fit NSK2480. The max height the case support is around 115mm. Either processor runs cool. Try the stock cooler first.

Let me (or other members) know the USB IR receiver you are going to buy.

- Why do you add 2 videocards just to use 2 screens? AFAIK, any current card has dual output...

- Seems like the sound card is a lot of money for nothing if you use either a motherboard that will output the desired sound, or a card that outputs 7.1 sound through hdmi...

- Don't what "work" exactly you do on the PC, but if it's not anything too processor intensive, I think that quad core y maybe just a little overkill....

Cheers.

- Someone advised me that it would be better to have two separate video cards. One for working on the PC and the other for watching TV. I tried to find a mobo with onboard video, but I could not find one that matched my CPU and had at least two PCI-E's. Should I go with two video cards?

- I don't have anything to receive the HDMI output. That's why the expensive soundcard. The Rotel Pre-amp uses a DB25-pin connector to receive from the outboard surround sound processors. Can I use a USB to Parallel (DB25) cable (converter) for this?

- Yeah, the CPU is overkill. I am so sick and tired of waiting for my PC to do something that I included the quad core.

Thanks

Thanks for your reply, I guess I'll go with the Intel System since it seems to be more potent overall.

What about noise levels? I opted for a 3rd party cpu cooler because I imagined it would be quieter.

Are there any cpu coolers besides the shuriken that would fit in my case that you can recommend?

As for IR receivers these are the ones that are available:

i-Tec IRDA Infrarot Adapter, USB 2.0
DeLOCK USB Infrarot Adapter
Longshine LCS-8141, Infrarot Adapter
Conceptronic IrDa Adapter USB 2.0

I have no idea if any of those would work.

1. Yes.
2. No, VMC does not support BD playback. You will need a commercial player (PowerDVD, TotalMedia Theater etc.). You can play DVD within VMC. To play media files, you may have to install appropriate codecs.
3. Yes (audio: LPCM, DD, DTS).
4. You can use an ATI card with IGP disabled in BIOS. Radeon HD 4xxx supports the same audio formats as 9400 through HDMI. An NVIDIA card does not have HD audio controller. So you will have to use the onboard HDMI for audio (read Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly!), or use S/PDIF pass-through from the onboard audio codec with a DVI-HDMI dongle.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions.
I feel like a 6th grader calling up a tenured engineering prof. to ask questions about my math homework.

Thanks for your reply, I guess I'll go with the Intel System since it seems to be more potent overall.

What about noise levels? I opted for a 3rd party cpu cooler because I imagined it would be quieter.

Are there any cpu coolers besides the shuriken that would fit in my case that you can recommend?

As for IR receivers these are the ones that are available:

i-Tec IRDA Infrarot Adapter, USB 2.0
DeLOCK USB Infrarot Adapter
Longshine LCS-8141, Infrarot Adapter
Conceptronic IrDa Adapter USB 2.0

I have no idea if any of those would work.
Scythe Ninja Mini fanless is the quietest and cools E5200 fine. :)

I haven't used any of them. Maybe somebody else can assist you. Or you'd better start a new thread to get more attention.

I thought of the ninja mini, I think it even was the recommended cooler for the budget systems before you replaced it with the shuriken. The problem I have with it is the same as with the shuriken, the shop where I'd like to order doesn't have it (I'd like to order everything from one shop).

I think I've found one that fits my needs though, the Cooler Master Vortex 752 (http://www.google.com/products/reviews?fq=Cooler+Master+Vortex&cid=7ccc2473eddcab1b&sort=1). It's a low profile top blow cooler which got a lot of good reviews as you can see. It even supports PWM which the shuriken seems to lack, maybe it's something to consider for the guide?

http://content.imagesocket.com/thumbs/264591f58.jpg (http://imagesocket.com/view/264591f58.jpg)

I think I've found one that fits my needs though, the Cooler Master Vortex 752 (http://www.google.com/products/reviews?fq=Cooler+Master+Vortex&cid=7ccc2473eddcab1b&sort=1). It's a low profile top blow cooler which got a lot of good reviews as you can see. It even supports PWM which the shuriken seems to lack, maybe it's something to consider for the guide?

http://content.imagesocket.com/thumbs/264591f58.jpg (http://imagesocket.com/view/264591f58.jpg)
That should be a good replacement of the stock cooler. Another option is Cooler Master GeminII S (120mm) that also cools down the chipset. But I recommend you first try the stock cooler. It's not terribly noisy.

