Guide to Building a HD HTPC [Text View] - Page 37

renethx

07-08-09, 08:05 PM

Anyone care to comment on my setup I want to do? Basically I want to be able to record and watch TV (Thus the need for dual digital tuner card) as well as do the basics of watching my HD movies on my hard drive (Thus the need for at least 1TB HDD), listen to music, browse the web, etc:

Micro ATX case (already has power supply)
WinTV-HVR-2250 (Dual Digital Tuner)
ASUS P5QPL-VM EPU LGA 775 Intel G41 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Bluray drive (Don't need to burn)
2 GB RAM
1TB HDD

I plan to just RDC to it so I don't think I'll need a mouse/keyboard.

One thing I'm not sure on is how the remote's work with HTPC's. I can get one for the Tuner card or the Motherboard...but what's the difference? Will I be able to setup recordings with either one? Or will such things need to be done via keyboard/mouse?
G41 is underpowered for HD contents (no hardware acceleration). Go for G45 or add a good graphics card. If price matters (and you don't need HDMI audio), AMD platform is a better choice (a cheap 780G mb with 7750).

You can use the IR receiver/remote that comes with the TV tuner to control Media Center (including recording).

ThrottleAbuse

07-08-09, 08:18 PM

I'm having a trouble locating the Sapphire 4670 GDDR4 in the US as well. Looks like NewEgg isn't selling them any longer.

That makes 3 of us. Anyone know what the story is? I had finally decided that was the card and now you can't get it.

On another note is the Microsoft 7000 Entertainment still recommended? Looks like it will do everything I want. Sorry for the noob question, but does the navigation pad on the keyboard work like a laptops mouse? Are there any other ones good from +15 ft that have a feature like this?

Thanks.

H8nXTC

07-08-09, 11:29 PM

Yes: fan noise. Sapphire is relatively quiet (or not so quiet, depending on each user) up to ~64°C, but considerably noisier beyond that. H467QT512P is a safer choice.

If you can find one of these, you won't have to worry about fan noise, plus it has 1GB DDR3.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161272

Wish they would come out with a 1GB passive heatsink version of the 4770 with native HDMI.

amitabh9

07-09-09, 08:54 AM

That makes 3 of us. Anyone know what the story is? I had finally decided that was the card and now you can't get it.

On another note is the Microsoft 7000 Entertainment still recommended? Looks like it will do everything I want. Sorry for the noob question, but does the navigation pad on the keyboard work like a laptops mouse? Are there any other ones good from +15 ft that have a feature like this?

Thanks.

I use the Logitech dinovo edge mini, and its AMAZING. small, visually appealing, (especially if you have a wife that hates clutter). Mouse piece, is great. Great piece of hardware and would recommend it for any HTPC. Only con, its too expensive.

Also I have the logitech harmony remote, which is a great addition.

amitabh9

07-09-09, 09:24 AM

I have finally put together my HTPC (no game playing). I have replaced my busted up RV770 video card, with a temporary, ATI HD3870. I installed Windows 7 (seemingly easy).

My comments from my build.

Know your case and its limitations for space and placement of wires, the LC17, not that good at it. But i love the visual look.

Its damn quiet, i didnt realize how loud my previous htpc was until i built this one. I am sure it can be quieter, but i am very happy with it.

Because the video card that i am using is dual slot, there is less than 1 cm gap between the video card and the tv tuner card. dont know if that is an issue.

The other slot that i could have put my tv tuner card in, is crowded with wires. Why is that, its because the video card is so long, that the middle bay of the lc17 case, doesnt allow hdd to be placed in it. Therefore all my hdds, are there. A simple solution, get one big hdd, (i know, but not now).

Whats left?

I am still in the process of evaluating video cards and finding a permanent replacement.

HIS H467QT512P - fan, 512mb, better clock speeds

or

HIS H467PS1GP - fanless, 1 gig.

Which one is better in terms of performance? or same?

Software

Now that i have all the hardware in place. Could someone send me a link or info regarding the software that i should install and be using?

I have a denon 2808 that is connected via s/pdif to my HTPC. I assume to use AC3spider application for that.

Do i still need to use ffdshow? I probably did not use it right previously. Doesnt the hardware do all the work? forgive me for my ignorance.

What resolution are you running at, i have a 46" lcd samsung, about 12-14 ft approx. away.

renethx

07-09-09, 10:32 AM

HIS H467QT512P - fan, 512mb, better clock speeds

or

HIS H467PS1GP - fanless, 1 gig.

Which one is better in terms of performance? or same?
Same in video playback. 1GB may be better under certain gaming environment.

amitabh9

07-09-09, 10:39 AM

Same in video playback. 1GB may be better under certain gaming environment.

MMM....

so its a toss up, do i want to spend more for fanless...

my friend recommended the following... any thoughts

Powercolor Radeon HD 4850 625MHZ 512MB 1.98 GHz GDDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Video Card

derekmw

07-09-09, 11:12 AM

renethx

07-09-09, 11:45 AM

MMM....

so its a toss up, do i want to spend more for fanless...

my friend recommended the following... any thoughts

Powercolor Radeon HD 4850 625MHZ 512MB 1.98 GHz GDDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Video Card
HD 4850 is recommended only if you play games (+40W more power consumption at idle/video playback than HD 4670).

renethx

07-09-09, 11:52 AM

For your suggestion on AMD if not needing HDMI, that brings another question I was curious about. If they do not have HDMI audio, don't they at least usually have digital audio out still? As long as I can have digital audio carrying my surround sound over to my amp, i'm happy. What do you suggest?
If your audio equipment is pre-HDMI, then the AMD platform is a better choice (cheaper and better IGP performance). Of course you always have S/PDIF. But if you use a HDMI AV receiver, you'd better use G45 or a Radeon HD 4xxx discrete card (they support HDMI video+audio).

1999TL

07-09-09, 04:34 PM

I want a multimedia workstation that can play videos on my TV. I don't play games, so I was trying to find built in HDMI. Intel boards doesnt have that in ATX for LGA 1366, so I went ahead and got a dedicated Graphics card. All this is going into a Lian Li Memorial Case that's been laying here for 2 yrs untouched.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112084&ATT=11-112-084

Have onboard Raid controllers gotten better? I was thinking about using it or buying a card(if needed) to run Raid 5. My question is: If I use the onboard raid 5 controller, will I be able to add a Hard drive to the array when I run out of room?

I went with Crucial memory b/c I have a credit from them- My old Ballistix were returned and they ran out of it.

I'm open to ideas if the processor is overkill. I dont even game. I need to look into some hard drives. Not sure whether to get 1.5 or 1 tb drives. I want something with 3 platters or less. Have to look into it some more.

Core® i7 920 Processor Boxed http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0302727 $199

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $199

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail $99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory (with LEDs) Model BL3KIT25664TN1337 - Retail $177, free with credit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148282

SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $134.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102810

Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G1 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Retail $314

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167005

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $89X3=$267

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317

Davinleeds

07-09-09, 05:52 PM

I'm sure this isn't the first time it's happened.
I bought the newegg weekend sale of the Asus 9600 GSO and it won't fit.
The power supply is in the way in my NZXT Duet case. Any recommendations?

Also I bought a Sapphire 4670 which lasted 1 day, and then got your recommended Asus 4670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121274and that is like dreamland. It is perfect with my Xonar. It doesn't register any decibels at all. WOW. Thanks.

Rebates will be coming your way.

Ingram

07-09-09, 05:58 PM

What should I do with my Gigabyte 780G Rev1? I'd like to be able to use VA!

Currently just have a low powered CPU that only allows HT2.0 at the moment.

Either I spend around $100 AUD for a new ati video card to replace the on board, or spend around or a little less than $100 AUD for a Phenom CPU to give me HT3.0.

I can get a 7750 Black Edition Phenom for around $85 AUD. Would this work on the board, give me HT3.0, and unlock VA?

Cheers :)

renethx

07-09-09, 08:14 PM

renethx

07-09-09, 08:18 PM

renethx

07-09-09, 08:25 PM

ryguyotaku

07-10-09, 01:06 AM

Hi renethx. I have been closely following this thread for a couple weeks now, and I'm finally ready to make my purchase. I'm going with your mid-range recommendation, with a couple exceptions:

- AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition instead of the Phenom II X3 710 (read a lot of great reviews so far on the X2 550, plus it's spec'd as a lower wattage CPU)

- Zalman CMPS9500 instead of the Xigmatek (in case I decide to upgrade to a higher wattage CPU in a couple years)

- G. Skill 4gb DDR2 1066 RAM instead of 2gb DDR2 800 (4gb ddr2 memory is so cheap right now, so why not?)

- OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular PSU instead of the Enermax or Corsair PSUs (really good sale price on the OCZ, plus I really want modular!)

What do you think? Will my changes affect the overall system in any negative way?

renethx

07-10-09, 01:28 AM

1999TL

07-10-09, 01:55 AM

@1999TL

Online capacity expansion is not supported by onboard RAID. You need to buy a RAID controller card. HD 4870 is somewhat useless right now. CyberLink PowerDirector 7 and MediaShow Espresso support ATI Stream, but what else?

Thanks for the reply. Which video card would you recommend? I just want dual Monitor capability(using 24" now and a 17") and maybe option to add a 30" monitor(big IF).

I was looking at this Raid Controller. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116042

But it only supports 4 drives. I'm thinking I should get bigger hard drives then? I was trying to avoid the larger hard drives b/c I heard they are problematic, but if I'm using Raid 5 I'm thinking maybe it will be OK?

renethx

07-10-09, 02:06 AM

Thanks for the reply. Which video card would you recommend? I just want dual Monitor capability(using 24" now and a 17") and maybe option to add a 30" monitor(big IF).

I was looking at this Raid Controller. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116042

But it only supports 4 drives. I'm thinking I should get bigger hard drives then? I was trying to avoid the larger hard drives b/c I heard they are problematic, but if I'm using Raid 5 I'm thinking maybe it will be OK?
Radeon HD 4670 is enough as in my recommendations.

Is RAID for video editing or something else?

1999TL

07-10-09, 02:18 AM

The Raid is for my media. I was thinking about just using the onboard raid, but it doesn't have the option for online capacity expansion.

renethx

07-10-09, 03:04 AM

The Raid is for my media. I was thinking about just using the onboard raid, but it doesn't have the option for online capacity expansion.
Spending $340 for storing media is a waste of money. Just buy a bunch of 1.5TB (WD15EADS) or 1TB (WD10EADS) HDDs and use them as individual disks.

Yuuhi

07-10-09, 07:37 AM

Hi! Sorry for this stupid question, but i have an a/v reciver without DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD support. But it still can play 7.1 LPCM via HDMI. Is it possible for PC to decodes the TrueHD/DTS-MA into LPCM, and the card transmits that over HDMI? Do I need a card, such as an ATI HD4x00 or motherboard, such as an nForce 9300/9400?

renethx

07-10-09, 10:21 AM

wickchucker

07-10-09, 01:56 PM

If your audio equipment is pre-HDMI, then the AMD platform is a better choice (cheaper and better IGP performance). Of course you always have S/PDIF. But if you use a HDMI AV receiver, you'd better use G45 or a Radeon HD 4xxx discrete card (they support HDMI video+audio).

A follow up question on 5.1 DD or DTS audio out to an older (circa 2001) AVR without HDMI. I am looking into a mobo with IGP and sound, and most of the boards on the page 85 suggestions seem to have either opitcal or digital coax out (my AVR accepts either). Is there any difference in quality between on-board sound if sending it that way (in terms of brand or chipset)? Are there any software limitations?

To add, this would be for MKV with multi channel audio and DVD watching from the htpc.

derekmw

07-10-09, 02:49 PM

G41 is underpowered for HD contents (no hardware acceleration). Go for G45 or add a good graphics card. If price matters (and you don't need HDMI audio), AMD platform is a better choice (a cheap 780G mb with 7750).

You can use the IR receiver/remote that comes with the TV tuner to control Media Center (including recording).

Thanks so much for your help. So one thing I noticed about the G45 in the recommended microATX page was that you can't play BD's? Is this still the case?

This is the setup I am now leaning towards getting. How does it look?

$ 0.00 - Already have Micro ATX case with power supply
$ 69.99 - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200
$134.00 - ASUS P5Q-EM LGA 775 Intel G45 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$ 27.99 - A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K
$ 89.99 - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
$132.99 - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1 Interface

Total: $455.95, but of course need to figure out which windows i'll run and purchase that as well...

Hatfield

07-10-09, 03:04 PM

Great thread!

So I've decided to cannibalize my old HTPC and build a new Mythbuntu-based mATX HTPC and I have a question. This HTPC will only be used to watch/record ATSC, watch DVDs and online content, listen to music, torrenting, etc. No gaming.
All the parts are cannibalized except the case, mobo, graphics card, RAM and tuners.

The current proposed specs:
-Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112186
-650W PSU
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NjI=
-Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L mobo (will turn it into a Hackintosh later on down the road)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357
-Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030
-2x2GB DDR2 800 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
-9800GT Graphics Card (low profile/HDMI(no receiver)/Nvidia(Linux likes it better)) - best low-profile Nvidia card on the market right now AFAIK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187061
-DVD (No Blu Ray in Linux...yet)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153
-2 ATSC USB Tuners (Linux & Mac-compatible)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116017
-1 80GB HDD and 1 500GB HDD
-Gyration Keyboard/Mouse
-May end up getting a Genpix Skywalker-1 down the road.
http://www.genpix-electronics.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=3

My question is:
My father-in-law has a Sony Bravia 52in 120hz TV that makes me drool and I want one. If/when I get one, can I push a 120hz signal from the 9800GT to a 120hz TV and get the same jaw-dropping texture and flow? Nvidia says the 9800GT chipset is compatible with their 120hz 3D glasses set and I was just curious if it was possible for just regular HTPC stuff too.

Thanks in advance!:)

dbone1026

07-10-09, 05:20 PM

@ Renethx - I am starting to get my wish list together shortly for a Media Server (WHS) to replace my HP MediaSmart Server ( I will send over a donation as well soon as I think I should be ready to build this in the next few weeks). Do you know if the SuperMicro 8-Port E Sata controller card you recommend is compatible with WHS? I see mention of Windows 2003 which would be the closest thing to WHS.

cascius

07-10-09, 05:56 PM

Hi Guys, I just gave my HTPC to my dad for father's day and want to make a new one for myself.

As far as the OS/front end is concerned I will be using a slimmed down version of XP32 Pro and XBMC.

The components that I already have are as follow:
ATI 4890
Bunch of hard drives
Antec P180 Case
silent slipstream fans.

I will be silencing the 4890 with Scythe Musashi and will try to make a duct around the GPU.

I'm interested in suggestions on what mobo/CPU/Heatsink to get. I'm a casual gamer. i.e. I like to play video games every other weeks. I will be playing on a 52inch 120hz TV and I need a fairly descent CPU to complement the 4890. That being said, I don't want/need to get an i7 or any sort of expensive CPU. Also, I'd like to have an overall silent system unless I'm playing video games. In that case I don't care if it's a bit noisy. Also, I'd rather get a Standard ATX mobo, for future expandability...

All in all I'd like to keep the price of mobo + CPU + memory + heatsink at around/under $400. (I guess that $500 would be fine too, if you think there would be a huge jump in performance).

Can anyone make a recommendation? (PS: I don't really care whether it's AMD/Intel) ;-)

Thanks in advance,

- Cas

clobber

07-10-09, 06:42 PM

My apologies for the lengthy post. I'm finally going to purchase my new HTPC components and I like to have a reason for everything I buy. Hopefully, it will also assist others in their research.

Current HTPC:

Shuttle SN45G, 1Gb Ram, Athlon 2800+, Asus V9999. I Like the form factor. It plays most but not all 720p, but can not handle 1080p. The graphics card fan is too LOUD, even using speedfan to knock it down to 20%. The PSU fan is too loud as well as I don't have the SN45G2 with the PC40 supply (supposed to be quiet). The whole system gets too hot (80C) and dusty, plus it is a pain to maneuver inside.

Looking for a mid-range system and do not plan to play games.
Requirements for new system:

1) Quiet and Cool
2) Reasonable size (cube or HTPC case). Probably mATX based mobo.
3) Storage capacity on the order 2TB on the machine itself, not the network.
4) My enviornment is both warm and power is at a premium (often blow circuit for entire house)
5) XP pro OS since I already have a copy
6) Mediaportal software with the StreamedMP skin (which is awesome)
7) Still need analog capture. Will use current Hauppague PVR-150 for video capture and conversion of VHS.
8) Current audio system is analog 2.0 so I'm not too concerned. However, I do want to "future proof" as I'll probably get a decent 5.1 system at some point.

