What do you think about this power supply OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W. Right now it is on special at newegg for $33.99 after rebat. How is that compare with ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V . Which one is quieter and better quality? thanks.
PRO82+ is better. A good review is here (http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3516&p=1). PRO82+ already got "Gold Editors' Choice Award" from AT.

Happened across a deal today....

Do you guys think it's worth spending $5-10 more for an E8200 over an E7400? Or is that $5-10 that I don't need to spend...or worse, is the E8200 more demanding of system cooling?
3MB extra cache is good for some applications (mainly games) but slower clock speed may negate it. Perhaps E7400 is a better choice.

Thanks, makes sense. Sounds like they could be pretty even though.

Edit: Although it might be tempting to get the 3MB extra cache then O/C to 2.8 GHz....with a small power/temp penalty.

HD 4870 is too long for this case. HD 4850 is the best card that fits it. Or use SilverStone GD02/GD02MT.

Cooler Master Geminii S is one of the best coolers for a processor => 95W inside this case (you need to buy a LGA1366 bracket separately). Ninja Mini vs Geminii S: Geminii S is better for CPU cooling (my experiment (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15755651#post15755651)). As the case has two large fans, exhausting 300W heat outside the case is no problem.

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 800 rpm is one of the best 120mm case fans (much quieter than the stock case fans). Or SFF21E 1200 rpm + GELID Y-cable (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812718001) (connected to one of your mb fan connectors) + Speedfan (controlling fan speeds according to component temperatures).

My case is Antec Silver Alluminum Steel Fusion remote with GA-MA785GM-US2H. Do I buy Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP or
Cooler Master Geminii S with LGA1366 bracket?

My case is Antec Silver Alluminum Steel Fusion remote with GA-MA785GM-US2H. Do I buy Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP or
Cooler Master Geminii S with LGA1366 bracket?

Your motherboard is for an AMD CPU. You do not need a LGA1366 bracket as this is for an Intel CPU. If you know which AMD CPU you will be using, you can look at CoolerMaster's website and see if the CPU is supported by this heatsink.

I don't know if the GeminII S is the best for choice for your case however.

Hope this helps.

Ok...so I'm thinking building my first HTPC.... I've tried to sift through all of the great info on this thread and I think I have an idea what I'm going to do, but before I order everything, just want to double check to see if these components would all work out and are also a good choice. I want to limit my budget to around $500..and I don't need a Blu-ray player. I want to capture OTA programs as well as watch online content (Hulu, Netflix, etc) and run something like Boxee or another media front end.

How does this sound?

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... $58.99 - $25.00 Mail-in Rebate

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5C G - Retail $59.99 - $15.00 Mail-in Rebate

CPU - AMD Phenom 9350e Agena 2.0GHz Socket AM2+ 65W Quad-Core Processor Model HD9350ODGHBOX - Retail
Mobo - ECS BLACK SERIES A790GXM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$159.98 (combo deal) with $20 Mail in Rebate

Case: NSK 2400 B Stock without power supply - $54

Price after Rebates: $308.96

I still need to get a HD (I can use an old one for now) and I have a DVD drive...

My case is Antec Silver Alluminum Steel Fusion remote with GA-MA785GM-US2H. Do I buy Cooler Master (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBJ1-GP or
Cooler Master Geminii S with LGA1366 bracket?
This one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103046), fits your case/mb perfectly.

Ok...so I'm thinking building my first HTPC.... I've tried to sift through all of the great info on this thread and I think I have an idea what I'm going to do, but before I order everything, just want to double check to see if these components would all work out and are also a good choice. I want to limit my budget to around $500..and I don't need a Blu-ray player. I want to capture OTA programs as well as watch online content (Hulu, Netflix, etc) and run something like Boxee or another media front end.

How does this sound?

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... $58.99 - $25.00 Mail-in Rebate

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5C G - Retail $59.99 - $15.00 Mail-in Rebate

CPU - AMD Phenom 9350e Agena 2.0GHz Socket AM2+ 65W Quad-Core Processor Model HD9350ODGHBOX - Retail
Mobo - ECS BLACK SERIES A790GXM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$159.98 (combo deal) with $20 Mail in Rebate

Case: NSK 2400 B Stock without power supply - $54

Price after Rebates: $308.96

I still need to get a HD (I can use an old one for now) and I have a DVD drive...
Good. You may need a good CPU cooler (such as Geminii S) as despite "e", 9350e runs hot at load.

Is this a known issue or do I just not know wtf I am doing. I bought the HIS H467QT512P and installed it on my computer and am running one display at 1680x1050 and my Sony TV at 1920x1080 in extended mode. Is that the best way to have the displays running? I have dual displays on my work PC but they run the same resolution and monitors and it works great. I was hoping on this HTPC I could run them in a cloned setting so I could work the settings etc on the small monitor and watch on the TV. Is this possible? Thanks.

Is this a known issue or do I just not know wtf I am doing. I bought the HIS H467QT512P and installed it on my computer and am running one display at 1680x1050 and my Sony TV at 1920x1080 in extended mode. Is that the best way to have the displays running? I have dual displays on my work PC but they run the same resolution and monitors and it works great. I was hoping on this HTPC I could run them in a cloned setting so I could work the settings etc on the small monitor and watch on the TV. Is this possible? Thanks.
Clone mode means exactly the identical resolution/refresh rate in both displays, which is impossible if one is 1680x 1050 and the other is 1920x1080. Extend mode is the only way.

Here's an updated build list, where I'm taking advantage of Newegg's Combo Deal of the AMD Phenom II X4 945. :D

Case: Antec NSK2480 ($100)
CPU + MoBo: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 125W + ASUS M4A78-EM ($200)
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER GeminII S ($40) - thanks renethx for link
Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB 2x2GB ($55 - $20 MIR)
HDD: SAMSUNG F1 1TB 7200 RPM SATA* ($85)
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W** ($60 - $25 MIR)
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 ($115)
Optical: LG 22X DVD±R ($25)
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium w/ Free Upgrade to Windows 7 ($110)

Total cost: ~$790 - $45 MIR = ~$745

* - On Newegg, it ended up being only 5 bucks more than the 5400, so I opted for the 7200 instead. Is it viable to get a secondary small HDD to act as OS-only?

** - Is the 350W PSU that comes with the case going to be enough for my setup? If not, then I would upgrade to this PSU.

Am I missing anything else from the build?

Here's an updated build list, where I'm taking advantage of Newegg's Combo Deal of the AMD Phenom II X4 945. :D

Case: Antec NSK2480 ($100)
CPU + MoBo: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 125W + ASUS M4A78-EM ($200)
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER GeminII S ($40) - thanks renethx for link
Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB 2x2GB ($55 - $20 MIR)
HDD: SAMSUNG F1 1TB 7200 RPM SATA* ($85)
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W** ($60 - $25 MIR)
TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 ($115)
Optical: LG 22X DVD±R ($25)
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium w/ Free Upgrade to Windows 7 ($110)

Total cost: ~$790 - $45 MIR = ~$745

* - On Newegg, it ended up being only 5 bucks more than the 5400, so I opted for the 7200 instead. Is it viable to get a secondary small HDD to act as OS-only?

** - Is the 350W PSU that comes with the case going to be enough for my setup? If not, then I would upgrade to this PSU.

Am I missing anything else from the build?
Overall good.

Should you use an HDMI receiver (in future), an AMD 785G chipset mb is a better choice as it supports multichannel LPCM.

380W PSU is plenty enough. Or go with NSK 2400 B (http://www.antec.com/Detail.bok?no=583) (the same as NSK2480, but witout PSU) as somebody suggested.

Remote? (Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 retail comes with a MCE remote/receiver.)

32-bit OS is easier to configure.

Hi, I have a problem with my 1360*768 plasma tv and M3N78-EM working together. The problem is that nvidia geforce 8300 keeps resetting my resolution to 1920*1080 whenever I try to resize the desktop after setting the res to 1360*768. It "thinks" that the tv's native res is 1920*1080.

How can I get graphics driver to resize my desktop while the tv is in 1360*768? Many thanks.

Remote? (Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 retail comes with a MCE remote/receiver.)

Just placed an order for the Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard for 89.99 before shipping + tax. Deal ends pretty much today (25% select Laptop and Desktop Accessories) : http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1466685

Will there be any compatibility issues putting a Sapphire 4670 GDDR4 Video Card in a NSK2480 Case with the stock 380 watt PSU? Should I upgrade the PSU? The specs for the 4670 recommend a 400 watts. What power supply would be recommended?

Will there be any compatibility issues putting a Sapphire 4670 GDDR4 Video Card in a NSK2480 Case with the stock 380 watt PSU? Should I upgrade the PSU? The specs for the 4670 recommend a 400 watts. What power supply would be recommended?
No. Max power consumption of the mid-range Intel/Intel or AMD/AMD system on page 85 is < 200W.

Any problems with the size of the card with the Antec case? I found it for about $100 and gonna push the go button if there isn't any issues!

Any problems with the size of the card with the Antec case? I found it for about $100 and gonna push the go button if there isn't any issues!
None at all.

My system is currently using the MSI K8NGM2-FID Motherboard which has a NVIDIA GeForce 6150. Would it make more sense to go with a GeForce 9500 GT (or GeForce GTS 250) over the 4670?

Rene, I built the low-end amd/amd to a T. (4550 and nsk1480)

Do you think I would see any difference or improvement with blu-ray playback, powerdvd 7.3, W7, if I purchased a different gpu, such as a 4670 or up? Money no issue, give me your top 2. I play zero games. DVD's leave alot to be desired. dvi or hdmi either way no issue which is native.

Thanks, appreciate it.

My system is currently using the MSI K8NGM2-FID Motherboard which has a NVIDIA GeForce 6150. Would it make more sense to go with a GeForce 9500 GT (or GeForce GTS 250) over the 4670?
No. Either ATI or NVIDIA works fine.

After reading around the forums for a bit and viewing other peoples' set-ups, I have pretty much configured a PC that I think will handle my needs. I want the PC to be able to record video, surf the web, store my DVD and MP3 collection, stream video from online and also make sure I can add Blu-ray in the future. Here is the list of components I have chosen so far:

1) Case - Antec New Solution NSK2480 Black/Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129034

2) Motherboard - Not sure yet? I don't know whether or not to go with onboard video or not. I just want to make sure that it can handle HD video well without being too slow.

3) CPU - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681

4) Memory - Should I go 2 GB or 4 GB?

5) Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317

6) DVD Drive - LG Black 22X DVD+R SATA 22X DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136168
I couldn't find one that matched the case but that doesn't really bother me.

7) Graphics Card - Don't know whether or not to go onboard or not. Any thoughts?

8) Tuner - AVerMedia AVerTVHD Bravo PCTV Tuner MTVHDBRAR PCI-Express x1 Interface - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100042
This may be an obvious question but I'm a little confused, with the U.S. switching to digital cable, does that make NTSC pointless now? Basically if I want to plug it into the wall jack and receive the programming, what should I get?

9) Remote/Keyboard - ione KBP20 Silver & Black 87 Normal Keys USB RF Wireless Ultra slim size design Keyboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823192001

10) OS - Win 7 RC

If you guys could give me any advice/suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. I am mostly worried about compatibility issues (with the motherboard and processor) and the chance that I might be missing out on something better out there. I want to keep this build under $550 if possible. Thanks in advance for any help.

Here is the list of components I have chosen so far:

If you guys could give me any advice/suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. I am mostly worried about compatibility issues (with the motherboard and processor) and the chance that I might be missing out on something better out there. I want to keep this build under $550 if possible. Thanks in advance for any help.
Check the new GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1163214) AMD 785G chipset mATX mb. You won't need a discrete graphics card.

Check Digital Channels by Location (http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us) (then select your cable TV company from the drop down list).

Try Windows 7 RTM (http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/07/19/windows-7-rtm-build-7600-16385-x86-and-x64-leaked-extracted-dvd-iso-download/) (I recommend 32-bit). Better than RC. 120 days trial by "rearm" (after that you have to buy a license key).

st33l,

We have almost the same exact setup for parts 1-6. I'm going to build my system over the weekend when I have all the parts. Wish me luck. This is going to be my first pc build EVER.

I am also waiting on my Sony Soundbar CT-500 which I should get next month. That will act as my receiver. Hopefully there won't be any handshake issues with that. For the mean time, I'll just connect my old 5.1 Logitech speakers.

My System:
NSK2480
Athlon II X2 245 Regor
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H
Corsair 4GB mem
WD 1TB HDD Caviar Green
LG Black 22X DVD+R SATA 22X DVD Burner

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.

This thread is an awesome resource and is one of the best threads on AVSForum! Thanks Rene for all the information you have shared with us.

Can anyone please confirm that MA785GM-US2H works with the 4-pin ATX? I have a cheap Rosewill case (Rosewill R379-SM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147098)) with a PSU that has only the 4-pin ATX connector. I will be pairing the GA MB with an AMD Athlon II 250 and 2GB RAM. Because of the low-profile case, I want to use the IGP for HDMI video + 5.1 audio to connect to an Onkyo 507 receiver. This setup will primarily pipe 720p/1080p MKV movies + Hulu and other streaming HD sources to my Samsung 1080p 46" LCD. Will this setup work or will I need to go the 780G + dedicated video card route?

Great information on this thread.. after doing quite a bit of reading, I have almost decided on the components I will need for a low end micro atx system. I will be using the antec NSK2480 case, and intend to use the system for tuner and blu-ray purposes (no gaming). I have a 1080p LCD TV capable of accepting HDMI input, and a receiver that with no HDMI input (but may upgrade in the future).

What I am torn about, is which of the following CPU/MB combinations to use, and would greatly appreciate your inputs / advise.

Option 1:
# AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor Model AD785ZWCGHBOX - Retail
# 211728ASUS M3N78-EM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211728)
Total price: $153.99

Option 2:
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
211728ASUS M3N78-EM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
Total price: $157.98

Option 3:
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Total price: $156.98

Given that all three options fall in almost the same price range, which of these would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your help

This thread is an awesome resource and is one of the best threads on AVSForum! Thanks Rene for all the information you have shared with us.

Can anyone please confirm that MA785GM-US2H works with the 4-pin ATX? I have a cheap Rosewill case (Rosewill R379-SM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147098)) with a PSU that has only the 4-pin ATX connector. I will be pairing the GA MB with an AMD Athlon II 250 and 2GB RAM. Because of the low-profile case, I want to use the IGP for HDMI video + 5.1 audio to connect to an Onkyo 507 receiver. This setup will primarily pipe 720p/1080p MKV movies + Hulu and other streaming HD sources to my Samsung 1080p 46" LCD. Will this setup work or will I need to go the 780G + dedicated video card route?
Maybe someone else in the official thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1163214) can answer your question about 4-pin issue (my board hasn't arrived yet).

785G IGP is enough for your purpose.

Great information on this thread.. after doing quite a bit of reading, I have almost decided on the components I will need for a low end micro atx system. I will be using the antec NSK2480 case, and intend to use the system for tuner and blu-ray purposes (no gaming). I have a 1080p LCD TV capable of accepting HDMI input, and a receiver that with no HDMI input (but may upgrade in the future).

What I am torn about, is which of the following CPU/MB combinations to use, and would greatly appreciate your inputs / advise.

Option 1:
# AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core Processor Model AD785ZWCGHBOX - Retail
# 211728ASUS M3N78-EM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211728)
Total price: $153.99

Option 2:
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
211728ASUS M3N78-EM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
Total price: $157.98

Option 3:
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Total price: $156.98

Given that all three options fall in almost the same price range, which of these would you recommend? Thanks in advance for your help
Option 3 is the best in terms of performance, feature and power consumption.

Option 2:
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
211728ASUS M3N78-EM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
Total price: $157.98

Option 3:
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Total price: $156.98


Southwicke, you can get the 250 Regor for $65 after bing cashback from ewiz.com. It's slightly better than the 245 for a couple of bucks lower than the Newegg 245 price of $68. (EDIT: Use coupon "AWESOME10" for $10 off to get to the $65 price.)