Thank you renethx for all of your hard work and advice. I am going to build my first HTPC and am looking at your suggested high-end Intel and nVidia systems, bsaically going directly with your recommendations.

1) Intel/Intel

- ASUS P5Q-EM LGA 775 Intel G45 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
- GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
- ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W Power Supply
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
- A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
-Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
- LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model
- Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
-Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

2) Intel/nVidia

Same as above except:
- GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
- ASUS EN9800GT HB/HTDI/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

I'm wondering what the advantage/disadvantage to each system is. I will be using it to watch HD movies, browse internet, use Netflix instant viewing, and play music on my Sharp Aquous 1080p LCD with sound going through a Yamaha V-1700.

Is there any real benefit to one of these systems over the other? Thanks for any input, I'm about ready to just flip a coin.

WD Caviar® Green 2 TB, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3 Gb/s (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=576)

Capacities: 2 TB, 1.5 TB, 1 TB

TechConnect Magazine (http://www.tcmagazine.com/comments.php?shownews=24231&catid=2)


Nice... guess I wont get another 1.5 seagate right now and wait for this to come down to a comparable price/mb range

Thanks for answering my last post. I now have all those questions sorted. I've noticed that there will be very little price difference between these 2 options.

A. GA-MA78GM-S2HP w/ Phenom 8450 or
B. GA-E7AUM-DS2H w/ Intel DC E5200

1. Will the major difference between the 2 be lossless LPCM through HDMI on the 2nd system?

2. Assuming I use the IGP for both, will there be any differences in playing HD content, SD content, interlaced content? I may use this for the first little while on a 720p tv, so I want to make sure the video will play without stutter. (I noticed on your chart you have 'Excellent' indicated on the 9400 for everything except SD.)

Ok, so I'm not an idiot but I've never built a computer. I've done simple stuff, like slide a new HD in the tower, added memory, troubleshot the blue screen back in the day....you know the easy stuff.
So I just got this in the mail:

1 ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

1 A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K

1 ASUS EN9800GT HB/HTDI/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders

LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8300

Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler

GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

edit: Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ

How challenging would it be for me to put it together? Do I need to do a lot of complex stuff in the BIOS?

Is there a place to find step by step instructions?

Thanks, this place is great. I have no doubt I'll get a straight answer from you guys.

Hello, this is a little off topic (maybe way of topic), but is anyone knows what kind of house security camera is good, preferably network and wireless.

Thanks. :D

@aquaticrobotic, if you start at the MB instructions, it should pretty much walk you through what order to put the components in - where to plug what cords etc. Bottom line is that if you are not confident probably best to get it built. The only reason I say this is a friend tried to do the same and somehow shorted out his MB during the physical instal and stuffed it. On the other hand, I put bits and peices together from old pc's laying about and had no problems. As my experience was with a previously working pc I couldn't say if you would need to mess around with the bios much, other than boot priority. Good luck.

I'm wondering what the advantage/disadvantage to each system is. I will be using it to watch HD movies, browse internet, use Netflix instant viewing, and play music on my Sharp Aquous 1080p LCD with sound going through a Yamaha V-1700.

Is there any real benefit to one of these systems over the other? Thanks for any input, I'm about ready to just flip a coin.
Check the feature comparison table at page 85. HD 4850 is slightly better in gaming.

A. GA-MA78GM-S2HP w/ Phenom 8450 or
B. GA-E7AUM-DS2H w/ Intel DC E5200

1. Will the major difference between the 2 be lossless LPCM through HDMI on the 2nd system?

2. Assuming I use the IGP for both, will there be any differences in playing HD content, SD content, interlaced content? I may use this for the first little while on a 720p tv, so I want to make sure the video will play without stutter. (I noticed on your chart you have 'Excellent' indicated on the 9400 for everything except SD.)
1. 24p and power consumption (A consumes 20W more).
2. Basically A=B.

Drivers from game.amd.com (http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx) (this is real!).

Drivers from game.amd.com (http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx) (this is real!).

Sorry for the stupid question, but what is the escitement about? A new version? Any major good improvements?

Cheers!

Sorry if this has been answered already, but I couldn't fathom going thorugh 200 pages to find the answer..