After extensive research, I've come up with the following components and reasons to buy. Many of the suggestions came from renethx's brilliant thread here, but I like to have a specific reason for each item I purchase. I would appreciate any comments people have. For the CPU and Motherboard I have to choose something. Based on earlier posts it does not seem to *really* matter what chipset/MB I get since I will use a discrete gpu. Based on an earlier answer to one of my questions, Rene suggested the AMD/AMD 780G.

Processor: The mid range AMD systems suggest Phenom II X3 710 HDX710WFGIBOX (95W TDP), but I'm leaning to the AMD Phenom II X3 705e which is 65W TDP. With my currnet power constraints, the lower the better. It is only $30 more than the 710 at newegg. I got the idea from Tom's (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-7-htpc,2349-2.html) and although it is a new arrival, initial reviews look good. Thoughts?

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H. Basically just taking the recommended AMD/AMD board. Not sure why I want the 780G over other solutions. Even though I'll be using a discrete graphics card, I do want IGP as well - in case one of them fails I can fall back to the other. I don't expect that to happen, but with an HTPC that gets used every day it seems wise to have some redundancy. This board has solid reviews at newegg. There are two PCI slots, one of which will take by PVR-150 card.

CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER GeminII S RR-CCH-PBU1-GP. Is that 120mm fan going to fit it my case? Besides being reccomended in these forums, it is rated very quiet (4th on the list at frostytech (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2288&page=3))). The first on on the list is HUGE and the second and third are less readily available. Can I just confirm that the GeminII S will fit in the system with the Antec Fusion Remote Case? I assume it will based on the recommendation in the thread.

Case: Antec Fusion Remote as reccomended. I was leaning to the NSK2480 (SPCR review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article591-page1.html)) because I don't need or really want the LCD display or remote that comes with the Fusion remote. However, I'm a bit concerned about the power supply noise with the NSK2480 according to this other SPCR Review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article592-page1.html). I suppose I could still buy this case and switch it out with the Corsair PSU or replace the fan in the PSU (which one?), but I've read so many good things about the Fusion Remote aside from the iMon software stuff and that VFD/LCD display which I won't use. Also, Mediaportal does support iMon and it looks like that support will get even better according to Team Mediaportal (http://www.team-mediaportal.com/blogs/team_blog/soundgraph_%28imon_maker%29_and_team_mp_collaboration.html). I've also read a few links suggesting it is possible to run without a CPU fan. Not going to try that, but if I have noise problems then maybe I'll try it.

Power Supply: I'll go with the Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX as suggested. Looks like it is quiet and has long enough cables. Thanks for providing the link to Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3487).

Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 1GB Kit as recommended. I've had no problems with the 1Gb I've had in my previous HTPC system. As cheap as memory is, 2Gb will be nice.

Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 GDDR4 512MB. As this thread suggests, it has good video playback at lower power consumption with 7.1 multichannel LPCM over HDMI. I'm a little concerned about the fan being noisy, but the AVS reviews suggest it is very quiet. It is currently a deactivated item at newegg. It has prevously been suggested in this thread that the HIS turbo 4670 is a suitable replacement, but that the Sapphire is quieter with intelligent fan control (something I need). Any other replacements?

Hard drives: The Antec Fusion Remote case has two 3.5 bays and I'd really like to put two 1TB or two 1.5TB drives in there. I don't plan on using raid. I do like the WD6400AAKS for the speed with the OS and quite a bit of storage space. Therefore, I'll get a WD15EADS 1.5 TB drive and the WD6400AAKS. I do have some concerns on the WD15EADS because there are some negative reviews on newegg that are worth considering. Would the system be noticably slower with two WD15EADS?

Optical drive: LG GGC-H20L for Bluray support. What software comes with this drive for Bluray playback?

Thermal Paste: Artic Silver 5

Remote Control: I'm currently using a cheap universal Sony remote with the PVR-150 video capture card. It works good in Mediaportal. For now, I'll probably just stick with that, but am considering the Harmony One.

I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts and suggestions.
Thanks!

renethx

07-10-09, 08:09 PM

A follow up question on 5.1 DD or DTS audio out to an older (circa 2001) AVR without HDMI. I am looking into a mobo with IGP and sound, and most of the boards on the page 85 suggestions seem to have either opitcal or digital coax out (my AVR accepts either). Is there any difference in quality between on-board sound if sending it that way (in terms of brand or chipset)? Are there any software limitations?

To add, this would be for MKV with multi channel audio and DVD watching from the htpc.
Any SPDIF solution (onboard or discrete sound card, optical or coaxial) is good for your purpose. There is no quality difference between them. There is no software limitation. SPDIF supports:

- stereo LPCM
- DD bitstreams
- DTS bitstreams

MKV ususally includes FLAC, DD or DTS audio tracks. FLAC is decoded to LPCM, then can be encoded to DD or DTS in real-time.

renethx

07-10-09, 08:22 PM

Thanks so much for your help. So one thing I noticed about the G45 in the recommended microATX page was that you can't play BD's? Is this still the case?

This is the setup I am now leaning towards getting. How does it look?

$ 0.00 - Already have Micro ATX case with power supply
$ 69.99 - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200
$134.00 - ASUS P5Q-EM LGA 775 Intel G45 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$ 27.99 - A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K
$ 89.99 - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
$132.99 - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1213 PCI-Express x1 Interface
BD playback with G45+Windows Vista is no problem. Widows 7 ... beta driver is available, so perhaps no problem.

dcard

07-11-09, 11:32 AM

Any SPDIF solution (onboard or discrete sound card, optical or coaxial) is good for your purpose. There is no quality difference between them. There is no software limitation. SPDIF supports:

- stereo LPCM
- DD bitstreams
- DTS bitstreams

MKV ususally includes FLAC, DD or DTS audio tracks. FLAC is decoded to LPCM, then can be encoded to DD or DTS in real-time.

Been a long time, but believe that under Win XP, SPDIF for stereo LPCM is highly dependent on hardware. Although counterintuitive (hey digital is digital), XP drivers (kmixer?) will resample using a lousy algorithm that ports out inferior sound (even untrained ears can easily hear the difference). Only certain hardware had the ability to bypass the windows driver and get bit-perfect output (and onboard was very problematic). I do believe that Vista changed that with a far better driver algorithm that makes this a non-issue. As high quality CD music output (stereo LPCM) is a key focus for me, this was a big issue.

an1913t

07-11-09, 01:31 PM

I put together my first build and cannot get the Sapphire 4670 card to work. When I first started up the system and was setting up the bios, the card worked. When I got out of bios and started loading Win7, the card stopped working (no signal to monitor and the fan shuts off on the card (card starts getting hot quickly)). I switched over to the on-board graphics, which seems to work fine.

I've tried switching PCI slots, shutting off the onboard graphics in the BIOS (Sapphire's suggestion), loaded the latest drivers - all to no effect.

Two questions:
(1) Any thoughts or suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong?
(2) The onboard graphics seems to be working find with my TV over HDMI (I've surfed the net and streamed movies from a WHS with SD movies). What do I lose by returning the card and using only the onboard graphics?

In case it matters, I basically used the mid-level ATX suggestions.

Build
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD
Graphics: SAPPHIRE 100255DDR4 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS
Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HDX710WFGIBOX
Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-SD964 92mm Rifle CPU Cooler
HDD: An 2 extra Seagate 160GB drives I had laying around in RAID1
Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel LC10B-E ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Thanks for any help.

etcarroll

07-11-09, 06:51 PM

What version of ATI driver? v9.6?

meloman

07-11-09, 08:40 PM

Good afternoon. I need some assistance from the experts in this thread. Being that this is my first pc build, I expected some issues (below are the components). I noticed that from the onset the display was unable to produce an accurate picture when using a straight thru hdmi cable. The text & picture throughout seems faint and out of focus - sort of washed out:confused:. On a hunch, I swapped out that cable and popped in a dvi to hdmi cable. That worked, but the question remains, why wouldn't the card display correctly thru hdmi straight thru?

Next, with the dvi/hdmi cable in, I popped in a blu-ray movie (Body of Lies) and everything seemed to work flawlessly. However, when I tried to use the str8 thru hdmi cable i received the following message from TMT:

"Your system is not compatible with HDCP, BD playback is disabled -- Error Code: 3304".

Shortly thereafter, TMT closed down and that was the end of the movie. I'm really confused as to what I've done incorrectly. Did I fail to install the correct gpu drivers (according to ATI, I have the correct version of drivers) or version of TMT? I certainly hope I didn't purchase incompatible components for my htpc:eek:!

One thing I haven't actually done is run Windows update after the install. Perhaps that could be causing the issue? However, since the installation disk that I used is sp1, I've read on this forum that that version of Vista is actually preferred for an htpc build. Maybe I'm wrong.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 -- x2
SAPPHIRE 100255DDR4 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR4
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB -- x2
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V
Logitech Slim diNovo keyboard
Logitech MX Air mouse
Windows Vista x64 ultra

Thank you for reading my post and would appreciate any feedback.

an1913t

07-12-09, 09:23 AM

What version of ATI driver? v9.6?

Yes, v9.6.

meloman

07-12-09, 03:50 PM

Good afternoon. I need some assistance from the experts in this thread. Being that this is my first pc build, I expected some issues (below are the components). I noticed that from the onset the display was unable to produce an accurate picture when using a straight thru hdmi cable. The text & picture throughout seems faint and out of focus - sort of washed out:confused:. On a hunch, I swapped out that cable and popped in a dvi to hdmi cable. That worked, but the question remains, why wouldn't the card display correctly thru hdmi straight thru?

Next, with the dvi/hdmi cable in, I popped in a blu-ray movie (Body of Lies) and everything seemed to work flawlessly. However, when I tried to use the str8 thru hdmi cable i received the following message from TMT:

"Your system is not compatible with HDCP, BD playback is disabled -- Error Code: 3304".

Shortly thereafter, TMT closed down and that was the end of the movie. I'm really confused as to what I've done incorrectly. Did I fail to install the correct gpu drivers (according to ATI, I have the correct version of drivers) or version of TMT? I certainly hope I didn't purchase incompatible components for my htpc:eek:!

One thing I haven't actually done is run Windows update after the install. Perhaps that could be causing the issue? However, since the installation disk that I used is sp1, I've read on this forum that that version of Vista is actually preferred for an htpc build. Maybe I'm wrong.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 -- x2
SAPPHIRE 100255DDR4 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR4
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB -- x2
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V
Logitech Slim diNovo keyboard
Logitech MX Air mouse
Windows Vista x64 ultra
LIAN LI PC-B25B Black Aluminum ATX

Thank you for reading my post and would appreciate any feedback.

Also, I connected the htpc last night to my elite 151-fd and I noticed that the tv wasn't displaying picture on the tv edge to edge. I had about a +2.0" black border all the way around the screen. I also noticed that I wasn't able to select 1920x1280 resolution, the highest resolution I'm able to select is 1920x1080 - either on the 1080p lcd monitor or the pio 60" I'm connecting to.

anttipantti

07-12-09, 08:30 PM

I'm building a low-end htpc for 1080p movies. HD movies ONLY. I won't be gaming at all. I would like the movies to play flawlessly (I'm sick of the freezes with my current multimedia laptop.) This setup will be connected to my Onkyo TX-SR507(-> Sanyo z700 1080p projector) via hdmi.

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz boxed
ANTEC OVERTURE II 450W ATX
WESTERN DIGITAL 1000GB SATAII 32MB (WD10EADS)
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H NVIDIA GeForce 9400
Kingston HyperX 2GB 800MHZ DDR2 DIMM CL5 NON-ECC (5-5-5-15)
--338,8€ (472$)

Will the 1080p blu-ray rips play smoothly and flawlessly with that build?
Any other suggestions?

Thank you for reading. I would appreciate any feedback.

dexx

07-12-09, 09:54 PM

renethx

07-13-09, 02:03 AM

A question regarding nVidia gpu acceleration: Can apps that utilize hardware acceleration do it directly (eg powerdvd, MPC-HC, etc)? Or would i need to install special software from nVidia (eg purewhatever) first?
PureVideo Decoder is a MPEG-2 video decoder from NVIDIA for DVD playback (its development has been discontinued a log time ago). Unless you prefer it to other MPEG-2 decoders (the decoder built in Vista, Win7, PowerDVD, TMT etc.), there is no need to buy it.

renethx

07-13-09, 02:15 AM

renethx

07-13-09, 02:19 AM

Do you know if the SuperMicro 8-Port E Sata controller card you recommend is compatible with WHS?
Yes.

renethx

07-13-09, 02:23 AM

Hi Guys, I just gave my HTPC to my dad for father's day and want to make a new one for myself.

As far as the OS/front end is concerned I will be using a slimmed down version of XP32 Pro and XBMC.

The components that I already have are as follow:
ATI 4890
Bunch of hard drives
Antec P180 Case
silent slipstream fans.

I will be silencing the 4890 with Scythe Musashi and will try to make a duct around the GPU.

I'm interested in suggestions on what mobo/CPU/Heatsink to get. I'm a casual gamer. i.e. I like to play video games every other weeks. I will be playing on a 52inch 120hz TV and I need a fairly descent CPU to complement the 4890. That being said, I don't want/need to get an i7 or any sort of expensive CPU. Also, I'd like to have an overall silent system unless I'm playing video games. In that case I don't care if it's a bit noisy. Also, I'd rather get a Standard ATX mobo, for future expandability...

All in all I'd like to keep the price of mobo + CPU + memory + heatsink at around/under $400. (I guess that $500 would be fine too, if you think there would be a huge jump in performance).
Pick up one of the systems on page 85 depending your budget. You can use HD 4890 with any of them.

renethx

07-13-09, 02:42 AM

Been a long time, but believe that under Win XP, SPDIF for stereo LPCM is highly dependent on hardware. Although counterintuitive (hey digital is digital), XP drivers (kmixer?) will resample using a lousy algorithm that ports out inferior sound (even untrained ears can easily hear the difference). Only certain hardware had the ability to bypass the windows driver and get bit-perfect output (and onboard was very problematic). I do believe that Vista changed that with a far better driver algorithm that makes this a non-issue. As high quality CD music output (stereo LPCM) is a key focus for me, this was a big issue.
I am unaware of an SPDIF solution (onboard or discrete sound card) that does not support stereo LPCM under Windows XP (have you?). Even any decent onboard audio (as in the mb in page a85) 44.1/48/96 kHz and 16/24 bit is no problem in the KS mode. (BTW did anybody [wickchucker or derekmw] mention that he was going to use XP?)

renethx

07-13-09, 03:58 AM

After extensive research, I've come up with the following components and reasons to buy. Many of the suggestions came from renethx's brilliant thread here, but I like to have a specific reason for each item I purchase. I would appreciate any comments people have. For the CPU and Motherboard I have to choose something. Based on earlier posts it does not seem to *really* matter what chipset/MB I get since I will use a discrete gpu. Based on an earlier answer to one of my questions, Rene suggested the AMD/AMD 780G.

Processor: The mid range AMD systems suggest Phenom II X3 710 HDX710WFGIBOX (95W TDP), but I'm leaning to the AMD Phenom II X3 705e which is 65W TDP. With my currnet power constraints, the lower the better. It is only $30 more than the 710 at newegg. I got the idea from Tom's (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-7-htpc,2349-2.html) and although it is a new arrival, initial reviews look good. Thoughts?

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H. Basically just taking the recommended AMD/AMD board. Not sure why I want the 780G over other solutions. Even though I'll be using a discrete graphics card, I do want IGP as well - in case one of them fails I can fall back to the other. I don't expect that to happen, but with an HTPC that gets used every day it seems wise to have some redundancy. This board has solid reviews at newegg. There are two PCI slots, one of which will take by PVR-150 card.

CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER GeminII S RR-CCH-PBU1-GP. Is that 120mm fan going to fit it my case? Besides being reccomended in these forums, it is rated very quiet (4th on the list at frostytech (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2288&page=3))). The first on on the list is HUGE and the second and third are less readily available. Can I just confirm that the GeminII S will fit in the system with the Antec Fusion Remote Case? I assume it will based on the recommendation in the thread.