Maybe someone else in the official thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1163214) can answer your question about 4-pin issue (my board hasn't arrived yet).

785G IGP is enough for your purpose.

Thanks, Rene. I will repost my question on the official thread at the risk of getting flamed for cross-posting :)

Southwicke, you can get the 250 Regor for $65 after bing cashback from ewiz.com. It's slightly better than the 245 for a couple of bucks lower than the Newegg 245 price of $68.

Thanks for the tip, Junky_Dada! will do the 250 Regor, then.. :)

Does anyone here know if the HIS ATI HD4670 iSilence 4 PCI-E 2.0 1GB fits inside a NSK2480B case with a Gigabyte 780G mobo?

Thanks.

Does anyone here know if the HIS ATI HD4670 iSilence 4 PCI-E 2.0 1GB fits inside a NSK2480B case with a Gigabyte 780G mobo?
Yes, according to this Newegg reviewer (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814161266):

This card's passsive cooler, while it passes over top of the card, is still low enough to fit nicely in my Antec Fusion case! Also, it's not so long that it causes problems there.

Antec Fusion = NSK2480 in size.

Option 3 is the best in terms of performance, feature and power consumption.

Thanks for the advise, Rene. Option 3 it is then. :)

So, this is my final list.. is there anything I am missing?

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 Processor 250 AM3, Retail (http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=ADX250OCBX) - $65
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $89
Case: Antec NSK2480 Black/Silver MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034&Tpk=NSK2480) - $99.45
HDD + Memory: OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 (PC2 6400) OCZ2B800C44GK - Retail + WD Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.204617) - $125.98
OD: LG Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model GGC-H20L [This seems to be out of stock at most places... any other recommendations for a BD player? I am not too particular about its ability to play HD-DVD, just BD should be fine too]
Tuner: would like a dual tuner capable of recording shows.. still undecided on which on

Thanks!

Thanks for the advise, Rene. Option 3 it is then. :)

So, this is my final list.. is there anything I am missing?

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 Processor 250 AM3, Retail (http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=ADX250OCBX) - $65
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $89
Case: Antec NSK2480 Black/Silver MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034&Tpk=NSK2480) - $99.45
HDD + Memory: OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 (PC2 6400) OCZ2B800C44GK - Retail + WD Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.204617) - $125.98
OD: LG Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model GGC-H20L [This seems to be out of stock at most places... any other recommendations for a BD player? I am not too particular about its ability to play HD-DVD, just BD should be fine too]
Tuner: would like a dual tuner capable of recording shows.. still undecided on which on

Thanks!
GGC-H20L has been discontinued. The replacement is CH08xxxx (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136162). (HD DVD support is dropped.)

HDHomeRun, WinTV-HVR-2250, AVerTVHD Duet.

Yes, according to this Newegg reviewer (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814161266):



Antec Fusion = NSK2480 in size.

Thank you mate you're very helpful :D

Do you recommend this card? I haven't seen anyone give it a bad wrap, or a good one either.

Do you recommend this card? I haven't seen anyone give it a bad wrap, or a good one either.
Well, I don't like a passive cooling, but the video chip itself (HD 4670) is excellent.

Well, I don't like a passive cooling, but the video chip itself (HD 4670) is excellent.

The only reason I'm going for the passive solution is because I'm afraid of getting a card with a fan that's too noisy. Right now my HTPC is pretty much silent, the 2 x 120mm fans in it are on low, and barely audible at all, and I really love it being so quiet :)

Is there a list of bluray drives somewhere that will work with the Antec Fusion case? I thought I read in the newegg reviews that the LG drive's buttons did not match up with the button on the case. If there is no list, let me know if you have one that is confirmed to work and I can start one.

I checked out the Hp website and to my knowledge they no longer sell vista cable ready computers nor do the sell ATI digital cable tuners and neither does Sony

What is going on?

Try Windows 7 RTM (http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/07/19/windows-7-rtm-build-7600-16385-x86-and-x64-leaked-extracted-dvd-iso-download/) (I recommend 32-bit). Better than RC. 120 days trial by "rearm" (after that you have to buy a license key).

Can you elaborate on your recommendation for Win 7 32bit over 64bit? Are there specific issues you have encountered? I know there are certain filters that you recommend that are 32bit only but is that all? I am leaning towards using 64 bit. Thank you.

Can you elaborate on your recommendation for Win 7 32bit over 64bit? Are there specific issues you have encountered? I know there are certain filters that you recommend that are 32bit only but is that all? I am leaning towards using 64 bit. Thank you.

My HTPCs run x64 but my desktop runs x32. There are still some compatability issues (particularly dealing with codecs) when dealing with x64. I have everything running smooth now, but took more research on the x64 systems.

My HTPCs run x64 but my desktop runs x32. There are still some compatability issues (particularly dealing with codecs) when dealing with x64. I have everything running smooth now, but took more research on the x64 systems.

Do you do your ripping/encoding/remuxing on the desktop or on a HTPC?

Do you do your ripping/encoding/remuxing on the desktop or on a HTPC?

I do it on my desktop. If I was just ripping or remuxing I could probably get away with it on my HTPCs, but it could definitely not handle encoding. My HTPCs just have an AMD 4850 dual core (http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-htpc-build.html) where my desktop pc has an intel Q6600 quad core.

I do it on my desktop. If I was just ripping or remuxing I could probably get away with it on my HTPCs, but it could definitely not handle encoding. My HTPCs just have an AMD 4850 dual core (http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-htpc-build.html) where my desktop pc has an intel Q6600 quad core.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is which functions won't work well on a 64bit HTPC. I will be using a core i7 so encoding should be better than on my laptop where I do it, sparingly, now. If you had an HTPC with a fast processor could you do all of your audio/video ripping/editing/re-muxing/encoding on a 64bit platform?

(Like your blog by the way.)

I guess what I'm trying to get at is which functions won't work well on a 64bit HTPC. I will be using a core i7 so encoding should be better than on my laptop where I do it, sparingly, now. If you had an HTPC with a fast processor could you do all of your audio/video ripping/editing/re-muxing/encoding on a 64bit platform?

(Like your blog by the way.)

Core i7 should have plenty of giddy up. Yes, you can do everything on an x64 platform. All the programs I use on my x32 desktop are compatible on an x64 platform as well. If you need codecs you can just download the x64 versions (ffdshow tryouts, I think Haali finally has an x64 beta, etc...) or use a pack like Sharks which I have had very good results with.

Thanks for the comments on the blog, it was meant just for me to jot notes down on what I was doing so I wouldn't forget!!!

Is there a list of bluray drives somewhere that will work with the Antec Fusion case? I thought I read in the newegg reviews that the LG drive's buttons did not match up with the button on the case. If there is no list, let me know if you have one that is confirmed to work and I can start one.
At least LG GGC-H20L/CH08LS10 works.

Can you elaborate on your recommendation for Win 7 32bit over 64bit? Are there specific issues you have encountered? I know there are certain filters that you recommend that are 32bit only but is that all? I am leaning towards using 64 bit. Thank you.
Yes, filters, and configuring the system will be double complicated (you always have to pay attention to 32-bit vs 64-bit filter/utilities) just for nothing (unless you use memory > 4GB). If you don't use MC, then 64-bit is OK (you can stay in the 32-bit world inside the 64-bit OS).

OK, after months and months of lurking - and almost pulling the trigger several times, I'm finally ready to do this, but I have a few preliminary questions.

The rest of my system consists of a 720P projector and 1080p LCD TV, fed via a new Onkyo receiver and a mechanical 1 in/2 out HDMI switch). I'm planning to upgrade to a 1080p projector in the next 6-9 months. I should note that my little equipment stack sits right next to the sofa, so noise is an issue. (Though, as long as it's at least as quiet as my Optoma HD72 - which is directly above me - it's not a huge deal.)

I'll be using this to watch rented Blu-Rays and DVDs and to rip my DVD/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD collection to MKV files on my media server (and, of course, to watch said MKVs) as well as for listening to music and viewing photo slideshows.

I already have the case & PSU (Antec Fusion 430 has been sitting around for months waiting for its guts), wireless keyboard & mouse, Windows 7, and I just ordered an LG GGC-H20L drive.

So, based on my usage, here are my questions...
1. 2x2GB of DDR2-800 memory is $14 more than 2x1GB of DDR2-1066 memory. I haven't run Win7 yet but hear it's much better than Vista re: memory usage. Assuming I won't be running a ton of apps simultaneously, are there any situations where I might wish I'd spent the extra $14 and doubled my RAM?
2. Should I spend $22 more for the AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz vs. the AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor? Will I notice a significant difference when ripping/encoding to MKV? Or when scaling DVDs?
3. Is the stock CPU fan going to be adequate? Even if it's adequate, if it's very loud, I'd spend a little extra to get something that gets the job done more quietly. Comments?
4. If I do go with the Callisto, how much of a factor will those extra 15W be (with regard to additional heat generated/cooling noise)?

Thanks so much for all the great info!

So, based on my usage, here are my questions...
1. 2x2GB of DDR2-800 memory is $14 more than 2x1GB of DDR2-1066 memory. I haven't run Win7 yet but hear it's much better than Vista re: memory usage. Assuming I won't be running a ton of apps simultaneously, are there any situations where I might wish I'd spent the extra $14 and doubled my RAM?
2. Should I spend $22 more for the AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz vs. the AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor? Will I notice a significant difference when ripping/encoding to MKV? Or when scaling DVDs?
3. Is the stock CPU fan going to be adequate? Even if it's adequate, if it's very loud, I'd spend a little extra to get something that gets the job done more quietly. Comments?
4. If I do go with the Callisto, how much of a factor will those extra 15W be (with regard to additional heat generated/cooling noise)?

Thanks so much for all the great info!
1. Even DDR2-800 2 x 1GB is enough for your purpose. Extra memory may be useful in an office machine/workstation.

2. There is little effect of L3 cache in this type of jobs.

3. If you control the fan speeds, the stock fan is reasonably quiet and effective.

4. 15W is the max difference. About 5W at idle.

I already have the case & PSU (Antec Fusion 430 has been sitting around for months waiting for its guts), wireless keyboard & mouse, Windows 7, and I just ordered an LG GGC-H20L drive.


Donny.. I have been on the lookout for a GGC-H20L drive myself.. mind sharing where you picked up yours?

Sent you the link via PM.

1. Even DDR2-800 2 x 1GB is enough for your purpose. Extra memory may be useful in an office machine/workstation.

2. There is little effect of L3 cache in this type of jobs.

3. If you control the fan speeds, the stock fan is reasonably quiet and effective.

4. 15W is the max difference. About 5W at idle.Thank you!!!

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.)

On the GA-E7AUM-DS2H, for the purpose of voltage control of SYS_FAN, should the BIOS setting "System Smart FAN Control" be set to Enabled or Disabled?

On the GA-E7AUM-DS2H, for the purpose of voltage control of SYS_FAN, should the BIOS setting "System Smart FAN Control" be set to Enabled or Disabled?
Does not matter. SpeedFan overrides the BIOS option.

Rene,

Thank you for the quick response as always. I don't know when you actually go to sleep.

Rene,

Just want to express my deep gratitude for your relentless testing and your guides.

Put HD4670 into 2 of my HTPCs. HD looks like HD, and SD looks like HD with Windvd9 and All2HD.

Renthex and others - Great thread,

Thanks for all the valueable information.

I am planning to build a new PC mainly for development and recording some OTA channels. Here is what I have put together so far, please let me know if it looks ok. For now I am using a standard ATX case because I will be keeping this PC in basement and planning to use an extender in the living room. For now I will just use an old DVD/CD player till the price of Blueray player/burner goes down. I am a newbie as far as building a machine is concerned so please advise if there are an incomatibilities. Thanks!!


Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported IceQ4 Turbo Video Card - Retail

AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe ATSC/NTSC/QAM TV Tuner Card (White Box)w/L-P Bracket 7 95522 96058 0 PCI-Express x1 Interface - OEM

Rosewill RP500 500W ATX12V v1.3/ EPS12V Power Supply - Retail

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

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

I have tried to read up on TV tuners and such but I'm still a little confused, with the U.S. switching to digital cable, does that make NTSC tuners pointless now? Basically if I want to plug it into the wall jack and receive the programming, what tuner card should I get?

I am planning to build a new PC mainly for development and recording some OTA channels. Here is what I have put together so far, please let me know if it looks ok. For now I am using a standard ATX case because I will be keeping this PC in basement and planning to use an extender in the living room. For now I will just use an old DVD/CD player till the price of Blueray player/burner goes down. I am a newbie as far as building a machine is concerned so please advise if there are an incomatibilities. Thanks!!


Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported IceQ4 Turbo Video Card - Retail

AVerMedia AVerTV Combo PCIe ATSC/NTSC/QAM TV Tuner Card (White Box)w/L-P Bracket 7 95522 96058 0 PCI-Express x1 Interface - OEM

Rosewill RP500 500W ATX12V v1.3/ EPS12V Power Supply - Retail

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

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
What is "development"? Basically your system looks overkill for your purpose.

- If you place the system in basement, then perhaps you won't need a good graphics card? Check a mb with integrated graphics such as the latest GA-MA785G-UD3H (AMD platform).
- Unless you do CPU intensive tasks such as video re-encoding, a dual core processor is enough. For example, Athlon II X2 250 (AMD platform).
- There are dual digital (OTA/clear QAM) tuners: AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet, Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250, HDHomeRun.
- Add a bunch of 1TB or 1.5TB HDDs for recordings.

I have tried to read up on TV tuners and such but I'm still a little confused, with the U.S. switching to digital cable, does that make NTSC tuners pointless now? Basically if I want to plug it into the wall jack and receive the programming, what tuner card should I get?
You only need a digital tuner (ATSC/clear QAM). Good dual digital tuners are: AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet, Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250, HDHomeRun.

Rene - Thanks for your quick response. Great suggestions.

I am a database/windows applications developer. I use MS/Oralce apps (VSudio, Personal Oracle, SQLServer, IIS) for development. You are right about it being an overkill for an HTPC but it will not primarily for home theatre. It will be the only desktop I will have in the house because its about time that I give my old Pentium II to charity lol.

I do want to convert/edit bunch of old home videos. Will on board video be good enough for that?

Yeah. I read very good reviews about HDHomeRun. I might go with that.

I will be adding more hard drives as they get cheaper;). I was just afraid of hard disk having slower reads when it gets bigger. That's why I selected 500GB. Any thoughts on that?

I do want to convert/edit bunch of old home videos. Will on board video be good enough for that?

- There are dual digital (OTA/clear QAM) tuners: AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet, Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250, HDHomeRun.

Yeah. I read very good reviews about HDHomeRun. I might go with that.

- Add a bunch of 1TB or 1.5TB HDDs for recordings.
Yeah, I will be adding them later. I was just afraid of hard disk having slower reads when it gets bigger. Any thoughts on that?
CPU is more important in video editing, but some video editing software are using GPU for faster video encoding (e.g. CyberLink PowerDirector (http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/overview_en_US.html) supports both CUDA and ATI Stream). They are good for HD videos in particular. Otherwise IGP should be enough. Phenom II X4 is equivalent to Core 2 Quad in case you go for AMD.

1TB/1.5TB 5400 rpm drives are not that slow.

Can I get some feedback on this system?

Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
DVD Drive: LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model GH22NP20 - OEM
Case: APEVIA Black / Green SECC Steel / Aluminum X-MASTER-GN/500 ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5400DOBOX - Retail
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Total Price: $368

It will serve for viewing dvds/tv shows, it's a very basic system for my mom she won't be doing anything fancy like burning or ripping DVDs all that can be done on my desktop. Also my brother might play a few games on it every now and then. Is it overkill? is there anyway to get a better deal for the same price like upgrading something for minimal cost increase. Or is there anyway to reduce the price without it turning into a crap HTPC? In particular I'm wondering if the motherboard, proc and memory are overkill

I was thinking about purchasing the AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz for my new build. What is the difference between the 2.9GHz version and the 3.0GHz version besides the .1 difference in GHz? Is it worth the extra money to upgrade.