I have Time Warner cable Digital cable along with Samsung 1080p LCD TV.
I have a HP box that has decent graphics and sound card - not top of line but it does the job.

My question is, I want to buy TV tuner so I can watch and DVR ALL cable channels via computer. I did some reaserch on this, but it still looks like there isn't a tv tuner card that can show HD channels well. I think the only option is ATI's cable box, but I'm not even sure how effective that is. It's also very expensive.

How do you guys tackle this issue?

Sorry if this has been answered already, but I couldn't fathom going thorugh 200 pages to find the answer..

I have Time Warner cable Digital cable along with Samsung 1080p LCD TV.
I have a HP box that has decent graphics and sound card - not top of line but it does the job.

My question is, I want to buy TV tuner so I can watch and DVR ALL cable channels via computer. I did some reaserch on this, but it still looks like there isn't a tv tuner card that can show HD channels well. I think the only option is ATI's cable box, but I'm not even sure how effective that is. It's also very expensive.

How do you guys tackle this issue?
Check the TV tuner section at page 1.

Hi all , which one do u think is better for video POV 9800 gt or radeon 4830 ? Why ? i just want it for video. PS - i receive a POV 9800 Gt a just need to pick , but i was think maybe i can change for radeon. Thanxxx in advance
Someone??? :D:D:D:confused:

Sorry for the stupid question, but what is the escitement about? A new version? Any major good improvements?

Cheers!
Usually a new CCC is released in the middle of every month. But CCC 9.1 (9 = 2009, 1 = January) has been unusually delayed and even a fake driver was posted on the Internet.

It looks like there are some fixes for EDID issues.

I built the following about a month ago:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler
GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe
LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16x
Antec Fusion Remote Black

The only problem I have had is that VMC would randomly stop playing any kind of video (ripped dvd, live tv, etc.) and display an error message stating that VMC did not have some necessary component to play the video. This was frustrating, but I assumed I'd work it out eventually.

So today I turned the htpc off. Then later went to turn it back on again and it is just totally dead :eek:. The fans turn on, the little blue light on the front turns on, the blu ray drive turns on, but that is it. No bios, no beeps, no nothing. Just some lights and the fans spinning.

What do I do?

I have the cpu cooled passively, and the two case fans set to medium. I have been using speed fan to monitor the temps and never saw anything above 42 C. However, I am not an expert with speed fan. So maybe it’s possible that I wasn't getting accurate temps and the MB is fried? I only have 2 days left to RMA the MB, but how do I know that it is the MB that is fried?

Any ideas???

Wondering if you sorted out the problem yet. Just a quick suggestion. I've also got a gigabyte board. I ran into similar problems quite frequently with mine. It would power up and and the drives and fans would spin up, then it would start over again. At first I would shut down the power supply (or unplug it) and take it apart and jump the two pins on the motherboard to reset the cmos. Eventually what I discovered is that just by shutting off the power for a little while it would reset it's self and everything would be back to normal. My board's got the dual bios so maybe it's that, or maybe it's just a gigabyte thing.

So try that out first if your not looking forward to disassembling your whole system. Just something easy to try first

Good luck.

this is a great resource

My basic receiver is a Sharp XVZ-12000 projector and a Denon AVR 3808CI receiver. Some of my attempts where to send the HDMI through the Denon and others directly to the Sharp using an HDMI to DVI converter since the Sharp doesn’t have HDMI.

The first setup consisted of the following: I stripped an older computer and installed a new Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4H mother board, a Phenom 9950, 4 GB ram, an ATI 3850 video card and a 700W power supply. I was able to get it working with WinXP x64 via the component output only. I never got the HDMI to work on this computer.

The second computer which I put in the most time consisted of: An XFX 8200 Geforce motherboard, an Athlon 6000+ processer, 4 GB of ram and a 700W power supply. I am only using the onboard video feeds. This may be where my problems originate as I want my system to work as follows. I have a dedicated theater room and my office is right next to it. So I want to be able to use this computer in my office to set up parameters for movie watching. I only want the theater room to be used when we are watching a movie.

So far I’ve spent endless hours getting this to work properly. The main problem I have had is with NVidia drivers. I tried the latest 181.20 and 181.22 which are absolutely horrible to set up and I never could get my Sharp to see more than a 4:3 format. I want my picture to fill my 16:9 screen. These drivers also put in a third display that doesn’t exist. Any way I eventually got things working in the theater room with great picture and sound using WinXp loaded with Forceware 177.35 and 15.24 nFrorce drivers but there is still a problem.