Case: Antec Fusion Remote as reccomended. I was leaning to the NSK2480 (SPCR review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article591-page1.html)) because I don't need or really want the LCD display or remote that comes with the Fusion remote. However, I'm a bit concerned about the power supply noise with the NSK2480 according to this other SPCR Review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article592-page1.html). I suppose I could still buy this case and switch it out with the Corsair PSU or replace the fan in the PSU (which one?), but I've read so many good things about the Fusion Remote aside from the iMon software stuff and that VFD/LCD display which I won't use. Also, Mediaportal does support iMon and it looks like that support will get even better according to Team Mediaportal (http://www.team-mediaportal.com/blogs/team_blog/soundgraph_%28imon_maker%29_and_team_mp_collaboration.html). I've also read a few links suggesting it is possible to run without a CPU fan. Not going to try that, but if I have noise problems then maybe I'll try it.

Power Supply: I'll go with the Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX as suggested. Looks like it is quiet and has long enough cables. Thanks for providing the link to Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3487).

Memory: G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 1GB Kit as recommended. I've had no problems with the 1Gb I've had in my previous HTPC system. As cheap as memory is, 2Gb will be nice.

Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 GDDR4 512MB. As this thread suggests, it has good video playback at lower power consumption with 7.1 multichannel LPCM over HDMI. I'm a little concerned about the fan being noisy, but the AVS reviews suggest it is very quiet. It is currently a deactivated item at newegg. It has prevously been suggested in this thread that the HIS turbo 4670 is a suitable replacement, but that the Sapphire is quieter with intelligent fan control (something I need). Any other replacements?

Hard drives: The Antec Fusion Remote case has two 3.5 bays and I'd really like to put two 1TB or two 1.5TB drives in there. I don't plan on using raid. I do like the WD6400AAKS for the speed with the OS and quite a bit of storage space. Therefore, I'll get a WD15EADS 1.5 TB drive and the WD6400AAKS. I do have some concerns on the WD15EADS because there are some negative reviews on newegg that are worth considering. Would the system be noticably slower with two WD15EADS?

Optical drive: LG GGC-H20L for Bluray support. What software comes with this drive for Bluray playback?

Thermal Paste: Artic Silver 5

Remote Control: I'm currently using a cheap universal Sony remote with the PVR-150 video capture card. It works good in Mediaportal. For now, I'll probably just stick with that, but am considering the Harmony One.

I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts and suggestions.
Thanks!
Either of 710 and 705e is good. GeminII S fits the Antec case. If you don't need LCD/VFD, NSK2480 is a good choice. Check this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16633727#post16633727). HIS HD 4670 is very quiet for most users or go for HIS H467PS1GP (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161272). Two WD15EADS is not bad (with a small partition for OS).

LG GGC-H20L comes with PowerDVD 7.3 OEM. Update to Patch v. 4407, then to v. the latest one; this way TrueHD 5.1 will be supported.

dcard

07-13-09, 02:19 PM

oops...that was clobber that listed XP-Pro as his OS....sorry there.

As a generalized comment, though, for those still using XP......yes, SPDIF output is supported in XP on on-board and PCI(e) sound chipsets, but only certain ones support NOT mangling the digital path resampling from 44.1 to 48khz. Done properly, as I understand Vista does, this is imperceptible. XP kmixer drivers do the resampling very poorly, so your only choice is to avoid it and shoot for bit-perfect output. This requires sound hardware that supports it, proper driver, and an application (player) that supports it too.

Again, XP-kmixer mangle is not some subtle audiophile thing. Grab an old DVD/CD player with SPDIF output into one input on your receiver, take your XP-based HTPC SPDIF output to another input. Play a ripped wav audio track from the CD on your HTPC. Balance your volume in the HTPC against the CD in in the DVD/CD player. If kmixer is being used (by default), you WILL hear a remarkable difference (especially on headphones...even cheap ones).... the old DVD/CD player will sound much better.

Do a google for -- kmixer resample --

jszei

07-13-09, 03:21 PM

I'm running Vista 64 on my HTPC with Media Portal. I have a Logitech diNovo keyboard and mouse. I am having problems with my PC waking up after not using it for several hours or longer. I'll move the mouse or press buttons on the keyboard but it won't wake up. I've played with the Power settings on the PC but can't seem to figure out what's causing it to not respond to the keyboard or mouse. Not sure if it's a Vista issue or a Logitech one. Anyone have any insight?

Thanks

LBG1080P

07-13-09, 03:26 PM

Hi all, new guy here. I love the thread!. Was hoping someone can point me to a solution for a cablecard setup?

Moncaso 972 HTPC case
MSI 790GX-65
AMD 955 Deneb
8 gb OZC DDR3
Win 7 RC
Blu-Ray ROM

Also

Should I upgrade my on-board HD-3300 video ?

Thanks so much!

404Ender

07-13-09, 05:57 PM

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if there was any way for me to make this potential HTPC build cheaper for my needs? I had people on neoGAF suggest parts for me but I wanted to run it by the people here too. Basically I'm just looking for HD movie file and Blu-ray playback and some retro (PS1/N64 and earlier, so I don't have to keep all of my old systems hooked up) emulation. I don't need to be able to run any new games and I don't need DVR/recording, so if any of these parts are overpowered for my needs and I can save some $$$ please let me know!

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $129.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148337)

SAPPHIRE 100255HDMI Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $69.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102820)

SeaSonic S12 II SS-380GB 380W ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $62.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151032)

OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2N800SR4GK $45.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269)

ASRock G31M-S LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $43.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157146)

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200 - Retail $69.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072)

LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L - Retail $109.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136133)

hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC 7K09 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail $48.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121027)

Thanks.

Z0p

07-13-09, 07:44 PM

renethx

07-13-09, 07:58 PM

renethx

07-13-09, 08:09 PM

Hi all, new guy here. I love the thread!. Was hoping someone can point me to a solution for a cablecard setup?
- DIY'ers can successfully build their own CableCARD equipped HTPC (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1143396)
- Digital Cable Support on Any PC (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/1/355373/ShowThread.aspx)
- Make your PC OCUR compliant - OSFRLoader (http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/357300.aspx)

If you want multichannel LPCM, get a HD 4xxx graphics card (or a new 785G mb). Otherwise HD 3300 should be good.

LesMoss

07-13-09, 08:24 PM

LBG1080P

07-13-09, 10:31 PM

If you want multichannel LPCM, get a HD 4xxx graphics card (or a new 785G mb). Otherwise HD 3300 should be good.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. I need to do some research on the ocur aspects of my board. I'm guessing it supports it.

I also just had a big experiment go wrong with a VisionTek HD 4670. I had a slight shift in the top half of BD and DVD playback on my main media display. (Sanyo 1080P projector) Tried all the different settings in Catalyst and the dispaly, and nothing got rid of it. So back to the on-board for now. Shame because I want to use this new rig for 3D games also

ThrottleAbuse

07-14-09, 01:05 AM

I got a Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 the other day and can't get the keyboard to work. The mouse sync's up just fine, but the keyboard doesn't work. When I turn on the keyboard the light turns green on the top. I then start the detection software thing and then press the bluetooth button on the bottom of the keyboard and after 5 or so seconds the light flashes red and green. Problem is it doesn't stop. Anyone have a clue what is wrong?

Edit: Turns out I got a bum keyboard.

sschen

07-14-09, 03:49 AM

renethx

07-14-09, 03:58 AM

Question about Digital Audio passthrough:

I am currently using the SPDIF output on the following motherboard running Windows XP Pro SP3 to a Logitech Z5500
Gigabyte EX58-UD4P
LG GGW-H20L

I only seem to be able to get Dolby Digital even when the audio on the blu-ray disk is encoded with DTS. Is there anything that I need to do to get the native DTS sound? Sounds like the Gigabyte HD audio chipset is re-encoding all sound to DD? Can't this setup bitstream both DD and DTS through the SPDIF output?

I have a PCI bluegears Enspirer on my old rig that was able to output both DD and DTS, am I better off putting the old PCI card into the new rig?
The onboard audio codec supports DTS bitstreaming. Try to run this DTS test file (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=18598&st=0&p=183600&#entry183600) with AC3Filter (in SPDIF pass-through mode). If you hear 5.1 sounds, then your hardware/driver is good, you just need to configure the player/audio decoder correctly.

DeafSailor

07-14-09, 10:43 AM

sschen

07-14-09, 11:28 AM

The onboard audio codec supports DTS bitstreaming. Try to run this DTS test file (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=18598&st=0&p=183600&#entry183600) with AC3Filter (in SPDIF pass-through mode). If you hear 5.1 sounds, then your hardware/driver is good, you just need to configure the player/audio decoder correctly.

Thanks, the file works fine which left me puzzled for a bit.

I had adjusted the Gigabyte audio setup to use SPDIF. Then I realise perhaps there is a setting on PowerDVD too. And sure enough, it was set to 6 speaker instead of SPDIF. Once it is set to SPDIF, the Logitech Z5500 control panels shows DTS when DTS sound gets sent to it. Thanks for the tipoff.

LBG1080P

07-14-09, 12:37 PM

I'm having problems with HDMI connection. Most of the time I get a "Weak or no signal" message. One time it was working for 10 minutes. Sometimes a few seconds. Other times I see a post and booting up and then it lost the signal.

I have seen several postings with the identical problem but no solutions.

I had a 2nd monitor connected to VGA input while Samsung TV connected on HDMI - I can see NVidia recognize the TV and was able to change resolutions. Nothing seem to solve it.

A friend suggested an HDMI booster? Two feet HDMI cables are from monoprice and have worked fine with PS3 and Tivo.

Any suggestions? I'm really at lost. I've built many PCs but first time as HTPC.

Specs:
TV: Samsung DLP 50" HL-S5088W (it has HDMI, Component, & PC IN)

OS: Windows 7 RC 1 64 Bit

Slightly modified low end Nvidia/Intel specs:
CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5200
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA775 GeForce 9400 mGPU
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit
Graphics Card: GeForce 9400 (integrated in the chipset)
HDD: Seagate
PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS370X 370W ATX12V
Case: LIAN LI PC-C37B

Make sure the cables are at least 1.3 ver and also...

Check all the firmware is up to date. Especially the Samsung. I install for a living and Samsung always gives me this problem with PC's. Usually a firmware/driver thing.

Good Luck

DeafSailor

07-14-09, 01:27 PM

I just called Samsung. There's no firmware available for this model. So I guess I have the latest.

I've had the HDMI cables for about 3 years. So I don't know what version... I'll find out when I get home tonight.

an1913t

07-14-09, 01:55 PM

I don't think I can be of any help but I have the same MB and a similar problem. I'm attempting to use a Diamond 3870 from a dead computer and it is not being recognized, although the fan comes on. The graphics card could have been damaged when the computer died (2 hard drives were destroyed, but the blu ray drive was salvaged).

I'm content with the on-board graphics for now as well. I'm using multi-channel output to a Pioneer AV receiver. Eventually I'd like to get a 4670. By the way the GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H is one solid MB. Hope that's not the problem. Good luck!

Thanks for the comments. I've been happy with the MB and its graphics so far. After corresponding with Sapphire for a while about the problem, they think it is a bad card. I'm just going to return it for a refund and use the MB for the time being.

DeafSailor

07-15-09, 08:40 AM

I'm having problems with HDMI connection. Most of the time I get a "Weak or no signal" message. One time it was working for 10 minutes. Sometimes a few seconds. Other times I see a post and booting up and then it lost the signal.

I have seen several postings with the identical problem but no solutions.

I had a 2nd monitor connected to VGA input while Samsung TV connected on HDMI - I can see NVidia recognize the TV and was able to change resolutions. Nothing seem to solve it.

A friend suggested an HDMI booster? Two feet HDMI cables are from monoprice and have worked fine with PS3 and Tivo.

Any suggestions? I'm really at lost. I've built many PCs but first time as HTPC.

Specs:
TV: Samsung DLP 50" HL-S5088W (it has HDMI, Component, & PC IN)

OS: Windows 7 RC 1 64 Bit

Slightly modified low end Nvidia/Intel specs:
CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5200
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA775 GeForce 9400 mGPU
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit
Graphics Card: GeForce 9400 (integrated in the chipset)
HDD: Seagate
PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS370X 370W ATX12V
Case: LIAN LI PC-C37B
Okay, it has been resolved. After trying out several suggestions from AVSForum users (thanks!), I've decided to reinstall OS in 32-bit. After install, this time I grabbed the drivers that came with the motherboard. It works fine. In hindsight, I think I may have missed a driver? After putting together the PC, I naturally grab all the latest drivers online (I never use drivers on CD comes w/ MB). This is the first time I have Gigabyte motherboard, the name of drivers in setup/doc don't exactly match what you see online (i.e. NVidia) until you actually install them. I think that may have been the problem. I don't think it was because of 32 bit OS as oppose to 64.

Thanks anyway!

Now I have to correct the overscan problem and improve video playback with Hulu...

Shake54

07-15-09, 11:07 AM

Renethx,

I'm REALLY new to this HTPC thing, but found this deal online:

AMD Athlon X2 7550 2.5 GHz Socket AM2 OEM Processor (http://slickdeals.net/?pno=22565&lno=2&afsrc=1) + ECS A780GM-A Black Series Socket AM2/AM2+ Motherboard (http://slickdeals.net/?pno=22565&lno=3&afsrc=1) + 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR2-800 Memory (http://slickdeals.net/?pno=22565&lno=4&afsrc=1) + 320GB Western Digital Serial ATA OEM Hard Drive (http://slickdeals.net/?pno=22565&lno=5&afsrc=1) for $157.

1. Would this chipset plus MOBO be sufficient for watching HDDVD and BluRays in 1080p?
2. Would be used for torrents and probably capturing video for OTA Television. OK?
3. Handle burning BluRays with the right drive?

tiger8mush

07-15-09, 11:28 AM

Just want to make sure this is all compatible before I buy.

Case: Lian Li PC-C37B $170
PSU: Antec 380W $45
CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO #7400 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W $120
MB: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-D52H $130
Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) PC2 8500 F2-8500 CL5D-4GBPK DDR2 SDRAM 1066 $50
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 $100
Internet: Encore ENLWI-N $25
Optical: LG 8x BD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LightScribe DVD burner CH08LS10 $120
Keyboard/Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000 $60

Questions:
1) Will all that fit in the Lian case? Or would the Antec NSK2480 be a better option?
2) Is it all compatible? If an item or two could be swapped to optimize performance I'm all ears, or if anything is overkill and I could save money.
3) Operating System - I could either install a copy of XP that I already have, or purchase Vista32, Vista64, or Win 7. What do you recommend?
4) Any specific cables/accessories I'd want to buy? Just don't want to start setting it up and find out I need more stuff, as this is my first build.

Sound: Denon 1709 AVR, Energy RC Mini Speakers. Energy V8 sub.
Vision: Sanyo PLV-Z60 projector
Extra: Xbox 360

Am I missing anything? Thanks guys for any info/comments/suggestions. I'm sure down the road I'll want to purchase a TV Tuner too.

Rob
:o)

MrMcCrackin

07-15-09, 04:32 PM

Hey Guys,

I am dealing with a GPU heat problem - according to SpeedFan my GPU temps are around 60-70*C

Yet my CPU temps are normal around 40-50*C

I have an 80mm case fan mounted to the side of the Apex MI-008 and swapped out the thermal compound to Artic Silver - but still no change in temps

I have been trying to find a GPU cooler/fan - will this one work?

ZALMAN VF900 – CU 2 Ball VGA Cooler

Or should I try something else?

set up below:

CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.50GHz LGA775,
CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-775,
Motherboard: ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi GF9300-D-E LGA775 GeForce 9300 mGPU Mini-ITX,
Memory: PATRIOT DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit,
Graphics Card: GeForce 9300 (integrated in the chipset),
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps,
PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case):
Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX
OS: Vista Home Premium OEM
DVD: LG GGC-H20L
Keyboard: Adesso 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Multimedia/MCE Keyboard with Optical Trackball WKB-3200UB

renethx

07-15-09, 07:03 PM

renethx

07-15-09, 08:09 PM

renethx

07-15-09, 08:13 PM

MrMcCrackin

07-15-09, 09:53 PM

60-70*C is normal. Attach a Scythe Mini Kaze 40mm fan.