I'd like this info tooI found mine on ebay. Just search for GGC-H20L. They are out there, new, from reputable sellers with lots of feedback, for less than $120.

Hi all.
I have an old Shuttle XPC 3500 with an Athlon 3500+, 2GB of RAM and Gigabit Ethernet. I have a media server in the basement that has all our music and ripped DVDs/BlueRay and am thinking about using the XPC in one of the bedrooms mostly to stream media from the media server, but also to watch DVDs. I know I would need to upgrade the graphics card. I am also considering to upgrade the DVD drive to BlueRay.

What graphics card should I get that fits in the shuttle. I need a short form factor card. Would the Radeon 4850 HD work?
Do you think this will work at all, or is the CPU not powerful enough for either:
a) just streaming media (ripped DVD/BlueRay)
b) watching BlueRay discs on the PC

Thx so much for any advice!

-az

I was just looking into the upcoming 785g-based offering from Asus. Their ATX board is out, but I'd have to wait for the mATX version.

The thing that appeals to me about this board is the "Turbo Key" feature. Once configured it, it turns the power button into an overclocking button. Imagine how cool that would be... underclock it on a normal basis (for watching movies, etc.) to keep the heat/noise down, then, when it's time to rip/re-encode, just hit the power button and send it into OC mode on-the-fly. Seems like it'd be worth the wait - as well as a few extra dollars.

I know this tech is already available on some existing mobos... anyone have any first-hand experience with it?

[QUOTE=Donny Bahama;16926688]I was just looking into the upcoming 785g-based offering from Asus. Their ATX board is out, but I'd have to wait for the mATX version.QUOTE]

Donny, is this not the mAtx version?
http://www.provantage.com/gigabyte-technology-ga-ma785gm-us2h~7GIG9095.htm

I think he was looking for the Asus version, not the Gigabyte version.

Yes, I was looking for the Asus board because the "Turbo Key" looks really appealing.

Can I get some feedback on this system?

Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
DVD Drive: LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model GH22NP20 - OEM
Case: APEVIA Black / Green SECC Steel / Aluminum X-MASTER-GN/500 ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5400DOBOX - Retail
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Total Price: $368

It will serve for viewing dvds/tv shows, it's a very basic system for my mom she won't be doing anything fancy like burning or ripping DVDs all that can be done on my desktop. Also my brother might play a few games on it every now and then. Is it overkill? is there anyway to get a better deal for the same price like upgrading something for minimal cost increase. Or is there anyway to reduce the price without it turning into a crap HTPC? In particular I'm wondering if the motherboard, proc and memory are overkill
Athlon 64 X2 5400+ is not a good choice. Go for Athlon II X2 250/245/240. Otherwise good except for gaming; you may need to add a good discrete graphics card such as HD 4670 or HD 4770.

I was thinking about purchasing the AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz for my new build. What is the difference between the 2.9GHz version and the 3.0GHz version besides the .1 difference in GHz? Is it worth the extra money to upgrade.
Only clock. There is very little performance difference.

[QUOTE=Donny Bahama;16926431]I found mine on ebay. Just search for GGC-H20L. They are out there, new, from reputable sellers with lots of feedback, for less than $120.[/QU

Back on amazon for $109 shipped!

Does not matter. SpeedFan overrides the BIOS option.

Any tips on where I should set target and warning temps in Speedfan?

My current temps
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9428/speedfanr.jpg

Any tips on where I should set target and warning temps in Speedfan?
I wrote tips in the official E7AUM (or 9300) thread.

Athlon 64 X2 5400+ is not a good choice. Go for Athlon II X2 250/245/240. Otherwise good except for gaming; you may need to add a good discrete graphics card such as HD 4670 or HD 4770.

Why would a any of those 3 be better than an x2 5400+? Don't mean to come off rude I just want to know why I'm buying what I'm buying :)

I'm looking at the AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX245OCGQBOX - Retail - will that be compatible with the motherboard I posted? It says it supports Athlon x2 but I don't see Athlon II x2, does that matter?

looking at a AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX245OCGQBOX - Retail - will that be compatible with the motherboard I posted? It says it supports Athlon x2 but not Athlon II x2, does that matter?
Athlon II X2 250 is supported. The others are newer and seem to be not supported yet. K10 processor supports HyperTransport 3.0.

If you don't need dual PCI Express x8, GA-MA785G-UD3H is another choice.

I wrote tips in the official E7AUM (or 9300) thread.

Found it. :) Next time hit me over the head with the Search button.

Athlon II X2 250 is supported. The others are newer and seem to be not supported yet. K10 processor supports HyperTransport 3.0.

If you don't need dual PCI Express x8, GA-MA785G-UD3H is another choice.

Well the reason I chose the motherboard I did is because my mom wants the option of upgrading the CPU if she needs to to a quad core or something of that sort.

But just to be sure because the "The others are newer and seem to be not supported yet" line threw me off, Athlon II X2 CPUs will work on the GA-MA790X-UD4P?

Well the reason I chose the motherboard I did is because my mom wants the option of upgrading the CPU if she needs to to a quad core or something of that sort.

But just to be sure because the "The others are newer and seem to be not supported yet" line threw me off, Athlon II X2 CPUs will work on the GA-MA790X-UD4P?
Right now GA-MA790X-UD4P supports only Athlon II X2 250 (CPU Support List (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3038#anchor_os)).

Basically every AM2+ mb supports the AM3 processors, so there is no worry of future CPU upgrade (the mb manufacturer needs to update BIOS of course).

Right now GA-MA790X-UD4P supports only Athlon II X2 250 (CPU Support List (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3038#anchor_os)).

Basically every AM2+ mb supports the AM3 processors, so there is no worry of future CPU upgrade (the mb manufacturer needs to update BIOS of course).

Awesome thanks a lot man :) I appreciate the feedback, looks like I'll be getting the CPU you recommended. Also, according to that link it also supports the 240 and 245.

A little off topic but it's depressing building a tiny media center for my mom for ~$350 that is way better (except maybe the graphics card) than my $1200 rig I bought 4-5 years ago lol :(

Edit: Maybe I'm mistaken, does it have to have an 'F4' at the end for the CPU to be supported? I'm sorry for these dumb questions :(

Also, according to that link it also supports the 240 and 245.
I can't find them. :confused:

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/3016/cpusupport.jpg

Does it have to have that F4 at the end?

Edit: so when I allowed gigabyte's website on NoScript to search for something it hid the CPU's without the F4 at the end so now I don't see any of those anymore and just the 250, so I'm going to assume that means they're not supported lol

Are we looking at the same page? I am looking at

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3038#anchor_os

BTW "-" = Under Testing.

Are we looking at the same page? I am looking at

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3038#anchor_os

BTW "-" = Under Testing.

Yeah, it hid them when I unblocked the website in NoScript. I'm just gonna get a 250 I suppose though, thanks for all the help :) Hopefully this turns out nice, while I have you here though which media center would you recommend? I was thinking of just using Media Portal on XP

which media center would you recommend? I was thinking of just using Media Portal on XP
If you are going to use XP, then MP is a good choice.

Quick question:

is amd athlon ii x2 245 compatible with ASUS M3N78-EM?

Hi all.
I have an old Shuttle XPC 3500 with an Athlon 3500+, 2GB of RAM and Gigabit Ethernet. I have a media server in the basement that has all our music and ripped DVDs/BlueRay and am thinking about using the XPC in one of the bedrooms mostly to stream media from the media server, but also to watch DVDs. I know I would need to upgrade the graphics card. I am also considering to upgrade the DVD drive to BlueRay.

What graphics card should I get that fits in the shuttle. I need a short form factor card. Would the Radeon 4850 HD work?
Do you think this will work at all, or is the CPU not powerful enough for either:
a) just streaming media (ripped DVD/BlueRay)
b) watching BlueRay discs on the PC

Thx so much for any advice!

-az

Anybody any advice on this???

Quick question:

is amd athlon ii x2 245 compatible with ASUS M3N78-EM?
Yup, but not officially supported by BIOS yet.

Anybody any advice on this???
Specs?

Primarily for general use, light gaming, movie storage. Will maybe get a tuner card for OTA recording of hd content. Might have a camera survelance system in the future, but that may go on the one this is replacing.

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

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Main drive for op-sys and programs

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive for storage purposes.

HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported IceQ4 Turbo Video Card. May XFire when funds allow.

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Case is an older CoolerMaster MidTower with about 7 bays. Piano black anodised aluminum.

Win7RC or Window Home Server

OR should I wait for the new i5 stuff?

The following is the build I'm currently planning out. I would appreciate any suggestions to help me optimize it. I'm specifically looking to balance noise level over speed and power. While I'm budget conscience, it is not as important of a concern as keeping the noise level low.

The sole purpose for this build is for streaming content from a NAS and outputting to an Onkyo 805 receiver which then goes to speakers and tv respectively. I will not be using cable (so no need for a tv tuner) and I will not be encoding video or audio.


Some concerns:

1) I'm not sure what to do for CPU cooling. Would it be possible to go passive? If so what will fit the chosen case and the AM3 socket? Will the twin 120mm case fans be able to exhaust enough heat? If I can't go passive what cooling solution does everyone recommend?

2) I'm not sure if the Corsair PSU is the best choice. I am certain I could get away with a lower wattage. However I like the modular design and this appears to be a feature that is only available on the higher wattage rated PSU's. I have and love the 600W version of this PSU in my main computer. I find the noise level tolerable but maybe there is something better out there? A dependable PSU is something that is very important to me. Suggestions?

3) Not sure if the ram is appropriate. It's been awhile and the CAS timings, etc confuse me.

4) Can I get away with not having a CD/DVD drive? I'm planning on using alternative methods to install Windows 7. I'm just curious if I would really regret not having one since I plan on keeping my dedicated BD player.


Finally the list:

* Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129054)
* GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397)
* AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648)
* G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189)
* OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227394)
* CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001)
* 2x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm 800rpm (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185004)

Estimated cost: ~$800

Some concerns:

1) I'm not sure what to do for CPU cooling. Would it be possible to go passive? If so what will fit the chosen case and the AM3 socket? Will the twin 120mm case fans be able to exhaust enough heat? If I can't go passive what cooling solution does everyone recommend?

2) I'm not sure if the Corsair PSU is the best choice. I am certain I could get away with a lower wattage. However I like the modular design and this appears to be a feature that is only available on the higher wattage rated PSU's. I have and love the 600W version of this PSU in my main computer. I find the noise level tolerable but maybe there is something better out there? A dependable PSU is something that is very important to me. Suggestions?

3) Not sure if the ram is appropriate. It's been awhile and the CAS timings, etc confuse me.

4) Can I get away with not having a CD/DVD drive? I'm planning on using alternative methods to install Windows 7. I'm just curious if I would really regret not having one since I plan on keeping my dedicated BD player.
1) I don't recommend passive cooling for a 95W processor (use Cooler Master Geminii S, very quiet). Or use a 65W processor such as Athlon II X3 250/245/240 with Scythe Ninja Mini passive cooling.

2) Enermax MODU82+?

3) CAS something is immaterial for your purpose.

4) You can install Windows from a USB flash memory (minimum 4GB). Or temporarily connect a DVD drive.

Is there is an advantage or difference to getting the 785g than the nvidia 9400 IGP for HTPC purposes?

Besides the obvious difference of using Intel/Amd cpu's/mobo, I was looking at the 785g thread and the 9400 thread and they looked fairly similar and I could not spot a difference if I wanted to use them for a HTPC. It seems both can do multichannel LPCM and I need a sound card for bitstreaming anyway, but I feel like I'm probably missing something important.


Also since I'm not planning to buy soon, I might wait to hear something about the iGT209 or whichever crazy name Nvidia decides to use.

Current future build:

Any suggestions for a slimline BD burner and HD reader?

SUPERMICRO MBD-X7DWA-N Dual LGA 771 Intel 5400 Extended ATX Dual Intel Xeon Server Motherboard

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI

CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible

2 Intel Xeon E5410 Harpertown 2.33GHz LGA 771 80W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80574E5410A

2 Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) ECC Fully Buffered Intel Certified Server Memory Model KVR667D2D4F5/4GI

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders

2 Dynatron H46G 77mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

2 HD CARD SUPERMICRO|AOC-SAT2-MV8 R 2

20 HD 1T WEST DIGITAL WD1002FBYS

CHASSIS NORCO RPC-4020

SLM DVD BURN SONY AD-7590S-01

HD 640G WD 7K 16M WD6400AAKS

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card

Sony Slimline 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive MPF820

renethx, any recommendations on the following HTPC I am looking into building (below). I intend to use it for viewing ripped movies (in variable formats) that are being stored on my WHS: dvds and blu-ray. However, I would like a flexible system that is fairly future-proof (as I will be leaving for a business trip soon for a year). I also have the desire to play some games (mostly MMOs or FPS). I would like to keep the price range between $500-700. Let me know if you would adjust anything with the system:

AMD Phenom II 920 2.8Ghz Quad Core--$154.00
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H--$71.95
Antec Fusion Remote Black--$150.99
SAPPHIRE 100258-1GHDMI Radeon HD 4850 1GB--$124.99
COOLER MASTER GeminII S--$35.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W--$60.00 (after $15mir)
WD Caviar Green 1 TB (WD10EACS)--$0.00 (already own)
A-DATA ADQVE1B16K 4GB (2 x 2GB) SDRAM--$44.99
TOTAL: $642.91

Thanks for the advise, Rene. Option 3 it is then. :)

So, this is my final list.. is there anything I am missing?

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 Processor 250 AM3, Retail (http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=ADX250OCBX) - $65
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $89
Case: Antec NSK2480 Black/Silver MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034&Tpk=NSK2480) - $99.45
HDD + Memory: OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 (PC2 6400) OCZ2B800C44GK - Retail + WD Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.204617) - $125.98
OD: LG Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model GGC-H20L [This seems to be out of stock at most places... any other recommendations for a BD player? I am not too particular about its ability to play HD-DVD, just BD should be fine too]
Tuner: would like a dual tuner capable of recording shows.. still undecided on which on

Thanks!

Thanks to all the helpful inputs, I have placed order for these parts and am awaiting delivery.

Would the stock cooler for Athlon II X2 250 suffice, or would I need another CPU cooler?

Is there is an advantage or difference to getting the 785g than the nvidia 9400 IGP for HTPC purposes?

Besides the obvious difference of using Intel/Amd cpu's/mobo, I was looking at the 785g thread and the 9400 thread and they looked fairly similar and I could not spot a difference if I wanted to use them for a HTPC. It seems both can do multichannel LPCM and I need a sound card for bitstreaming anyway, but I feel like I'm probably missing something important.
Cheaper; better HDMI audio.

An e-tailer in the UK now has the Asus M4A785TD-M EVO for sale (http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=35136). ($USD equivalent = $115.) Hopefully US vendors won't be too far behind.

renethx, any recommendations on the following HTPC I am looking into building (below). I intend to use it for viewing ripped movies (in variable formats) that are being stored on my WHS: dvds and blu-ray. However, I would like a flexible system that is fairly future-proof (as I will be leaving for a business trip soon for a year). I also have the desire to play some games (mostly MMOs or FPS). I would like to keep the price range between $500-700. Let me know if you would adjust anything with the system:

AMD Phenom II 920 2.8Ghz Quad Core--$154.00
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H--$71.95
Antec Fusion Remote Black--$150.99
SAPPHIRE 100258-1GHDMI Radeon HD 4850 1GB--$124.99
COOLER MASTER GeminII S--$35.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W--$60.00 (after $15mir)
WD Caviar Green 1 TB (WD10EACS)--$0.00 (already own)
A-DATA ADQVE1B16K 4GB (2 x 2GB) SDRAM--$44.99
TOTAL: $642.91
Good.

Specs?