There seems to be no way to set up the Projector in one room and my 24” Samsung computer monitor in the other with different resolutions. Not only will it not allow different resolutions in clone mode but upon rebooting the resolution will be different at times. I never know what resolution I will have after a reboot on the computer screen. Luckily the Theater room screen will still be ok after the reboot but if I try to change the resolution on the computer I will lose the formatting on the projector. Most of the time this is what I get. Turning on the computer without the projector on produces a resolution of 800X600 no matter what resolution was in affect when it was turned off. When turning on the projector there is no picture until I open Nvidia control panel and activate set up multi displays. At that time the projector works at 720P and the computer changes to 1280X720. If I turn off the projector the computer returns to 800X600.

It just seems ridicules that these drivers are this screwed up. I hope it’s me instead and someone can tell me how to fix this problem.

Hi,

I've searched through the post and I can't seem to find the answer. Anyway, I heard some people recommended Asus M3N78-EM over Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2HP. Which one do you recommend between the two and why is that so?

Wondering if you sorted out the problem yet. Just a quick suggestion. I've also got a gigabyte board. I ran into similar problems quite frequently with mine. It would power up and and the drives and fans would spin up, then it would start over again. At first I would shut down the power supply (or unplug it) and take it apart and jump the two pins on the motherboard to reset the cmos. Eventually what I discovered is that just by shutting off the power for a little while it would reset it's self and everything would be back to normal. My board's got the dual bios so maybe it's that, or maybe it's just a gigabyte thing.

So try that out first if your not looking forward to disassembling your whole system. Just something easy to try first

Good luck.

I have had pretty much the same experience. Reset the cmos and it works again...for now. So that is the good thing.

Now I have a long list of other problems. But the one I'm most concerned about is that the audio is completely messed up.

I have just reinstalled vista and I can't even get a dvd to play right. No matter what I do I can't get dolby digital to pass through to the receiver (onkyo sr606).

When I test Dolby digital output under the Nvidia hdmi output properties in the control panel the Dolby digital symbol lights up on the receiver and I get audio from all 5 channels as expected. However, when I play a dvd in VMC, MPC or power DVD I get lousy 2 channel PCM output to the receiver.

Oh by the way, I also get 2 channel PCM when playing a blu ray in Power DVD.

Anyway, if you have any pointers on getting dolby digital to pass through hdmi to the receiver let me know.

I can't tell you how much I want to get this up and running.

Hi,

I've searched through the post and I can't seem to find the answer. Anyway, I heard some people recommended Asus M3N78-EM over Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2HP. Which one do you recommend between the two and why is that so?
GeForce 8200 and AMD 780G are very different in HDMI audio. Do you want 8 ch LPCM over HDMI or not? Are you going to use a discrete graphics? Phenom/7750 or Athlon?

After reading for awhile, I guess the different is pretty much within audio over HDMI. As of right now I'm not too worry about 8ch LPCM over HDMI but I might in the future. Btw, I won't use any discrete graphic card so. Between the two, which one do you think is future proof?

Edited: did I just answer myself? lol

After reading for awhile, I guess the different is pretty much within audio over HDMI. As of right now I'm not too worry about 8ch LPCM over HDMI but I might in the future. Btw, I won't use any discrete graphic card so. Between the two, which one do you think is future proof?

Edited: did I just answer myself? lol
A problem of M3N78-EM/VM is higher power consumption when used with Athlon 7750/Phenom (this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15356946#post15356946)). If you are going to use Athlon 7750 or Phenom, you'd better choose another 8200/8300 mb.

A problem of M3N78-EM/VM is higher power consumption when used with Athlon 7750/Phenom. If you are going to use Athlon 7750 or Phenom, you'd better choose another 8200/8300 mb.

ah ic... I'm gonna use 4850e for now but who knows I might move to phenom or a tri core. Is there any 8200/8300 board that you recommend?

ah ic... I'm gonna use 4850e for now but who knows I might move to phenom or a tri core. Is there any 8200/8300 board that you recommend?
MSI K9N2GM-FIH GeForce 8200 is cheap and good. With 7750/8450, it consumes 73W at idle and 98W at BD playback.