Thanks once again renethx!

tiger8mush

07-16-09, 06:48 AM

Overall good. A low-profile bracket is not included in Encore ENLWI-N. There are several USB models such as ENCORE ENUWI-N. Or go for NSK2480. You may need HDMI cables.

OS: If you want to save money, XP is good enough. Use a good front end such as MediaPortal.

thanks renethx.

Would the Rosewill RNX-G300LX fit in the low profile case (lian li pc-c37b)?

Thanks for the tip on MediaPortal. Looks like I'll have alot of downloading to do to be able to use it with Win XP.

renethx

07-16-09, 09:32 AM

thanks renethx.

Would the Rosewill RNX-G300LX fit in the low profile case (lian li pc-c37b)?
Yes. But this does not support IEEE 802.11n (if this matters for you).

ThrottleAbuse

07-16-09, 04:46 PM

Since the SAPPHIRE 100255DDR4 doesn't seem to be available anywhere I was wondering how you feel about this as an upgrade? Get the new SAPPHIRE 100277L Radeon HD 4770 which is very difficult to find also. Is there any reason to get the 4770 over the HIS H467QT512P if your not a gamer?

I am all over the board looking at these things. Any reason to jump to the HIS H485QT512 or SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870?

renethx

07-16-09, 08:03 PM

kartman976

07-16-09, 08:23 PM

Thinking about going with the AMD/AMD mid-range microATX system for my HTPC setup. I'll be using it to play ripped DVDs, streaming video from Hulu/Netflix, ripping DVDs and BD playing MP3s. I'm not sure if I'll be playing any games on the setup... still deciding on the 4670 or the 4850. For my case I'm leaning towards the Antec NSK2480 (I already have one, looks good, works good). For a remote I've been using a Harmony 880 & EZ@Home remote (has track ball for controlling mouse).

I'll be connecting the system to my AVR via HDMI, and that will connect to my LCD via HDMI.

Should this system meet my needs? See anything I should switch? Is it worth waiting anything new that's gonna be on the market soon?

Thanks for your input.

saxnix

07-16-09, 08:24 PM

Any idea on when ATI plan to/or are likely to release the 5xxx series? And what is likely to be expected with these cards? PAP?

renethx

07-16-09, 10:36 PM

Should this system meet my needs?
Yes. 4850 is not a good choice.

A cheaper alternative is one of the upcoming AMD 785G chipset mbs with Athlon II X2 processor.

sschen

07-16-09, 11:29 PM

Overall good. A low-profile bracket is not included in Encore ENLWI-N. There are several USB models such as ENCORE ENUWI-N. Or go for NSK2480. You may need HDMI cables.

OS: If you want to save money, XP is good enough. Use a good front end such as MediaPortal.

renethx

Can this MediaPortal playback BD titles? Or is PowerDVD the best way to go for BD playback? Are there any other good apps for the purpose of playing back BD titles? Thanks in advance

renethx

07-16-09, 11:43 PM

Any idea on when ATI plan to/or are likely to release the 5xxx series? And what is likely to be expected with these cards? PAP?
The latest information is here (http://www.nordichardware.com/news,9612.html).

renethx

07-16-09, 11:45 PM

renethx

Can this MediaPortal playback BD titles? Or is PowerDVD the best way to go for BD playback? Are there any other good apps for the purpose of playing back BD titles? Thanks in advance
Only AACS-compliant players (PDVD, TMT, WinDVD) can play BD movies right now (until the release of SlyPlayer). These players can be launched inside MediaPortal. Each individual titles (m2ts file extension) can be played with the internal player of course.

saxnix

07-16-09, 11:48 PM

Thank you.

Marc_G

07-17-09, 06:44 AM

@saxnix:

I prefer to rip the BD to disk (using AnydvdHD), then mount the iso in virtual clone drive, and use MakeMKV to extract out the show itself. The .mkv file works in lots of stand-alone players but I use MediaBrowser as my front end. See www.mediabrowser.tv

Marc

tiger8mush

07-17-09, 06:50 AM

Yes. But this does not support IEEE 802.11n (if this matters for you).

Thanks renethx. It matters a little, but for $15 it'll be temporary. I'll have to upgrade when I find something that both fits in the case and supports 802.11n.

On another note, I ordered some of my system and was re-checking the compatibility of the motherboard memory support. Will the motherboard accept the DDR2 1066? I got the 1066 memory to match the CPU cuz the E7400 CPU has a FSB of 1066 MHz. With the motherboard work? If not, please recommend a different setup, although I've already ordered the CPU and memory but not the mobo.

CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W $120
MB: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H $130
Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) PC2 8500 F2-8500 CL5D-4GBPK DDR2 SDRAM 1066 $50

Thanks all!
Rob

renethx

07-17-09, 07:39 AM

Will the motherboard accept the DDR2 1066? I got the 1066 memory to match the CPU cuz the E7400 CPU has a FSB of 1066 MHz. With the motherboard work? If not, please recommend a different setup, although I've already ordered the CPU and memory but not the mobo.

CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W $120
MB: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H $130
Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) PC2 8500 F2-8500 CL5D-4GBPK DDR2 SDRAM 1066 $50

Thanks all!
Rob
Yes, DDR2-1066 works with the mb (Linked mode 1:1). Actually DDR2-533 matches a FSB 1066 processor (as I explained on page 1). There is no big performance growth if you use memory faster than DDR2-533 as FSB is the bottleneck of the memory bandwidth.

tiger8mush

07-17-09, 07:46 AM

Yes, DDR2-1066 works with the mb (Linked mode 1:1). Actually DDR2-533 matches a FSB 1066 processor (as I explained on page 1). There is no big performance growth if you use memory faster than DDR2-533 as FSB is the bottleneck of the memory bandwidth.

thanks renethx! i'll have to reread page 1. i'll learn eventually :o)

gfortune1981

07-17-09, 11:29 PM

This is my current build:

1 Sony Optiarc Slim 8X DVD±R Burner Black SATA Model AD-7590S-01 - OEM

1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

1 GIGABYTE GA-MA780G-UD3H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

1 CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

1 A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail

1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200 Brisbane 2.7GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5200DOBOX - Retail

2 VANTEC CB-ISATAU2 SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter - Retail

2 SUPERMICRO AOC-SAT2-MV8 64-bit PCI-X133MHz SATA Controller Card - Retail

1 NORCO RPC-4020 4U Rackmount Server Case - Retail

1 Sony 1.44MB 0.5" Height Internal Floppy Drive for Notebooks and Slim PCs -
MPF820 - Black (OEM)

Can you tell me:

What cables are needed
The SUPERMICRO AOC-SAT2-MV8 card only hold 8 drives per card. With 2 cards will this limit me to 16 drives for raid 5?

Thanks!

Gary

renethx

07-18-09, 09:50 AM

Can you tell me:

What cables are needed
The SUPERMICRO AOC-SAT2-MV8 card only hold 8 drives per card. With 2 cards will this limit me to 16 drives for raid 5?
SATA cables: Eight cables are bundled with the MV8 card. You will need more if you want to use onboard SATA connectors.
Power adapters: Ten 4-pin peripheral power connectors are required for 20 HDDs. CMPSU-850TX has eight 4-pin peripheral power connectors. You may need SATA to 4-pin adapters like this (http://www.cooldrives.com/sa15poto4moa.html).

No, you can use onboard SATA too for software RAID.

theddy

07-18-09, 05:06 PM

foghorn2

07-18-09, 05:26 PM

hi everyone new to this thread but been reading. i really wanted to build an htpc but i don't know if i can do it since i haven't built a computer once. so my question is am i better of building my own or is this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9387763&type=product&id=1218097477400 be better for me? how does it compare. thanks

Best Buy makes a lot of money from people with no technical skills. I'd say go ahead and make em richer, or be smart and follow Renethx's plethora of information here and find a smart friend.

I for one will never give my hard earned dollars to HP or Best Buy.

StuBerger

07-19-09, 11:38 AM

I am a newbie here on this thread since I am waiting for my first HTPC and would love some info if possible... I have a Sony 52V5100 LCD TV which I have been rcently calibrating with the help of the V5100's thread on this site. I recently purchased a starter HTPC using Dell...which I am sure wasn't the BEST idea for a HTPC but for a first I hope it is okay!
The Sony is 1080P...and here is the following setup I used to build the HTPC:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 Processor
Vista Home Premium 64bit
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 800MHz RAM
750GB Seagate Serial ATA (7200 rpm) w/DataBurst Cache
BluRay/DVD/CD Burner
ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB Graphics Card
Integrated 7.1 Sound
10/1000 Ethernet NIC
Dell 19-1 Media Card Reader
Wireless-N PCI Express Card
Studio Slim Desktop Case...can be put on it's side...this is why I picked the case!

So, is there anything I could do to either configure the ATI's driver or in the calibration of the Sony to make everything work and look great!

Encore2097

07-19-09, 10:34 PM

This is my current build:
1 GIGABYTE GA-MA780G-UD3H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

2 SUPERMICRO AOC-SAT2-MV8 64-bit PCI-X133MHz SATA Controller Card - Retail

I hope you realize that those cards are PCI-X while the motherboard only has PCI-E expansion slots...

PCI-X (PCI eXtended) is an expansion interface commonly found on server motherboards.
PCI-E (PCI Express) is an expansion interface used on consumer level motherboards.

renethx

07-19-09, 11:09 PM

I hope you realize that those cards are PCI-X while the motherboard only has PCI-E expansion slots...

PCI-X (PCI eXtended) is an expansion interface commonly found on server motherboards.
PCI-E (PCI Express) is an expansion interface used on consumer level motherboards.
The AOC-SAT2-MV8 PCI-X card can be used in a PCI slot, and there is no bandwidth issue with, for example, WHS and unRAID. However for software RAID 5/6, the mb is a wrong choice (I should have mentioned that).

Encore2097

07-19-09, 11:48 PM

The AOC-SAT2-MV8 PCI-X card can be used in a PCI slot, and there is no bandwidth issue with, for example, WHS and unRAID. However for software RAID 5/6, the mb is a wrong choice (I should have mentioned that).
My mistake I just presumed RAID for its fault tolerance and performance characteristics with so many drives. I had not heard of unRAID until now, it seems just to be JBOD with parity if I understand it correctly.

gfortune1981

07-20-09, 12:35 AM

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=3004&ProductName=GA-MA780G-UD3H

GA-MA780G-UD3H

Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10 and JBOD

renethx

07-20-09, 02:59 AM

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=3004&ProductName=GA-MA780G-UD3H

GA-MA780G-UD3H

Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10 and JBOD
If you want to go with software RAID (e.g. Openfiler) with two AOC-SAT2-MV8 cards + possibly onboard SATA ports, then you should use a mb with two PCI-X slots (such as Supermicro MBD-X7SBE on page 85).

For JBOD (individual disks) with any OS, WHS and unRAID, GA-MA780G-UD3H is good enough.

Marc_G

07-20-09, 06:44 AM

Hi folks,

I thought I would "give back" a bit since I've gotten so much help here.

In short, I've ditched the onboard Radeon HD3200 GPU of my Gigabyte MA78GPM-UD2H in favor of a $35 (after MIR) SAPPHIRE 100252HDMI Radeon HD 4550 512MB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card.

The difference visually on my 50" 1080i plasma TV is astounding. While the onboard GPU worked, and had no trouble keeping up with media playback, after a while I got frustrated that I couldn't get the thing to look quite the way I wanted it to. I always had some color/brightness balance issues.

With the 4550, as soon as I installed the drivers, everything just instantly looked a lot better. DVDs appeared much crisper. BDs (or MKVs taken from them) no longer appeared too dark or too bright...

The only thing that neither gpu gets right is that the used part of the screen is ever so slightly off center (down), so I have about a half centimeter of unused display on the sides and top of the screen, as I haven't found a way to properly center the thing.

Anyway, to those considering using integrated graphics, if your setup is like mine I recommend spending the small $ needed for discrete GPU.

Marc

renethx

07-20-09, 09:17 AM

Expreview (http://en.expreview.com/2009/07/20/rumor-rv870-delayed-to-november.html)

RV870 (= Radeon HD 58xx or maybe different name) could be delayed until November due to TSMC’s 40nm yield issue (that's the main reason why it is hard to find a HD 4770 card now).

sedenna

07-20-09, 11:27 AM

alchu

07-20-09, 02:15 PM

thegoldenstrand

07-20-09, 02:44 PM

Renethx,

Do you have any plans for putting together a guide for building a mini-itx system yet? With Zotac's 9300 board and hopefully more to come.. put this with a case like the Silverstone mini-itx cases that have two full size pci slots that can accomodate cards up to 9 inches in length and you can have either a solid gaming rig or.. whatever... we need more cases and more info on this one.. those slim dvd's don't accomodate blu-ray to well.. be nice to see mini-dtx motherboards for the masses soon.

tsanga

07-20-09, 03:54 PM

Mini-ITX is covered on page 85.

Marc_G

07-20-09, 04:04 PM

Marc, which CPU are you using in your setup? I'm getting ready to build mine and this was an interesting thing to read - I think right now I'm deciding between a 7850 with the MA78's integrated GPU... or a 5050e with a dedicated card. The info on page 85 indicates that on-board gpu suffers with interlaced content and a AM2 processor.

Thanks,
Allan

I've got the 7750 Kuma processor. And to be clear, my system didn't seem to be starved for processing power, either cpu or gpu. Acceleration worked with proper codecs. Just to my eyes, it never looked quite right with the onboard processor on the 1080i display. Lack of crispness and color depth difficulties. Like the gamma never was quite right. But popping in the inexpensive, silent 4550 fixed it right up.fabulously happy now.

Marc

bmcent1

07-20-09, 04:37 PM

Wondering if anyone has a Kill-a-watt meter and has measured the power draw of a low end microatx systems at idle.

I'm thinking of building a low power PC to replace two old clunkers that are drawing 100 W and basically twiddling their thumbs 24x7. I thought the Intel/Intel microATX system might be a good start because low power and low noise often go hand in hand. I need support for 1 PCI and 1 PCI xpress or 2 PCI cards.

It's a little off topic, but knowing power draw could be helpful for people building these for on topic use :)

renethx

07-20-09, 07:48 PM

jlenz

07-20-09, 08:58 PM

renethx

07-20-09, 09:40 PM

I am building my htpc and need some advice. I am looking at getting the wd caviar black 640gb for my os. I was thinking about getting 2 wd caviar green drives for my media. I was thinking of doing raid 5, can i do it with the three drives or do I need another for the media drive? I am very concerned about media and want to protect it.
My recommedation is: a HDD for OS and a bunch of (minimum 3) larger HDDs (of the same size) for RAID 5. But RAID 5 is not a backup solution. You could lose data by partition corruption, array corruption, accidental deletion, virus, simultaneous failure of two HDDs, a natural disaster hitting your home.

srusu

07-20-09, 10:01 PM

renethx

07-21-09, 01:27 AM

I am planning to build a HTPC in the Lian Li PC-C39 case. Can someone that has this case please confirm that it has a built-in IR receiver? I am planning to use it with my existing Harmony One. I read somewhere else that the remote interface on this case is RF. Thanks!
A good question. It looks like it's RF.

Lian Li Member Forum > Questions about PC-C39 (http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:1m5Fg1Ef0NMJ:www.lian-li.com.tw/v2/tw/phpBB/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D2892%26view%3Dnext%26sid%3D23ae1fe394a68 bc6afbe7cb564501086) (Reply from Site Admin)

I hope it can answer your question,
1. the Remote controller is wireless, running in 2.4G RF

renethx

07-21-09, 04:30 AM

Intel Processor Pricing: Effective Jul 19, 2009 (http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/INTC/596567455x0x306172/798DBE8E-5F10-4731-BE3B-BF4F5DE4C46E/Jul_19_09_1ku_Price.pdf)

Q9400 6M L2 2.66GHz: $213 -> $183
Q8400 4M L2 2.66GHz: $183 -> $163

E7500 3M L2 2.93GHz: $133 -> $113
E7400 3M L2 2.80GHz: $113 -> $113

E5300 2M L2 2.60GHz: $74 -> $64
E5200 2M L2 2.50GHz: $64 -> $64

jlenz

07-21-09, 08:02 AM

My recommedation is: a HDD for OS and a bunch of (minimum 3) larger HDDs (of the same size) for RAID 5. But RAID 5 is not a backup solution. You could lose data by partition corruption, array corruption, accidental deletion, virus, simultaneous failure of two HDDs, a natural disaster hitting your home.