- Shuttle XPC 3500 with an AMD Athlon 3500+ and integrated sound
- 2GB of RAM
- 160GB HD (not used to store media content, all on media server)
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Saphire Radeon 4850 HD (looking for a recommendation that works with the Shuttle from a form factor perspective)

I have a media server in the basement that has all our music and ripped DVDs/BlueRay and am thinking about using the XPC in one of the bedrooms mostly to stream media from the media server, but also to watch DVDs. I know I would need to upgrade the graphics card. I am also considering to upgrade the DVD drive to a BlueRay drive. I will not rip DVDs or BlueRay discs on this PC, so CPU will only need to be good enough for playback.

So here is what I need advice with:
What graphics card should I get that fits in the shuttle. I need a short form factor card. Would the Radeon 4850 HD work?
Do you think this will work at all, or is the CPU not powerful enough for either:
a) just streaming media (ripped DVD/BlueRay)
b) watching BlueRay discs on the PC

Thx for any advice -az

- 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: $520
-- 590 with three 5-in-3, 15 HDDs: $380
-- 1200 with six 3-in-2 (no hot swap), 18 HDDs: $280
-- 1200 with four 5-in-3, 20 HDDs: $580

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.)

@ Renethx,

OK, I just got confirmation that the Chenbro (http://usa.chenbro.com/corporatesite/products_detail.php?sku=109) was shipped and should be arriving this week, so I can start moving along with the rest of the components. I will most likely get the Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 controller and the Promise SATA 4 port controller you suggested (eventually 16 drive max, 6 sata HDD to mobo, 8 sata HDD to Supermicro, and 2 sata HDD to Promise). So here is my next round of questions, I am going to go with the AMD build.

Mobo: Page 85 has the GA-MA780G-UD3H but this is a deactivated item on NewEgg (I can still find it on Amazon). Is the GA-MA790GP-UD4H (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Manufactory=1314&N=50001314&SpeTabStoreType=0) the replacement? You mentioned the 790GX as well, would you recommend the 790GX (which brand?) over the Gigabyte 790GP? I would like to take my Hauppauge 2250 out of my PC and place in the Media Server, this shouldn't be a problem?

CPU: Page 85 has the Athlon 5200+ AD05200DOBOX (http://www.amazon.com/Athlon-5200-2-7GHZ-65NM-2000MHZ/dp/B000XBELLK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249329683&sr=8-1) which Amazon has for $82. Newegg only carries the Athlon 5200+ ADO5200IAA5DO (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103218) for $59, I assume the only difference is the Amazon one comes with the stock cooler whereas the Newegg one does not. Should I go with the one from Newegg and get a cooler separately, or will the price just end up being the same as if I go with the one from Amazon (DOBOX)? Or is there another AMD CPU you would recommend?

Additional Parts

PSU: Corsair TX750W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=corsair%20TX750W)

Memory: Corsair XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145241) - Obviously only approx 3.5GB will be recognized

O/S Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319)

I will probably just do the base WHS install with just the O/S drive for a week, make sure everything is working well, and then add the Chenbro Hotswap Cages, Supermicro/Promise cards, and additional drives (combination of 1TB WD GP drives I have and the Seagate 2TB LP drives).

Any tweaks you would make to the above additional parts (it mostly mirrors your page 85)? Also, I assume the fans that come with the Chenbro should be more then adequate (cooling and reasonably quiet) that I don't need to replace?

- Shuttle XPC 3500 with an AMD Athlon 3500+ and integrated sound
- 2GB of RAM
- 160GB HD (not used to store media content, all on media server)
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Saphire Radeon 4850 HD (looking for a recommendation that works with the Shuttle from a form factor perspective)
I need more detailed specs such as link to the manufacturer's product page or manual.

So here is my next round of questions, I am going to go with the AMD build.

Mobo: Page 85 has the GA-MA780G-UD3H but this is a deactivated item on NewEgg (I can still find it on Amazon). Is the GA-MA790GP-UD4H (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Manufactory=1314&N=50001314&SpeTabStoreType=0) the replacement? You mentioned the 790GX as well, would you recommend the 790GX (which brand?) over the Gigabyte 790GP? I would like to take my Hauppauge 2250 out of my PC and place in the Media Server, this shouldn't be a problem?

CPU: Page 85 has the Athlon 5200+ AD05200DOBOX (http://www.amazon.com/Athlon-5200-2-7GHZ-65NM-2000MHZ/dp/B000XBELLK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249329683&sr=8-1) which Amazon has for $82. Newegg only carries the Athlon 5200+ ADO5200IAA5DO (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103218) for $59, I assume the only difference is the Amazon one comes with the stock cooler whereas the Newegg one does not. Should I go with the one from Newegg and get a cooler separately, or will the price just end up being the same as if I go with the one from Amazon (DOBOX)? Or is there another AMD CPU you would recommend?
The replacement of mb/CPU are

- GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-US3H
- Athlon II X2 250/245/240

Mb can be any AM2+ mb supporting the new Athlon II X2 processor (most older AM2+ mb support them by BIOS update) and having two PCI slots. TV tuner should be no problem.

Thanks to all the helpful inputs, I have placed order for these parts and am awaiting delivery.

Would the stock cooler for Athlon II X2 250 suffice, or would I need another CPU cooler?

Any thoughts on this? :) I will be using a 785G board with a X2 250 processor.. would I need a passive cooling system?

I've ordered the parts for the AMD 22bay HMS on page 85. One SNAFU so far is that the PSU doesn't provide enough of the 4 pin molex connectors necessary to power the drive bays and fans. I guess the only solution would be to convert the sata power connectors to molex, yes? Will a sata >> molex converter solve my issue?

I need more detailed specs such as link to the manufacturer's product page or manual.

Best I could find below. Thx a bunch renethx for looking at this!!!

CPU: AMD Athlon™ 64 (Socket 939) Processors
RAM: 2GB Dual-channel DDR 400/333 in (2) DIMM slots (2GB max)
Motherboard: FN95 (proprietary)
NVIDIA nForce™3 250 GB chipset
800MHz HyperTransport enhanced System Bus (1600MT/s)

(1) 32-bit PCI slot
Graphics: 8X AGP Slot
Audio: 6-channel audio
Digital (SPDIF) audio ports
Analog audio ports
Network: Gigabit LAN

Storage
(2) ATA133 headers
(2) Serial ATA 150 headers
(1) FDD header
(1) 5.25″ storage bay
(2) 3.5″ storage bays

Front-panel I/O
(2) USB 2.0 ports
(1) FireWireR mini port
(1) Microphone port


Thx again! -az

Seems that probably the best DDR2 memory for HTPC would be a low voltage memory to help reduce heat, looks like OCZ recently came out with their PC2 8500 (1066MHz) Blade memory that does this at 1.8v. Looks to be the best DDR2 solution out now for HTPC, but isn't as cheap as the rest so it's not for the low budget systems.

I've ordered the parts for the AMD 22bay HMS on page 85. One SNAFU so far is that the PSU doesn't provide enough of the 4 pin molex connectors necessary to power the drive bays and fans. I guess the only solution would be to convert the sata power connectors to molex, yes? Will a sata >> molex converter solve my issue?
Either SATA->4-pin molex power adapter or 4-pin molex->two 4-pin molex power Y-cable like this (http://www.wiredco.com/4pin-molex-power-supply-cable-inch-p-128.html).

Any thoughts on this? :) I will be using a 785G board with a X2 250 processor.. would I need a passive cooling system?
First try the stock cooler. You can replace it at any time later.

Hi all.
I have an old Shuttle XPC 3500 with an Athlon 3500+, 2GB of RAM and Gigabit Ethernet. I have a media server in the basement that has all our music and ripped DVDs/BlueRay and am thinking about using the XPC in one of the bedrooms mostly to stream media from the media server, but also to watch DVDs. I know I would need to upgrade the graphics card. I am also considering to upgrade the DVD drive to BlueRay.

What graphics card should I get that fits in the shuttle. I need a short form factor card. Would the Radeon 4850 HD work?
Do you think this will work at all, or is the CPU not powerful enough for either:
a) just streaming media (ripped DVD/BlueRay)
b) watching BlueRay discs on the PC
Radeon HD 3650 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102814) (full-height) or HD 3450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121315) (low-profile). If you case supports full-height cards, the first card is better.

BTW is you Shuttle this model (http://eu.shuttle.com/archive/en/sn95g5.htm#specificatio)? I just needed the precise model number.

First try the stock cooler. You can replace it at any time later.

Thanks again for the kind advise :)

Hey everyone!

So I finally received all my parts today and was able to crack at it with my first complete PC build! And after 3 hours of hard work, I installed everything and went in to plug the bad boy in and turn it on! Oh what a rush it was, but to my dismay, all did not go as planned.

The HTPC itself started up, green LED from motherboard was solid, case/cpu/psu fans were working their magic, even the CD optical drive worked perfectly. However, there was no display! Whether it was DVI or HDMI, I kept getting a 'No Signal' from my TV and a spare monitor! After testing out individual RAM slots, bare-bones start (no optical/hdd/pci/etc), and even re-installing the heatsink, I seem to end up at the same place.

So on the internet I went, and found out that it might just end up being a motherboard shortage/failure. Now my two choices right now are: returning it via Newegg.com hoping to get a replacement, although it might be considered physical damage, or go out and purchase a new motherboard either at local/Newegg.com.

Also, I already applied thermal compound onto the heatsink and CPU, but they should both still be fully functional with the new motherboard, correct (as in, I just need to buy some more thermal compound and reapply)?

Re-seated the processor?

Nah, haven't tried that since I figured when placing in the CPU the first time, I placed it in and took it out and placed it in again to double check I had it in correctly, and I just needed to apply a little bit more pressure to the latch. I will try again tomorrow if not in a couple hours. Way too tired to go into the darkness again! =P

Wow - what a great source of info! Thank you thank you!

Reading through a bunch of this I thought I'd go with a SAPPHIRE 100255HDMI Radeon HD 4670 512MB for my mostly Blu-Ray player HTPC. I will play DVD but as little as possible. I'll also be streaming FLAC 2 channel audio.

I guess to get the latest non-down-sampled audio I have to go with the ASUS board - I'll get this SLIM.

It looks like the Radeon 4670 may have some trouble with 24p? Should I go with NVIDIA?

Thanks again,

-Mike

Hey everyone!

So I finally received all my parts today and was able to crack at it with my first complete PC build! And after 3 hours of hard work, I installed everything and went in to plug the bad boy in and turn it on! Oh what a rush it was, but to my dismay, all did not go as planned.

The HTPC itself started up, green LED from motherboard was solid, case/cpu/psu fans were working their magic, even the CD optical drive worked perfectly. However, there was no display! Whether it was DVI or HDMI, I kept getting a 'No Signal' from my TV and a spare monitor! After testing out individual RAM slots, bare-bones start (no optical/hdd/pci/etc), and even re-installing the heatsink, I seem to end up at the same place.

So on the internet I went, and found out that it might just end up being a motherboard shortage/failure. Now my two choices right now are: returning it via Newegg.com hoping to get a replacement, although it might be considered physical damage, or go out and purchase a new motherboard either at local/Newegg.com.

Also, I already applied thermal compound onto the heatsink and CPU, but they should both still be fully functional with the new motherboard, correct (as in, I just need to buy some more thermal compound and reapply)?

I had similar experiences with my first build. In my case, I had not connected the secondary power to the motherboard, having misinterpretted the instructions. Are you sure you have all the necessary power going to the board? These days it's common to need both the 20/24 ATX power buss plus a separate 4-pin or 2x4 pin feed (usually right near the CPU).

Do you get any power-on beep? Some cases don't supply a speaker so this may or may not be relevant. Attaching a speaker to listen for the POST beep can be a useful debugging tool.

Marc

Radeon HD 3650 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102814) (full-height) or HD 3450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121315) (low-profile). If you case supports full-height cards, the first card is better.

BTW is you Shuttle this model (http://eu.shuttle.com/archive/en/sn95g5.htm#specificatio)? I just needed the precise model number.

Thx much renethx! Yes it is the XPC SN95G5. What is your take on the other questions.

Do you think this will work at all, or is the CPU not powerful enough for either:
a) just streaming media (ripped DVD/BlueRay)
b) watching DVDs & BlueRay discs on the PC if I upgrade the DVD drive to BlueRay

Thx so much for any advice! -az

Thx much renethx! Yes it is the XPC SN95G5. What is your take on the other questions.

Do you think this will work at all, or is the CPU not powerful enough for either:
a) just streaming media (ripped DVD/BlueRay)
b) watching DVDs & BlueRay discs on the PC if I upgrade the DVD drive to BlueRay
Yup, your system with HD 3650 should be able to handle these tasks well. If you are interested in BD playback with Athlon 64 3500+ and HD 3650 AGP, please read this article (http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2959&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=1).

I had similar experiences with my first build. In my case, I had not connected the secondary power to the motherboard, having misinterpretted the instructions. Are you sure you have all the necessary power going to the board? These days it's common to need both the 20/24 ATX power buss plus a separate 4-pin or 2x4 pin feed (usually right near the CPU).

Do you get any power-on beep? Some cases don't supply a speaker so this may or may not be relevant. Attaching a speaker to listen for the POST beep can be a useful debugging tool.

Marc

I am also having a boot up problem and today I hooked up the 2x4 pin feed and now the CPU fan spins and the case button will turn the computer off. I have not had time to take the monitor off my other computer and hook it up. However, I did not get a beep.

The Antec Fusion does not have a speaker that attaches to the MB GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P P45 775 R F_Panel speaker pins. But it does have an AC'97 and HDA 10 pin connector which attaches to the motherboard F_Audio connector. So, I am wondering if there is a beep when it posts.

Also, there is a single black wire and a single white wire coming from the PSU ENERMAX|EPR525AWT 525W RT. I am wondering what that is for.

Hey Renethx, with the new 785G chipset and new drivers from NVIDIA and ATI (hopefully improving 24p support), are you going to be updating your recommended systems list and chart? Your chart is incredible, by the way. Your contributions to this forum are impressive and appreciated.

Thanks!

Alex

My current setup is a 780G motherboard using the onboard IGP with an Athalon II 250. I'm satisfied with look of my HD content, but not SD content (DVD and recorded TV).

Looks like the Radeon HD 4550 is recommendation for the low-end config. Would there be any advantage in picture quality with the 4650? Or significant disadvantage with the 4350? I see several references to the 4670, but it's out of the running because there is no low profile option for that processor. I'm also slightly concerned about the heat with the 4670. What specific features make for a good SD video card?

This needs to be a low profile card, and gaming is not a requirement.

Thanks for any direction you can provide.

My current setup is a 780G motherboard using the onboard IGP with an Athalon II 250. I'm satisfied with look of my HD content, but not SD content (DVD and recorded TV).

Looks like the Radeon HD 4550 is recommendation for the low-end config. Would there be any advantage in picture quality with the 4650? Or significant disadvantage with the 4350? I see several references to the 4670, but it's out of the running because there is no low profile option for that processor. I'm also slightly concerned about the heat with the 4670. What specific features make for a good SD video card?

This needs to be a low profile card, and gaming is not a requirement.

Thanks for any direction you can provide.

I had the same problem and ended up upgrading to a 4670. I don't have a 4650 but I have heard (via threads dedicated on this forum) that the 4650 presents some software issues that the 4670 does not. I think your best bet would be the 4550; the 4350 doesn't do much in the way of additional stream processors to dramatically improve the SD quality. I would go with the 4550. Some other folks may say the 4650 is okay and that any software issues are mere myth, but thats the only issue I would check out.

Alex

Thanks for the advise, Rene. Option 3 it is then. :)

So, this is my final list.. is there anything I am missing?

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 Processor 250 AM3, Retail (http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=ADX250OCBX) - $65
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $89
Case: Antec NSK2480 Black/Silver MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129034&Tpk=NSK2480) - $99.45
HDD + Memory: OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 (PC2 6400) OCZ2B800C44GK - Retail + WD Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.204617) - $125.98
OD: LG Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model GGC-H20L [This seems to be out of stock at most places... any other recommendations for a BD player? I am not too particular about its ability to play HD-DVD, just BD should be fine too]
Tuner: would like a dual tuner capable of recording shows.. still undecided on which on

Thanks!