MSI K9N2GM-FIH GeForce 8200 is cheap and good. With 7750/8450, it consumes 73W at idle and 98W at BD playback.

thank you, you are such a great help :D

I am currently running a 9600GT in my HTPC. This PC is used for Blu-Ray (PowerDVD-7) and Internet streams only.

Is there any performance advantage to upgrading to the Nvidia 9800 series? Is ATI a better solution? I am running HDMI and Analog video connections and 2-channel audio via an Auzentech Prelude soundcard.

Appreciate all comments. :)

I am currently running a 9600GT in my HTPC. This PC is used for Blu-Ray (PowerDVD-7) and Internet streams only.

Is there any performance advantage to upgrading to the Nvidia 9800 series? Is ATI a better solution? I am running HDMI and Analog video connections and 2-channel audio via an Auzentech Prelude soundcard.

Appreciate all comments. :)
No. 9600 GT is just fine (unless you have a problem with it).

I have had pretty much the same experience. Reset the cmos and it works again...for now. So that is the good thing.

Now I have a long list of other problems. But the one I'm most concerned about is that the audio is completely messed up.

I have just reinstalled vista and I can't even get a dvd to play right. No matter what I do I can't get dolby digital to pass through to the receiver (onkyo sr606).

When I test Dolby digital output under the Nvidia hdmi output properties in the control panel the Dolby digital symbol lights up on the receiver and I get audio from all 5 channels as expected. However, when I play a dvd in VMC, MPC or power DVD I get lousy 2 channel PCM output to the receiver.

Oh by the way, I also get 2 channel PCM when playing a blu ray in Power DVD.

Anyway, if you have any pointers on getting dolby digital to pass through hdmi to the receiver let me know.

I can't tell you how much I want to get this up and running.

I don't have any experience with nvidia and HDMI sound. I've had enough trouble with the ati 4670 on my other system. It sounds like you've got an issue with the settings in your players. Try setting it to s/pdif on power dvd and see what happens. Maybe someone with a little more experience can chime in.

Guys,

I am building my ultimate HTPC starting now.

I had a question on .TS HD files. My old HTPC's fan goes nuts whenever I used to play these files. The memory and cpu consumption would get maxed everytime I played a movie.

I used to download these .TS movies (separated into hundreds of files) off the net. I would like this decoding done onboard a card or video card. Are the video cards now handling this (rather than the cpu)?

Maybe these files are obsolete now so I need to worry about the mkv 264. Well I just thought I'd ask if there are video cards or addon cards to handle these jobs.

I'm on a budget but the budget is for a powerful HTPC.

Thanks a lot.

Guys,

I am building my ultimate HTPC starting now.

I had a question on .TS HD files. My old HTPC's fan goes nuts whenever I used to play these files. The memory and cpu consumption would get maxed everytime I played a movie.

I used to download these .TS movies (separated into hundreds of files) off the net. I would like this decoding done onboard a card or video card. Are the video cards now handling this (rather than the cpu)?

Maybe these files are obsolete now so I need to worry about the mkv 264. Well I just thought I'd ask if there are video cards or addon cards to handle these jobs.
Every current GPU has a decoder for HD video codecs.

X-Fi™ HomeTheater HD Schedule Update (http://www.auzentech.com/site/company/announce.php?switch=39#39)

Santa Clara, CA–January 30, 2009: Auzentech, Inc.(www.auzentech.com) has revised the release date of the Auzen X-Fi™ HomeTheater HD sound card to March, 2009. The additional time is being used for an expanded round of hardware compatibility tests.

"This decision will directly benefit our customers, dealers, and distributors," said Stephane Bae, president of Auzentech, Inc. "At product release, we will have a stable product and our support staff will be familiar with a wider range of hardware combinations."

The Auzen X-Fi™ HomeTheater HD is the result of cooperation between several companies that include Auzentech, Creative Labs, Cyberlink, and Silicon Image. In November, Auzentech rescheduled product release to the end of January to coincide with a software release by one of its partners. Today's schedule change will allow Auzentech to complete its testing of the software and hardware as complete a package.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=131909&stc=1&d=1233394080

In relation to the 8200 IGP solution renethx said
Remarks

* The graphics card supports S/PDIF pass-through from the onboard audio codec through HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM audio, you have to connect your AVR to the HDMI port of the motherboard and your display to the graphics card. Please read Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly!.


details: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13897618&postcount=824


Has anybody tried the same with HD4xxx cards? To connect one HDMI port directly to TV/monitor and the other to the receiver for audio only.
I want to know if I can get LPMC with a HD4xxx card without passing video through my receiver.

In relation to the 8200 IGP solution renethx said


Has anybody tried the same with HD4xxx cards? To connect one HDMI port directly to TV/monitor and the other to the receiver for audio only.
I want to know if I can get LPMC with a HD4xxx card without passing video through my receiver.
HD 4xxx works in the same way as GeForce card for video+GeForce 8200 for audio. You can connect one of the DVI/HDMI ports to the display for video and the other to AVR for audio.

Is there an add-on I can purchase to power on my HTPC from my sofa? My HTPC case doesn't have a IR port so I was wondering if there's a workaround for this? I could always purchase a new case but I would rather just purchase an accessory of some sort.

Is there an add-on I can purchase to power on my HTPC from my sofa? My HTPC case doesn't have a IR port so I was wondering if there's a workaround for this? I could always purchase a new case but I would rather just purchase an accessory of some sort.
If you want to power off/on the system, then Antec Multimedia Station Basic (IR receiver for 3.5 external bay and remote) or its 5.25" bay version with LCD. For S3 standby/resume, Microsoft Remote Control and Receiver for Media Center PC with Windows.

If you want to power off/on the system, then Antec Multimedia Station Basic (IR receiver for 3.5 external bay and remote) or its 5.25" bay version with LCD. For S3 standby/resume, Microsoft Remote Control and Receiver for Media Center PC with Windows.

I do have an extra 3.5" bay so that sounds awesome, does it work well with flip-down cases? S3 standby/resume, that's a sleep state accessed in bios correct? My apologies for the onslaught of questions :o.

I do have an extra 3.5" bay so that sounds awesome, does it work well with flip-down cases? S3 standby/resume, that's a sleep state accessed in bios correct? My apologies for the onslaught of questions :o.
No, IR means the sensor must be exposed.

S3 standby is a sleep state where the system memory is retained. It's different from the shutdown (S5).

Is S3 power friendly? My wife has gone green, which means that I've gone green as well :). How's power consumption in this state compared to S5?

Is S3 power friendly? My wife has gone green, which means that I've gone green as well :). How's power consumption in this state compared to S5?
~5W at S3 state. Even at S5 (complete shutdown), the system consumes a couple of watts.

~5W at S3 state. Even at S5 (complete shutdown), the system consumes a couple of watts.

Sounds like the way to go, thanks renethx.

Renethx, I just thought of something, can I use my RF HTPC Keyboard/mouse to wake up from S3? I'm afraid if I get the microsoft combo it may try to turn on my Xbox 360 as well.

Renethx, I just thought of something, can I use my RF HTPC Keyboard/mouse to wake up from S3? I'm afraid if I get the microsoft combo it may try to turn on my Xbox 360 as well.

WTF?? Why on earth would you think that??? :confused:

WTF?? Why on earth would you think that??? :confused:

LOL. My Xbox has a MCE remote, which I use to power it on. If I add a second MCE remote I fear the channels will mix.

Renethx, I just thought of something, can I use my RF HTPC Keyboard/mouse to wake up from S3? I'm afraid if I get the microsoft combo it may try to turn on my Xbox 360 as well.
I thought you wanted to control your HTPC by a remote. But if your purpose is just to wake up the system, yes, any USB device can do that.

I thought you wanted to control your HTPC by a remote. But if your purpose is just to wake up the system, yes, any USB device can do that.

I should have been clearer, I basically wanted to power on the PC not necessarily control it. But if my keyboard can do that, all is well. Thanks again.

Many posts back someone noted info given by Rene saying that 1GB DDR3 was better than 512MB only if one was going to run more than 1 monitor. Does this matter for ATSC recording/playback? If there is a processing difference, is it significant? Does it make any difference with respect to power consumption?

Plainv70, I believe the the 1gb card will only make a difference if you have two displays, there was something about the 512MB cards not performing well in dual display setups at a particular resolution.

Many posts back someone noted info given by Rene saying that 1GB DDR3 was better than 512MB only if one was going to run more than 1 monitor. Does this matter for ATSC recording/playback? If there is a processing difference, is it significant? Does it make any difference with respect to power consumption?
Read this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15243032#post15243032). The problem occurs when the resolution of the second display is also large. It affects ATSC playing back. The difference of power consumption between 512MB and 1GB is small, perhaps only a few watts.

I bought two identical mATX HTPC systems last Fall. Low end AMD/AMD with the M3A78-EM mobo. I built one promptly and made it work despite the floppy boot process which struck me as archaic and bizarre that there wasn't an easier way to get things set up. Had to cannibalize the floppy drive from an old computer I still had lying around. The user guide instructions were confusing so I just kind of improvised, got past it, loaded VISTA x64, and off I went.

A few days ago I built the 2nd system but this time cannot get past the boot process. On start up I first get the express gate screen, then the mobo screen, then just a blinking curser which responds to no keyboard command.

I've gone into the BIOS a few times but haven't found anything which helps. I've tried booting from the mobo cd-rom and that seemed to work in that I loaded what I thought was the bios(?) copy onto a floppy, but then back to square one with the blinking cursor etc. on next start up.

This may not be the right place to ask about such basics. I'm no computer expert by any means but I'm bright enough to figure stuff out on my own usually. Not this time. I checked out the ASUS website but it doesn't look too helpful. Is there a better thread for such basic boot and start-up type questions? Or a good forum or website that someone can recommend? Thanks, Alex

Core i3 expected in Q1 2010, the successor to Core 2 Duo+G45 (codenamed Havendale), was canceled according to:

Theo’s Bright Side Of IT (http://theovalich.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/exclusive-intels-cans-45nm-auburndale-and-havendale-fusion-cpus/)

World’s economic crisis started to act as eraser on Intel’s roadmap. According to our highly positioned sources, Intel decided to cancel the 45nm “Fusion” processors (CPU+GPU), probably branded as Core i3 (or i4?) processors.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=132073&stc=1&d=1233480926

Auburndale and Havendale were multi-chip modules featuring two hyper-threaded cores and integrated graphics chip. According to a diagram above, Auburndale/Havendale consisted out of two pieces of silicon: CPU part with two cores sharing 4MB of L3 cache memory and a separate graphics core connected by using Quick Path Interface (QPI).

Auburndale was supposed to debut on market as 35/45W mainstream and business notebook processor, while Havendale was the desktop versions, consuming as much as 75W (higher clocks). But, the economic crisis played its part and Intel isn’t so interested in keeping the 45nm production alive for these two parts. 45nm production will be kept in place for Pentium and Core 2 Duo/Quad processors for the mainstream crowd, and Core i7 for those on higher end of scale.

But, this is not the end of Fusion concept in Santa Clara. Intel is going to replace Auburndale/Havendale with their 32nm die-shrink, known as Arrandale. Arrandale was originally supposed to debut for Back to School season 2010, alongside 32nm quad-core and sexa-core Westmere processors (Core i7 die-shrinks). But now, Arrandale core has been brought forward by six months to Q1′2010. The debut is set probably for March (can you say CeBIT?) timeframe. We don’t have any piece of information on Arrandale, besides the fact that it is a die-shrink and will probably feature larger L3 cache, probably somewhere in the range of 6MB, just like current 45nm Wolfdale processors (6MB L2 cache).

If you are wondering what’s going on with AMD’s Fusion processors, don’t think that this cancellation of 45nm parts will give AMD much needed breathing space, since AMD delayed its own Fusion CPU+GPU chips from Q3′2008 (yes, last year) to 2011! Then again, at least we’re talking about completely new CPU core, quad-core Llano and dual-core Ontario.

Or a good forum or website that someone can recommend? Thanks, Alex
AnandTech Forum and Hard Forum are good places to ask hardware-related questions.

TechConnect Magazine (http://www.tcmagazine.com/comments.php?id=24319&catid=3)

Microsoft announced on its Engineering Windows 7 (http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/01/30/our-next-engineering-milestone.aspx) blog today that the next version of Windows 7 would not be a beta, but a near-final version of the OS, a release candidate (RC).

In the blog post Microsoft points out that it considers the rolling out of new operating systems a part of the "PC ecosystem" in which the final stages of a Windows OS are developed in partnership with OEMs, manufacturers, potential customers, so as to make the final release compatible with a wide variety of systems and able to provide a "complete and satisfying" experience. Microsoft does go on to point out that in the development of Windows 7 they have attempted to make sure that as many applications and devices that are supported on Vista do work on 7.

In the blog post they also go over their methods of data gathering, research, bug report reviews, and reveal their plan to release Windows 7 RC as an update to the Beta. Microsoft also provides a link to a site with Windows Vista and Windows 7 compatible devices and software which is updated with the help of device manufacturers and software developers.

A quick summary of the development scheme of Windows 7 was also outlined as follows

Pre-Beta
This release at the PDC introduced the developer community to Windows 7 and represents the platform complete release and disclosure of the features.
Beta
This release provided a couple of million folks the opportunity to use feature complete Windows 7 while also providing the telemetry and feedback necessary for us to validate the quality, reliability, compatibility, and experience of Windows 7. As we said, we are working with our partners across the ecosystem to make sure that testing and validation and development of Windows 7-based products begins to enter final phases as we move through the Beta.
Release Candidate (RC)
This release will be Windows 7 as we intend to ship it. We will continue to listen to feedback and telemetry with the focus on addressing only the most critical issues that arise. We will be very clear in communicating any changes that have a visible impact on the product. This release allows the whole ecosystem to reach a known state together and make sure that we are all ready together for the Release to Manufacturing. Once we get to RC, the whole ecosystem is in “dress rehearsal” mode for the next steps.
Release to Manufacturing (RTM)
This release is the final Windows 7 as we intend to make available to PC makers and for retail and volume license products.
General Availability (GA)
This is a business milestone and represents when you can buy Windows 7 pre-installed on PCs or as full packaged product.

RC answers the question “if the Beta expires in August what will I do—I don’t want to return to my old [sic] operating system.”

Hi,

I've now built my HTPC.

Intel i7 920
Asus P6T Deluxe
4GB Corsair RAM
ATI HD4670 Gigabyte graphics card (which is blasted noisy)
LG Bluray Drive (Retail version with all software bundle)
500Gb Western Digital hard Drive
Win Vista Home Premium.
All latest drivers I can find

All connected to a LCD 42LG7000 (UK)

I have two issues

1. How do get the HTPC to output to my TV over the native HDMI port on the graphics card ( I can get it fine over the RGB)?

2. Any suggestions for reducing the noise of the graphics card? If the only option is to replace it with a HIS 4670 does using the DVI output via HDMI adapter limit my HD specification ie would it still give me 1080p? Also will the system be able to play blu-ray movies?

many thanks

nick

I have two issues

1. How do get the HTPC to output to my TV over the native HDMI port on the graphics card ( I can get it fine over the RGB)?

2. Any suggestions for reducing the noise of the graphics card? If the only option is to replace it with a HIS 4670 does using the DVI output via HDMI adapter limit my HD specification ie would it still give me 1080p?
1. Via a HDMI cable?
2. You can find manual fan control in CCC > ATI OverDrive (although not every model supports fan control). Or replace the fan with a retail cooler such as Zalman VF900.

1. Via a HDMI cable?
2. You can find manual fan control in CCC > ATI OverDrive (although not every model supports fan control). Or replace the fan with a retail cooler such as Zalman VF900.
1. Yes over HDMI.
2. Will look for manual fan control, how easy is it to replace the fan, do you literally remove the old from the board?

Will look for manual fan control, how easy is it to replace the fan, do you literally remove the old from the board?
Yes, remove the cooler and replace it with another. Not terribly difficult. Just follow the instruction.

Yes, remove the cooler and replace it with another. Not terribly difficult. Just follow the instruction.
Ok thanks,
any thoughts on how i can get the HDMI output to work?

Ok thanks,
any thoughts on how i can get the HDMI output to work?
Outputting video signals from HDMI is no different from DVI and VGA. Just connect the HDMI port of the graphics card and TV's HDMI IN. Can't you see POST and BIOS screen in your TV?

Renethx, many thanks took out the RGB cable and booted with hdmi, had to fiddle around with scaling but then worked fine so very happy now.
I'm going to order the fan you suggested.
Also if i put other silet fans in the case could the interfere with the processor cooling? (There was a warning with the extra fan that cam with the Asus P6T mother board for siting next to the CPS fan)

Nick