The info you provide is great, thanks so much.

In my htpc, I am building a premium atx machine with the i7 920 and hd 4890 card. I have heard from others that this is overkill for a htpc. With my 1500 budget and the fact I will be doing little to no gaming, is it overkill?

Thanks

Jim

dbone1026

07-21-09, 08:07 AM

The info you provide is great, thanks so much.

In my htpc, I am building a premium atx machine with the i7 920 and hd 4890 card. I have heard from others that this is overkill for a htpc. With my 1500 budget and the fact I will be doing little to no gaming, is it overkill?

Thanks

Jim

What are you planning on doing with your HTPC, just media streaming/playback? Are you looking to do any encoding of your videos and any CPU intensive processes (only reason I could think of even using an i7 in an HTPC).

jlenz

07-21-09, 12:28 PM

What are you planning on doing with your HTPC, just media streaming/playback? Are you looking to do any encoding of your videos and any CPU intensive processes (only reason I could think of even using an i7 in an HTPC).

I have a hd video camera so will likely be doing some encoding also. I have all my home movies on my hard drive and will need to do editing, etc to get them into final form.

JL

dbone1026

07-21-09, 12:38 PM

dbone1026

07-21-09, 12:51 PM

I have a hd video camera so will likely be doing some encoding also. I have all my home movies on my hard drive and will need to do editing, etc to get them into final form.

JL

I currently have a Quad Core Q6600 and depending on what type of encoding I am doing can take me from 10-12 hours to do one HD movie, so I would definitely go with the i7 if you plan on using your HTPC for encoding.

EazyM3

07-21-09, 05:52 PM

Quick question... Since Microcenter was selling the q9550 for almost the same price as Newegg's e8400, I picked up the q9550 for my HTPC. I am pairing the CPU with an Asus p5q-em with integrated HDMI. Since I won't be gaming, is there any particular reason why the mid range system suggests getting a 4670? Will I be okay using the integrated HDMI on the mobo for 1080p playback?

H8nXTC

07-21-09, 06:56 PM

Nice CPU if it was around $170, that's what I would pick up if I was going Intel.

EazyM3

07-21-09, 07:07 PM

Yes, I got it for $170... :) I ended up selling my AMD 5050e + Asus m3n78-vm for $100 and put the money towards the q9550 + Asus p5q-em. Would you happen to know if I'd be okay using the mobo's internal HDMI for HTPC use?

H8nXTC

07-21-09, 07:30 PM

Not familiar with the Asus, sorry. I'm fond of the Gigabyte E7AUM myself.

rotelmania

07-21-09, 09:21 PM

how much power do I need for the following system
# CPU: Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA1366, $284.
# CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $40.
# Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA1366 Intel X58 chipset ATX, $289.
# Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ DDR3-1600 3 x 2GB Kit, $85.
# Graphic card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 GDDR4 512MB

thanks

st33l

07-21-09, 10:23 PM

lakers12

07-21-09, 10:30 PM

Not familiar with the Asus, sorry. I'm fond of the Gigabyte E7AUM myself.http://www.*********************/file.php

I like gigabyte too but they really need to spruce up their website, dull, boring as hell makes me not want to buy anything from them

df1021

07-22-09, 12:37 AM

What would be the best operating system to use running a low to mid range htpc as described on page 85? My build would be something like this:

Intel core 2 duo 2.8
GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA
4 gig ddr2
GeForce 9500 GT

renethx

07-22-09, 01:11 AM

Renethx - looking to finally get going with my Media Server build. As a quick background I currently have an HP MediaSmart Server (first gen so running single core cpu - 4x1TB drives) and a Sans Digital TR4M Esata Port Multiplier (4x1TB). I want to replace this with your suggested 15tb(16HDD) system. It will be running WHS and be used for media storage, streaming HD content, backing up computers, and recording live tv (via hdhomerun and tv tuner card). Couple quick questions before I start really getting into the details

1) Would you consider the Home Media Server Build specs you have in your guide to be the latest/greatest (i.e are you expecting any significant changes in the near term)?
2) I am still debating whether I spend a little more and go for the Chenbro SR109 or go with the Antec/Cooler Master that you also mention. Looking at pics of the Chenbro it appears you can mount a HDD internally on the side (presumably for the O/S) so you still have 15 bays free, giving you the 15TB(16HDD) setup. Can you do the same with the Antec/Cooler Master cases, or do you end up having to use one of the 15 bays for the O/S HDD?
3) Do any of the three cases above allow for a rom drive without taking up a HDD bay?
4) With the Chenbro, I found the following two SR109 models:

- Chenbro1 (http://www.nowdirect.com/exec/partInfo/part_detail.tsb?prcpart=CHBSR10969-BK-T&categoryid=&D=*chenbro+SR109*&Ntt=*chenbro+SR109*&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Main&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=301&Nty=1)
- Chenbro2 (http://www.nowdirect.com/exec/partInfo/part_detail.tsb?prcpart=CHBSR10969-BK-H&categoryid=&D=*chenbro+SR109*&Ntt=*chenbro+SR109*&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Main&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=301&Nty=1)

Is there any reason to choose one over the other (there is abouta $10 difference)?
- I see SR10969-BK-T in Chenbro USA site, but don't see SR10969-BK-H. You'd better check the difference with the retailer (if they know that).

- Cenbro vs Antec vs Cooler Master.

-- Cenbro with three 5-in-3 cage, 15 HDDs: $551
-- 590 with three 5-in-3, 15 HDDs: $380
-- 1200 with six 3-in-2 (no hot swap), 18 HDDs: $284
-- 1200 with four 5-in-3, 20 HDDs: $586

If you can't use the horizontal case NORCO RPC-4020/4220, then 1200 with six 3-in-2 is the most economical. In Cenbro case, you can mount a HDD for OS vertically in addition to 15 HDDs. In 590/1200, you have to use one of the 15/18/20 HDDs for OS. (A workaround is use a 2.5" HDD or SSD for OS and mount it somewhere inside the case.)

- You could use an Intel 3210 chipset mb with (at least) two PCI-X slots (+$150; see on page 85), but you won't see performance difference under WHS. You could use two Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCIe x4 Card (then you have to buy four SFF-8087 to Four SATA cables, $44 in total) possibly with an AMD 790GX mb (supporting dual PCIe 2.0 x8) or an an Intel 3210 chipset mb with two PCIe x8 slots (+$150; see on page 85), but you won't see performance difference under WHS either.

- You can't attach an optical disk drive internally unless you remove one of the cages. (But you will need it only when you install OS.)

srusu

07-22-09, 01:20 AM

Thank you, Renethx. Is there any low profile, black, microATX case that comes with a good IR sensor? Otherwise, I will go with a Lian Li C37B Muse and an USB external IR sensor. Thanks!

renethx

07-22-09, 01:26 AM

renethx

07-22-09, 01:33 AM

renethx

07-22-09, 01:38 AM

I was looking at building one of the lower-end recommended systems. One thing I was wondering was how well do these systems work compared to a mid-level or high-level system. I guess what I'm saying is how long can one of these systems last before it becomes outdated (I know technology is always changing and improving so nothing is 'future-proof' but I hope you get my point)? Any help or guidance at all would be appreciated.
Basically the graphics card (integrated or discrete) is the heart of HTPC. As long as you can upgrade the graphics card, your system will last long (so you'd better choose a full-height case).

renethx

07-22-09, 01:41 AM

renethx

07-22-09, 01:44 AM

Thank you, Renethx. Is there any low profile, black, microATX case that comes with a good IR sensor? Otherwise, I will go with a Lian Li C37B Muse and an USB external IR sensor. Thanks!
AFAIK there is no such case. You can paint Antec Micro Fusion Remote 350 front panel with black, though.

renethx

07-22-09, 03:46 AM

The following information I posted in another thread may be useful for people looking for high-end to premium systems.

Core i5 LGA1156 (Lynnfield) is released on September 8th along with a couple of Core i7 LGA1156 (Lynnfield) processors.

- Core i7 870 (8 Threads/2.93GHz/TB 3.60GHz/L3 8MB/dual channel DDR3/95W)　$562
- Core i7 860 (8 Threads/2.80GHz/TB 3.46GHz/L3 8MB/dual channel DDR3/95W)　$284
- Core i5 750 (4 Threads/2.66GHz/TB 3.20GHz/L3 8MB/dual channel DDR3/95W)　$196

Current Core i7 920 LGA1366 (Bloomfield):

- Core i7 920 (8 Threads/2.66GHz/TB 2.79GHz/L3 8MB/triple channel DDR3/130W) $284

If you want to save $90, Core i5 is a good choice. However it does not support HyperThreading technology, which could be a serious drawback in some applications, e.g. x264 encoding (still faster than the fastest Phenom II X4):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=148178&stc=1&d=1248079538

(the figure from AnandTech: The Lynnfield Preview: Rumblings of Revenge (http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3570).)

Core i7 920 will be discontinued and will be replaced with Core i7 860 (the socket is different though) which will be mostly faster than i7 920 and will be the way to go if you can wait till September. If you can't wait, just buy Core i7 920 now, and you won't regret it.

BTW the number of threads (instead of the number of cores) is one of the key points in the new branding scheme.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=148275&stc=1&d=1248186508

- i7 = 8 threads, Turbo Boost (4 cores [Lynnfield])
- i5 = 4 threads, Turbo Boost (4 cores [Lynnfield]/2 cores [Clarksdale])
- i3 = 4 threads, no Turbo Boost (2 cores [Clarksdale])

Clarksdale is a 32nm dual-core processor integrating not only memory controller and PCI Express controller but also graphics processor (Q1 2010).

renethx

07-22-09, 08:59 AM

AMD Processor Pricing (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_609,00.html)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=148364&stc=1&d=1248268157

bob13bob

07-22-09, 12:57 PM

I thought dedicated boxes still have the best hd tuning over any of hte hptcs setups?

I hate to say it but I think there is a lot of bad advice in this thread, too much seems to fixate on marketing from the manufacturers. I have built many computers over the last several years, overclocking most of them. One thing I learned is.

Building htpc should be like building pc, get the best budget build you can and repeat every 15-24 months. a $200 core component computer in 15 months can beat a $2000 computer today. core components are cpu, memory, motherboard, gpu.

Comparison:
10//2008 budget build $248 core at stock speed (cpu motherboard memory gpu). 3dmark06 10272. link (http://www.warhammeralliance.com/forums/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=2227635)
15 month older relatively high end build
05//2007 3dmark06 6168. link (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mainstream-cpu,1595-10.html). setup (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mainstream-cpu,1595-5.html) . $241 cpu alone.
Athlon 64 X2 6000+ top model (3.0 GHz), which is priced at $241link (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mainstream-cpu,1595.html) . This doesn’t even bring in the intel which is over $300.

Any of the budget cpus these days can handle htpc hd duties. If you want gaming on your htpc like I have on mine, than get an overclockable cpu liek the wolfdale series e5200 which hits 3.5ghz.

Running on stock voltage at 3.5Ghz (280x12.5) stable.
7hrs Orthos with max core temp hitting 53*C; 32*C idle (Core Temp 0.99.4).
I'm sure I could push it more with better mobo and RAM, but it was a part of a very tight budget build (350$ with S&H) so no one could ask for more. newegg (http://slickdeals.net/?sdtid=1411573&u2=http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=19-116-072&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&SelectedRating=-1&PurchaseMark=&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=4)

in real world benchmarks:
at 3.5ghz it would probalby compare to e8600 (3.33ghz) 9th from the top here. , $1000 i7 is only 12% faster. toms (http://slickdeals.net/?sdtid=1411573&u2=http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Unreal-Tournament-3-1680x1050,819.html) [tomshardware.com (http://slickdeals.net/?sdtid=1411573&u2=http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Unreal-Tournament-3-1680x1050,819.html)]

mudfrog

07-22-09, 01:27 PM

A couple of questions..

Will my current HTPC be sufficient in playing bluray and HD-DVD content? I have a PowerDVD copy that came bundled with my gaming 4890 (i would imagine the latest version but I have not installed it yet), will PowerDVD allow playback of both Bluray and HD-DVD?

Current HTPC specs:

Athlon X2 4600+
Gigabyte GA-M570-SLI (I think was the model #)
MSI 8800GT OC 512MB
2GB G.Skill RAM
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black
Windows 7

I just want to ensure this PC will play back Bluray and HD-DVD before I sink the money in on a Bluray / HD-DVD combo drive.

Thanks

mkedda

07-22-09, 02:40 PM

Renethx and all,

This is my first EVER HTPC build. I plan to use it as an HTPC, iTunes Streamer, and File Storage. So, it will be always on.
I plan to overclock.

Is the PSU too much? Is the CPU overkill?

BESIDES a DVD player, what am I missing?

SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8 mm SECC body LC17-B ATX Media Center / HTPC
$119.89

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop $50.99

HIS Hightech H467QT512P Radeon HD 4670 IceQ Turbo 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
$74.99

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
$134.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model
$116.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active $99.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives
$99.99

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
$31.98

Total: ~$750.

pyroz

07-22-09, 03:21 PM

mkedda

07-22-09, 03:51 PM

ati cards have onboard audio chip.
most motherboards support 7.1 built in.

Iteki

07-22-09, 03:55 PM

Noob here, I've noticed that most of these builds don't include a separate sound card. My question is how do you get digital audio from the HTPC to the receiver? I've read that some run a DVI -> HDMI from the HTPC to the receiver but how do one get sound from a video card? Thanks.

make sure you get a video card that has HDMI out, will handle HD Video and digital audio (with some caveats you'll have to read about).

rene recommends ATI 4670. I have one and it works flawless for audio/video that meet my needs.

rani5907

07-22-09, 04:03 PM

Thx a lot to Rene and rest of you who poured in all the efforts in educating others. I am trying to follow the pg#85 recommendation with some deviation to fit into somewhere between low and mid. I am trying to build something which will be on all the time, but need to be very quiet and play BD, mkv and stream audio. I will pass the audio signal to the AVR through S/PDIF. So far I bought

ANTECFUSION REMOTE RT - $139.99
ANTEC EA430 430W RT - $49.49 (deviation from corsair based on feedback and price)
Planning to buy:
4GB Ram
Pioneer BD drive
WD 1 tb HD
Avermedia combo
Biggest thing is I don't know what to do with the MB and CPU. My preference is to stick to AMD but not to have a separate Graphics card. I don't mind paying extra for a quad. Should I be looking at GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H AM2 + Phenom II. Also planning to use Win7RC and then upgrade to win7Home($49 upgrade). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
:confused:

StuBerger

07-22-09, 04:24 PM

I had wrote a post earlier on page 304 but no answer...let me try again...I am a newbie to the HTPC thing and have a question... My LCD is a Sony 52V5100 and it has a designated VGA port to hook up a computer to. I recently got a puter (HTPC) and it has a ATI Radeon HD 4350 Video Card...the card has a HDMI and a DVI port. I do have a DVI-VGA adapter and would like to know which is the best (most stable) connection to use. I have tried hooking up my Dell notebook to the TV via the VGA connector using a Belkin PureAV cable and low/behold it came in on the TV as 1080...which I didn't think was possible with VGA but I guess it's the cable. The TV has preset picture menus for the connection to VGA and alot of options are greyed out due to Sony's presets for PC hookups. The picture from the notebook was real nice...and was hoping if I use HDMI it will be as easy to setup or is there alot of cavets/problems/communication problems when hooking up a PC to a TV using HDMI, especially with the ATI Vid Card?

renethx

07-22-09, 07:37 PM

renethx

07-22-09, 07:43 PM

renethx

07-22-09, 07:53 PM

renethx

07-22-09, 07:59 PM

H8nXTC

07-22-09, 08:52 PM

Your hardware components are good enough (dual-core processor, 8800 GT supports HA). But not every version of PowerDVD supports BD/HD-DVD. Only Ultra supports BD, and only 7.3 (and 8 with a hack) supports HD-DVD.