@Rene,

Given the recent updates on the 785G board about not being able to support multichannel LPCM over HDMI, would you recommend that I continue with my build using the 785G (yet to receive, but already been shipped), or go with another board such as GeForce 8300. Your advise, please....

Thanks!

@Rene,

Given the recent updates on the 785G board about not being able to support multichannel LPCM over HDMI, would you recommend that I continue with my build using the 785G (yet to receive, but already been shipped), or go with another board such as GeForce 8300. Your advise, please....

Thanks!

I'm pretty disappointed about the 785G revelations today. I've decided to plan out a build around the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H.

Hey Renethx, with the new 785G chipset and new drivers from NVIDIA and ATI (hopefully improving 24p support), are you going to be updating your recommended systems list and chart?
Yes. Before that I have to test myself.

My current setup is a 780G motherboard using the onboard IGP with an Athalon II 250. I'm satisfied with look of my HD content, but not SD content (DVD and recorded TV).

Looks like the Radeon HD 4550 is recommendation for the low-end config. Would there be any advantage in picture quality with the 4650? Or significant disadvantage with the 4350? I see several references to the 4670, but it's out of the running because there is no low profile option for that processor. I'm also slightly concerned about the heat with the 4670. What specific features make for a good SD video card?
4550 is the best among 4350, 4550 and 4650. Poor DDR2 video memory seems to be the bottleneck of the performance of 4350/4650.

I'm pretty disappointed about the 785G revelations today. I've decided to plan out a build around the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H.
OK, this is a news for me. :o

Now the selection of the microATX AMD/AMD systems is pretty easy.

Low-end: Athlon II X2 240/GA-MA785G-US2H (or whatever)/DDR2-1066/Radeon HD 4550
Mid-range: Phenom II X3 720/710 or X2 550/GA-MA785G-US2H (or whatever)/DDR2-1066/Radeon HD 4670

What do you guys think of this barbones kit machine with Asus Mobo for htpc and gaming at Tigerdirect (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4601609&CatId=4149)? I'm wondering if an EVGA GTX 275 video card and 2TB Caviar drive would play nice with it.

Found it. :) Next time hit me over the head with the Search button.Seems like good info to be linked in this thread. Mind posting a link?

I had similar experiences with my first build. In my case, I had not connected the secondary power to the motherboard, having misinterpretted the instructions. Are you sure you have all the necessary power going to the board? These days it's common to need both the 20/24 ATX power buss plus a separate 4-pin or 2x4 pin feed (usually right near the CPU).

Do you get any power-on beep? Some cases don't supply a speaker so this may or may not be relevant. Attaching a speaker to listen for the POST beep can be a useful debugging tool.

Marc

Actually, I was able to get everything working. And yes, one of the missing elements I forgot the second time trying it was that 4-pin connection. It's such a tiny connection that it's so easy to forget!

But what ended up coming to be the real problem was getting the oxidation off of the memory sticks that I had purchased. Just re-setting the sticks in and out to clear them up. And yes, the Antec case I got did not have a chassis speaker so I couldn't hear those BIOS beeps! What a pain!

Everything works now, and I'm happy, just installing all my programs and getting it ready for when I move into my new apartment. :D

@ renethx: And yes, that 785G does make EVERYTHING so much simpler in terms of what to get. Too bad I didn't follow the thread in time to find out it released two days after I ordered my parts. Oh well. Do the Gigabyte 785Gs support DDR3 as well for 'future-proofing' or do you think we would have to wait until Asus releases their mATX version?

I'm pretty disappointed about the 785G revelations today. I've decided to plan out a build around the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H.I don't think "disappointed" quite covers it. The fact that AMD has intentionally blocked multi-channel LPCM on the 785G chipset makes me want to swear off AMD products for good. :mad: What, are they trying not to compete with Intel?

@ renethx: And yes, that 785G does make EVERYTHING so much simpler in terms of what to get. Too bad I didn't follow the thread in time to find out it released two days after I ordered my parts. Oh well. Do the Gigabyte 785Gs support DDR3 as well for 'future-proofing' or do you think we would have to wait until Asus releases their mATX version?
There are several GIGABYTE 785G mbs. Half of them support DDR3. But you have to pay a $30 price premium (+$20 in memory, +$10 in mb) for DDR3, and you just see zero to a few percent performance increase in the real-world applications.

I don't think "disappointed" quite covers it. The fact that AMD has intentionally blocked multi-channel LPCM on the 785G chipset makes me want to swear off AMD products for good. :mad: What, are they trying not to compete with Intel?

To be fair to the competition, "blocked" does not mean intentional. Often a bug (silicon or software) is referred to as "blocking" when it completely disables a feature which is supposed to be tested. As in, "it's blocking the feature from being tested".

Looks like HIS Digital is updating their fanless HD 4670 1GB card with native HDMI which is nice, haven't found anyone selling them yet though.
http://www.hisdigital.com/us/product2-450.shtml I don't understand why they aren't including the connector at the top for CrossfireX?

The version with Fan is available at newegg now in AGP form (not PCI-Express).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161284

My current setup is a 780G motherboard using the onboard IGP with an Athalon II 250. I'm satisfied with look of my HD content, but not SD content (DVD and recorded TV).

Looks like the Radeon HD 4550 is recommendation for the low-end config. Would there be any advantage in picture quality with the 4650? Or significant disadvantage with the 4350? I see several references to the 4670, but it's out of the running because there is no low profile option for that processor. I'm also slightly concerned about the heat with the 4670. What specific features make for a good SD video card?

This needs to be a low profile card, and gaming is not a requirement.

Thanks for any direction you can provide.

Farbin,

I had similar experiences with the Radeon HD3200 +sideport RAM iGPU on my mobo. I was dazzled by the capacity for it to play 1080i/p content (connected via HDMI to my 50" plasma 1080i Panny) but even on HD content I had "black level issues" and could never quite get the gamma/contrast/brightness quite right. And the desktop was always a bit unclear. SD playback was very weak as in fuzzy. So, it worked, video played, and there was an adequate WAF, but it bugged me once I realized I couldn't tweak it to perfection. Eventually I bought a HD 4550 card ($45 at the Egg, $35 after rebate!) and plopped it in. Other than some tweaking of the overscan, I've made no picture adjustments. It's perfect except for (like the 3200) slightly off center to the bottom (apparently, an issue with the 1080i TV). Best $35 I ever spent. It comes with parts to make it low profile. Everything just looks right, be it SD TV, DVD, HDTV, BD...

FYI I've used Vista and am now at W7RC 7100 and it works fine on both environments. I'm planning to update to the recently released 9.7 driver pack when I move up to W7RTM; on 9.6 now. Ain't broke, not fixing it.

Marc

To be fair to the competition, "blocked" does not mean intentional. Often a bug (silicon or software) is referred to as "blocking" when it completely disables a feature which is supposed to be tested. As in, "it's blocking the feature from being tested".As a former SW QA manager, I'm familiar with that application of the term. I don't think that's the case here, since multi-channel LPCM was "blocked" in previous AMD chipsets and is not "blocked" in their Maui products.

OK, this is a news for me. :o

Now the selection of the microATX AMD/AMD systems is pretty easy.

Low-end: Athlon II X2 240/GA-MA785G-US2H (or whatever)/DDR2-1066/Radeon HD 4550
Mid-range: Phenom II X3 720/710 or X2 550/GA-MA785G-US2H (or whatever)/DDR2-1066/Radeon HD 4670

Rene,

Given that the drivers for the 785G are probably not yet finalized / stabilized, are there specific advantages in still going for the 785G over the 780G?

Yup, your system with HD 3650 should be able to handle these tasks well. If you are interested in BD playback with Athlon 64 3500+ and HD 3650 AGP, please read this article (http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2959&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=1).

Great - I will give it a shot this weekend. Thx again for your help! -az

As a former SW QA manager, I'm familiar with that application of the term. I don't think that's the case here, since multi-channel LPCM was "blocked" in previous AMD chipsets and is not "blocked" in their Maui products.

Sorry, wasn't trying to be condescending, just informative.

My current setup is a 780G motherboard using the onboard IGP with an Athalon II 250. I'm satisfied with look of my HD content, but not SD content (DVD and recorded TV).

Looks like the Radeon HD 4550 is recommendation for the low-end config. Would there be any advantage in picture quality with the 4650? Or significant disadvantage with the 4350? I see several references to the 4670, but it's out of the running because there is no low profile option for that processor. I'm also slightly concerned about the heat with the 4670. What specific features make for a good SD video card?

This needs to be a low profile card, and gaming is not a requirement.

Thanks for any direction you can provide.

Alex, Rene, and Marc,

Thanks for the replies. Looks like the 4550 is it.

Actually, I was able to get everything working. And yes, one of the missing elements I forgot the second time trying it was that 4-pin connection. It's such a tiny connection that it's so easy to forget!

But what ended up coming to be the real problem was getting the oxidation off of the memory sticks that I had purchased. Just re-setting the sticks in and out to clear them up. And yes, the Antec case I got did not have a chassis speaker so I couldn't hear those BIOS beeps! What a pain!

Everything works now, and I'm happy, just installing all my programs and getting it ready for when I move into my new apartment. :D

@ renethx: And yes, that 785G does make EVERYTHING so much simpler in terms of what to get. Too bad I didn't follow the thread in time to find out it released two days after I ordered my parts. Oh well. Do the Gigabyte 785Gs support DDR3 as well for 'future-proofing' or do you think we would have to wait until Asus releases their mATX version?
Yes, Connecting the two 4 pins got mine working also. The instructions are somewhat vague. And yes, there is no speaker and no beeps. My thanks to all who clarified this.

Now I am dealing with a hang up on "Verifying DMI Data Pool Data" while trying to load my old copy of XP Home. But I am new to an original install of BIOS and an operating system. Any advice will be appreciated.

Can Someone Please Tell Me Why Powerdvd 9 On One HTPC Using Analog Outs
Displays Output LPCM 48Khz/24bit And Another HTPC Using Optical Out Displays
Output LPCM 48Khz/16bit From Bluray ISO?

Hi guys,

So last night I tried booting my first ever build. Here is what I have:
mobo: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.8
HDD: WD 1TB Caviar Green

On the first boot, i had my USB wireless keyboard plugged in (never used it before). The first thing that pops up is something about my SATA disk drive is being read as an IDE, do I want to change it? Well I tried typing yes but the keyboard wasn't working so it timed out and continued doing its thing. So then it gave a boot disk drive error and asked me to insert a disk so I put WinXP into the blueray drive, plugged in an extra keyboard and hit enter. it started to read the blueray drive and told me to hit enter to continue installing XP or some other button to stop. It wouldn't respond to the keyboard no matter what i pressed so i restarted the htpc. So this time on the reboot when it asked me if i wanted to change the HDD to be read as SATA i hit yes and then it threw me into a "Verifying DMI Data Pool" hangup. I looked online and its likely that my HDD is configured wrong. But every time I restart it doesn't react to any keyboard input, it just hangs me up.

Thanks for any suggestions. All I can think of is to try connecting the SATA cable to a different SATA input on the motherboard? What actions should I take next time when I start the computer? Thanks for your help,
Rob
:o)

It seems that nvidia has ati beat for consistent black/white levels across all video types (MKV, AVI, WMV, BluRay ISO, BluRay folder rips).

Assuming that I was looking at a HD 4670, what is the equivalent standalone in the nvidia line?

Hi guys,

So last night I tried booting my first ever build. Here is what I have:
mobo: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.8
HDD: WD 1TB Caviar Green

On the first boot, i had my USB wireless keyboard plugged in (never used it before). The first thing that pops up is something about my SATA disk drive is being read as an IDE, do I want to change it? Well I tried typing yes but the keyboard wasn't working so it timed out and continued doing its thing. So then it gave a boot disk drive error and asked me to insert a disk so I put WinXP into the blueray drive, plugged in an extra keyboard and hit enter. it started to read the blueray drive and told me to hit enter to continue installing XP or some other button to stop. It wouldn't respond to the keyboard no matter what i pressed so i restarted the htpc. So this time on the reboot when it asked me if i wanted to change the HDD to be read as SATA i hit yes and then it threw me into a "Verifying DMI Data Pool" hangup. I looked online and its likely that my HDD is configured wrong. But every time I restart it doesn't react to any keyboard input, it just hangs me up.

Thanks for any suggestions. All I can think of is to try connecting the SATA cable to a different SATA input on the motherboard? What actions should I take next time when I start the computer? Thanks for your help,
Rob
:o)

I am having the same problems except I am using a wired keyboard. BIOS seems to see the Blu-ray drive as a hard drive and I can find no way to set it as the first boot device to use with the XP disc. Briefly, yesterday I had the XP disk in the blu-ray drive and it began installation of Windows before hanging on Verifying DMI Data Pool. Please post if you find a solution and I will do the same.

If you find a solution, please post. I will do the same.

Also if your wireless keyboard is the DiNovo Edge you must put the receiver in a USB port and then it still may need the Logitech set point software.

Seems like good info to be linked in this thread. Mind posting a link?

Here it is, renethx guide to setting Speedfan settings for Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=15194481&postcount=93).

Hi guys,

So last night I tried booting my first ever build. Here is what I have:
mobo: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.8
HDD: WD 1TB Caviar Green

On the first boot, i had my USB wireless keyboard plugged in (never used it before). The first thing that pops up is something about my SATA disk drive is being read as an IDE, do I want to change it? Well I tried typing yes but the keyboard wasn't working so it timed out and continued doing its thing. So then it gave a boot disk drive error and asked me to insert a disk so I put WinXP into the blueray drive, plugged in an extra keyboard and hit enter. it started to read the blueray drive and told me to hit enter to continue installing XP or some other button to stop. It wouldn't respond to the keyboard no matter what i pressed so i restarted the htpc. So this time on the reboot when it asked me if i wanted to change the HDD to be read as SATA i hit yes and then it threw me into a "Verifying DMI Data Pool" hangup. I looked online and its likely that my HDD is configured wrong. But every time I restart it doesn't react to any keyboard input, it just hangs me up.

Thanks for any suggestions. All I can think of is to try connecting the SATA cable to a different SATA input on the motherboard? What actions should I take next time when I start the computer? Thanks for your help,
Rob
:o)

I am having the same problems except I am using a wired keyboard. BIOS seems to see the Blu-ray drive as a hard drive and I can find no way to set it as the first boot device to use with the XP disc. Briefly, yesterday I had the XP disk in the blu-ray drive and it began installation of Windows before hanging on Verifying DMI Data Pool. Please post if you find a solution and I will do the same.

If you find a solution, please post. I will do the same.

Also if your wireless keyboard is the DiNovo Edge you must put the receiver in a USB port and then it still may need the Logitech set point software.

Are you guys struggling with AHCI with Windows XP?

You can either install with BIOS set to IDE mode, then follow knowledge base article for enabling the SATA controller; or install XP by supplying the AHCI driver from Nvidia.

For reference:
What is AHCI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Host_Controller_Interface)
MS knowledge base article (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976) for Vista, but similar thing for XP

Hi - I am trying to control MediaPortal with the remote included with my Hauppauge 2250 tv tuner card (model #1213). It says it is a MCE compatible remote (and it looks like and MCE remote), however, I don't have MCE, I'm just running XP Pro. The ir receiver plugs directly into the hauppauge card (not the usb). I have toggled the MediaPortal remote configuration options to both Hauppauge and MCE and neither work. However, I do know my remote is working as it will control the Hauppauge's WinTV application. Also, interestingly enough, when I use the learn feature in MediaPortal and I press any button on my remote, it changes the x10 key to 0. So I assume that the remote is communicating with MediaPortal, but MediaPortal can't make any sense of it.

Anyone else have this configuration working? Any advise on what I can do?

Much appreciated,
Eric

Are you guys struggling with AHCI with Windows XP?

You can either install with BIOS set to IDE mode, then follow knowledge base article for enabling the SATA controller; or install XP by supplying the AHCI driver from Nvidia.

For reference:
What is AHCI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Host_Controller_Interface)
MS knowledge base article (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976) for Vista, but similar thing for XP

Thanks for the reply!

I already hit "yes" when it asked me if I want to run it in SATA so it looks like I'll have to supply the AHCI driver. Where can I get this? And lets assume I download it onto CD and put the cd in the blueray drive, then how do i get the pc to read the driver? Cuz right now it just sits on "verifying dmi data pool".

Thanks again everyone, and I'll be sure to report back if/when this is resolved.
Rob
:)

Hi - I am trying to control MediaPortal with the remote included with my Hauppauge 2250 tv tuner card (model #1213). It says it is a MCE compatible remote (and it looks like and MCE remote), however, I don't have MCE, I'm just running XP Pro. The ir receiver plugs directly into the hauppauge card (not the usb). I have toggled the MediaPortal remote configuration options to both Hauppauge and MCE and neither work. However, I do know my remote is working as it will control the Hauppauge's WinTV application. Also, interestingly enough, when I use the learn feature in MediaPortal and I press any button on my remote, it changes the x10 key to 0. So I assume that the remote is communicating with MediaPortal, but MediaPortal can't make any sense of it.

Anyone else have this configuration working? Any advise on what I can do?

Much appreciated,
Eric

I have never had a problem using the MCE remote with MP. I have the IR Receiver plugged into the USB port of the PC, not the TV Tuner card. My guess that is the problem?

I have never had a problem using the MCE remote with MP. I have the IR Receiver plugged into the USB port of the PC, not the TV Tuner card. My guess that is the problem?

Yeah, in hindsight, now I wish I wouldn't have paid extra for the hauppauge 2250 with the included remote. Anyway, since I did, I'm not going to give up yet. After doing some reading, it looks like I might be able to edit some of the ir commands in the irremote.ini file. Sort of frustrating since MediaPortal says that it natively supports the hauppauge and mce remotes ...

Again, any advice would be appreciated.

Yeah, in hindsight, now I wish I wouldn't have paid extra for the hauppauge 2250 with the included remote. Anyway, since I did, I'm not going to give up yet. After doing some reading, it looks like I might be able to edit some of the ir commands in the irremote.ini file. Sort of frustrating since MediaPortal says that it natively supports the hauppauge and mce remotes ...

Again, any advice would be appreciated.

You enabled the MCE remote when setting up Media Portal in the MediaPortal Configuration -> Advanced Settings? (Remote: Choose your remote of choice here. If you're using the MCE remote, then simply enable the "Use Microsoft MCE remote or keyboard" checkbox and everything will work great out-of-the-box. )

There is no reason that I can think of why the MCE remote shouldn't work with MP and the IR Receiver that came the tv tuner plugged directly in to the USB port of your PC.

You enabled the MCE remote when setting up Media Portal in the MediaPortal Configuration -> Advanced Settings? (Remote: Choose your remote of choice here. If you're using the MCE remote, then simply enable the "Use Microsoft MCE remote or keyboard" checkbox and everything will work great out-of-the-box. )

There is no reason that I can think of why the MCE remote shouldn't work with MP and the IR Receiver that came the tv tuner plugged directly in to the USB port of your PC.

Let me clarify. The Hauppauge 2250 is a card that is installed to a PCI port. The IR receiver plugs directly into the Hauppauge card (see pic). I do not have anything plugged into the usb. The remote that came with it is "MCE compatible." Right now the remote works with the hauppauge's WinTV application. I believe that the MCE functions don't work because I'm not able to install the hauppauge MCE software/drivers (I can't get it to install because I do NOT have Media Center 2005 ... I'm just using XP with MediaPortal).

With regard to MediaPortal setup, I have used the advanced configuration to select both the hauppauge and MCE remotes (at different times of course).

http://www.hauppauge.com/pics/hvr2250-av-cable_diagram-b.jpg

Let me clarify. The Hauppauge 2250 is a card that is installed to a PCI port. The IR receiver plugs directly into the Hauppauge card (see pic). I do not have anything plugged into the usb. The remote that came with it is "MCE compatible." Right now the remote works with the hauppauge's WinTV application. I believe that the MCE functions don't work because I'm not able to install the hauppauge MCE software/drivers (I can't get it to install because I do NOT have Media Center 2005 ... I'm just using XP with MediaPortal).

With regard to MediaPortal setup, I have used the advanced configuration to select both the hauppauge and MCE remotes (at different times of course).

http://www.hauppauge.com/pics/hvr2250-av-cable_diagram-b.jpg

OK, so you did not get this IR Receiver (this is the one I got with the 2250). I assume since the USB IR Receiver plugs directly into the USB port you bypass the 2250 all together which is why I don't have any problems.

Thanks for the reply!

I already hit "yes" when it asked me if I want to run it in SATA so it looks like I'll have to supply the AHCI driver. Where can I get this? And lets assume I download it onto CD and put the cd in the blueray drive, then how do i get the pc to read the driver? Cuz right now it just sits on "verifying dmi data pool".

Thanks again everyone, and I'll be sure to report back if/when this is resolved.
Rob
:)

I assume you're not booting the Windows setup CD/DVD from an IDE drive? The easiest thing would be to hit DEL when you see your BIOS screen so you can go into BIOS to change it back to IDE. After that, install and enable AHCI per knowledge base article (after first installing XP 32-bit drivers from nvidia.com (http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_winxp_20.14.html)), then going back into BIOS and re-enabling AHCI. Or you can run the PC in IDE mode, but there are performance benefits to AHCI.

You could install additional drivers during Windows setup - refer to page 82 of the Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H manual.

If you have any IDE devices in your system make sure the master/slave jumpers are set properly.

Good luck.

Well this is a bummer...I assembled the 22bay HMS on page 85 flip the PSU switch and.....nada. No MB light, no PSU fan, nothing. :-( What's the most likely prognosis? Bad PSU?

Can Someone Please Tell Me Why Powerdvd 9 On One HTPC Using Analog Outs
Displays Output LPCM 48Khz/24bit And Another HTPC Using Optical Out Displays
Output LPCM 48Khz/16bit From Bluray ISO?
Which analog sound card are you using? If it is Realtek ALC889A onboard audio codec, the reason is here (http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd/hardware-support_en_GB.html) (HD Audio Compatible Sound Card and Codec List).

Which analog sound card are you using? If it is Realtek ALC889A onboard audio codec, the reason is here (http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd/hardware-support_en_GB.html) (HD Audio Compatible Sound Card and Codec List).

Thank You For The Reply

It Is An X-Fi Elite using Analog Outs To Powered Speakers.
I'm Wondering If Its Because The Powerdvd 9 On Analog System Is Previous Build
And 32 Bit Vista. My Other Rig Is The Lastest Build Powerdvd 9 And 64 Bit Vista

Derrick

Hi guys,

So last night I tried booting my first ever build. Here is what I have:
mobo: Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.8
HDD: WD 1TB Caviar Green

On the first boot, i had my USB wireless keyboard plugged in (never used it before). The first thing that pops up is something about my SATA disk drive is being read as an IDE, do I want to change it? Well I tried typing yes but the keyboard wasn't working so it timed out and continued doing its thing. So then it gave a boot disk drive error and asked me to insert a disk so I put WinXP into the blueray drive, plugged in an extra keyboard and hit enter. it started to read the blueray drive and told me to hit enter to continue installing XP or some other button to stop. It wouldn't respond to the keyboard no matter what i pressed so i restarted the htpc. So this time on the reboot when it asked me if i wanted to change the HDD to be read as SATA i hit yes and then it threw me into a "Verifying DMI Data Pool" hangup. I looked online and its likely that my HDD is configured wrong. But every time I restart it doesn't react to any keyboard input, it just hangs me up.

Thanks for any suggestions. All I can think of is to try connecting the SATA cable to a different SATA input on the motherboard? What actions should I take next time when I start the computer? Thanks for your help,
Rob
:o)
There are three SATA modes: IDE, AHCI and RAID (BIOS > Integrated Peripherals). IDE means the two purple SATA ports are disabled. If you are fine with it, then you don't need to install an extra driver. If you want to use all six ports, you need to install the AHCI driver during XP installtion or you have to slipstream the driver into the XP installation CD. If you don't have a floppy disk drive, the latter is recommended. (There are a couple of other ways, though.) Use nLite (http://www.nliteos.com/index.html) for slipstreaming. The AHCI driver is included in nForce 20.09 driver (first unzip the .exe file):

IDE\WinXP\sata_ide\nvgts.inf

USB Keyboard: Select "Enabled" in BIOS > Integrated Peripherals > USB Keyboard Support.

Well this is a bummer...I assembled the 22bay HMS on page 85 flip the PSU switch and.....nada. No MB light, no PSU fan, nothing. :-( What's the most likely prognosis? Bad PSU?

Neeeeevermind :-)

Now for installing that OS...

Neeeeevermind :-)

Now for installing that OS...

Please tell me you didn't forget to plug it into the wall ? :P

Roflmao :)

Sorry, wasn't trying to be condescending, just informative.No apology required. I took it as you intended. :)

No apology required. I took it as you intended. :)

Looks like I was wrong anyway. Given that they took the 7.1 LPCM off their website, "blocked" apparently means exactly what you thought it meant.

Hi, new to HTPC and I am thinking about setting one up. 80% of time for movies and 20% for gaming. I don't plan on setting up a separate media server. I am thinking about building around an antec twelve hundred case. (Just say that I can stand the noise and the big size of this thing in the living room). I suppose that I can easily store 8 HDD in this thing. Could someone recommend parts I need to buy for this thing? (priced around the mid to high-end system, I guess). Also I am always wondering do you just use power splitter cables to power all the drives? Thanks very much.

Anybody using an AMD Athlon 5050e processor and able to play 1080P contents fine without any GPU assistance? I just finished setting up a semi complete HTPC(5050e processor with Nvidia 6100 IGB MOBO and 2GB of RAM) and can't play 1080P contents(haven't tried 720p) stutter-free. What is the minimum CPU that can do 1080P(h.264) stutter free without any GPU assistance? I'm going to upgrade to a better IGP or a discrete video card but if the CPU cannot handle 1080P contents by itself, then it'll stutter again in the future when GPU assistance is not am option even though a capable GPU/IGP exists(?).

Anybody using an AMD Athlon 5050e processor and able to play 1080P contents fine without any GPU assistance? I just finished setting up a semi complete HTPC(5050e processor with Nvidia 6100 IGB MOBO and 2GB of RAM) and can't play 1080P contents(haven't tried 720p) stutter-free. What is the minimum CPU that can do 1080P(h.264) stutter free without any GPU assistance? I'm going to upgrade to a better IGP or a discrete video card but if the CPU cannot handle 1080P contents by itself, then it'll stutter again in the future when GPU assistance is not am option even though a capable GPU/IGP exists(?).
Have you checked CPU usage? If it does not hit 100%, then the cause of stuttering may be something else:

- the lack of memory bandwidth (HT 1.0GHz may not be enough); you can do nothing to improve it.
- bad sofware: splitter, decoder, video renderer.

For exmaple, in one of my systems I built in 2005, playing 1080p MKV (created from BD movies) is perfectly smooth with CPU usage 40%-90% (depending on the bitrate of the scene).

- Athlon X2 3800+ 2.0GHz
- GeForce 6150 IGP
- Haali Media Splitter/CoreAVC/Legacy Video Renderer/Windows 2000 (!)

hi folks, I use asus p6T mb that has onboard audio and I also use HIS HD4670 that can output audio through HDMI. My question is, how do I get the audio to be sent through the HDMI? Do I disable the onboard audio and install realtek driver? thanks

hi folks, I use asus p6T mb that has onboard audio and I also use HIS HD4670 that can output audio through HDMI. My question is, how do I get the audio to be sent through the HDMI? Do I disable the onboard audio and install realtek driver? thanks
Read here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1029603#EnablingHDMIAudio).

Any chance we'll see a quick update to the Home Media Server config on page 85 any time soon?

Any chance we'll see a quick update to the Home Media Server config on page 85 any time soon?
There will be no major update. Just replace the processor and mb with the newly released Athlon II X2 240 and GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H.

There are three SATA modes: IDE, AHCI and RAID (BIOS > Integrated Peripherals). IDE means the two purple SATA ports are disabled. If you are fine with it, then you don't need to install an extra driver. If you want to use all six ports, you need to install the AHCI driver during XP installtion or you have to slipstream the driver into the XP installation CD. If you don't have a floppy disk drive, the latter is recommended. (There are a couple of other ways, though.) Use nLite (http://www.nliteos.com/index.html) for slipstreaming. The AHCI driver is included in nForce 20.09 driver (first unzip the .exe file):

IDE\WinXP\sata_ide\nvgts.inf

USB Keyboard: Select "Enabled" in BIOS > Integrated Peripherals > USB Keyboard Support.

Thanks for all your help guys. Per your recommendations and others, I switched many things in BIOS including the memory voltage and IDE/RAID/AHCI setting to IDE, but I still kept getting the "verifying dmi data pool" hangup, so i changed everything back except for the IDE setting and made the first bootable drive my cd-rom drive and put windows XP disk in there, restarted and it let me boot and install windows XP. so then i switched the first bootable drive back to my hard drive and everything works great!

I then enabled the keyboard and mouse to be run on USB and that works great. And the Rosewill PCI adapter worked flawlessly once I put in the cd for the drivers. The Lian Li case seems to run very cool and asof right now I'm very happy with how its going.

I'll now take your recommendations on switching to AHCI and get the drivers for that and see how it goes. Then I'll work on getting MediaPortal or Media Center software and everything else I need to start watching BlueRay and other stuff! Thanks again guys!
Rob
:)

Thanks again to renethx and this thread!

I built the mid-range AMD/AMD recommendation a couple weeks ago. Been busy ripping dvd's while I wait for my BD drive.

The dvd playback is incredible. Much better than I would have imagined. Some movies could *almost* pass for HD, and the sound is top notch too.

DVD pq easily matches the upscaling ability of the Samsung BD1200 (HQV) and Toshiba HDA1 players I had. Enjoying it very much with MediaBrowser and MyMovies.

Sometimes I ask myself if it's worth it going back to blu-ray now. Hmmm

There are three SATA modes: IDE, AHCI and RAID (BIOS > Integrated Peripherals). IDE means the two purple SATA ports are disabled. If you are fine with it, then you don't need to install an extra driver. If you want to use all six ports, you need to install the AHCI driver during XP installtion or you have to slipstream the driver into the XP installation CD. If you don't have a floppy disk drive, the latter is recommended. (There are a couple of other ways, though.) Use nLite (http://www.nliteos.com/index.html) for slipstreaming. The AHCI driver is included in nForce 20.09 driver (first unzip the .exe file):

IDE\WinXP\sata_ide\nvgts.inf

USB Keyboard: Select "Enabled" in BIOS > Integrated Peripherals > USB Keyboard Support.

I downloaded and extracted nForce 20.09 drivers. I found IDE\WinXP\sata_ide\ with two nvgts files: a small setup information file and a 143 kb system file. Do I put both files on a floppy?

I did enable IDE in the BIOS and set the CD/DVD as the primary boot drive. I did get far enough in the WindowsXP (1st version prior to SP1) installation to see "hit F6 to load a file from the floppy drive". However, I still came to the stop error before XP loaded on the hard drive. Perhaps it is because the BLU BURN &HD ROM LG|GGW-H20L RT is SATA and the hard drive is SATA as well. Or maybe I have not fully understood your instruction for enabling IDE in the BIOS.

Anyway, I am just trying to get to the point that I can load the Window 7 release candidate.

I downloaded and extracted nForce 20.09 drivers. However, I did not find any file with AHCI in its name. The most promising folder was labled IDE which contained a folder: winXP which contained three folders: raidtool, sata_ide and sataraid. So I am uncertain what driver to put on a floppy.

I did enable IDE in the BIOS and set the CD/DVD as the primary boot drive. I did get far enough in the WindowsXP (1st version prior to SP1) installation to see "hit F6 to load a file from the floppy drive". However, I still came to the stop error before XP loaded on the hard drive. Perhaps it is because the BLU BURN &HD ROM LG|GGW-H20L RT is SATA and the hard drive is SATA as well. Or maybe I have not fully understood your instruction for enabling IDE in the BIOS.