Thought I read somewhere that the minimum for full Blu-Ray was a 5400+ recommended. This was a long time ago, but it stuck in my mind.

amitabh9

07-22-09, 09:01 PM

still havent found a sapphire 4670 hd gddr4

renethx

07-22-09, 09:01 PM

Thought I read somewhere that the minimum for full Blu-Ray was a 5400+ recommended. This was a long time ago, but it stuck in my mind.
X2 4600+ is 2.4GHz. Typically you will see < 30% CPU usage for H.264 and 50-70% for VC-1 (as 8800 GT lacks hardware VLD [variable length decoder] for VC-1).

renethx

07-22-09, 09:02 PM

still havent found a sapphire 4670 hd gddr4
Buy HIS. ;)

amitabh9

07-22-09, 09:08 PM

mudfrog

07-22-09, 09:33 PM

Your hardware components are good enough (dual-core processor, 8800 GT supports HA). But not every version of PowerDVD supports BD/HD-DVD. Only Ultra supports BD, and only 7.3 (and 8 with a hack) supports HD-DVD.

Thanks for the help.. I've heard from multiple sources that there really isn't any software that works well with bluray playback at the moment. Do you have any you suggest?

renethx

07-22-09, 10:35 PM

gmanhdtv

07-22-09, 10:49 PM

i just built a similar htpc, and its great, didnt really use a third party cooler, but thats just a personal choice.

the only con of the system is the mobo layout and how it fits in the case. May just be the case. a long v/c will eliminate the usefulness of the middle hdd bay.

Why use a single 1TB drive. Use a smaller drive for the OS and a larger drive for media storage. Why risk the OS drive to storage when drives are a low cost item...Just a suggestion.;)

Marc_G

07-22-09, 11:22 PM

...Biggest thing is I don't know what to do with the MB and CPU. My preference is to stick to AMD but not to have a separate Graphics card. I don't mind paying extra for a quad. Should I be looking at GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H AM2 + Phenom II. Also planning to use Win7RC and then upgrade to win7Home($49 upgrade). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
:confused:

I went down basically the route you are considering, and popped a few extra bucks for a Gigabyte MA78GPM-UD2H, which has Radeon HD3200+128MB sideport RAM. While it handled everything I threw at it, I wasn't really pleased with the picture quality. I use a 50" 1080i plasma, I should mention. Apparently this MB/iGPU isn't the best for interlaced content or displays (see comments a page or two up).

Eventually I replaced the GPU functionality with a Sapphire HD4550 ($35 after MIR) and the visual difference was astounding. Things just look a lot better in ways that I don't really have the vocab to describe. The card I got is fanless so is silent. Gets hot though! But I don't sweat it.

I strongly recommend a discrete card if you are working with interlaced content or a 1080i display. Even a cheap one like the one I got is a big visual step up from an iGPU.

Marc

PS: I now use W7 7100 and it's fabulous.

gfortune1981

07-23-09, 12:42 AM

I looked at specs for both the gigabyte board onboard SATA ports and the two AOC-SAT2-MV8 cards are compatible with software raid 10.

Is this a viable solution?

Quote:
Originally Posted by gfortune1981 View Post
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...GA-MA780G-UD3H

GA-MA780G-UD3H

Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10 and JBOD
If you want to go with software RAID (e.g. Openfiler) with two AOC-SAT2-MV8 cards + possibly onboard SATA ports, then you should use a mb with two PCI-X slots (such as Supermicro MBD-X7SBE on page 85).

For JBOD (individual disks) with any OS, WHS and unRAID, GA-MA780G-UD3H is good enough.

carverm

07-23-09, 02:43 AM

Thanks for any feedback.
Building a multi-use trading/HTPC/driving sim system.
-The trading function will need to run four 26" 1920x1200 monitors and
have 40 browser windows open simultaneously with fast access times and no slowing (adequate headroom)
-The HTPC will need to run 1080p to a 52" 120hz LCD with hd sound.
It will feed a Yamaha RX-V765 that can accept either optical s/pdif or HDMI which has Burr-Brown DACs.
Does it make a difference to run the HDMI sound vs. s/pdif optical sound to the Yamaha ie.
can the s/pdif out on the P6T SE send full 24/192 as the HDMI on the 4850 can (if I understand this right)?
I was under the impression that both are the raw signal so they are the same although rate may be different.
-The driving sim will require a vid card with 1GB for the depth of performance of the environments.

The system needs to run fairly cool for dependability and stability.

So my system plans are already very close to Rene's premium Intel/Intel setup but has a few changes for cost/features.

295 O/S: Win 7 64 Prof.
275 Proc: Intel i7 920
205 Mobo: ASUS P6T SE
165 Case: Antec 1200 full tower
165 Power: CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular
50 Cool: XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V
110 Mem: 6GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 1600
220 HD: Intel X25-M Gen 2 80GB SSDSA2MH080G2
100 HD2: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive
120 LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner
30 LG Black 22X DVD+R SATA 22X DVD Burner
260 Vid: Dual HIS H485QS1GP Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready IceQ4 Video Card
This card was chosen over the 4670 for its sim properties and cooling.

Any thoughts?
Thanks.

renethx

07-23-09, 02:54 AM

I looked at specs for both the gigabyte board onboard SATA ports and the two AOC-SAT2-MV8 cards are compatible with software raid 10.
Software RAID does not depend on hardware. The only requirement is that OS recognizes the drives. As long as OS supports the mb's SATA controller and MV8, you can create a RAID array. Another important consideration is bandwidth. A virtue of RAID 5 (or 10) is faster read speed (as well as minimum downtime in case of a HDD failure), but then HDD controller needs to support larger bandwidth and PCI will be the performance bottleneck. That's the reason why PCI-X is recommended over PCI.

renethx

07-23-09, 03:36 AM

Thanks for any feedback.
Building a multi-use trading/HTPC/driving sim system.
-The trading function will need to run four 26" 1920x1200 monitors and
have 40 browser windows open simultaneously with fast access times and no slowing (adequate headroom)
-The HTPC will need to run 1080p to a 52" 120hz LCD with hd sound.
It will feed a Yamaha RX-V765 that can accept either optical s/pdif or HDMI which has 192/24 Burr-Brown DACs.
-The driving sim will require a vid card with 1GB for the depth of performance of the environments.

The system needs to run fairly cool for dependability and stability.

So my system plans are already very close to Rene's premium Intel/Intel setup but has a few changes for cost/features.

295 O/S: Win 7 64 Prof.
275 Proc: Intel i7 920
205 Mobo: ASUS P6T SE
165 Case: Antec 1200 full tower
165 Power: CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular
50 Cool: XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V
110 Mem: 6GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 1600
220 HD: Intel X25-M Gen 2 80GB SSDSA2MH080G2
100 HD2: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive
120 LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner
30 LG Black 22X DVD+R SATA 22X DVD Burner
260 Vid: Dual HIS H485QS1GP Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready IceQ4 Video Card
This card was chosen over the 4670 for its sim properties and cooling.

Any thoughts?
Thanks.
A nice system. You could use dual HD 4770 depending on your performance requirement (runs much cooler than HD 4850 at idle/2D/3D). From x-bit labs (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd4770_5.html):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=148431&stc=1&d=1248334412

carverm

07-23-09, 05:02 AM

Thanks much Rene!
Didn't realize the 4770 was so good.
Read the whole article, and the fact that it was so close to the 4850 in perf.
and matched/beat it with a mild o/c while running lower power and temps was impressive.
I think it's the way to go.

Marc_G

07-23-09, 06:32 AM

Thanks for the help.. I've heard from multiple sources that there really isn't any software that works well with bluray playback at the moment. Do you have any you suggest?

Actually there are only three BD software players: PowerDVD, TotalMedia Theater and WinDVD. Any of them will do a decent job in BD playback, though not perfect.

@mudfrog:
I use PowerDVD7.3Ultra because it came with my drive. But, it frequently loses audio sync with the video when we pause/resume a movie. Restarting at the last chapter mark or ff/rw sometimes fixes it. BAsically, it blows.

So what I do instead is make a .mkv file from the BD by the use of Anydvdhd to decrypt, then MakeMkv to create the .mkv file. My .mkv's are handled by Media Browser plugin for Windows Media Center.
I recommend W7 as it gets past several bad Vista bugs relating to video playback.

Good luck!

Marc

mudfrog

07-23-09, 07:36 AM

I have a copy of Powerdvd 7 OEM that came with the 8800GT I have and I'm not too impressed with it. Since I do not have a bluray drive I was toying with the abilitly to upscale a normal DVD to 1080p (23" Acer H233H). I tried it on my gaming PC first (Phenom II 920 @ 3.71GHz and ATI 4890 @ 950 / 1150). In the settings I enabled hardware accelartion and the picture was absolutely horrible. I had vertical lines breaking up the picture, lots of overscan, etc.. I disabled hardware accelaration and the picture looked better but not great. I then tried media player classic and the picture looked 10x better. Anyone have a clue why PowerDVD would display this way with HA turned on?

bradinbrooklyn

07-23-09, 12:08 PM

Hi all -

I find when I play DVD or Blu Ray video on my build that the picture is quite dark, no matter how I adjust the TV settings. My video card is a SAPPHIRE 100255DDR4 Radeon HD 4670 and I'm running it HDMI to my Panasonic TC-P54G10 (Plasma). The picture is so dark that I can't even use Avia to properly calibrate. Other input devices (stand alone DVD, XBox 360, etc.) work fine and calibrate nicely. I've seen some random posts about ATI output, but have not found a comprehensive solution. I've ended up playing with the Catalyst display settings to up the brightness and down the contrast, but I'm a little uncomfortable with managing contrast and brightness in two places. Does anyone have any feedback here?

Thanks!
Brad

renethx

07-23-09, 12:16 PM

mkedda

07-23-09, 12:19 PM

How do you calculate total system wattage?

CPU is good. The max power consumption of your current system is < 200W. So even 450W is plenty enough.

speedoflight

07-23-09, 12:31 PM

How do you calculate total system wattage?

Look up the specs for each component and add up the wattage.

Marc_G

07-23-09, 12:40 PM

olwe

07-23-09, 04:17 PM

THe_Flash

07-23-09, 05:43 PM

I've been following this thread for a few weeks now and I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on this low-end system I have in mind.

Corsair xms2 ddr2-800 4 gigs
AMD Athlon II x2 245
WD Caviar Green 1TB
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H (when it becomes available)
Antec NSK2480

I just bought the same setup, only I ordered the Athlon X2 5050e 2.6GHz processor. This will be my first attempt at a HTPC, so I am hoping that the system will be capable of decently playing 1080p mkv files. I'm not too worried about Blu-Ray playback as I have a standalone S550, but it sure will be nice to just dump all my digital content to one spot.

amicusterrae

07-23-09, 05:53 PM

Hello Renethx and all posters,
You helped me build an HTPC last year. At that time I only cared about the video half of blu-ray playback. Now that I have an HDMI-capable receiver, I want to take advantage of 7.1 LPCM. My receiver does not decode HD audio, so I don't care about bitstreaming True HD or DTS master Audio. I use ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater.

My question is, what is the best way to go about this with a single HDMI connection?
A dedicated video or sound card? One of the new 785G mobos coming out soon?
I'd prefer to spend as little as possible (ie, I take it you have to buy the expensive Xonar card even though I don't need bitstreaming capability?), and I'd rather not increase power consumption and heat very much (which is why i stuck with integrated graphics at build). Oh, and I'd rather not replace the mobo!

thanks in advance!

renethx

07-23-09, 07:44 PM

renethx

07-23-09, 08:01 PM

thcalan

07-23-09, 08:57 PM

OK
Im looking to build my HTPC because Im losing my office to the second baby (and the first baby makes it almost impossible to do good research)

I want it as a media server, and to play DVD/Blu/files through the surround sound (which I scaled down to F/L/R while my son is in his climbing/pulling down stage) and my 40in Sammy

I need a case that fits in a typical entertainment stand, and will be using a Harmony remote. I would like a wireless keyboard with touchpad to directly control the TV and will be remote desktopping to it for the file server stuff, as we still have 2 laptops

Mt Tivo will be taking care of my cable and broadcast recording

BUDGET:
Heres the catch
I want to spend close to NOTHING to do it
If I have a componant that will do the job then im using it

Heres what Im converting

Mobo - Asus p5b Delux (is the onboard sound sufficient? I dont have any digital out do I?)
Mem - Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2 Twin 2x
PSU- Enermax ATX 12v 485W
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4ghz 4mb cache 1066MHz
Sound - Soundblaster X-Fi platinum (this card pops and hisses (known problem) but im not sure if its just with XP)
OS - win xp (will do a clean install of other OS for this project)
Video - Nvidia geforce 7900gt (is the DVI out fine with adaptor for the TV or should I replace)

Any suggestions would be apprecieted by my son-to-be

digitlnoize

07-23-09, 09:45 PM

grod777

07-23-09, 10:40 PM

thcalan

07-23-09, 11:38 PM

Well, I'm not expert, but if you don't mind being a little ghetto, your setup should work. It's better than mine at least.

I've been running a Pentium D805 with a GeForce4200. I can only do 720p, but that does just fine...

I don't have a digital audio out either, so I've been suffering through the hell of "stereo" sound. Ugh. Works fine though.

I guess the question is, just how little do you want to spend? I'm betting you could do a "meh" job with what you have.

That being said, I'm upgrading soon myself!

Put it this way

If I have to spend a few hundred I wont die, I just want to ensure that Im not wasting my time with this and would be better off hooking up my laptop to the tv

So I will spend money to do the job semi-right

renethx

07-24-09, 12:07 AM

This is a little off the subject but I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
I have noticed some screen shots of members HTPC and saw the Media Center with pics of movies. How do I go about putting the core (No Extras) of a DVD or Bluray on my HDD and to display the cover art of the Movie on Media Center as I have seen. If there is a forum for this topic, please direct me to it. Thanks in advance.
You need to add a plugin that retrieves metadata from a movie database on the Internet. E.g. Media Browser (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1094009) + meta browser.

pyroz

07-24-09, 12:20 AM

I have a Slim Tower Dell with OnBoard Audio.
What I want to do is to use it as a HTPC for HKV files.

Can I get this Card and run the HDMI Cable from that card to a HK AVR254 for both the audio and video? Or would I need to run a S/PDIF as well?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102819

Thanks a bunch.

renethx

07-24-09, 12:35 AM

Can I get this Card and run the HDMI Cable from that card to a HK AVR254 for both the audio and video?
Yes, you can.

gEExr

07-24-09, 12:54 AM

I am building the Intel High end ATX system as recommended on Pg 85. Do I need a separate soundcard in my HTPC for sending the Dolby TrueHD/ DTS Master Audio signal to my AV Receiver (which has its decoder)? Thanks.

renethx

07-24-09, 12:59 AM

gEExr

07-24-09, 01:05 AM

renethx

07-24-09, 01:19 AM

I understand that the decoded LPCM will be multichannel but lossy - is that right? Is there no way to send the TrueHD signal in a lossless fashion (multichannel analog maybe)? Sorry if I sound confused.
LPCM is the standard lossless digital audio format (used everwhere in CE/PC/audio CD).

Doby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio -> (Decoder) -> LPCM -> (DSP) -> (DAC) -> analog -> (AMP) -> (Speakers)

So the point is where decoding is done, inside PC or AVR. (Downsampling is another matter to be considered. Please read ATI Radeon HD 4xxx and its configuration, PAP etc. for this subject.)

gEExr

07-24-09, 01:43 AM

LPCM is the standard lossless digital audio format (used everwhere in CE/PC/audio CD).

Doby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio -> (Decoder) -> LPCM -> (DSP) -> (DAC) -> analog -> (AMP) -> (Speakers)

So the point is where decoding is done, inside PC or AVR. (Downsampling is another matter to be considered. Please read ATI Radeon HD 4xxx and its configuration, PAP etc. for this subject.)

Thanks a lot Renethx. So the final question is WITHOUT a separate asus sound card on my HTPC, will it still be able to decode Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master audio to LPCM (without sacrificing sound quality/Bandwidth) and then send it over the ATI HD4850 normal DVI/HDMI adapter hooked with HDMI1.3 cable to the AVR for it to play?

renethx

07-24-09, 02:11 AM

Thanks a lot Renethx. So the final question is WITHOUT a separate asus sound card on my HTPC, will it still be able to decode Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master audio to LPCM (without sacrificing sound quality/Bandwidth) and then send it over the ATI HD4850 normal DVI/HDMI adapter hooked with HDMI1.3 cable to the AVR for it to play?
Decoding Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio to LPCM inside PC:

Non-real time: No problem. Decoding Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio to LPCM (various software decoders are available 'free'), then encoding to FLAC (another lossess format) and creat MKV files and archive BD movies this way in HDDs with 100% original video/audio quality is a very common method.

Real-time: You will need to use PowerDVD, TMT or WindDVD and decoded LPCM is further downsampled to 16bit/48kHz (by an AACS requirement due to the lack of PAP in Radeon HD 4xxx HDMI audio).

gEExr

07-24-09, 02:31 AM

Decoding Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio to LPCM inside PC:

Non-real time: No problem. Decoding Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio to LPCM (various software decoders are available 'free'), then encoding to FLAC (another lossess format) and creat MKV files and archive BD movies this way in HDDs with 100% original video/audio quality is a very common method.

Real-time: You will need to use PowerDVD, TMT or WindDVD and decoded LPCM is further downsampled to 16bit/48kHz (by an AACS requirement due to the lack of PAP in Radeon HD 4xxx HDMI audio).

Got it. Now I am off to reading about the PAP stuff. Thanks a lot.

OldGatorDelt

07-24-09, 09:39 AM

renethx

07-24-09, 10:34 AM

I like to think I have half a brain, but I'm confused on the HD sound issue.... My receiver will decode HD audio (Denon 4310CI) just fine, the issue appears to be getting digital sound to it... My HTPC has an Asus M3N78Pro MB with S/PDIF out, and video (8300 IGP)out thru HDMI.... What do I need ????
Precisely, what do you want to do? Want to know how to configure Sound (which OS?) and player (what player?) to get SPDIF and/or HDMI audio? Or something else?

wizzack

07-24-09, 10:47 AM

virgin pc builder here. Started assembling the mid range AMD build last night. Got everthing mounted in the case and then read the instructions for the aftermarket cooler. WHOOPS! Didn't realize it had to be mounted from under the MB. :p :o live and learn!

amicusterrae

07-24-09, 11:25 AM

Add HD 4550. (Or Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim if you want undownsampled HD audio [LPCM] when using TMT.)

Ok, thanks. that makes sense. whether I should be concerned about downsampling . . . . If i weren't I probably wouldn't care about decoding the HD tracks anyway!

One last Q:
Do you know if the new 785G chipset will be PAP compliant, and therefore not downsample?

Postmoderndesign

07-24-09, 01:56 PM

Currently, I have a 9 year old Pentiium 4 computer and a PS3 about 12 feet away connected over a DLink DIR-655 router. I use the computer for Internet surfing, email, Quicken, Microsoft Office applications, DVDs, photo printing and editing. I use the PS3 with a HDMI, LPCM 7.1 capable AVR and a 58" Panasonic 1080p plasma for playing blu-ray movies and a little media sharing. I am not a gamer. As an Internet surfer the PS3 is clunky and it is not a DVR.

I am thinking that I should be moving toward replacing the Pentium 4 and XP Home simply because of age and coming obsolescence. I have ordered Windows 7. I recently replaced my 15" CRT with a 22" HDCP compliant LCD monitor.

I have never built a computer but I have replaced everything but a CPU and a motherboard.

I have been reading this Thread for a couple months and thinking about building this sites' mid range Intel HD HTPC. To that end I have gotten a HD Homerun TV tuner and a dinovo edge keyboard for testing and even an Antec Fusion ATX case. Meanwhile I am still trying to understand the impact of digital right management and protected audio pathways on the implementation of a HD HTPC set up.

Now my question is the following: Can I use the HD HTPC to replace both the Pentium 4 and the PS3? The HIS H467QT512P Radeon HD 4670 GDDR3 seems to have two video ports. Can I use one for the plasma and run a 15 foot DVI cable to the LCD monitor on my computer workstation? I then envision using a USB hub for peripherals and the Dinovo edge keyboard and touch screen. I prefer to work in a chair at a desk.

Of course an alternative solution would be buy a cheap PC to replace the Pentium 4.

Would anyone care to enter this debate I am having with myself using his or her real world experience?

digitlnoize

07-24-09, 02:15 PM

Put it this way

If I have to spend a few hundred I wont die, I just want to ensure that Im not wasting my time with this and would be better off hooking up my laptop to the tv

So I will spend money to do the job semi-right

If you're looking in the few hundred range, you can probably do a pretty good job with one of the build in the "Guide" (page 85) found in this forum.

You don't need a powerhouse if you're not going to game hardcore, but having a halfway modern system doesn't hurt.

I've been making due with my older pc for sometime, with pretty good results, but I'd like surround sound, and the ability to play 1080p if I want to...and just a faster experience in general...so I'm upgrading.

Good news is, you can bogart your old harddrives, so that saves some cash. Can easily be done for $300-500 depending on the CPU,etc you select.

tyfoon

07-24-09, 05:19 PM

THe_Flash

07-24-09, 05:44 PM

Hi there,

I've been following this thread for a few weeks now and I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on this low-end system I have in mind.

Corsair xms2 ddr2-800 4 gigs
AMD Athlon II x2 245
WD Caviar Green 1TB
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H (when it becomes available)
Antec NSK2480

Will this system be able to display bluray and hd video/audio nicely? Anything else i need? I have Panny 1080i 42" display. I'm thinking of not getting a discrete video card if possible to keep costs down.

Again, thanks for all the help guys.

One more thing, the power supply that comes with the Antec NSK2480 doesn't have an 8 pin PCI Express power cable, which the MA785GM needs. I tried booting without connecting it and the board won't post, even though I'm not using a video card, only the onboard video.

olwe

07-24-09, 06:54 PM

renethx

07-24-09, 07:25 PM

Do you know if the new 785G chipset will be PAP compliant, and therefore not downsample?
785G does not support PAP. IGP is basically a lighter version of HD 4350/4550.

renethx

07-24-09, 07:38 PM

renethx

07-24-09, 08:19 PM

After trying Linsys extenders (DMA 2100 & dma2200) and Popcornhour A100 I'm still not hapy with them as 'extenders'.

A new thought is to build a very small HTPC with just a small SSD to boot from and which has just enough power to do HD. No CD/DVD etc. needed. I would like to place it behind my TV on my bedroom. HDMI (incl. audio) is a must have. No Wifi needed.

I have found a barebone that starts to look like somthing usefull (altough I would prefer not to have the optical drive in it): MD 200 Elite group (http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Products/ProductsDetail.aspx?CategoryID=12&TypeID=66&DetailID=987&DetailName=Feature&MenuID=140&LanID=0)

Any suggestions on existing or build configurations?
MD200's G43 does not support full hardware decode acceleration of MPEG2, VC1, and AVC (see page 22 of the Intel® 4 Series Chipset Family Datasheet (www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/319970.pdf)).

Atom processor + NVIDIA ION chipset (or an Intel desktop processor + NVIDIA GeForce 9300 chipset) is a better choice. You can build a Mini-ITX system yourself or buy a pre-built ION system.

OldGatorDelt

07-24-09, 08:34 PM

Precisely, what do you want to do? Want to know how to configure Sound (which OS?) and player (what player?) to get SPDIF and/or HDMI audio? Or something else?
What I want to do is play BD & HD discs and let my receiver decode the HD audio.... OS right now is XP Pro, will be Win7 when Oct 22 rolls around... I usually dual boot to the RC to shorten my learning curve.... Use WinDVD9.... I understand only HDMI will transfer the audio digitally between receiver and HTPC.... I've read the specs on my Asus M3N78 Pro MB, but am not sure, in fact kinda doubt, if the MB provides digital sound with the video in the HDMI connection...

renethx

07-24-09, 08:50 PM

Thanks for the tip! However, what is the solution for that? Do I have to buy an 8-pin power cable? This is going to be my first PC build so I'm a bit clueless.
There are three connector types for mb/graphics (in addition to SATA/peripheral/floppy connectors):

- 4-pin or 8-pin ATX 12V for CPU
- 20-pin or 24-pin main (20-pin for a pre-PCI Express motherboard)
- 6-pin or 8-pin PCI Express for a graphics card

EA380 (bundled with NSK2480) has:

- 4-pin ATX 12V
- 24-pin main
- 6-pin PCI Express

8-pin ATX 12V is necessary only for a power-hungry processor (> 125W) for better stability. Unless you use such a processor, EA380 is fine.

renethx

07-24-09, 09:02 PM

What I want to do is play BD & HD discs and let my receiver decode the HD audio.... OS right now is XP Pro, will be Win7 when Oct 22 rolls around... I usually dual boot to the RC to shorten my learning curve.... Use WinDVD9.... I understand only HDMI will transfer the audio digitally between receiver and HTPC.... I've read the specs on my Asus M3N78 Pro MB, but am not sure, in fact kinda doubt, if the MB provides digital sound with the video in the HDMI connection...
WinDVD decodes Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio to multichannel LPCM (and downsample to 16bit/48kHz) and sends audio streams to GeForce 8300 HD audio controller, then to AVR over HDMI.

So what you need is:

- Select NVIDIA HDMI audio as the default sound playback device in Sound in Control Panel of Windows. (Don't forget to install HDMI audio driver 1.00.00.42; download it here (http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us).)
- Select the correct audio device in the WinDVD settings.

Postmoderndesign

07-24-09, 09:22 PM

Basically yes. Because of the lack of PAP in the current HD audio in PC (except for Xonar HDAV1.3 sound card), every AACS-compliant software BD player (PowerDVD, TMT, WinDVD) downsamples HD audio to 16bit/48kHz. Of course if you don't use such a player, you can still get full-quality HD audio (convert a BD movie to MKV and play it with a media player, or use the upcoming non-AACS-compliant SlyPlayer).

If you are thinking of simultaneous use of both displays i extend mode, then I recommend a 1GB video memory card. If you use each display at at time (or clone mode; resolution/refresh rate must be identical in the two displays), then 512MB is enough.

Renethx, thanks for your response. I would have never figured this out without you.

If I build your suggested mid level Intel system and I would like to be able to run both monitors at once which video card would you recommend?

Will I need a larger power supply?

Would I need to change anything else in the suggested mid range components?

renethx

07-24-09, 09:31 PM

If I build your suggested mid level Intel system and I would like to be able to run both monitors at once which video card would you recommend?

Will I need a larger power supply?

Would I need to change anything else in the suggested mid range components?
For extend desktop mode, HIS H467QSS1GP. For clone mode, HIS H467QT512P. You don't need a larger PSU.

olwe

07-24-09, 10:13 PM

There are three connector types for mb/graphics (in addition to SATA/peripheral/floppy connectors):

- 4-pin or 8-pin ATX 12V for CPU
- 20-pin or 24-pin main (20-pin for a pre-PCI Express motherboard)
- 6-pin or 8-pin PCI Express for a graphics card

EA380 (bundled with NSK2480) has:

- 4-pin ATX 12V
- 24-pin main
- 6-pin PCI Express

8-pin ATX 12V is necessary only for a power-hungry processor (> 125W) for better stability. Unless you use such a processor, EA380 is fine.

So regarding my set up, I won't run into any troubles building the whole system? I mean plugging all the cables to where they should be?

Provantage have shipped the board and I might order the parts from newegg tonight seeing that they have discounted the NSK2480 for $18 less.

DJWikiera

07-24-09, 10:20 PM

So regarding my set up, I won't run into any troubles building the whole system? I mean plugging all the cables to where they should be?

You shouldn't have any problems if you start reading your motherboards user manual now. That way you'll be on step ahead of the build.

rotelmania

07-24-09, 11:16 PM

I'll be building my HTPC, the following are the components:

- CPU: Intel i7 920
- Case:Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Max ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
- Fan: ZALMAN CNPS9900LED 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
- Motherboard: ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
- Memory: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
- Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100255U Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
- Power supplies: ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI
- HDD: Seagate 1tb
- Tuner CArd : Avermedia

What do you think about this setup? I cannot find sapphire hd 4670 ddr4. Is it a typo? Will the power supply be enough? How is the fan cooler (is this better than the xigmatec dark knight)?I will use this htpc mostly for watching movie, tv broadcast and record Hdtv.

thanks in advancd

renethx

07-24-09, 11:21 PM

amicusterrae

07-24-09, 11:48 PM

785G does not support PAP. IGP is basically a lighter version of HD 4350/4550.

This downsampling issue is a real bummer! Renethx, do you think it's a big deal?

renethx

07-25-09, 12:03 AM

This downsampling issue is a real bummer! Renethx, do you think it's a big deal?
Personally, no.

rotelmania

07-25-09, 12:13 AM

Good, CPU/mb/memory are overkill for your purpose though.

CNPS9900A LED won't fit the Antec case. Use a shorter 90mm fan side-flow cooler or a 120mm top-flow cooler (such as Cooler Master Geminii S with LGA1366 bracket).

Use HIS H467QSS1GP or H467QT512P if you can't find Sapphire HD 4670 GDDR4.

I forgot to mention that I'll be doing a lot of encoding too and I was able to get i7 920 for $199.

What is your reason for choosing the HIS video card instead of sapphire even though they both only ddr3? I notice that the HIS only get HDMI via adapter. Can I still get the audio pass through to my receiver via the dvi to HDMI adapter?

As for the cooler, will zalman 9500 with 92 mm fit in the case? Is the coolermaster geminii quiet enough for htpc?

thanks in advance

renethx

07-25-09, 12:17 AM

I forgot to mention that I'll be doing a lot of encoding too and I was able to get i7 920 for $199.

What is your reason for choosing the HIS video card instead of sapphire even though they both only ddr3? I notice that the HIS only get HDMI via adapter. Can I still get the audio pass through to my receiver via the dvi to HDMI adapter?

As for the cooler, will zalman 9500 with 92 mm fit in the case? Is the coolermaster geminii quiet enough for htpc?

thanks in advance
Sapphire GDDR4 is in my recommendation list. This card has a Arctic Cooling fan and is perhaps the quietest among active coolers. But this is hard to find right now. HIS is also very quiet.

HIS with the bundled DVI-HDMI adapter supports HDMI audio fine.

You'd better use Geminii S instead of a 90/92mm cooler such as CNPS9500 for i7.

THe_Flash

07-25-09, 12:34 AM

8-pin ATX 12V is necessary only for a power-hungry processor (> 125W) for better stability. Unless you use such a processor, EA380 is fine.

What I'm saying is, that doesn't seem to be the case with this setup. I'm using the 5050e and the board will not post without the 8-pin connected.

I borrowed a PSU with an 8-pin connector from a friend to test. With the PSU supplied with the case, the board will not post. With the borrowed PSU and the 8-pin 12V connected everything works fine. This is with the 5050e processor and on-board graphics only. I'll be interested to see if olwe is able to get his setup to post without the 8-pin.

renethx

07-25-09, 12:44 AM

One more thing, the power supply that comes with the Antec NSK2480 doesn't have an 8 pin PCI Express power cable, which the MA785GM needs. I tried booting without connecting it and the board won't post, even though I'm not using a video card, only the onboard video.

What I'm saying is, that doesn't seem to be the case with this setup. I'm using the 5050e and the board will not post without the 8-pin connected.

I borrowed a PSU with an 8-pin connector from a friend to test. With the PSU supplied with the case, the board will not post. With the borrowed PSU and the 8-pin 12V connected everything works fine. This is with the 5050e processor and on-board graphics only. I'll be interested to see if olwe is able to get his setup to post without the 8-pin.
I am a bit confused. Are you talking about 4-pin/8-pin ATX 12V connector or 6-pin/8-pin PCI Express power connector?

THe_Flash

07-25-09, 12:52 AM

8-pin ATX 12V (2x4) connector.

renethx

07-25-09, 01:33 AM

8-pin ATX 12V (2x4) connector.
So

- The 4-pin ATX 12V connector from EA380 connected to pin 3, 4, 7, 8 of the ATX_12V_2X4 connector: No boot

- The 4-pin ATX 12V connector from your friend's PSU connected to pin 3, 4, 7, 8 of the ATX_12V_2X4 connector: No boot

- The 8-pin ATX 12V connector from your friend's PSU connected to pin 1-8 of the ATX_12V_2X4 connector: Boot

Is that correct?

From manual page 24. The pins 3, 4, 7, 8 (inside the red rectangle below) are intended for a 4-pin ATX 12V connector.