Anyway, I am just trying to get to the point that I can load the Window 7 release candidate.

There should be no mucking around necessary to install Windows 7. Win 7 has AHCI support built-in. I'm running Win 7 RC and installed it straight from scratch.

You did read this from rene, right?
IDE means the two purple SATA ports are disabled.

There should be no mucking around necessary to install Windows 7. Win 7 has AHCI support built-in. I'm running Win 7 RC and installed it straight from scratch.

You did read this from rene, right?

I have built a new computer and I am trying to get a licensed copy of XP on it so I can next load Internet Explorer and then download Windows 7, release candidate. I tried to get XP loaded without AHCI but was not successful.

Please note that I edited the previous post and I found two files named nvgts. I need to read Rene's posts more closely.

OK, allow me to make a suggestion.

Download 64 bit ubuntu live CD and burn on a different computer: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

I realize you need the chicken before the egg, but there's got to be a way to get the CD image from somewhere? Heck, you're typing in this forum on some computer.

You can run ubuntu straight off the CD without installing. ubuntu has built-in AHCI support. Firefox is built in. You can use ubuntu to download Win 7 iso and burn it (also built-in ability). That way you can skip installing XP altogether. ubuntu also comes with good utilities to check your memory and/or HDD (which I do with new components I install - somewhat anal but it pays to know for sure you have good parts).

I would need to use 32 bit ubuntu. Will that do the same thing? I am not sure I want to leave Windows and deal with another operating system.

I downloaded and extracted nForce 20.09 drivers. I found IDE\WinXP\sata_ide\ with two nvgts files: a small setup information file and a 143 kb system file. Do I put both files on a floppy?

I did enable IDE in the BIOS and set the CD/DVD as the primary boot drive. I did get far enough in the WindowsXP (1st version prior to SP1) installation to see "hit F6 to load a file from the floppy drive". However, I still came to the stop error before XP loaded on the hard drive. Perhaps it is because the BLU BURN &HD ROM LG|GGW-H20L RT is SATA and the hard drive is SATA as well. Or maybe I have not fully understood your instruction for enabling IDE in the BIOS.
"WindowsXP (1st version prior to SP1)": perhaps this will cause all sorts of problems. You have to slipstream SP3 as well as AHCI driver to the XP installation CD. Use nLite I mentioned before.

Hi guys, two more questions:

1) I'm just trying to play a standard DVD (Finding Nemo) in my LG Blueray optical drive. I tried the software it came with, Cyberlink powerDVD I believe, and when I hit play it wouldn't do anything. Just a "stop" warning popped up after a second or two. So I uninstalled that and downloaded Media Player Classic and tried that. I get an error "The following pin(s) failed to find a connectable filter: Audio Switcher::Out". And if I go into the options and unclick the "Enable built-in audio switcher filter" and retry I get an "ACM Wrapper" error. All I'm trying to do is play a DVD!

2) When surfing the net and scrolling thru pages, or moving a windows explorer folder around, my 32" LG LCD monitor refreshes horribly. Any recommendations? I have the gigabyte GeForce 9400 motherboard and am hooked up via hdmi.

Thanks again,
Rob
:)

My receiver doesn't have hdmi inputs. Will the ASUS Xonar D2 7.1 sound just as good as the HDAV1.3 if I never plan to use hdmi? Will I notice a difference between the two when playing blu-rays?

My receiver doesn't have hdmi inputs. Will the ASUS Xonar D2 7.1 sound just as good as the HDAV1.3 if I never plan to use hdmi? Will I notice a difference between the two when playing blu-rays?
HD audio is still downsampled by TMT for D2 because of the lack of PAP. You need HDAV1.3 Deluxe for full quality HD audio. Notice a difference? I don't know...

I would need to use 32 bit ubuntu. Will that do the same thing? I am not sure I want to leave Windows and deal with another operating system.

Either do the slipstream that Rene's talking about, or ubuntu 32-bit will work just fine. It really doesn't matter if it's 32 or 64, I just assumed your processor understood 64 bit instruction sets since you're building a new PC.

Don't worry about leaving Windows - ubuntu is very intuitive and similar to Windows, with the menu bar/start button on the top. Firefox is pre-installed and so is ISO burning software, which you can access by right clicking on an ISO image file. You won't have to spend much more than a few minutes on it to download the Win 7 image and burn it to DVD.

HD audio is still downsampled by TMT for D2 because of the lack of PAP. You need HDAV1.3 Deluxe for full quality HD audio. Notice a difference? I don't know...

Thanks rene!

So theoretically if the slyplayer does materialize as far as analog out goes they will both be equal. Until then, even for analog the only way to get hd audio is the the hdav1.3 cards.

I'm looking to replace my aging MSI K8NGM2 6150 based system. Should I wait for igt209 based motherboards due Q3 2009? Or go with the current 9300/9400 offering? Any speculation as to how much better or what additional feature set there will be? What real world effect will the 40nm platform have in terms of performance, operating temperature etc?

just needed to install the drivers from the motherboard install cd. gosh i'm an idiot!

I'm looking to replace my aging MSI K8NGM2 6150 based system. Should I wait for igt209 based motherboards due Q3 2009? Or go with the current 9300/9400 offering? Any speculation as to how much better or what additional feature set there will be? What real world effect will the 40nm platform have in terms of performance, operating temperature etc?
The last time I heard about igt209 was December 2008. Since then the situation around NVIDIA has changed greatly. NVIDIA is likely to concentrate its resources on ION and Tegra. So perhaps you'd better buy a 9300/9400 mb now.

So perhaps you'd better buy a 9300/9400 mb now.

Sounds good to me! I suppose Intel's spat with nVidia over licencing and wanting to see squeeze nVidia out of the chipset market by bringing gpu on board (Pine Trail) will have an effect on us poor HTPC enthusiasts...

Thanks for this guide btw, I used your Media Server recommendations as a basis for my current WHS build. Running for 6 months now without a glitch...

Folks, please point me to a good resource.

My W7 RC 32bit HTPC drops off the network when it uses the network heavily (such as moving media to/from it-- only happens with big transfers).

It will report "no connection" or "no internet access" in the network center. Ipconfig release, renew doesn't fix it. Reboot works as does uninstalling network device in the devices list, then scanning and having it reinstall.

Very intermittent problem. Using gigabyte MAGPM78-UD2H mobo; realtek built in ethernet on gigabyte LAN (Belkin N+ router, dlink gigabit switch).

Problem might have been there befor switch to W7. Was running vista.

How to troubleshoot intermittent failure? Why reboot or reinstall friver necessary for recovey? Very odd!

Pointers please!

Marc

Finally got all my parts for my Media Server built. The Chenrbo case is freakin huge :) .

I will be posting my build here (http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5045&start=0) and updating as I move along.

Thanks to Renethx for his guide and help. Also, please make sure that if you are using Rene's guide or getting help from him you send him a contribution (no matter how small)

If i cant find either Sapphire 4670 gddr4 or the HIS H467QT512P. What options do i have left?

Should i move up the ladder and get the 4850 series cards?

or

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161273

Hi - I am trying to control MediaPortal with the remote included with my Hauppauge 2250 tv tuner card (model #1213). It says it is a MCE compatible remote (and it looks like and MCE remote), however, I don't have MCE, I'm just running XP Pro. The ir receiver plugs directly into the hauppauge card (not the usb). I have toggled the MediaPortal remote configuration options to both Hauppauge and MCE and neither work. However, I do know my remote is working as it will control the Hauppauge's WinTV application. Also, interestingly enough, when I use the learn feature in MediaPortal and I press any button on my remote, it changes the x10 key to 0. So I assume that the remote is communicating with MediaPortal, but MediaPortal can't make any sense of it.

Anyone else have this configuration working? Any advise on what I can do?

Much appreciated,
Eric

I figured out a solution to my remote problems. Maybe this can help someone else ....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1168433

I have hdmi cable going from htpc to tv. I'm getting video, but no sound. Just trying to play the sound thru my tv right now. Any quick suggestions I can look at?

LCD HDTV LG 32LH30 1080P
motherboard is gigabyte E7AUM-DS2H

Thanks,
Rob
:o)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161273
Yup, this is another good option.

Hi renethx
I was holding out for the newer 785G chipset. I'm reading on a couple of sites that it cannot do 7.1 channel DTS-MA or the dolby digital equivalent. would that mean, another ATI video card (like 4670) would be required ?

Also, please make sure that if you are using Rene's guide or getting help from him you send him a contribution (no matter how small)
Yeah, that's a good idea. :) I am now getting $100-$150 donations per month (thanks, every contributor), but would like to see ~$300 (more is better). All the money will be used to purchase new hardware components and will be reflected in the guide (soon to be completely revised).

So if you are going to build a new system and you find my guide very helpful, please consider including a $5-$10 (or more) donation in your $400 budget. :)

I have hdmi cable going from htpc to tv. I'm getting video, but no sound. Just trying to play the sound thru my tv right now. Any quick suggestions I can look at?

LCD HDTV LG 32LH30 1080P
motherboard is gigabyte E7AUM-DS2H
Check:

1. Install NVIDIA HDMI audio driver
2. Select NVIDIA HDMI audio as the default sound playback device in Windows control panel.

Hi renethx
I was holding out for the newer 785G chipset. I'm reading on a couple of sites that it cannot do 7.1 channel DTS-MA or the dolby digital equivalent. would that mean, another ATI video card (like 4670) would be required ?
785G HDMI supports stereo LPCM and DD/DTS bitstreaming. You need a HD 4xxx discrete card for 7.1 LPCM, and Xonar HDAV1.3 for HD audio bitstreaming.

"WindowsXP (1st version prior to SP1)": perhaps this will cause all sorts of problems. You have to slipstream SP3 as well as AHCI driver to the XP installation CD. Use nLite I mentioned before.
Using a tutorial: http://www.askvg.com/the-best-and-the-easiest-way-to-slipstream-service-pack-3-sp3-into-windows-xp-setup/ and your advice I was able to get XP SP3 installed and working . This tutorial did not cover adding drivers but from your instructions I did add and slipstream the nvgts.inf driver. The tutorial was reassuring and had a nice link to SP3 and nLite. However, I used imgburn to burn the iso to a DVD R since I lacked a CD R. Anyway it worked.

I was not able to change to SATA AHCI in BIOS and have the computer work but that is OK since I plan to install Windows 7.

I also may have a damaged original Windows XP CD though I copied it to nLite successfully. To get XP to load I had to use my Dell copy of XP but Windows accepted the registration code from the original disk.

Anyway, thanks again Rene.

So I'm interested in building a micro-ATX system. Basically I'm just looking for HD movie file and Blu-ray playback. That's it. I don't need to be able to run any new games and I don't need DVR/recording. I don't need audiophile-quality sound either (support for surround in the future might be nice though, as long as it doesn't dramatically drive the cost up). Just a machine that I can put a big hard drive in and connect it to my HDTV and enjoy movies and TV shows.

Can I get by with one of the low-end systems or should I go with one of the medium ones (from page 85)? Also, which one should I go for?

So I'm interested in building a micro-ATX system. Basically I'm just looking for HD movie file and Blu-ray playback. That's it. I don't need to be able to run any new games and I don't need DVR/recording. I don't need audiophile-quality sound either (support for surround in the future might be nice though, as long as it doesn't dramatically drive the cost up). Just a machine that I can put a big hard drive in and connect it to my HDTV and enjoy movies and TV shows.

Can I get by with one of the low-end systems or should I go with one of the medium ones (from page 85)? Also, which one should I go for?
A low-end system should be good. How much storage space do you need? Typically a microATX system can hold two HDDs at most. So you may need an external enclosure or even a media server. I will revise the recommended systems shortly. Check the following AMD/AMD system:

- Athlon II X2 240
- GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H
- G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 1GB Kit
- Use onboard video/audio.

Check:

1. Install NVIDIA HDMI audio driver
2. Select NVIDIA HDMI audio as the default sound playback device in Windows control panel.

Thanks renethx! For some reason NVIDIA wasn't selected as my default device. Now it sounds great!

Two more small issues:

1) Looks great when I set my screen resolution to 1600x900, but when I put it to x1080 the output extends past my monitor screen so I can't see the edges of the output, if that makes sense. Still plays videos and such just fine, but my desktop extends past the edges of my monitor! Will keep at 1600x900 if necessary, which is fine, just weird i can't get it to x1080 resolution.

2) Pretty annoying, I'm getting a random screen flicker every 1-15 seconds. If I play a dvd, it doesn't flicker. But if I'm on the desktop or surfing the net it gives me a flicker. Any suggestions?

thanks again,
Rob
:)

1) Looks great when I set my screen resolution to 1600x900, but when I put it to x1080 the output extends past my monitor screen so I can't see the edges of the output, if that makes sense. Still plays videos and such just fine, but my desktop extends past the edges of my monitor! Will keep at 1600x900 if necessary, which is fine, just weird i can't get it to x1080 resolution.

2) Pretty annoying, I'm getting a random screen flicker every 1-15 seconds. If I play a dvd, it doesn't flicker. But if I'm on the desktop or surfing the net it gives me a flicker. Any suggestions?
1) Check NVIDIA Control Panel > Display > Adjust desktop size and position > Resize Desktop.

2) Not sure about that...

Hey all:
I'm having a similar problem to that of postmodern: I bought a GA-MA74GM-S2 mobo and Athlon X2 7850 Black with 500w Coolmaster. I have two old drives, a 300g WD with my MCE 2k5 loaded and a newly re-formatted 250g Maxtor.
I rolled the dice hoping the already-used MCE would "just work", but to no avail, it runs through bios and then says "windows did not exit properly last time. . . " and it loops back continuously. OK, no luck there.

Now, I have the reformatted Maxtor set up on Sata2_1. It shows in the initial bios, and I tried to boot XP through CD, but it doesn't recognize any HDD. sigh.

I then re-booted into the CMOS setup utility. In IDE HDD Auto detection, still no HDD detected (although it saw it in bios). My access mode choices are CHS, LBA, Large, and Auto. Auto doesn't find it. Is this a setting I should be using?

I read Rene's excellent thread a few pages back, instructing to tell the CMOS that the SATA is really an IDE HDD, but can't seem to find that in the CMOS utility.

Anyone have a suggestion? I started reading Postmodern's link to the tutorial, but it seems to presume you can load XP properly, but I can't slipstream anything if windows doesn't think I have a HDD.

Thanks for any assist,
Joel

OK, can't seem to get the HDD recognized, I'm downloading the Nvidia patch, but also downloading Win 7 RC, I think I might try to just install 7 RC and do it with a USB stick (8 gig) I noticed in the CMOS an option allows for first boot from usb port, has anyone else dones this? I'm gonna sleep on it while it downloads.
Thanx, Joel

OK, can't seem to get the HDD recognized, I'm downloading the Nvidia patch, but also downloading Win 7 RC, I think I might try to just install 7 RC and do it with a USB stick (8 gig) I noticed in the CMOS an option allows for first boot from usb port, has anyone else dones this? I'm gonna sleep on it while it downloads.
Thanx, Joel
Installing OS from USB flash memory is no problem. BTW you'd better use Win7 x86 RTM. Many bugs are fixed in RTM.

A low-end system should be good. How much storage space do you need? Typically a microATX system can hold two HDDs at most. So you may need an external enclosure or even a media server. I will revise the recommended systems shortly. Check the following AMD/AMD system:

- Athlon II X2 240
- GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H
- G.SKILL F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK DDR2-1066 2 x 1GB Kit
- Use onboard video/audio.

I don't need too much storage space for now so that should be fine. This is really just a temporary system for me, so I'm looking for something inexpensive and basic that still gets the job done. I'm still a college student and don't need to have a really nice system right now, but in a few years when I have more of a steady income I'll definitely revisit this thread and put together a much better one.

How much power do I need in a power supply for this system?

Thanks for the recommendation!

How much power do I need in a power supply for this system?
The total power consumption of a low-end system is typically 55W at idle, 70W at video playback, < 150W at load. So 300W-450W should be enough.

Installing OS from USB flash memory is no problem. BTW you'd better use Win7 x86 RTM. Many bugs are fixed in RTM.

How can you take the ISO image and put on USB flash memory that can be used to boot?

I also may have a damaged original Windows XP CD though I copied it to nLite successfully. To get XP to load I had to use my Dell copy of XP but Windows accepted the registration code from the original disk.

Anyway, thanks again Rene.

Glad it worked. My Dell copy of XP refuses to install on anything but a machine with Dell BIOS.

How can you take the ISO image and put on USB flash memory that can be used to boot?
Follow this instruction (http://www.thinkcomputers.org/index.php?x=articles&id=117). Should be pretty easy for everybody. :)

Quick question on external storage. USB or ESATA or does it really matter for movie files? Thanks!

Quick question on external storage. USB or ESATA or does it really matter for movie files? Thanks!
ESATA is faster, but either one is good for streaming video.

Thanx Rene, I didn't think the general public had access to the RTM version yet. Also, may I ask, what is meant by "mounting" the ISO? I downloaded the RC version last night, and its on my main computer, so I was going to burn it to my USB drive, then begin the loading process, although I'm not confident the new build will recognize the HDD still. Is the RTM vs. RC version worth another several hours of download?
Thanks again,
Joel

Thanx Rene, I didn't think the general public had access to the RTM version yet. Also, may I ask, what is meant by "mounting" the ISO? I downloaded the RC version last night, and its on my main computer, so I was going to burn it to my USB drive, then begin the loading process, although I'm not confident the new build will recognize the HDD still. Is the RTM vs. RC version worth another several hours of download?
Thanks again,
Joel
Leaked RTM ISO is (kind of) available to the general public. :) You should be able to try it is as long as 120 days by "rearm" before you buy a valid license key. Lots of bugs were fixed in RTM. Stay away from RC.

Use Virtual CloneDrive (http://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html) (a fee utility) to mount the Windows 7 ISO image to a virtual DVD drive, the copy the contents to the USB memory.

Thanks, is it not appropriate to ask for a DL site for RTM here? I just downloaded the Clonedrive. . . .

32-bit (x86) Windows 7 RTM Build 7600.16385 DVD ISO is here (http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/07/19/windows-7-rtm-build-7600-16385-x86-and-x64-leaked-extracted-dvd-iso-download/). But, please don't download/install it if you feel uncomfortable. (As for me, I am subscribing TechNet Plus anyway.)

The total power consumption of a low-end system is typically 55W at idle, 70W at video playback, < 150W at load. So 300W-450W should be enough.

Thanks!

And one last clarification (sorry!), the playback of Blu-ray and 1080p mkv files is smooth with this system, and not at all choppy, right? I know I said I just needed to be able to play the files, but smooth video is important to me. I probably should've specified that originally.

Thanks!

And one last clarification (sorry!), the playback of Blu-ray and 1080p mkv files is smooth with this system, and not at all choppy, right? I know I said I just needed to be able to play the files, but smooth video is important to me. I probably should've specified that originally.
Hardware-wise the system has enough power to play back 1080p HD contents (BD, MKV etc., hardware acceleration on or off) smoothly.

just fyi, looks like the link above was disabled already. I might try slipstreaming the nvidia file with my xp discs, but the clone drive application doesn't seem to be working for me. Its on my desktop, but doesn't seem to do anything once I select english. it just closes.

just fyi, looks like the link above was disabled already. I might try slipstreaming the nvidia file with my xp discs, but the clone drive application doesn't seem to be working for me. Its on my desktop, but doesn't seem to do anything once I select english. it just closes.
OK, I am confused. Which link? Direct link is here (http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/5021073/7600.16385.090713-1255_x86fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GRMCU.5021073.TPB.torrent).

Do you have a real XP disc or an ISO image?

I'm a complete RAID newbie here but I've got my HMS up and running. I'm running the MA780G-UD3H with 2 Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 cards. I'd like to go with a RAID 5 setup which I believe given my hardware means I have to go with hardware RAID.

Is there somewhere I should be looking for advice on how to go about configuring my setup now that my system's up and running?

I have a real (old, XP pro discs 1 and 2) with the SP 2 disc. I'm still running into the loops on XP install saying no HDD's installed. BTW, the clonedrive just did its work, and I'm running the format on the USB directions to make the USB ISO. I still think its a tweak missing in the CMOS to ID the HDD, but I can't debug it. . .

I'm a complete RAID newbie here but I've got my HMS up and running. I'm running the MA780G-UD3H with 2 Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 cards. I'd like to go with a RAID 5 setup which I believe given my hardware means I have to go with hardware RAID.

Is there somewhere I should be looking for advice on how to go about configuring my setup now that my system's up and running?
You can still go for software RAID 5. Windows Server, Openfiler etc. You have to back up your data somewhere else before creating a RAID array, of course.

I have a real (old, XP pro discs 1 and 2) with the SP 2 disc. I'm still running into the loops on XP install saying no HDD's installed. BTW, the clonedrive just did its work, and I'm running the format on the USB directions to make the USB ISO. I still think its a tweak missing in the CMOS to ID the HDD, but I can't debug it. . .
Have you created an XP with SP3 (slipstreamed) CD and tried it? XP with SP2 (dated 2004) often causes problems with a newer mb.

You also need to slipstream the AHCI driver if you want to use the AHCI mode (although not important unlike nForce chipset unless you want 'hot-plug' capability).

renethx: Thanks for this thread... I just ordered the low end Intel/Nvidia recommended system you have except I ordered 4 gig of memory. The cost was maybe $20 more, lol... Also, I got the Antec Micro Fusion Remote 350 case, which btw, is only $130 at newegg... It arrives Monday, I can't wait!

hmm, tried the clone drive ISO to USB trick, one of the boot fonts didn't copy correctly, and it geta disk read error upon boot to USB. I copied the RC ISO to clone and USB, but apparently there was some error that now makes it unbootable.

To add confusion, now when I try to boot up from CD/DVD, after verifying DMI pool data, it says to hit any button to boot from cd, but it just hangs. arrgh. Even my dog is getting sick of my screams.

Since I have the OEM XP discs, should I try to slipstream SP3 onto the USB stick? I don't have any blank DVD's around, and its not reading the CD without the driver. I also downloaded the Nvidia driver referenced earlier, maybe I should just try to slipstream that into the XP disc, should I try the clone drive with XP and add the nvidia file?

Or should I just admit defeat and buy the Vista OS, would that avoid my AHCI issues?

hmm, tried the clone drive ISO to USB trick, one of the boot fonts didn't copy correctly, and it geta disk read error upon boot to USB. I copied the RC ISO to clone and USB, but apparently there was some error that now makes it unbootable.

To add confusion, now when I try to boot up from CD/DVD, after verifying DMI pool data, it says to hit any button to boot from cd, but it just hangs. arrgh. Even my dog is getting sick of my screams.

Since I have the OEM XP discs, should I try to slipstream SP3 onto the USB stick? I don't have any blank DVD's around, and its not reading the CD without the driver. I also downloaded the Nvidia driver referenced earlier, maybe I should just try to slipstream that into the XP disc, should I try the clone drive with XP and add the nvidia file?

Or should I just admit defeat and buy the Vista OS, would that avoid my AHCI issues?
I thought your mb was GA-MA74GM-S2. This is an AMD 740G chipset mb. So you have to use AMD drivers. But you don't have to use AHCI mode. If you use the IDE mode, you don't have to slipstream the AHCI driver to the XP disc.

Use nLite to slipstream SP3 and create an ISO. If you want to boot from USB flash memory, follow the article I cited (after you create the XP with SP3 ISO).

ESATA is faster, but either one is good for streaming video.

Thank you so much for the quick reply and ALL of the help you provide to the HTPC forum!:D:D:D

Is there a secret to copying the XP disc to ISO? It won't let me doing the normal cut and paste. . .

. . . must be me today. I slipstreamed SP3, copied the ISO to usb, and get:
verifying DMI pool data. . .
boot from CD/DVD :
Invalid partition table
This is after changing CMOS to boot from USB zip.

The gremliins inside this box are lobbying for me to pay someone to figure it out, I can tell. . . I'm reading the writing on the wall, its telling me to give up. . .

Before I install Win 7 RTM, I am trying to make a final decision on how to go from here. I converted my test rig to a HTPC simply by adding 2 Avermedia Duets so I can do record on 4 tuners at once over clearqam when I switched to Fios. I now need to build a media server for Tivo backups, storing recordings, itunes library, etc.

My current HTPC which is in my bedroom at my desk is
E6750
Abit IP35 Pro
2x1gb DDR2 1066
Nvidia 7900gs
Corsair HX620
Soundblaster 2 Audigy ZS
2xAvermedia Duet PCIEx1
CM 690

I keep going back and forth whether to move most of that into a Norco case and upgrade the HTPC to something like the Q9550 with GA-EP45-UD3P or just leave the HTPC alone and buy new for the server. I will be streaming the content to my 360 in the living room mainly while it is recording 4 channels at the same time. I need to still rip my DVD collection so I will also use the HTPC to handle that and possible encoding of the .tivo files so they are compatible with 7MC and the 360. When needed I will also be running Play On/Tversity in the background for stuff like Hulu and any content 7mc can't stream.

I know, I'm the guy that won't go away. I noticed when doing an XP boot to CD Rom, it will recognize the USB stick as a storage drive for loading XP, but wont recognize the SATA HDD's.
If I load a portion of XP onto the HDD using another computer, would that assist the recognition of the HDD in the new build? I'm reformatting the HDD right now, and was wondering if I should try to load XP using the other computer, then putting it in, but I don't think it'll address the HDD recognition issue. . . .

Hey guys im new here but i have been following this thread for about 2 weeks now.Im just tring to get some advice on a HTPC setup it will be for alittle gaming,music,movies,downloading movies & surfing the web.

Here is what i have so far:

Thermaltake Black Aluminum DH103

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775

ASUS P5QC LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2

Creative 70SB088000004 7.1 Channels PCI Express 1x Interface PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium

AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet - PCTV Tuner

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB

Crucial Ballistix tracer 4gb ddr2

Evga 8800gt 512mb

Tuniq Tower 120 universal cpu cooler

So if someone could tell me if im in the right direction id appreciate it.

Thanks,Tim

Any recommendations on the best way to add bluetooth to a HTPC? (Not interested in external usb plug-in adapters... I have the low-end Intel/Nvidia system listed in recommended setup...

You can still go for software RAID 5. Windows Server, Openfiler etc. You have to back up your data somewhere else before creating a RAID array, of course.

Oh, excellent! Thank you. Now for the next SNAFU: When booting from the openfiler cd, it asks "What type of media contains the packages to be installed?"

My options are:
Local CDROM
Hard Drive
NFS image
FTP
HTTP

If I choose CDROM it gives me a list of drivers but none are for Supermicro or Marvell. Is this normal?

Leaked RTM ISO is (kind of) available to the general public. :) You should be able to try it is as long as 120 days by "rearm" before you buy a valid license key. Lots of bugs were fixed in RTM. Stay away from RC.


renethx,

Are any of the bug fixes critical to someone using Win 7 for its media center or as a media player? The only difference I know of is the fix to the MS DTV decoder.

renethx,

Are any of the bug fixes critical to someone using Win 7 for its media center or as a media player? The only difference I know of is the fix to the MS DTV decoder.
Surely I can't say how many bugs are fixed. I noticed several annoying bugs fixed.

I don't know if it is a bug, but W7 RC would not play VC-1 files in ts/m2ts container without some serious tweaking (audio but no video). To get the VC-1 files to play you need to put them into mkv and then they play correctly. Haven't gotten my hands on the RTM to see if this has been fixed.

I don't know if it is a bug, but W7 RC would not play VC-1 files in ts/m2ts container without some serious tweaking (audio but no video). To get the VC-1 files to play you need to put them into mkv and then they play correctly. Haven't gotten my hands on the RTM to see if this has been fixed.
Maybe because of this (limited support of M2TS by MF) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16951614#post16951614)?

Maybe because of this (limited support of M2TS by MF) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16951614#post16951614)?

Ah, perfect timing. I had been discussing with Shark over one his codec site a few months back. I use Clown_BD for my Blu Rays/HD DVDs but once I see the movie is a VC-1 I move over to either MakeMKV/MKVMerge. So for WMP12/7MC the default WMVideo Decoder DMO is used for VC-1 regardless of whether it is wrapped in ts/m2ts or mkv (i.e. you lose DXVA no matter what container you use if VC-1)? I haven't loaded MPCVideo onto my W7 x64 RC HTPCs yet since I will probably just switch back to the x32 RTM when out to the public.

The point is that MF is used to play back M2TS in WMP/7MC and MF (perhaps the source components) does not support VC-1. This is obvious because Microsoft's intension of M2TS support is not BD, but AVCHD (the same container M2TS, but no VC-1 video [or DTS/HD audio either]).

jbailey, I think you might be misunderstanding what an ISO file is.

Think of it like a .zip or .rar file. You have to extract the individual files to your USB or other device. The result will look like this:


07/14/2009 05:26 AM 43 autorun.inf
07/14/2009 05:26 AM <DIR> boot
07/14/2009 05:26 AM 383,562 bootmgr
07/14/2009 05:26 AM <DIR> efi
07/14/2009 05:26 AM 111,880 setup.exe
07/14/2009 05:26 AM <DIR> sources
07/14/2009 05:26 AM <DIR> support
07/14/2009 05:26 AM <DIR> upgrade
4 File(s) 495,485 bytes

Thanx, I somehow had my miraculous breakthrough and got the CMOS settings correct and loaded XP last night. Even after loading the Gigabyte drivers, I'm still having audio, video and ethernet driver issues, but I'm working on them. Do most people download the newest bios from gigabyte, or? For some reason on my XP install, IE didn't copy, so now I'm trying to setup my network and install IE 8. Here's to trying. .

Thanx, I somehow had my miraculous breakthrough and got the CMOS settings correct and loaded XP last night. Even after loading the Gigabyte drivers, I'm still having audio, video and ethernet driver issues, but I'm working on them. Do most people download the newest bios from gigabyte, or? For some reason on my XP install, IE didn't copy, so now I'm trying to setup my network and install IE 8. Here's to trying. .

If the BIOS Update doesn't fix a problem you have I wouldn't. I'm still on the original BIOS on 7 boards without problems. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

I have pretty much decided to go with the Norco 4220 and 2xAOC-SASLP-MV8. I am trying to figure out a good board for Intel though instead of AMD since I have both a E6600 or E6750 I can use. For the media server guide there only seems to be AMD build.Any suggestions?

I keep finding boards that don't have onboard video which I would obviously prefer so I don't have to also throw a low end video card in the server case.

Yup, your system with HD 3650 should be able to handle these tasks well. If you are interested in BD playback with Athlon 64 3500+ and HD 3650 AGP, please read this article (http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2959&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=1).

Renethx.
I went and bought and installed a HIS Radeon 3650 HD, hooked it up to a TV via DVI.HDMI adapter. Also connected the Shuttle to surround receiver via optical out, but I can not get any sound. I checked what I could think of in BIOS and WinXP - no luck. Any ideas what I could try? Could this be related to the graphics drivers?

Thx -az

I have pretty much decided to go with the Norco 4220 and 2xAOC-SASLP-MV8. I am trying to figure out a good board for Intel though instead of AMD since I have both a E6600 or E6750 I can use. For the media server guide there only seems to be AMD build.Any suggestions?

I keep finding boards that don't have onboard video which I would obviously prefer so I don't have to also throw a low end video card in the server case.
If you are looking for a LGA775 mb supporting dual PCI Express x8 and onboard video, then Intel 3210 chipset mb are the only solution (check page 85). They are pricey (~$250). A cheaper solution is:

- Athlon II X2 240 2.8GHz, $60
- ECS A790GXM-A, $105
- Sell E6600, -$90
- Sell E6750, -$90
- Total: -$15 :)

Perhaps the performance of Athlon II X2 240 is equivalent to (or even better than) E6600/E6750.