The power connectors are compatible with power supplies with 2x2 12V and 2x10 power connectors. When using a power supply providing a 2x4 12V and a 2x12 power connector, remove the protective covers from the 12V power connector and the main power connector on the motherboard. Do not insert the power supply cables into pins under the protective covers when using a power supply providing a 2x2 12V and a 2x10 power connector.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=148594&stc=1&d=1248499942

THe_Flash

07-25-09, 02:07 AM

So

- The 4-pin ATX 12V connector from EA380 connected to pin 3, 4, 7, 8 of the ATX_12V_2X4 connector: No boot

- The 4-pin ATX 12V connector from your friend's PSU connected to pin 3, 4, 7, 8 of the ATX_12V_2X4 connector: No boot

- The 8-pin ATX 12V connector from your friend's PSU connected to pin 1-8 of the ATX_12V_2X4 connector: Boot

Is that correct?

You got it. I can confirm your first and third bullet. I didn't try the second scenario, and I currently can't. I'll let you know if I get a chance later this weekend.

renethx

07-25-09, 02:11 AM

You got it. I can confirm your first and third bullet. I didn't try the second scenario, and I currently can't. I'll let you know if I get a chance later this weekend.
By any chance isn't your EA380 defective? Does it work with other mb/CPU fine? Possible scenarios are:

1. Your EA380 is defective.
2. EA380 has a compatibility issue with GA-MA785GM-US2H.
3. GA-MA785GM-US2H actually needs 8-pin ATX 12V contrary to the specs.

Case 1 and 2 are equally possible. But case 3 is extremely unlikely. Even every high-end desktop mb I am aware of works fine with a 4-pin ATX 12V.

tyfoon

07-25-09, 06:22 AM

MD200's G43 does not support full hardware decode acceleration of MPEG2, VC1, and AVC (see page 22 of the Intel® 4 Series Chipset Family Datasheet (www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/319970.pdf)).

Atom processor + NVIDIA ION chipset (or an Intel desktop processor + NVIDIA GeForce 9300 chipset) is a better choice. You can build a Mini-ITX system yourself or buy a pre-built ION system.

Do you know of any very small housings? All I can find are mini towers, mini desktops etc. I would prefer a casing with no extra room for e.g. (optical)drives, displays etc., just room for a HDD

renethx

07-25-09, 07:11 AM

Do you know of any very small housings? All I can find are mini towers, mini desktops etc. I would prefer a casing with no extra room for e.g. (optical)drives, displays etc., just room for a HDD

Pre-built ION

- Acer AspireRevo
- Gateway QX2800

Barebone ION

- ASRock ION 330 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856158007): 2.8" x 7.7" x 7.3"

Mini-ITX case for ION:

- Apex MW-100 (http://www.apextechusa.com/products.asp?pID=181): 2.8" x 8.7" x 7.3"
- Antec ISK 300-65 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129068): 3.8" x 8.7" x 12.9"
- Mini-Box M350 (http://www.mini-box.com/M350-universal-mini-itx-enclosure): 2.4" x 8.3" x 7.6"

tyfoon

07-25-09, 10:17 AM

Pre-built ION

- Acer AspireRevo
- Gateway QX2800

Barebone ION

- ASRock ION 330 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856158007): 2.8" x 7.7" x 7.3"

Mini-ITX case for ION:

- Apex MW-100 (http://www.apextechusa.com/products.asp?pID=181): 2.8" x 8.7" x 7.3"
- Antec ISK 300-65 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129068): 3.8" x 8.7" x 12.9"
- Mini-Box M350 (http://www.mini-box.com/M350-universal-mini-itx-enclosure): 2.4" x 8.3" x 7.6"

Wow! Super usefull information.

Especially the ASrock ION (279,- euros in the Netherlands) is interesting (review: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2792/asrock_ion_330_bd_nettop_affordable_overclockable_and_1080p_ hd/index2.html)

Sounds almost to good to be true. Any significant drawbacks when using a system like this with Win7 Media Center (all media stored on server).?

renethx

07-25-09, 10:32 AM

Wow! Super usefull information.

Especially the ASrock ION (279,- euros in the Netherlands) is interesting (review: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2792/asrock_ion_330_bd_nettop_affordable_overclockable_and_1080p_ hd/index2.html)

Sounds almost to good to be true. Any significant drawbacks when using a system like this with Win7 Media Center (all media stored on server).?
Atom processor is a bit weak, in particular Watching Flash Video on the Ion (http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3566&p=3). Otherwise good.

MrMcCrackin

07-25-09, 12:01 PM

has anyone ever used a Antec Mini Skeleton-90 case for a mini-ITX HTPC?

http://www.antec.com/images/400/MINI%20S_Q.jpg

dbone1026

07-25-09, 12:45 PM

has anyone ever used a Antec Mini Skeleton-90 case for a mini-ITX HTPC?

http://www.antec.com/images/400/MINI%20S_Q.jpg

Isn't that what the astronauts used to land on the moon???

sschen

07-25-09, 12:55 PM

Isn't that what the astronauts used to land on the moon???

I actually thought it looks like a coffee machine/grinder... no offense intended, I would never put something like that in my HT room

rotelmania

07-25-09, 01:40 PM

MrMcCrackin

07-25-09, 01:52 PM

I actually thought it looks like a coffee machine/grinder... no offense intended, I would never put something like that in my HT room

:lol:

i am not using it - but thought it was an interesting design, all open and such

Eopian

07-25-09, 02:07 PM

what is the difference between SAPPHIRE 100255HDMI Radeon HD 4670 512MB and HIS H467QT512P that make you recommend HIS instead of Sapphire?

The new gddr3 sapphire has a fan that is loud, the HIS has a quieter design. The gddr4 sapphire has a much better fan setup but you currently cant find it anywhere.

pickren

07-25-09, 02:42 PM

MrMcCrackin

07-25-09, 02:51 PM

Hey Guys,

I am dealing with a GPU heat problem - according to SpeedFan my GPU temps are around 60-70*C

Yet my CPU temps are normal around 40-50*C

I have an 80mm case fan mounted to the side of the Apex MI-008 and swapped out the thermal compound to Artic Silver - but still no change in temps

I have been trying to find a GPU cooler/fan - will this one work?

ZALMAN VF900 – CU 2 Ball VGA Cooler

Or should I try something else?

60-70*C is normal. Attach a Scythe Mini Kaze 40mm fan.

OK - I feel like a total jackass

I finally had a chance to take a look at everything and come to find out I had the 80mm case fan mounted backwards!

(sucking air out of the case instead of blowing in)

I flipped it - low and behold all my temps have dropped by almost 20*C!

Thanks again renethx!

btw - I never did get that 40mm GPU fan, now I don't think I need it at all.

THe_Flash

07-25-09, 03:13 PM

For those of you considering the excellent Antec NSK-2480 enclosure for your HTPC build I thought I would mention an alternative that I found interesting. Antec sells a B-stock version called the NSK-2400 for $54 that does not include the power supply.

http://www.antec.com/Detail.bok?no=583

I then bought the OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W Modular unit for $34 after rebate at Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

The combined cost is close to the price of an NSK-2480 but I prefer the OCZ PSU because of the very quiet 135mm fan and the clean, modular connector system. It fits nicely in the NSK-2400 case. The B-stock NSK-2400 I received from Antec was in perfect condition although it did not include the normal "pretty-box" packaging.

This is my absolute favorite enclosure for both thermal/quitness properties and ease of assembly. I hope this info may be useful to someone out there.

I definitely would have jumped on that had I seen it prior to purchasing the 2480. I really like the modular supplies, rather than the rat's nest caused by the PSU that comes with the 2480.

To be honest, less than a week into the build I already have buyer's remorse when it comes to the 2480. PSU aside, the case itself is kind of boxy and ugly. I wish there were a door on the front to hide the USB ports. With all of that in mind, I was only attempting to build something modest and inexpensive. Next time I'm not going to go cheap on the case though.

Ric_Margiotta

07-25-09, 07:08 PM

OK - I feel like a total jackass

I finally had a chance to take a look at everything and come to find out I had the 80mm case fan mounted backwards!

(sucking air out of the case instead of blowing in)

I flipped it - low and behold all my temps have dropped by almost 20*C!

I'm pretty sure we've all done that at one point or another. :)

dbone1026

07-25-09, 07:09 PM

I'm pretty sure we've all done that at one point or another. :)

I have managed to make my case smoke...

tsanga

07-25-09, 11:09 PM

Hi folks,

This thread is an incredible resource, especially with renethx's input. I've been following for a year and finally doing my first HTPC build. My goal, in order of importance, is to have a DVR/DVD media center/NAS. Hopefully I'm not making too many compromises with power and acoustics with the combined NAS portion.

My components:
CPU: Intel E7400
RAM: 2x2GB DDR2 800
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H
GPU: onboard Nvidia GeForce 9400
Case: Apex MJ-16
PSU: 250W 12V SFX included in case (very quiet according to silentpcreview.com)
HDD: 2x1TB Seagate Barracuda LP (5900 RPM)
OS: Windows 7 RC (until I have to buy it)
Tuner: HDHomerun

My plan was to use an older 160GB 7200 RPM for my OS drive and the two 1TBs for media storage. But I've run into my first unforeseen challenge. The specs on the Apex case list plenty of drive bays; however, only 2 of them are available for HDDs once a microATX mobo is installed. The issue is the mobo comes right up to the top two of the four 3.5" drive slots, and any HDD in those slots run major interference with onboard connectors.

Without much knowledge of performance implications, should I give up on the idea of having a separate OS drive? My choices are either to install the OS on a small partition on one of the 1TB HDDs, or to get a 5.25"-to-3.5" kit and mount the OS drive in a large bay.

What do you guys think? Would I see a performance benefit with a dedicated OS drive when recording two tuners while at the same time playing back some other programming? Of course, I'd have to trade that off with the additional power and heat with a 3rd HDD in the case vs. only two low RPM drives.

Also, I read the 60mm case fan that came with the case is noisy. Any recommendations for a quieter one, or is a 60mm quiet fan an oxymoron? I could put a larger fan in the side vent.

renethx

07-25-09, 11:52 PM

My plan was to use an older 160GB 7200 RPM for my OS drive and the two 1TBs for media storage. But I've run into my first unforeseen challenge. The specs on the Apex case list plenty of drive bays; however, only 2 of them are available for HDDs once a microATX mobo is installed. The issue is the mobo comes right up to the top two of the four 3.5" drive slots, and any HDD in those slots run major interference with onboard connectors.

Without much knowledge of performance implications, should I give up on the idea of having a separate OS drive? My choices are either to install the OS on a small partition on one of the 1TB HDDs, or to get a 5.25"-to-3.5" kit and mount the OS drive in a large bay.

What do you guys think? Would I see a performance benefit with a dedicated OS drive when recording two tuners while at the same time playing back some other programming? Of course, I'd have to trade that off with the additional power and heat with a 3rd HDD in the case vs. only two low RPM drives.

Also, I read the 60mm case fan that came with the case is noisy. Any recommendations for a quieter one, or is a 60mm quiet fan an oxymoron? I could put a larger fan in the side vent.
Any of the following three should be equally good:

1. Create a partition for OS (minimum 40GB) in one of the two 1TB drives. There should not be much performance degradation.
2. Attach the 160GB HDD to a 5.25" drive bay by a bracket.
3. Use a 2.5" HDD (e.g. Western Digital Scorpio Black WD1600BEKT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136278), $65) or a SSD (a bit pricey) for OS.

I recommend you to add another 60mm fan (with a 3-pin connector), connect both to SYS_FAN connector using GELID Y cable (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812718001) and control them by SpeedFan.

tsanga

07-26-09, 01:11 AM

Thanks for the tips.

I think I'm going to go the bracket method (option 2) since I would rather keep my media completely decoupled from the OS drive. This way I can change the OS easily if I want to (been waiting - and waiting - for mythtv 0.22 to be released).

I dream of the day when it can be cost effective to build a system entirely from 2.5" drives. $50 isn't a lot of money but when you consider that I could get 1TB for $80....
But maybe I'll put in the 2.5" HDD anyway if the system gets too hot/loud.

Do you know of any quiet 60mm fans? I'd probably opt to buy 2 quiet ones to replace the one in the case.

EDIT: I just verified that the supplied 60mm case fan is, in fact, high RPM and loud - just like online reviews indicated.

renethx

07-26-09, 02:14 AM

Do you know of any quiet 60mm fans? I'd probably opt to buy 2 quiet ones to replace the one in the case.

EDIT: I just verified that the supplied 60mm case fan is, in fact, high RPM and loud - just like online reviews indicated.
For example, Sanyo Denki 109A0612M401 (http://www.xsfans.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=490&zenid=cf847fa1c9fdaba221096c3b158b2b22) 60x60x25mm 2600rpm fan.

tsanga

07-26-09, 02:28 AM

I recommend you to add another 60mm fan (with a 3-pin connector), connect both to SYS_FAN connector using GELID Y cable (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812718001) and control them by SpeedFan.

OK, so I read the manual and this part has me a bit puzzled.

From the manual:
CPU fan
Pin No. Definition
1 GND
2 +12V / Speed Control
3 Sense
4 Speed Control

SYS fan
Pin No. Definition
1 GND
2 Speed Control
3 Sense
4 +5V

This was a bit confusing since it implies the PWM pin is different between the CPU and SYS fan headers. Do I understand this right? And if so, with the PWM Y-cable, will this control the two 60mm fans with PWM or voltage?

renethx

07-26-09, 02:36 AM

OK, so I read the manual and this part has me a bit puzzled.

From the manual:
CPU fan
Pin No. Definition
1 GND
2 +12V / Speed Control
3 Sense
4 Speed Control

SYS fan
Pin No. Definition
1 GND
2 Speed Control
3 Sense
4 +5V

This was a bit confusing since it implies the PWM pin is different between the CPU and SYS fan headers. Do I understand this right? And if so, with the PWM Y-cable, will this control the two 60mm fans with PWM or voltage?
CPU_FAN supports both PWM control (pin 1-4) and voltage control (pin 1-3). You need to select either one in BIOS (perhaps; or maybe you can select within SpeedFan). Voltage control means variable voltage from pin 2.

SYS_FAN supports only voltage control (pin 1-3); pin 2 is the same as pin 2 of CPU_FAN, "+12V / Speed Control"; pin 4 supplies +5V, different from pin 4 of CPU_FAN.

GELID Y-cable supports both PWM and voltage control; in the latter case the 4th pin is not used.

(I verified them myself.)

tsanga

07-26-09, 03:02 AM

GELID Y-cable supports both PWM and voltage control; in the latter case the 4th pin is not used.

Sure - this makes sense as soon as I realized that pin 4 in the y-cable is basically not used in the scenario you proposed to control the two 60mm case fans.

Thanks!

tsanga

07-26-09, 09:46 AM

I had posted this in the dedicated mobo thread but didn't see a response.

Does the GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H/integrated GeForce 9400 support TV-out through the VGA output? e.g. so I could use a VGA-to-composite/s-video adapter.

H8nXTC

07-26-09, 01:22 PM

cyberized

07-26-09, 02:19 PM

Trying to make a decision and would appreciate your input.
In trying to save money, I have spent alot of it...to QUIT cable, I got an HTPC and also sold my OPPO DVD player, my HTPC:
Case: ANTEC 2480; 380 PS; 4 GB RAM; 1 TB HD; ATI Tuner; HIS ATI 4670; LG BD\DVD Player w PDVD8.

Since my ATI 4670 only handles PCM and not Bitstream even with a GREAT new Pioneer 1019 AVR I cannot take advantage of the latest improvements in
sound formats. I was going to just "live" with it....then got the BUG, as usual, to either purchase a stand alone BD Player that provides a bitstream signal [a Samsung 1600 probably] OR stay within the HTPC and get a Xonar 1.3 Sound card which will provide the bitstream ability.

I have ordered and paid for the Xonar 1.3 PCIE card - which should be here next week............I am having that old buyer's remorse even before it gets here..........whether I should just sell the Xonar straight away and go back to idea of separate BD player, which I'd have IF I got rid of the HTPC [which like all/most pc's has it's "hick ups"]. People RAVE over the sound quality put out by the DACS of the Xonar. The other thing is that if I can get that Xonar card even in there it is going to be a TIGHT fit... the 4670 w fan took 2 slots. The PCIE next to that fan is hardly visible.
Could be easier just to do w/o the Xonar and use the resale money to get a stand alone BD Player????

PS - an added note, don't think I will be able to hold out and not go back to Cable and those monthly bills.......the closer Football season gets here and then my Blazers New season.....I'm cavin' already.....hee hee!

michael:confused: