Guide to Building a HD HTPC [Text View] - Page 43

renethx

10-18-09, 01:42 PM

Question, I have Win7 32bit full on order. I was going to stay in the mid tier range however I am now seriously considering Renethx's high end Intel/Intel HTPC build-i5/ddr3-1600 4gb. The build is to mostly rip blu-ray with hd audio playback as well as photo/video apps.

Wouldn't the 64bit be better for this combo/use?
I am just concerned still with 64/32bit software and hardware conflicts.

Any link or advice would be really appreciated.
For pure HTPC usage, 32-bit is a better choice right now (in general). If 64-bit is good for video/photo apps is beyond me. It depends on the applications you use. Conflict something is also beyond me; it depends on your apps and hardware components (check the specs of the app or the driver for the hardware component).

kevm14

10-18-09, 01:47 PM

I have an Acer AX1200 as my HTPC. I've been talking it over with the wife and we are thinking about getting rid of our Comcast cable and use our HTPC for everything. Now with Hulu Desktop and Netflix readily available, all I am missing is a OTA card with PVR capabilities.

I am using this site for referrence:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/diy-hd-htpc-extravaganza-part3,review-657-5.html

Anyone else doing something similar?

Of course. I can't wait for the Win 7 Netflix plugin. My hope is that they allow aggregation of Netflix content with the rest of media center, even if it's something optional. I mean, eventually, everything should be integrated. I don't really care where I get the content from, and as long as it lists the source before I play it, I can make the decision to use that source or not.

For OTA, the Avermedia Duet (A188 white box) is doing well. Try Newegg.

renethx

10-18-09, 01:48 PM

Thanks Renethx I will order the case. Which card do you recommend the radeon or the geofroce? I know that the geoforce has more memory and has a fan, but other than that I fail to see why one would get one over the other? Are they both compatible with TMT and Powerdvd?
I tested GeForce GT 220 DDR3 and this is better than HD 4550 in PQ. But I can't comment on the DDR2 version. Fan noise could be an issue for some people.

Update

I got the XFX DDR2 card. The performance of video playback is exactly identical with the GIGABYTE DDR3 version and the fan is noticeably quieter. Highly recommended. I still can't comment on the fan noise of the ASUS low-profile DDR2.

Both work fine with TMT and PDVD.

kevm14

10-18-09, 01:54 PM

Thought I'd chime in on 32 vs 64 bit.

I've been running my new HTPC for about 4 days now and I went with Win 7 64-bit and 4 gigs of ram. I have had zero issues with the 64-bit-ness of the OS. Codecs are often mentioned as a source of issues stemming from 32 vs 64 and Win 7 has a lot more complete codec support out of the box than any previous MS OS. To play my MKVs I simply installed the DiVX Tech Preview (http://labs.divx.com/mkvwin7preview) and the AC3 Filter (http://ac3filter.net/projects/ac3filter). MKVs then worked perfectly, including thumbnails and even resume.

Plus I like the idea that I am using all my ram and I may get a small performance benefit from running a 64-bit OS with 64-bit Media Center.

My Dell served HTPC duty for 2.5 months and it ran 64 bit Vista. It was more work with codec support but everything worked on it, as well.

renethx

10-18-09, 02:00 PM

Maybe I should say *in general* Win7 64-bit is as good as Win 7 32-bit. :) I miss madFlac and ReClock for 7MC x64, both are indispensable tools for bit-perfect HD audio (PCM) (some codec developers are still using 32-bit compilers).

kevm14

10-18-09, 02:08 PM

True, but in a way using a 32-bit OS just slows the transition to 64, since we can all probably see that 64-bit is the future. But I agree, facts are facts, and there are undoubtedly some things that don't yet support a 64-bit OS. Fortunately, most mainstream things do, at least by my definition. I've yet to dabble in FLAC audio and since I run my CRT at 1080i via component cables, never really had a need for reclock. So you should know where I come from on my opinion. Most people have flat panels these days...

Other reasons to choose Win 7 are because many things are better than Vista's media center. Many pertain to DVR and EPG improvements but even the screen saver that comes up after the timeout period is awesome. Or the aforementioned codec support. And it runs faster, smoother. But I guess this thread is more about hardware so I digress.

Kingcac

10-18-09, 03:16 PM

renethx-

With my current set up. What power supply do need? is 450W enough?

-LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner
-EVERCOOL HD-F117 Aluminum HDD Cooling Device (3)
-COOLER MASTER GeminII S RR-CCH-PBU1-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
-Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7500
-ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
-A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K
-CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
-SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
-Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (I got 3 of these for a total of 6TB)
cost= $1300

renethx

10-18-09, 03:25 PM

kevm14

10-18-09, 03:40 PM

Thought I'd post a few pics of my new HTPC as set up in my living room. My setup is decidedly informal but I also spent very little on all my gear (it shows).

http://kevinallenmoore.com/photo/v/kmoore/HTPC/

I had my parents over yesterday and my dad, an accomplished engineer from MIT, had no clue where the HTPC was, even though it would be obvious to you guys. That is exactly the result I wanted, so I just smiled and pointed.

onyxbfly

10-18-09, 05:31 PM

I tested GeForce GT 220 DDR3 and this is better than HD 4550 in PQ. But I can't comment on the DDR2 version. Fan noise could be an issue for some people.

Both work fine with TMT and PDVD.

I searched high and low for the geoforce gt220 ddr3 with a low profile bracket so I decided to go with the one you recommended. They should arrive by Wednesday. Thanks once again for your time and patience.

mustangjoe

10-18-09, 06:58 PM

Thank for the reply Rene. Congrats on the new build Kevin & nice camera btw.

pestocat

10-18-09, 08:32 PM

hbomber202020

10-18-09, 09:36 PM

What is the story on Windows 7 support or non-support for Blu-ray drives. The LG web site shows OS support for the LG-BH08LS20 to be WinXP and Vista, but no mention of Windows 7. Do the application such as PowerDVD allow Windows 7 support of the Blu-ray drives.
Ignore that on LG's website, it's a non issue, might just have to update firmware as soon as you install the drive(which it will automatically ask so) Most everyone here uses LG blu drives and windows 7 for a reason, myself included. Your LG, w7 and powerdvd is all you need. If powerdvd doesn't suite you, you can also look into media player home classic and total media theater 3.

You do know the LG-BH08LS20 is a Blu-ray burner. If you're or not going to be burning blu-ray's I would check and adhere to rene's guide on pg 85 for suggestions regarding blu-ray drives.

pestocat

10-18-09, 09:49 PM

Ignore that on LG's website, it's a non issue, might just have to update firmware as soon as you install the drive(which it will automatically ask so) Most everyone here uses LG blu drives and windows 7 for a reason, myself included. Your LG, w7 and powerdvd is all you need. If powerdvd doesn't suite you, you can also look into media player home classic and total media theater 3.

You do know the LG-BH08LS20 is a Blu-ray burner. If you're or not going to be burning blu-ray's I would check and adhere to rene's guide on pg 85 for suggestions regarding blu-ray drives.

Thank you hbomber202020,
Yes, I know it is a Blu-ray burner.

cableuser001

10-18-09, 09:54 PM

kevm14

10-18-09, 09:56 PM

I have always assumed that in those situations you need to call Microsoft and say you had to replace the motherboard and couldn't find the exact one. Or, if you are lucky, it might activate anyway.

hbomber202020

10-18-09, 10:07 PM

Thank you hbomber202020,
Yes, I know it is a Blu-ray burner.
not a problem.

if you're going to be ripping blu-ray's and or burning them you will need anydvd hd($$$) to remove blu-ray encryption, clown_bd(free) for "main movie" only rips and imgburn(free) to burn your blu-rays. Then, VirtualCloneDrive(free) to mount or act as another logical blu-ray drive to play your blu-ray's on your computer through PowerDVD or another choice media playback choice listed in my other post.

Marc_G

10-19-09, 06:24 AM

Hi, I am planning on buying Windows 7 home premium. I am debating whether to buy the OEM or Retail (diff of $40).

I would use this on a PC which will be upgraded, so what would be my best path. Would the OEM version allow me to use it, after the mobo is upgraded?

Thanks.

Changing the mobo usually invokes reactivation. With OEM, expect to have to call and tell them your story that the board fried.

Bruach

10-19-09, 06:49 AM

Renethx,

Thanx for the speedy replies and info but I am not in US. My question is, will the Micro Fusion Remote 350 be sufficient for the above recommendation or will I need a bigger psu?

Thanx

renethx

10-19-09, 07:01 AM

will the Micro Fusion Remote 350 be sufficient for the above recommendation or will I need a bigger psu?
Sufficient.

Fidelity Castro

10-19-09, 11:13 AM

I tested GeForce GT 220 DDR3 and this is better than HD 4550 in PQ. But I can't comment on the DDR2 version. Fan noise could be an issue for some people.

Both work fine with TMT and PDVD.

That sounds interesting. So you can´t reconmend the ddr2 Version due to Fan noise or lower PQ ?

I thought you got a GDDR3 Version, over here there are GDDR3,DDR3 and DDR2 Version listed. The Zotac cards seem to have the lowest Power Consuption of any tested GT220 but the loudest fan....

Unfortunately the Zotac DDR3 Version is not shipable and some stores anounce it for next year.. http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a472263.html

Should i try this Asus Model ? http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a468193.html

JonEQuest

10-19-09, 11:42 AM

Hi, I have read this thread for many hours over many days and I am still on the fence. I was looking up some of the components from the Sep 2009 recomendations, (even though the post was from 2008) I was starting to look up the components from the Mid range Intel/Invidia setup and the mobo was discontinued. With the way things change so fast and a good deal today is not so good a month later I am not sure what to buy now. I am tempted to grab something pre made on ebay but know I will have more stisfaction and a better system by building it myself. I basicly want a component sized HTPC that I can use to hold all my media of various quality up to Blu Ray 1080p, and have some decent power to encode DVD's etc. I won't really be gaming on this thing but want plenty of power to make it somewhat future proof.

Suggestions???

renethx

10-19-09, 01:07 PM

That sounds interesting. So you can´t reconmend the ddr2 Version due to Fan noise or lower PQ ?

I thought you got a GDDR3 Version, over here there are GDDR3,DDR3 and DDR2 Version listed. The Zotac cards seem to have the lowest Power Consuption of any tested GT220 but the loudest fan....

Unfortunately the Zotac DDR3 Version is not shipable and some stores anounce it for next year.. http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a472263.html

Should i try this Asus Model ? http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a468193.html
Simply I can't comment on the performance of the DDR2 version or the fan noise of the ASUS card because I don't own the card.

Update

I got the XFX DDR2 card. The performance of video playback is exactly identical with the GIGABYTE DDR3 version and the fan is noticeably quieter. Highly recommended.

Nowadays GDDR3 is very rare. You can expect *almost* every GDDR3 card today is actually DDR3 (the product information is often written by non-tech people; I see a couple of real GDDR3 cards, however).

renethx

10-19-09, 01:12 PM

bmcent1

10-19-09, 06:11 PM

Which case are you using? AFAIK there is just one fanless Sapphire HD 4670 card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102816) and it

- NSK2480/Fusion Remote: does not fit.
- Most ATX cases: fits.
- SilverStone SG05/06: fits?

Just FYI, the SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body GD01B-R ATX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163110) fits the Sapphire 4670 fine. There's a good 3/8" clearance between the top of the heat sink and the support bar that runs across the top of the case.

I love this case. Also, I picked up the Adesso remote w/ USB IR sensor for about $23 at NewEgg. The sensor fits under the case and I don't even notice it visually with the wire hidden from view. The remote works great. I recommend this solution to anyone looking for an MCE remote solution who doesn't care to have a VFD or 7" LCD on the case. It's sleek, cheap (for a HTPC case) and gets the job done.

cableuser001

10-19-09, 08:30 PM

Hi, I am trying to reason out why building my own PC is a good way to go, when I could buy a similar configured one for same price or cheaper. My only point was that I could upgrade it if and when I need. Can you throw in any other good points. At present, these are my costs for an AMD computer; total about $480 (without taxes).

This will be less of a HTPC, but a PC which can record OTA broadcasts and edit AVCHD files.

Case/PSU $50
MoBo $90
Processor $90 (AMD Athlon II X4 620)
RAM $64 (4GB)
HDD $50
DVD Drive $25
OS $110

Thanks.

txredneckbud

10-19-09, 10:40 PM

If you do go the pre-made route, gut the hard drive and start over or you will have a zillion things on the hard drive you wont want or need. They put so much trash on those systems it should be illegal.

kevm14

10-19-09, 11:07 PM

I can't speak for the 540s but I got a 435MT i7 machine and I am still running the OEM install of 64 bit Vista Ultimate. They didn't put that much junk on there. But it probably varies by system model. From what I understand, HP is particularly bad about this.

cableuser001

10-20-09, 02:26 AM

Hi, I am facing a weird issue. I have this Avermedia volar tv tuner. When I use their software to tune the channels and connect it to a HDTV (via HDMI), the audio goes to the TV. Same is the case if I play any video.

When I use Media center, the audio remains on the PC and doesn't go to the HDTV. However any clicking sound, etc of the laptop goes to the HDTV. I am trying to find a solution for this. Anyone?

dbone1026

10-20-09, 08:33 AM

genod

10-20-09, 09:58 AM

Newegg has combo deal, Gigabyte 785g MicroATX and Athlon 245 for $125.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273662&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL102009&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL102009-_-Combo-_-LM1A-_-Combo273662

Good deal...I am going to order my HTPC this afternoon. Can I get some tips or criticism on this build before I order? This machine will be foremost a DVR for OTA local hd television. Also, it will be storing and playing 1080i mpeg2 home video.

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394)

AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX245OCGQBOX - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687)

nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204035)

SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102855)

AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet - PCTV Tuner (A188 - White Box) MTVHDDUWB PCI-Express x1 Interface - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100041)

COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171046)

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098)

OS DRIVE - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075)

Media Drive - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317)

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289)

Anyware GP-IR01BK Windows Vista Infrared MCE Black Remote Control (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880121003)

I will be using Windows 7 Home Premium.

renethx--Thanks for your wonderful thread and all of your posts. I have learned so much from you!

btordini

10-20-09, 10:08 AM

Hello Rene

May I ask if there will be an October 2009 Edition?

Thank you very much in advance

dbone1026

10-20-09, 10:15 AM

Hello Rene

May I ask if there will be an October 2009 Edition?

Thank you very much in advance

The guide is updated through Sep 2009, you would want another one for October?

bobby_t1

10-20-09, 11:41 AM

I was originally going blindly with Mini-ITX but after digging into the specs realizing the big drawbacks -- cooling, potential for noise and expansion (especially for video cars).

Am I correct in assuming that the only reason to buy Mini-ITX Is for space conerns and there are no advantages of Micro-ATX?

flanders1302

10-20-09, 12:52 PM

renethx

10-20-09, 01:08 PM

Hello Rene

May I ask if there will be an October 2009 Edition?

Thank you very much in advance
Perhaps no. The next is November. There are two new products I should mention earlier:

- Radeon HD 5770 or 5750 (Sapphire), replacing HD 4850 in the high-end systems.

- GeForce GT 220 (XFX), replacing GeForce 9600 GT in the mid-range systems.

renethx

10-20-09, 01:13 PM

renethx

10-20-09, 01:21 PM

At the moment I use the Asrock ion 330 and a Themescene (Optoma) 78. Now i want to build a HTPC with a new 1080p projector. My main concern is PQ, it’s hard to find comparison between the different graf. cards . Can somebody help me with personal experience ore links? Is there information about the new Radeon 5… cards?
Thanks
For progressive HD contents, there is almost no PQ difference between GPUs. For interlaced HD contents, check this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17305031#post17305031) and this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17351566#post17351566). For SD contents, where upscaling and a good blend of sharpening/denoise are important, there are some differences. In general more stream processors (3D engine) are better.

HD 4670 is the best bang for your bucks. If you prefer NVIDIA, go with GeForce GT 220. If you want HD audio bitstreams over HDMI, go with HD 5750.

corwiniii

10-20-09, 01:56 PM

For the fun of building it? Honestly, that's my primary reason for building PCs whenever I can for myself or friends/family if they let me. Although honestly for most people (those not reading something like AVS Forum) a cheap Dell more than meets their needs.

Also, you get to pick and choose exactly which brand and specs each item has. Going pre-built often times you can select things in general but really not get the exact brand or model you may want - may not be a big deal to many. This provides endless hours of research and compiling comparative wish lists and then searching for deals - FUN!

The downside to building is service and support. That's you, not Dell or HP or whatever. Some might see this as a pro or a con; a cost saver or a cost increaser.

Hi, I am trying to reason out why building my own PC is a good way to go, when I could buy a similar configured one for same price or cheaper. My only point was that I could upgrade it if and when I need. Can you throw in any other good points. At present, these are my costs for an AMD computer; total about $480 (without taxes).

This will be less of a HTPC, but a PC which can record OTA broadcasts and edit AVCHD files.

Case/PSU $50
MoBo $90
Processor $90 (AMD Athlon II X4 620)
RAM $64 (4GB)
HDD $50
DVD Drive $25
OS $110

Thanks.

corwiniii

10-20-09, 01:59 PM

Any reason why the Sapphire is recommend over other brands? Just price? I happened upon a great deal for the XFX 5750 ($95 shipped) and couldn't pass it up. It should be here Friday or Saturday.

Perhaps no. The next is November. There are two new products I should mention:

- Radeon HD 5770 or 5750 (Sapphire), replacing HD 4850 in the high-end systems.

- GeForce GT 220 (not yet sure which card is the best), replacing GeForce 9600 GT in the mid-range systems.

gsr

10-20-09, 02:24 PM

Good deal...I am going to order my HTPC this afternoon. Can I get some tips or criticism on this build before I order? This machine will be foremost a DVR for OTA local hd television. Also, it will be storing and playing 1080i mpeg2 home video.

Media Drive - Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317)
If you can swing it in the budget, I'd strongly suggest a larger and/or more than one media drive - recording HD OTA will use the space up pretty quickly on a 1TB drive especially if you save any shows to watch again.

Iteki

10-20-09, 02:27 PM

If you can swing it in the budget, I'd strongly suggest a larger and/or more than one media drive - recording HD OTA will use the space up pretty quickly on a 1TB drive especially if you save any shows to watch again.

+1. I had a good deal on a case I thought would be perfect. Now I've run out of room for drives and I have to start going external or upgrading internally (from 1TB to 2TB, etc).

renethx

10-20-09, 02:40 PM

txredneckbud

10-20-09, 05:31 PM

So is the Radeon HD 5770 (Sapphire) the best you can buy right now for a high end HTPC?

cableuser001

10-20-09, 06:07 PM

dbone1026

10-20-09, 06:33 PM

htwaits

10-20-09, 06:37 PM

Does anyone know if you can do a clean install of Win 7 using a Win XP upgrade cd?

nozzey

10-20-09, 07:31 PM

Perhaps no. The next is November. There are two new products I should mention earlier:

- Radeon HD 5770 or 5750 (Sapphire), replacing HD 4850 in the high-end systems.

- GeForce GT 220 (not yet sure which card is the best), replacing GeForce 9600 GT in the mid-range systems.

Renethx, I was looking at getting the ASUS EN9600GT/DI/512MD3, but are you now saying the GT 220 DDR3 is better. Thanks

corwiniii

10-20-09, 07:34 PM

Be careful about this - I had Windows 7 installed and changed my mobo/cpu and Windows couldn't figure out the new hardware and wouldn't load. So I ended up having to reinstall Windows anyway. There may be a way, but I couldn't figure it out after a lot of research. So you might want to save yourself a lot of hassle and just wait to install the new Windows once the mobo is replaced. As for the serial and activation, I was using a corporate Enterprise version and KMS server so I can't speak to how that works on a new install.

Hi, I am planning on buying Windows 7 home premium. I am debating whether to buy the OEM or Retail (diff of $40).

I would use this on a PC which will be upgraded, so what would be my best path. Would the OEM version allow me to use it, after the mobo is upgraded?

Thanks.

Marc_G

10-20-09, 07:35 PM

Hi, Would anyone tell me if this version can be installed without any OS already installed. It says "upgrade" version. The upgrade version is about $120 and the OEM version is $110, and full version is $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116713

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

To install on a bare HDD, do I need to get the $110/$200 one?

Thanks.

Does anyone know if you can do a clean install of Win 7 using a Win XP upgrade cd?

From what I can piece together from multiple sites, you can do a clean install onto a new drive, but you must let the W7 installer detect an activated copy of Vista/XP. The previous activated OS can be on the same physical disk (different partition), a different physical disk installed in the computer, or a different physical disk attached via USB. As long as the system can detect it, it will work, or so I gather. I really wish I could just submit my Vista activation key but apparently this isn't supported.

For XP, you MUST do a clean install, for Vista you get the choice of clean install or in-place. So, it can either wipe the partition, or preserve existing files and so forth.

I have two different situations, myself, and I'm not sure if there's an optimal solution for my HTPC. I want it to remove the vista partition, recreate a new smaller partition (half the original size), and install cleanly into that. On my desktop, I'm going to install cleanly into a new drive on a pre-created partition.

We'll see how it goes.

Anyone know when the Best Buy pre-order special disks are due to be delivered? Will they SHIP on 10/22 or are they being shipped early to DELIVER on 10/22?

Marc

corwiniii

10-20-09, 07:43 PM

Marc_G

10-20-09, 08:29 PM

You should be able to upgrade over an XP upgrade install. The upgrade launches from within Windows, so XP needs to be installed on the computer. You can't (AFAIK) trick Windows 7 to install clean by just pointing it to a CD as proof you have an old version.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

From what I've read, the install DVD also can boot, detect XP/Vista (installed/activated, not just a CD) on any attached partition, and proceed to do a clean install from there. So for those that started with some pre-XP OS, used an XP upgrade CD to get to XP, it's still OK. Just make sure you have your XP OS partition available one way or another.

txredneckbud

10-20-09, 09:37 PM

Here is a cnet video on how to upgrade XP to W7. Cumbersome, but they claim it works.

http://www.cnet.com.au/upgrade-windows-xp-to-windows-7-339299114.htm

txredneckbud

10-20-09, 10:21 PM

I hope everyone is sending Rene paypal funds as its evident he spents ALOT of time and research to give us this help. Page 85 shows how to do this.

Be generous if you garner aid from his efforts! Its worth it to me anyways.

:)

gunbunnysoulja

10-20-09, 10:46 PM

Renethx,

Just wondering if there is any (noticeable) difference in performance for CAS Latency and timings for p55 builds.

I'm about to order up parts for the high end mATX build, but I'm not set on which ram to get out of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=1052315794&Description=g-skill%20pc3%2012800&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29&ActiveSearchResult=True).

Thanks in advance.

bobby_t1

10-21-09, 12:52 AM

I wouldn't bother with the Windows 7 upgrade from XP with any workarounds. Just do a clean install.. it will ensure you have a stable machine.

For those ordering Windows 7, if you order from the Microsoft Store, you can get it by download on the 22nd.

http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-Windows-7/category/102

mustangjoe

10-21-09, 01:17 AM

[Renethx,

HD 4670 is the best bang for your bucks. If you prefer NVIDIA, go with GeForce GT 220. If you want HD audio bitstreams over HDMI, go with HD 5750.[/QUOTE]

Is the HD audio bitstream via HDMI on the 5750 working at the moment?
If so is it with TMT3, PDVD? Or?
I thought there is a wait for a newer unreleased driver?

renethx

10-21-09, 01:28 AM

So is the Radeon HD 5770 (Sapphire) the best you can buy right now for a high end HTPC?
Yes (HD 5770 of any brand).

renethx

10-21-09, 01:30 AM

Renethx, I was looking at getting the ASUS EN9600GT/DI/512MD3, but are you now saying the GT 220 DDR3 is better. Thanks
GT 220 supports multichannel LPCM and runs much cooler. If you don't need multichannel LPCM, 9600 GT is better in video post-processing and games.

renethx

10-21-09, 01:44 AM

HD 4670 is the best bang for your bucks. If you prefer NVIDIA, go with GeForce GT 220. If you want HD audio bitstreams over HDMI, go with HD 5750.

Is the HD audio bitstream via HDMI on the 5750 working at the moment?
If so is it with TMT3, PDVD? Or?
I thought there is a wait for a newer unreleased driver?
You have to wait for the next PDVD patch.

genod

10-21-09, 08:18 AM

+1. I had a good deal on a case I thought would be perfect. Now I've run out of room for drives and I have to start going external or upgrading internally (from 1TB to 2TB, etc).

If you can swing it in the budget, I'd strongly suggest a larger and/or more than one media drive - recording HD OTA will use the space up pretty quickly on a 1TB drive especially if you save any shows to watch again.

Yes, I was thinking about that when I ordered my case. I have room for 2 more drives. I am sure I will be adding drives down the road. Thanks guys.

txredneckbud

10-21-09, 08:33 AM

Rene, thanks for the input on the 5770 being a great choice. Since I dont do gaming, I will take your suggestion on the 5750.

I do have a Radeon 9500. I know I can use a dongle on that to get component out to push thru a matrix switch. Does anyone know if I can get component out of a 5750??

Thanks!

txredneckbud

10-21-09, 08:59 AM

I am really confused. Based on page 85 I bought two Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8, these are PCI-X! There are not two PCI-X slots on the board that is recommended to go with this right?

http://www.provantage.com/SUP905P.GIF

mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/13-128-395-TS?$S180W$

Should I have gotten the Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8?

http://www.provantage.com/SUP918N.GIF

I have opened the ones I bought. hope I can return them to provantage if they are wrong and they appear to be.

txredneckbud

10-21-09, 09:05 AM

OK, I see this note: "Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 is a PCI-X card. However it works fine with a PCI slot and the performance is good enough for WHS or unRAID "

I am doing unraid. So does this mean I just fit the PCI-X card in a PCI slot and just let part of the board not connect in a slot?

gmanhdtv

10-21-09, 09:23 AM

renethx

10-21-09, 09:59 AM

Does anyone know if I can get component out of a 5750??
HDFury (http://www.hdfury.com/) should work.

renethx

10-21-09, 10:01 AM

I am doing unraid. So does this mean I just fit the PCI-X card in a PCI slot and just let part of the board not connect in a slot?
Yes.

txredneckbud

10-21-09, 10:04 AM

"HDFury should work."

thanks rene. So then I will need another adapter to add to that to get the red green blue rca outs? I dont see that they make an adapter from DVI to component RCA.

txredneckbud

10-21-09, 10:07 AM

Yes.

Well here is another kicker! Went in with request to buy GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H. They said SURE! HERE IT IS! Added it to cart, got home, installed it and BAM its a GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD2H! 2h not 3h. Crap.

Big enough difference to get the right one?? I can use this card in a home automation PC I am building for Mainlobby.

txredneckbud

10-21-09, 10:18 AM

OK, I see the HDfury works with RGB component RCA jacks and has the cable in the box. But it is OUTRAGEOUSLY priced at $200 for an adapter! Especially since the one for a radeon is $4.95. ouch.

renethx

10-21-09, 10:44 AM

"HDFury should work."

thanks rene. So then I will need another adapter to add to that to get the red green blue rca outs? I dont see that they make an adapter from DVI to component RCA.
HDFury2 comes with a D-sub to component video adapter like this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=155628&stc=1&d=1256136271).

renethx

10-21-09, 10:52 AM

OK, I see the HDfury works with RGB component RCA jacks and has the cable in the box. But it is OUTRAGEOUSLY priced at $200 for an adapter! Especially since the one for a radeon is $4.95. ouch.
AFAIK, HD 5xxx does not have an HDTV encoder (that is, no built-in RGB to YPbPr transcoder). If you don't want to spend money on HDFury2, you'd better choose HD 4xxx like this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131128). You still have to buy a cheap 7-pin mini-DIN to component adapter.

renethx

10-21-09, 10:56 AM

Well here is another kicker! Went in with request to buy GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H. They said SURE! HERE IT IS! Added it to cart, got home, installed it and BAM its a GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD2H! 2h not 3h. Crap.

Big enough difference to get the right one?? I can use this card in a home automation PC I am building for Mainlobby.
I don't see GA-MA785G-UD2H in the GIGAGYTE site (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_List.aspx?VenderType=AMD&CPUType=socket+am2%2b#AMD%20785G).

Anyway, what you need is a mb with two PCI slots and a Gb LAN. :)

corwiniii

10-21-09, 01:38 PM

Sure, e-bay. The seller listed it as new in box for $119.99 shipped. I had a $25 paypal voucher that I applied bringing my price down to $95 shipped.

$119.99 is $20 less than I found it anywhere else, so let's hope a) I get it; and b) it really is new in the box. The seller had 100% positive feedback over 350 sales.

Mind sharing where you found this "deal";)

Mw182006

10-21-09, 02:43 PM

Quick question, I'd like to start dabbling with the HTPC side of things with my current pc by simply running a VGA/hdmi to my Samsung 50" DLP. I'm just curious if my vid card can output to two "monitors" simultaneously or if I need some kind of switch/splitter? I googled the specs but couldn't find anything definitive...if I have to switch back and forth between monitor and tv, so be it!

Card specs:
SAPPHIRE 100226L Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Ports
DVI 2
TV-Out HDTV / S-Video / Composite Out
VIVO No
General
Tuner None
RAMDAC 400 MHz
Max Resolution 2560 x 1600
CrossFire Supported Yes
Cooler With Fan
System Requirements PCI Express based PC is required with one X16 lane graphic slot available on the motherboard.
1GB or greater system memory for better performance.
450Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express power connector recommended.
For ATI CrossfireX: 550 watt power supply or greater with two 6-pin connectors.
Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products
Installation software requires CD-ROM drive.
DVD playback requires DVD driver
Blu-ray/HD DVD playback requires Blu-ray/HD-DVD drive and playback software.
For a complete ATI CrossFireX system, a second ATI Radeon HD 3850 graphics card, an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per board are required.
Dual-Link DVI Supported Yes
Windows Vista Certified for Windows Vista
HDCP Ready Yes
Features
Features Microsoft DirectX 10.1 support
ATI CrossFireX Multi-GPU Technology
ATI PowerPlay
ATI Avivo HD Video and Display Platform
Integrated HD audio controller with multi-channel (5.1) AC3 support
Up to 24x Custom Filter Anti-Aliasing (CFAA) for improved quality

renethx

10-21-09, 02:46 PM

Mw182006

10-21-09, 05:27 PM

Thanks ren, if I never thanked you directly, your threads helped me with my build immensely!

cableuser001

10-21-09, 06:30 PM

Hi, if I intend to do AVCHD editing (MTS files from my camcorder), what is the best processor to go for. I already have a AMD Athlon II X4 620, but I am thinking of replacing it if need be. I have Adobe premiere elements.

Thanks.

Rocka2

10-21-09, 06:39 PM

Is GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB still the current recomendation for worstation geared towards being a consumer-grade high-performance video editing machine? Which GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB should be chosen? I have no idea. Would Zotac be a good choice? Are all the cards of this paticular series exactly the same and just like the reference design? They must be pretty similar or the recommendations in this guide would specify, right? I am wanting to build by copying from the exact suggestions in the recommended systems because I do not know a lot. I know it is okay to make alterations/substitutions to the examples but I prefer to attempt to build exactly as shown because it's purpose is exactly what I want. I want the absolute best performance for the money. Is anything else coming out new that meets my needs? The new GTX 220 is not enough because I am looking for the highest level of performance for high-performance video editing, right? I do not know. Mostly what I do is video editing and I do a lot of encoding. I use a wide variety of sources both interlaced and progressive. I do editing, not gaming. My monitor is 1920 by 1200. I could see myself possibly using two monitors of this resolution in an extended desktop but not for sure. I have been looking at GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB for a couple of months since it showed up in recommended system for workstation because that is what I want to build. I like the philosophies of using the best available today, but not too expensive. Thank you for this guide, it is very helpful. This review http://www.trustedreviews.com/graphics/review/2009/04/03/Zotac-nVidia-GeForce-GTX-275-Amp--Edition/p1 says the Zotac AMP edition of this graphics card has the problem of overheating unless there is good airflow. The recommendation is for the regular version of GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB and I do not want to purchase the overclocked AMP version unless it is best suited for this application within the guidelines of best available today, not too expensive. I do not know very much. The bottom line is I want a good graphics card. Perhaps I am making too much of it. I want to be precise and I want to build the best system I possibly can without spending too much. Any help would be appreciated. I love This Guide, it has helped me a lot and I want to learn more. Any recommendations? Thank you very much.

tycoonheart

10-22-09, 12:49 AM

Hey guys, I just got done setting up my first HTPC. Everything is running well except I can't figure out how to set up surround sound properly.

My motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

I'm using the IGP.

I've got the HTPC connected to my receiver (Denon 1909). I'm running a 5.1 set up right now.

I installed Windows 7 32-bit, installed ATI Catalyst software, Realtek HD Audio Driver, Realtek HDMI driver.

But when I go into Sound in Control Panel and configure options for HDMI output, I don't get an option other than 2 speakers.

It also says that it is NOT HDCP compliant.

I've installed/uninstalled pretty much everything and the results are the same.

Can anyone help me?

Thanks.

renethx

10-22-09, 03:28 AM

renethx

10-22-09, 03:56 AM

renethx

10-22-09, 04:00 AM

Hey guys, I just got done setting up my first HTPC. Everything is running well except I can't figure out how to set up surround sound properly.

My motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

I'm using the IGP.

I've got the HTPC connected to my receiver (Denon 1909). I'm running a 5.1 set up right now.

I installed Windows 7 32-bit, installed ATI Catalyst software, Realtek HD Audio Driver, Realtek HDMI driver.

But when I go into Sound in Control Panel and configure options for HDMI output, I don't get an option other than 2 speakers.

It also says that it is NOT HDCP compliant.
As HD 4200 supports stereo PCM and DD/DTS bitstreams, you will see only two speakers in Sound. "NOT HDCP compliant" is normal. Actually it's HDCP-compliant.

Davinleeds

10-22-09, 07:52 AM

As HD 4200 supports stereo PCM and DD/DTS bitstreams, you will see only two speakers in Sound. "NOT HDCP compliant" is normal. Actually it's HDCP-compliant.

Even with an added 4670? I used an ASUS and Sapphire 4670 and both indicated such. But they worked as compliant.

I have a micro atx MSI 785 I plan on pairing with 5750, should I expect the same?

Thanks

dbmix

10-22-09, 08:36 AM

this mboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595)
versus the page 85 recommended mboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128395)for a server?

As I see the Asus board is a shell shocker special today.

EDIT:Nevermind, I see the number of PCI express slots is more limited

tycoonheart

10-22-09, 09:56 AM

As HD 4200 supports stereo PCM and DD/DTS bitstreams, you will see only two speakers in Sound. "NOT HDCP compliant" is normal. Actually it's HDCP-compliant.

I see.

I haven't bought a Blu-Ray drive yet, but I will be doing that soon.

I was under the impression that I would be able to send out DD TrueHD and DTS-MA as LPCM to the receivers. Am I wrong?

renethx

10-22-09, 10:43 AM

Even with an added 4670? I used an ASUS and Sapphire 4670 and both indicated such. But they worked as compliant.

I have a micro atx MSI 785 I plan on pairing with 5750, should I expect the same?

Thanks
If you add a HD 4670 (or HD 5750), then you will have two independent HDMI audio controllers, one from HD 4200 and the other from HD 4670 (or HD 5750) and you will use the one that is connected to your AVR.

renethx

10-22-09, 10:48 AM

I see.

I haven't bought a Blu-Ray drive yet, but I will be doing that soon.

I was under the impression that I would be able to send out DD TrueHD and DTS-MA as LPCM to the receivers. Am I wrong?
Yup, you are wrong. :) HD 4200 supports only stereo LPCM/DD/DTS. So the best you can do is bitstreaming the *core* DD in a Dolby TrueHD track or the core DTS in DTS-HD Master Audio.

tycoonheart

10-22-09, 10:59 AM

Yup, you are wrong. :) HD 4200 supports only stereo LPCM/DD/DTS. So the best you can do is bitstreaming the *core* DD in a Dolby TrueHD track or the core DTS in DTS-HD Master Audio.

Gotcha.

Last question. Does the 5750 support 5.1/7.1 LPCM? I know it is supposed to support (eventually) TrueHD and DTS-HD MA bitstreaming as well.

I'm thinking of going that route.

renethx

10-22-09, 11:01 AM

Gotcha.

Last question. Does the 5750 support 5.1/7.1 LPCM? I know it is supposed to support (eventually) TrueHD and DTS-HD MA bitstreaming as well.
Yes. All HD 4xxx (except for HD 4200)/HD 5xxx support 2/4/6/8 channel LPCM.

txredneckbud

10-22-09, 11:35 AM

I don't see GA-MA785G-UD2H in the GIGAGYTE site (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_List.aspx?VenderType=AMD&CPUType=socket+am2%2b#AMD%20785G).

Anyway, what you need is a mb with two PCI slots and a Gb LAN. :)

Rene. Maybe it is followed by a "M". Dont have it in front of me.

tjyaro

10-22-09, 11:39 AM

I'm going to build one of the systems based on page 85 recommendations, but I don't know how to choose between the Intel/ Nvidia/ AMD configurations. Can anyone direct me on this?

If it makes a difference, primary use will be internet, HD video editing, jukebox.

renethx

10-22-09, 11:48 AM

The Intel Core i7 system is good for HD video editing.

tjyaro

10-22-09, 11:55 AM

thanks for the quick reply. Do you have a recommended site to buy all the components from?

matbhuvi

10-22-09, 12:07 PM

thanks for the quick reply. Do you have a recommended site to buy all the components from?

newegg, microcenter, frys

renethx

10-22-09, 12:09 PM

thanks for the quick reply. Do you have a recommended site to buy all the components from?
Newegg, ZipZoomfly, Provantage etc.

red_kratos

10-22-09, 01:45 PM

i'm sure it's something simple!

Antec Fusion Case
Corsair VX450W PSU
GA-M78GM-S2H (rev 1.1)
AMD 9600
OCZ PC2 6400 1x2GB (have x2, but just trying to use one stick for now!)

i think(?) i have everything wired correctly, including the 24-pin ATX adapter cable with the 3-pin Molex power to the VFD. the VFD lights up, but no fans, no lights, no nothing else.

any ideas?

I faced a similar prob... but thanks to Renethx, this issue was resolved. Now the d fans n d system is running fine but thr is no display on D-SUB(VGA) connector and d keyboard doesnt even lite up.......
(i'm trying to install a new Phenom X3 8650 with this 780G chipset mobo Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H)...

plz help...

confidenceman

10-23-09, 03:51 AM

Thanks for the guide!

I'm about to pull the trigger on a quick HTPC update (old rig is a workhorse from 2002, and it's finally crapping out on me). Going with a slightly modified version of your recommended low-end microATX AMD/AMD setup.

Here's what I've got lined up:

---Western Digital 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

---SAPPHIRE 100252HDMI Radeon HD 4550 512MB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

---G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK (read that these won't push past 800hz. But the next set down is only a few bucks cheaper, so seems worth a shot at eking out some extra performance.)

---nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case (no place has your recommended cases for very cheap. This was well reviewed and only $80)

---GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard + AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX250OCGQBOX (Combo deal at Newegg made this processor an easy bump. $134 for both. Hopefully no issues.)

I'm going to recycle my old DVD burner and wireless keyboard/mouse. I'll be using it mostly for a combination of media streaming/playback/storage and some gaming. Any immediate tweaks I should know about?

I'll let you know how it pans out. :)

gunbunnysoulja

10-23-09, 06:06 AM

Renethx,

Just wondering what you thought about the Silverstone GD02 mATX (http://www.sundialmicro.com/silverstone-desktop-htpc-case-sstgd02b_2043_1288.html) case?

renethx

10-23-09, 06:10 AM

Renethx,

Just wondering what you thought about the Silverstone GD02 mATX (http://www.sundialmicro.com/silverstone-desktop-htpc-case-sstgd02b_2043_1288.html) case?
I had been recommending GD02 for a gaming HTPC. But the new GD04 is better for this purpose.

gunbunnysoulja

10-23-09, 06:38 AM

I had been recommending GD02 for a gaming HTPC. But the new GD04 is better for this purpose.

Thanks for the reply. For the high end mATX build, I'm going to use the Sapphire 5770 with the ASRock P55M Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard. Does that mean I will have to use the PCIe X4 slot for my X1 tuner?

flanders1302

10-23-09, 07:20 AM

Hi guy’s
Normally I would buy 2 computers, but it’s so meaningless to have 2 computers who or most of the time idle (server) or switched of (HTCP).
What do I want to do with this computer:
- 24h/24h 7/7 standby
- HTCP (blue ray and hd movies + recording from tv -> projectionscreen 250 cm) software: MPC-HC and probably powerdvd
- server for music and film (streaming to 4 different rooms)
- PC - PDA (push mail, agenda, addresses -> probably windows exchange and server 2008?)
- 2nd screen (plasma or LCD) so I don’t have to start the projector to get access and to watch TV.
What is important for me:
- low idle consumption (IGP + video card?)
- The best PQ and audio at least DD and DTS via SPDIF (HD would be nice and future proof)
- Biggest concern: Motherboard (7/7 and HTPC) and OS (windows 7 or server 2008)

I would really appreciate your advice or opinion
Thanks

renethx

10-23-09, 09:58 AM

Does that mean I will have to use the PCIe X4 slot for my X1 tuner?
Yes. But P55 has 8 PCIe lanes. There is no problem.

- 1 for PCIe x1 slot
- 4 for PCIe x16 slot
- 1 for Gb LAN
- 1 for IEEE 1394
- 7 in total used among 8

bmcent1

10-23-09, 10:08 AM

Renethx -
Any ideas on this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17343815#post17343815)? CPU makes it through post but system locks (and won't even toggle keyboard lights) before it will boot anything.

Sounds like a bad CPU? Or is there something else to try? When I popped my old CPU back in, everything works fine.

Just FYI, I RMA'd my Q9400 that would lock up immediately after successful POST.

New processor works great, no BIOS update needed, or anything tricky. So 90% sure it was just a bad CPU... doubt that happens often.

I also switched to DDR2-800 (from DDR2-667) at the same time, so there's a little chance that helped something out. But the old memory was thoroughly tested in Memtest.

New system made it through 3 passes of Memtest with no increase on DRAM voltage. Also made it over night with 4 Prime95 torture test threads burning i the CPU.

Hulu looks smoother now. Very happy with the system!

renethx

10-23-09, 02:26 PM

A couple of changes in the next update (November):

- Zotac GF9300-G-E in place of GF9300-D-E in mini-ITX (one more internal SATA port; USB S3 wake-up issue fixed).
- The new GIGABYTE NVIDIA IGP LGA775 microATX mb (available soon according to GIGABYTE).
- GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (DDR3) in place of GA-MA785GM-US2H (DDR2).
- GA-MA785GT-UD3H (DDR3) in place of GA-MA785G-UD3H (DDR2).
- XFX GeForce GT 220 in place of ASUS GeForce 9600 GT if you want multichannel LPCM over HDMI. (Otherwise 9600 GT is still a better choice.)
- Sapphire HD 5750 or 5770 in place of HD 4850.

As for memory I recommend (if you have no idea what to choose):

DDR2:

- A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $54
- A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $92

DDR3:

- G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit, $47
- A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $80

The price difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is very small. It's time to use DDR3 instead of DDR2.

bmcent1

10-23-09, 03:20 PM

If this isn't the right thread, please point me to one and I'll repost:

If you have more than one drive, ie I added a 1 TB drive for my ripped DVDs, is there a recommended way to move "My Videos" in Win 7 to the new location (X:\MY Videos in my case) or do you simply make a directory on your new disk X:\Movies and point all your software to use that location instead?

I have the Adesso remote, and wireless keyboard with various "My TV", "My Video" buttons on them, so I'm aiming for the best integration. Recommendations?

calvinguy

10-23-09, 06:29 PM

I'm going for the intel/nvidia micro atx but I can't seem to find the mother board GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H in stock anywhere. Is there another alternative other than the MSI P7NGM-Digital?

txredneckbud

10-23-09, 06:56 PM

Got windows 7 loaded on my new HTPC. Now, the 64 GB SSD is jsut for the OS, right? where does all the software get installed? I assume on the htpc and not the media server as thats just for storage. I need to add another hard drive dont I? And put all the software on that?

Thanks, just want to set it up right the first time. I searched the thread but nothing came up directly with my search "install software".

ps. No media will be stored on the HTPC, I will have a seperate media storage 16tb unraid for that.

Iteki

10-23-09, 07:04 PM

I'm going for the intel/nvidia micro atx but I can't seem to find the mother board GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H in stock anywhere. Is there another alternative other than the MSI P7NGM-Digital?

PC Connection has it, but for $160 or so

GoogleProductsLink (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=GA-E7AUM-DS2H&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=12470165690777238135&ei=IjXiSvnSDNKe8AbNl5nxAQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBwQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers)

calvinguy

10-23-09, 07:15 PM

Expensive, I'm also from Canada so the shipping price would kill on top of that.

Iteki

10-23-09, 07:30 PM

Expensive, I'm also from Canada so the shipping price would kill on top of that.

Excalibur PC had it for about $130, but I've never dealt with them.

renethx

10-23-09, 09:39 PM

txredneckbud

10-23-09, 09:42 PM

THanks once again Rene. Sure hope the 64gb is enough, you told me it was! LOL

Good, that makes it easier.

kukabuka

10-24-09, 01:33 AM

- The new GIGABYTE NVIDIA IGP LGA775 microATX mb (available soon according to GIGABYTE).

Is this new MB going to have a new IGP or the same GeForce 9400? Trying to decide whether to wait or not. I'm going to build two identical systems, so my buyers remorse will be twice as bad if a new IGP comes out right after I buy the GA-E7AUM-DS2H.

Thanks.

Fidelity Castro

10-24-09, 05:44 AM

Is there a Link to the news of a new Gb s775 E7AUM succedor ? I couldn´t find anything on web yet...

renethx

10-24-09, 07:35 AM

Is this new MB going to have a new IGP or the same GeForce 9400? Trying to decide whether to wait or not. I'm going to build two identical systems, so my buyers remorse will be twice as bad if a new IGP comes out right after I buy the GA-E7AUM-DS2H.

Thanks.
The below is the answer I got from GIGABYTE a few days ago about GA-E7AUM-DS2H and its successor and that's all I know right now:

Dear Customer,

Yes, this model has been discontinued because Nvidia announced the EOL. We will announce a new Nvidia IGP based motherboard very soon.

Thank you for choosing Gigabyte products

You can contact GIGABYTE from here (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Company/ContactUs.aspx?CompanyWebPageID=6) (communication by web mail is very slow, it took 16 days to get this short reply!!).

corwiniii

10-24-09, 10:20 AM

I'm not sure how those remotes/keyboard will work, but in Windows 7 you can easily add more folders to the "my music," "my pictures" and "my videos" libraries. Anywhere you see My Music, etc, right click on it and select Properties. This will open a dialog box to manage the media library. It's no longer a single folder, but a "library" of folders.

Again, I'm not sure how your hardware will work it though. In Vista you could remap the My Music to a different directory. So far I haven't found a way to do that in Windows 7 - but I haven't really looked either.

If this isn't the right thread, please point me to one and I'll repost:

If you have more than one drive, ie I added a 1 TB drive for my ripped DVDs, is there a recommended way to move "My Videos" in Win 7 to the new location (X:\MY Videos in my case) or do you simply make a directory on your new disk X:\Movies and point all your software to use that location instead?

I have the Adesso remote, and wireless keyboard with various "My TV", "My Video" buttons on them, so I'm aiming for the best integration. Recommendations?

Davinleeds

10-24-09, 02:57 PM

If you add a HD 4670 (or HD 5750), then you will have two independent HDMI audio controllers, one from HD 4200 and the other from HD 4670 (or HD 5750) and you will use the one that is connected to your AVR.

Thanks, but adding either card still did not change the hdcp status even with the audio controller of the 4670. So I think it will affect the 5750 in the same manner. No 785 board for the 5750.

I installed a new M3N78-EM and got hdcp enabled right off the bat.

Basic note is Xonar would not work with the 4200/4670 because of its non-hdcp status, even though TMT and 7.1lpcm worked fine. Xonar worked first time with 8300.

Thanks for the feedback.

kukabuka

10-24-09, 11:27 PM

The below is the answer I got from GIGABYTE a few days ago about GA-E7AUM-DS2H and its successor and that's all I know right now:

Well if Nvidia is the root cause of Gigabyte discontinuing the board rather than Gigabyte's own determination, then I'm going to assume that Nvidia is coming out with a 9300/9400 successor. I'll wait a month, and see what happens.

btordini

10-25-09, 12:58 AM

A couple of changes in the next update (November):

- Zotac GF9300-G-E in place of GF9300-D-E in mini-ITX (one more internal SATA port; USB S3 wake-up issue fixed).
- The new GIGABYTE NVIDIA IGP LGA775 microATX mb (available soon according to GIGABYTE).
- GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (DDR3) in place of GA-MA785GM-US2H (DDR2).
- GA-MA785GT-UD3H (DDR3) in place of GA-MA785G-UD3H (DDR2).
- XFX GeForce GT 220 in place of ASUS GeForce 9600 GT if you want multichannel LPCM over HDMI. (Otherwise 9600 GT is still a better choice.)
- Sapphire HD 5750 or 5770 in place of HD 4850.

As for memory I recommend (if you have no idea what to choose):

DDR2:

- A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $44
- A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $77

DDR3:

- G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit, $46
- G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $80

The price difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is very small. It's time to use DDR3 instead of DDR2.
Thank you very much for the update Rene.

RockChok

10-25-09, 02:53 PM

Finally got the approval from the finance committee to build a HTPC!

Here are the main requirements:
Four tuners
Great Blu-Ray playback and support four extenders
Some light gaming
Looking at the Radeon HD 5750

The rack that I am putting this in is only 16" deep so it looks like I will need to go with a MicroATX case. Are there microatx motherboards out there that will support two dual tuners (AverMedia AVerTVHD Duet A188) and the Radeon HD 5750?

renethx

10-25-09, 03:18 PM

Are there microatx motherboards out there that will support two dual tuners (AverMedia AVerTVHD Duet A188) and the Radeon HD 5750?
MSI Media Live DIVA. But it includes lots of extra stuff.

RockChok

10-25-09, 04:15 PM

Thanks so much for the info!

RockChok

10-25-09, 05:50 PM

Ok this is what I got so far

Western Digital Caviar 640GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

MSI Media Live Diva 5.1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130206

AverMedia AVerTVHD Duet (already have 1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100041

ASUS EAH5750 Radeon HD 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121351

PQI POWER Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141337

AMD Phenom 9650 2.3GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103288

LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106326

nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204035

Will this make a good HTPC to support four extenders and Blu-Ray playback?

renethx

10-25-09, 06:15 PM

RockChok

10-25-09, 06:33 PM

Renethx, thanks so much for your expert advice! I greatly appreciate it!

gunbunnysoulja

10-25-09, 09:29 PM

Renethx,

Just curious if the Nvidia overscan compensation "sliders" are an option for use on the 9300/9400 igp's with W7.

I remember using the recommended Gigabyte board in the past with Vista and the sliders weren't available. Thanks!

Craigo87

10-26-09, 01:19 PM

MrMcCrackin

10-26-09, 02:23 PM

Has anyone used this for media storage?

SANS DIGITAL TR5M-B 5 Bay SATA to eSATA (Port Multiplier) JBOD / RAID 0, 1, 1+0, 5 Enclosure (Black) - Retail

newegg has a pretty good deal going on.

Viremia

10-26-09, 04:39 PM

After 5.5 years of faithful service, my trusty ol' HTPC died. It was time for a new one anyway.

Uses of new HTPC:
Recording TV (HD and SD) using SageTV
DVDs and some BluRay using P-DVD 9
Hulu and "other" downloaded video
Some/not much music
No gaming (I've got a system for that)

I've adapted this from renethx's suggestions (thank you!) with a mixture of the high end and mid-range AMD/AMD systems. What I'm most concerned with is whether each of the components will fit within the case/motherboard and if there are any components I should reconsider.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 HDX945WFGIBOX

CPU COOLER: Cooler Master (GeminII S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP

MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G uATX

MEMORY: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit

VIDEO CARD: HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB

TUNER CARD: Hauppauge HVR-2250 dual tuner ATSC, Analog, ClearQAM tuner

HARD DRIVE: WD Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB SATA 3Gb/s (for OS and apps; I've got a larger media drive for movies/TV that will go in as well)

BLU-RAY DRIVE: Lite-on Black 8x BD-ROM IHES108-29

PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT

CASE: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote

I'll be getting a dedicated BluRay player later so I don't care if I don't get HD audio from the video card over HDMI. DD and DTS would be fine. Everything will be fed into a Pio SC-05 receiver and then to a Pio 50" Kuro. Thanks in advance for the help.

renethx

10-26-09, 04:55 PM

What I'm most concerned with is whether each of the components will fit within the case/motherboard and if there are any components I should reconsider.
Yes they will work together fine. You could go with a cheaper quad core processor like Athlon II X4 630/620 (as you don't play games).

Viremia

10-26-09, 05:29 PM

Yes they will work together fine. You could go with a cheaper quad core processor like Athlon II X4 630/620 (as you don't play games).
Thanks, renethx. I'm going with the faster chip to better future proof it. It's easier to change out a video card (unless it's AGP like in my old HTPC) or RAM, etc. than the chip due to frequent changes in sockets, which has burned me several times.

cableuser001

10-26-09, 09:43 PM

Iteki

10-26-09, 11:29 PM

Hi, I just need a suggestion for a computer case (non-HTPC). I need something really inexpensive, but one which has the USB ports and audio ports on the top surface or on the edge. I have seen some, but were expensive. Any suggestions?

More of Lan gaming case,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094

has a handle and the ports are on top.

Here at newegg

calvinguy

10-26-09, 11:53 PM

renethx

10-27-09, 01:09 AM

I don't think I have the patience to wait for the new GIGABYTE NVIDIA IGP LGA775, if say I were to get a mobo like this
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130231
would I still be able to play 720p and 1080p files without any problems?
G41 does not support hardware decode acceleration for HD video codecs (> 50% CPU usage with a dual-core processor; poor HD deinterlacing).

calvinguy

10-27-09, 01:46 AM

Thanks glad I didn't jump the gun, I think I'll try out the AMD build instead. A question though is why do you have ddr2-800 ram for the intel system and ddr2-1066 for the AMD.

renethx

10-27-09, 01:55 AM

Thanks glad I didn't jump the gun, I think I'll try out the AMD build instead. A question though is why do you have ddr2-800 ram for the intel system and ddr2-1066 for the AMD.
You will see slight performance increase with DDR2-1066, by 0-10% (if it works). DDR3-1333 is an alternative (better than DDR2 in that it can be reused in future upgrade).

guerila

10-27-09, 04:47 AM

Hello all
I started to build my ht htcp system and i started with this:
Cinergy C PCI HD CI (no link yet because of the rules)
Now all i need is an MD with DVI output (or separate video board) able to provide 1080p/60fps.This is a must, don't ask why.Less than that it won't work.
Can you please provide me some help for choosing this MB with video onboard or MB +Videocard that can provide this: 1080p/60fps on DVI? (no hdmi adapter)
Thank you

renethx

10-27-09, 05:57 AM

Can you please provide me some help for choosing this MB with video onboard or MB +Videocard that can provide this: 1080p/60fps on DVI? (no hdmi adapter)
Thank you

Check AMD/AMD systems on page 85. IGP is good, discrete GPU for better deinterlacing.

gunbunnysoulja

10-27-09, 06:12 AM

More of Lan gaming case,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094

has a handle and the ports are on top.

Here at newegg

I have that case and highly recommend it!

kirth73

10-27-09, 08:36 AM

Could you suggest me another equivalent, (i.e.onboard graphics, 2 PCI slots or 2 PCI Express x4 slots for storage controllers for 16 storage HDDs, 6 onboard SATA ports for additional storage HDDs and the OS HDD, etc) motherboard to the GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H listed in the Media Server components.
It's the only item out of stock where I'd like to buy all the suggested components.
Thanks!

renethx

10-27-09, 09:03 AM

txredneckbud

10-27-09, 09:07 AM

corwiniii

10-27-09, 11:39 AM

I upgraded from a GeForce 7600GT to a 5750. My system is now basically all new built around a core i7 860 processor. I'm using Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit and the latest stable drivers from ATI. After installing the 5750 I noticed 2 things:

1) My GPU score in Windows 7 only went from 5.4 to 6. I thought it would have been a much more significant move, but that just goes to show how critical an evaluation it must be. My processor score is not maxed out, it's at 7.5 I think.

2) My computer overall performs much, much faster. I did a little research and found (which some of you may already know) that Windows 7 can leverage the GPU for computing - DirectCompute (http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/partner/archive/2009/08/22/gpu-computing-and-windows-7.aspx).

It has helped in even small, but significant ways. For instance, Windows Explorer boxes are instantly up and thumbnailing is done in a second, rather than 10-30 as it scrolls hundres/thousands of photos/videos.

I was only hoping for better graphics, but with this new generation of cards with DirectCompute 11 the impact has been significant even when doing typical but mundane tasks like organizing files, browsing the web, reading e-mail, etc.

Rig85

10-27-09, 02:10 PM

renethx

10-27-09, 02:34 PM

Great thread. I hope somebody can help me put this together.

I'm working on a HTPC for myself. Will not be gaming. The only real piece I have now is the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250.

I'm looking at the ASUS P5QPL-VM EPU LGA 775 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131387).

Any thoughts on this mobo? Any suggestions as to what Intel processor I should pick up? Again, no gaming. I'm thinking a Core 2 Duo, but would like to keep costs down as much as possible. (It *must* be 64-bit compatible, as I'm going to be using Windows 7 64-bit!)

I won't need anything else for 5.1/7.1 sound, will I? What I mean is, I have a 7.1 surround sound system in my living room...the HDMI out can connect to that and I'll be able to do surround sound on the PC, yes?

Thanks for any suggestions/help.
G41/G43 does not support hardware decode acceleration for HD video codecs (> 50% CPU usage with a dual-core processor; poor HD deinterlacing).

But if you add a good discrete card such as ATI HD 4550/4670, this mb is a good choice. The new ASUS P5G43T-M Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131602) is also good (DDR3). Or go with a G45 mb without a discrete card.

Celeron E3200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116265) is the cheapest Intel dual-core processor I recommend.

Rig85

10-27-09, 02:54 PM

G41/G43 does not support hardware decode acceleration for HD video codecs (> 50% CPU usage with a dual-core processor; poor HD deinterlacing).

But if you add a good discrete card such as ATI HD 4550/4670, this mb is a good choice. The new ASUS P5G43T-M Pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131602) is also good (DDR3). Or go with a G45 mb without a discrete card.

Celeron E3200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116265) is the cheapest Intel dual-core processor I recommend.

Thanks. The mobo you linked looks better (since I'd want DDR3) than the one I linked. Cool.

So, I could go with:

ATI HD 4670
ASUS P5G43T-M Pro
Intel Celeron E3200

Or, skip the video card and get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131336&Tpk=asus%20g45

And pair it with an Intel processor? Which would potentially be the better build, in your opinion? Whichever could handle the load better would be the one I'd go with.

Again, thanks for the great help. I love this forum.

kevm14

10-27-09, 02:58 PM

I am using that board with an E7500 and Win 7 x64. It seems like a solid board, and I am using a 4670 for component output which is why G41 is fine for me. One oddity I noticed: the HDD light seems to light for optical drive access. The only reason I noticed is because I was watching a DVD that had a bad section. When the movie stopped, the HDD light basically went solid. I thought the system was busy and that is why the movie froze but I believe the light was actually indicating that the DVD DRIVE was busy, not the hard drive. Threw me for a loop for a good 15 minutes as I tracked running processes, etc.

renethx

10-27-09, 03:01 PM

Thanks. The mobo you linked looks better (since I'd want DDR3) than the one I linked. Cool.

So, I could go with:

ATI HD 4670
ASUS P5G43T-M Pro
Intel Celeron E3200

Or, skip the video card and get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131336&Tpk=asus%20g45

And pair it with an Intel processor? Which would potentially be the better build, in your opinion? Whichever could handle the load better would be the one I'd go with.

Again, thanks for the great help. I love this forum.
HD 4670 is noticeably better than G45.

Rig85

10-27-09, 03:03 PM

HD 4670 is noticeably better than G45.

Kinda figured, but wanted to make sure (before I start buying parts up).

Thanks!

EDIT: Now, time to pin down my processor. Is the E5200 worth $14 more than the Celeron? Any others to consider in this price range? ($50-$80)

renethx

10-27-09, 03:39 PM

Is the E5200 worth $14 more than the Celeron? Any others to consider in this price range? ($50-$80)
E5200 is better (0.1GHz faster, 1MB larger L2 that helps to reduce CPU load [by a couple of percents] at HD video playback). E5300 is better.

Rig85

10-27-09, 03:47 PM

E5200 is better (0.1GHz faster, 1MB larger L2 that helps to reduce CPU load [by a couple of percents] at HD video playback). E5300 is better.

E5300 is only $3 more on Newegg (over the E5200). Guess I'll go with that...thank you.

I'm off to find a case!

By the by, does anybody know/remember what type of deals Newegg does for Black Friday? I'm holding off until then for RAM and new HDD's. Do they drop processor/case/video cards?

EDIT: So...this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121328)? And a $20 rebate makes the card $54.99...woo! Plus, includes Alone in the Dark? Okay!

blaubart

10-27-09, 05:49 PM

Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16749668#post16749668) is another user who claims VA works with GIGABYTE HD 4550. It looks like GIGABYTE is a special card. :) A related thead is A severe bug in ATI display driver in Windows Vista and Windows 7 for deinterlacing 1 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1136909). BTW a workaround is disable Aero. Then VA will work with HD 4550.

German HD 4550/4650 people now reported a simple CCC setting to enable VA + Aero, even on 2 displays:

CCC - "AVIVO Video-Settings" in "Presets" set Video-Preset to "Custom".

The most there use CCC 9.5 for former and later Catalyst issues watching TV.

JETninja

10-27-09, 06:06 PM

E5300 is only $3 more on Newegg (over the E5200). Guess I'll go with that...thank you.

I'm off to find a case!

By the by, does anybody know/remember what type of deals Newegg does for Black Friday? I'm holding off until then for RAM and new HDD's. Do they drop processor/case/video cards?

EDIT: So...this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121328)? And a $20 rebate makes the card $54.99...woo! Plus, includes Alone in the Dark? Okay!

It would mean a different MB, but you do know there are $99 Quad Cores From AMD now.

Anandtech.com is a great place for reviews and they put out quartely system builds that always include both Intel & AMD parts and at 3-4 different price points including HTPC's....

Always something new to think about! :D

Rig85

10-27-09, 06:21 PM

It would mean a different MB, but you do know there are $99 Quad Cores From AMD now.

Anandtech.com is a great place for reviews and they put out quartely system builds that always include both Intel & AMD parts and at 3-4 different price points including HTPC's....

Always something new to think about! :D

I'll take a look, but I'm an Intel guy myself.

calvinguy

10-27-09, 09:45 PM

Ok so I decided to go with an AMD build because I coudln't find any good priced motherboard for intel. Now it comes down to the ASUS M3A78-EM(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324) vs the ASUS M3N78-EMH(listed in your guide)

How does the ASUS M3A78 measure up to the ASUS M3N78-EMH? The ASUS M3A78 is 10$ cheaper than the ASUS M3N78-EMH.

Rig85

10-28-09, 01:16 AM

Ouch. Just got to looking at DDR3 prices...methinks I'll go back to getting the ASUS P5QPL-VM motherboard. I'll probably be able to grab a good deal on DDR2 on Black Friday.

With that being said, is the Pentium E5300 processor compatible with this mobo? I ask because I don't see it listed on the mobo specs page. It's an LGA 775 socket processor, and the socket on the board is LGA 775, so I'm good...right?

renethx

10-28-09, 02:57 AM

renethx

10-28-09, 03:09 AM

is the Pentium E5300 processor compatible with this mobo? I ask because I don't see it listed on the mobo specs page. It's an LGA 775 socket processor, and the socket on the board is LGA 775, so I'm good...right?
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Rig85

10-28-09, 08:49 AM

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Phew. It's compatible. Thanks.

Ugh. Now that I'm back to the Asus P5QPL-VM board (DDR2), I need a compatible video card. Anything you can recommend for it, that would be comparable in price/power to the HD 4670 you mentioned before?

EDIT: Okay, I think these are compatible. Any recommendations (or know of a better card I should be looking at)?

HD 4650 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121340) Really leaning towards this one, after readng Newegg reviews between the two. Good? Bad? Something else?

GT 220 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121347)

dkramer3

10-28-09, 12:17 PM

WOW! This thread is fantastic! I just discovered it yesterday and was up until 2am trying to educate myself.

I have a dedicated theater room and, until recently, kept my DVD's in a Sony 777. I have outgrown that and now am in the process of putting all the discs on a sever using AnyDVD and My Movies; I also have PowerDVD9 Ultra. I use a Rotel RSP-1098 for surround processing (no HDMI) and a DVDO VP-30 with de-interlacing card for video; I believe it passes HDMI video with no processing. I currently use a Sony VPL-HS20 (1366x768) projector with a Stewart 100" screen. I may upgrade the projector to a 1080P model soon.

The primary use for my HTPC will be watching movies from the server, playing Blue-Ray discs, possibly watching TV (cable or OTA) and converting my VIDEO_TS files to a compressed format for travel on a portable drive. No gaming planned.

For an HTPC I like the Silverstone LC-10E case and now need to figure out what to populate it with. I want the best video quality I can get, but as I cannot currently do anything with HD Audio Bitstreaming, it sounds like the 4670 graphics card would be the best choice? Do I then run a digital audio cable from the MB to the Rotel for surround processing? Given my intended uses, would the mid or high system type be best?

Thanks in advance!

sdolen

10-28-09, 01:49 PM

Quick ATI question. I ended up getting the ASUS 785G board paired with a X4 620 and also have a HD3650. My question is, the HD3650 has UVD+ and a RV635Pro core and the integrated HD4200 has UVD2 and a lesser RV620 core. Which one should i be using if live/recorded HD is it's primary role?

renethx

10-28-09, 02:16 PM

Any recommendations (or know of a better card I should be looking at)?

HD 4650 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121340) Really leaning towards this one, after readng Newegg reviews between the two. Good? Bad? Something else?

GT 220 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121347)
If you need a low-profile, Sapphire HD 4550 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102819); if a full-height is fine, then Sapphire HD 4670 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102855).

renethx

10-28-09, 02:23 PM

For an HTPC I like the Silverstone LC-10E case and now need to figure out what to populate it with. I want the best video quality I can get, but as I cannot currently do anything with HD Audio Bitstreaming, it sounds like the 4670 graphics card would be the best choice? Do I then run a digital audio cable from the MB to the Rotel for surround processing? Given my intended uses, would the mid or high system type be best?
The ATX mid-range AMD/AMD system is perhaps the best choice for your purposes. Go with DDR3.

renethx

10-28-09, 02:25 PM

dkramer3

10-28-09, 09:00 PM

The ATX mid-range AMD/AMD system is perhaps the best choice for your purposes. Go with DDR3.

Going with DDR3 requires the means the same MB and RAM as the High level system yes? Is it then worth $58 to up the CPU as well to the Phenom instead of Athlon?

What is a good Blue Ray player to add?

dkramer3

10-28-09, 09:14 PM

Ok, here's what I'm looking at:

Case: Silverstone LC-10E with rack ears
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX630WFGIBOX or AMD Phenom II X4 945 HDX945WFGIBOX 3.0GHz AM3
GPU: SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
PSU: ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Compatible w/Core i7 Active
OS: W7 Home Premium OEM

Still need a Blue Ray and remote and TV card for cable/OTA; any suggestions? Am I missing anything?

Almost forgot, I already have the HDD's, WD Green 1TB and 1.5TB.

Anyone have experience with this?
LG Black 8X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk Model WH08LS20K
or
Pioneer Black Blu-Ray Combo SATA Model BDC-202BK

Don't know that I really need a Blue-Ray burner.

gunbunnysoulja

10-28-09, 09:22 PM

Am I missing anything?

Don't forget the HDD.

Also, I like the LG BD drives. Currently using a GGC-H20L.

cableuser001

10-28-09, 10:16 PM

Hi, I have built this PC (not for HTPC though). I have some questions

No Gaming to be done on this machine. At most some AVCHD editing and mostly photoshop stuff.

1. GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H (on-board ATI Radeon HD4200)
2. AMD Athlon II X4 620 (Quad core 2.6Ghz)
3. 2x2GB Ram DDR2 800MHz
4. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

1. What tests can I perform to compare it with other systems (benchmarking).

2. I have about 256MB reserved for video, so only 3.5GB is available for the system. Is there a way to increase this.

3. I have 1GB DDR2 666MHz memory lying around. Would adding this and making it 5GB do any good? ie, Does the whole memory be now running at 667MHz? So, a slow-down versus increased RAM. Would there be any significant difference?

Any other ways to make this faster and leaner?

Thanks.

xager8on

10-28-09, 10:35 PM

Rig85

10-29-09, 12:32 AM

I LOVE the look of this (http://www.3rsystemusa.com/products/ht2000.html) case! Why can't I find pricing/any place in the US that stocks it?!

renethx

10-29-09, 01:15 AM

Hi, I have built this PC (not for HTPC though). I have some questions

No Gaming to be done on this machine. At most some AVCHD editing and mostly photoshop stuff.

1. GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H (on-board ATI Radeon HD4200)
2. AMD Athlon II X4 620 (Quad core 2.6Ghz)
3. 2x2GB Ram DDR2 800MHz
4. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

1. What tests can I perform to compare it with other systems (benchmarking).

2. I have about 256MB reserved for video, so only 3.5GB is available for the system. Is there a way to increase this.

3. I have 1GB DDR2 666MHz memory lying around. Would adding this and making it 5GB do any good? ie, Does the whole memory be now running at 667MHz? So, a slow-down versus increased RAM. Would there be any significant difference?
As for video playback, HQV, HD HQV, W6RZ, Cheese Slices, the pattern posted by 8:13.

Add another pair of DDR2-800 memory.

If you add one stick of DDR2-667 memory, the entire memory runs in the single channel mode at 333MHz.

renethx

10-29-09, 01:26 AM

I want to watch movies (I have an extensive DVD collection and want to rip those, which is another topic), watch rented movies, convert CDs to mp3 or wav (whichever is better), web (hulu, etc. to stream TV shows), and gaming.

Sytem Im looking at (will replace my 5 disk CD player, DVD player and VHS player [for those movies I havent replaced with DVD]):

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz 3MB L2 LGA775 - $120
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983 - $30
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA775 Intel P45 chipset ATX - $130
Memory: Patriot Viper II 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 - $85
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 - $70; or SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $150
HDD (boot): Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $40 (or is SSD really the way to go???)
HDDx2 (Storage): Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s -$95 each
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT - $110
Wireless Keyboard/mouse

Case: ???? (it is amazing HOW EXPENSIVE these are. ATX black horizontal case with usb/1394 front panel ports. Current ET Cntr limitations 19' wide x 20" deep but has 2 80mm fans to move air flow out of the ET Cntr)

Blue-ray drive/RW: ??? (not sure what software is required to rip DVDs or how to even do this, ut a drive that supports Blue-ray and ripping).

Tv Tuner: ?? (not sure what is needed for Hulu other than internet). I have Direct TV with a DVR.

All with Windows 7 Home edition (not sure if I need premium edition). I also have a Harmony 880. So the trick is to get this to work as well with RF.

I plan on hooking the HDMI out to my Onyko SR705. Im assuming that I only need one hookup thru the HDMI to get both audio and video? Or do I need to do something from the S/PDIF to the Video card? I'll admit Im a bit confused on this one.

The 24/7 Power consumption is something Im thinking about as well. Be nice to have Sleep mode capability and wake up at the push of a button to reduce power consumption. So will have to figure this out.

Next is the user interface besides Windows MC. It needs to be simple since I have an extensive DVD suite plus CDs. Id like to get this organized so My wife can use it. (Hint, Hint).

Last, does it make sense to Overclock an HTPC?

Thanks in advance for the support.
Case: whatever you like.
BD drive: WH08LS20K (BD write) or CH08LS10 (BD-ROM).
Ripping BD: Any DVD (ISO), with Clone_BD if you want to remove all extra titles or with hdbrstreamextractor+eac3to for MKV.
TV tuner: Hauppauge HD PVR to capture from DirecTV.
HDMI: carries both video and audio.
Sleep: supported.
7MC+Media Browser.
OC: unnecessary.

corwiniii

10-29-09, 09:38 AM

I want to watch movies (I have an extensive DVD collection and want to rip those, which is another topic), watch rented movies, convert CDs to mp3 or wav (whichever is better), web (hulu, etc. to stream TV shows), and gaming.

Sytem Im looking at (will replace my 5 disk CD player, DVD player and VHS player [for those movies I havent replaced with DVD]):

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz 3MB L2 LGA775 - $120
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983 - $30
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA775 Intel P45 chipset ATX - $130
Memory: Patriot Viper II 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 - $85
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 - $70; or SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $150
HDD (boot): Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $40 (or is SSD really the way to go???)
HDDx2 (Storage): Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s -$95 each
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT - $110
Wireless Keyboard/mouse

Case: ???? (it is amazing HOW EXPENSIVE these are. ATX black horizontal case with usb/1394 front panel ports. Current ET Cntr limitations 19' wide x 20" deep but has 2 80mm fans to move air flow out of the ET Cntr)

Blue-ray drive/RW: ??? (not sure what software is required to rip DVDs or how to even do this, ut a drive that supports Blue-ray and ripping).

Tv Tuner: ?? (not sure what is needed for Hulu other than internet). I have Direct TV with a DVR.

All with Windows 7 Home edition (not sure if I need premium edition). I also have a Harmony 880. So the trick is to get this to work as well with RF.

I plan on hooking the HDMI out to my Onyko SR705. Im assuming that I only need one hookup thru the HDMI to get both audio and video? Or do I need to do something from the S/PDIF to the Video card? I'll admit Im a bit confused on this one.

The 24/7 Power consumption is something Im thinking about as well. Be nice to have Sleep mode capability and wake up at the push of a button to reduce power consumption. So will have to figure this out.

Next is the user interface besides Windows MC. It needs to be simple since I have an extensive DVD suite plus CDs. Id like to get this organized so My wife can use it. (Hint, Hint).

Last, does it make sense to Overclock an HTPC?

Thanks in advance for the support.

You'll need Windows 7 Home Premium at least if you are going to use Media Center. Home Basic doesn't come with Media Center (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Comparison_chart)

If you care about hi quality audio, you might want to consider ripping the music to lossless (like FLAC or WMA). Your MP3 player may or may not support those however. I used dbpoweramp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/) to rip CDs.

I use AnyDVD HD (http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvdhd.html) to rip movies (worth every penny). And if you're going down that road eventually you'll need more storage. I got an AMS direct attached storage (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332017) device with 5x1TB drives in RAID 5 array (~3.75TB usable) to store DVDs, MKVs, etc.

For interface, if you wanted something different, I use SageTV Media Center (http://sagetv.com/). It might be overkill if you're not going to use a media extender too, but I like it a lot. It works for me because I have a SageTV HD100 media extender though. Otherwise I would just use Windows MC if my PC was at my entertainment center.

A question I have though - can one get TrueHD and DTS-HD MA in a scenario like OP (either bitstream or LPCM) to the Onkyo 705? Blu-ray via Windows MC over HDMI to AVR?

bmcent1

10-29-09, 09:49 AM

I'm not sure how those remotes/keyboard will work, but in Windows 7 you can easily add more folders to the "my music," "my pictures" and "my videos" libraries. Anywhere you see My Music, etc, right click on it and select Properties. This will open a dialog box to manage the media library. It's no longer a single folder, but a "library" of folders.

Again, I'm not sure how your hardware will work it though. In Vista you could remap the My Music to a different directory. So far I haven't found a way to do that in Windows 7 - but I haven't really looked either.

Thanks for the nudge in the right direction. I was able to move My Videos to my separate drive through properties.

Media Center in Win 7 still finds them. However, Media Browser (a Media Center Plugin with better appearance) doesn't. Going to look now to see if there is an update or a hidden option to tell MediaBrowser where to find them.

dbone1026

10-29-09, 09:50 AM

Thanks for the nudge in the right direction. I was able to move My Videos to my separate drive through properties.

Media Center in Win 7 still finds them. However, Media Browser (a Media Center Plugin with better appearance) doesn't. Going to look now to see if there is an update or a hidden option to tell MediaBrowser where to find them.

So you canont see any of your media with Media Browser or just music?

xager8on

10-29-09, 10:59 AM

dbone1026

10-29-09, 11:13 AM

renethx and corwiniii, thanks for the replies. I still have few questions.

BD: Ive chosen the LG CH08LS10

RF receiver: Since the Harmony 880 is an RF transmitter what RF receiver would you recommend? Also, do these receivers have a remote or will I need to configure the Harmony manually? I think this is the biggest question I have regarding controlling the HTPC. It is simple to set up with "known" equipment, but selecting a HTPC in Harmony's software doesnt give me the warm and fuzzy for known commands.

TV tuner. Im not sure I need this other than to record more shows besides what my current HD-DVR does. So maybe I dont understand what else this provides that would benefit my purposes.

Windows 7: Was leaning to Premium, so this just confirmed my suspicions.

Audio: My plan is to rip them and use MC to play them through the Onyko receiver. I guess Im confused on the format differences for high quality audio and what formats MC can play. The wife likes her music.

Ripping DVDs: I was under the impression that just copying the DVD to the Hard Drive was the thing to do to retain the same capabilities as the DVD (e.g. FF, RW, Skip scene, etc) which is what I want the look and feel of a DVD player but without the actual player. I'll be honest I did a lot of reading and this is now jumbled in my brain.

Storage: Egads may have to go down that path eventually. Wont know until I start placing DVDs and CDs on the drives. I am looking into Raid so that I dont have to do it all the ripping, etc. over again if I loose a drive. Raid 5 is the optimal choice.

I like the idea of what Sage media center does but not yet willing to spend the $$$ to support this throughout the house. Id like to get the HTPC running first, then eventually move to that scenario. I do have Cat-5 hard wired in every room. The boss still needs to approve the HTPC if you know what I mean.

As to the last question "A question I have though - can one get TrueHD and DTS-HD MA in a scenario like OP (either bitstream or LPCM) to the Onkyo 705? Blu-ray via Windows MC over HDMI to AVR?" Im not smart enough to answer that question and maybe the readers of this forum can shed some light.

Thanks once again.

Right now I have one of my HTPCs set up with the Harmony 890, which comes with the RF Receiver. I think hooked up a cheap IR Receiver to the HTPC which then gets the signal from the 890.

As far as setting up the Harmony it depends on what Front End you decide to use. If you go with WMC you just select as such in the Harmony setup. Same goes for SageTV or others. I am running Media Browser in WMC on my HTPCs and have not had any problems using with my Harmony remotes (same goes for SageTV which I use as well, more for testing purposes).

As for audio, I just rip to 320kbps mp3s. I would like to go to FLAC, but then that really limits what mp3 player that can be used as well as the size HDD you need for the mp3 player.

For DVDs, ripping the disk as is (Video_TS) is perfectly fine and will keep all the functionality as if you were playing from the disc itself.

Storage is always tricky. I have a dedicated WHS which handles the storage /streaming of all my media (over 6TB currently) and my htpcs are uses primarily just for media playback and live tv. With duplication enabled ini WHS I can handle a HDD failure without loss of data. Other folks here like to use RAID as well (unRAID, FlexRAID, etc...)

You can always try SageTV for free witha 21 day trial, but I personally would try to get the free solutions (WMC is free in that is comes with W7), Media Portal, etc... working for you first.

As for Bitstreaming, you need either a dedicated sound card (like the Xonar) or the new 5xxx series AMD GPU.

Hope I didn't miss anything, I am sure others will chime in as well.

dkramer3

10-29-09, 11:21 AM

Ok, here's what I'm looking at:

Case: Silverstone LC-10E with rack ears
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX630WFGIBOX or AMD Phenom II X4 945 HDX945WFGIBOX 3.0GHz AM3
GPU: SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
PSU: ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Compatible w/Core i7 Active
OS: W7 Home Premium OEM
Optical: LG CH08LS10 Blu-ray/DVD
HDD: WD Green 1TB and 1.5TB
Remote: Loop Pointer from Hillcrest Labs
Keyboard: Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard

Any real advantage of using the Phenom instead of the Athlon CPU?
Still need a TV card for cable/OTA; any suggestions?
Am I missing anything?

This is my first ever build, any supplies or tools?

xager8on

10-29-09, 12:22 PM

reddysteddy8150

10-29-09, 12:28 PM

dbone1026

10-29-09, 12:31 PM

Dbone1026, thanks for the fast reply.

Harmony 880: Well I was wrong. Its an IR vice RF. So I'll figure out the IR dongle, etc. Since I havent used MC before Im just ignorant on the usability/HCI interface.

Audio: Was planning on 320kbps. So nothing new for me here.

DVD ripping: I guess I'll just use DVD shrink, remove the BS audio and subtitles, and then save to the HDD. At least this will reduce the size somewhat. Will this software rip Blue-ray?

Bit streaming: Hmmmm. Interesting dilemma. Why cant I uses the onboard audio (Realtek ALC889A)? If not, which 5xxxx series card? Did a check at newegg and I see nothing within specs that has "bit streaming" identified for 5780 cards for example.

TV tuner. Im not sure I need this other than to record more shows besides what my current HD-DVR does. So maybe I dont understand what else this provides that would benefit my purposes.

Thanks again.

You can just buy a cheap IR Receiver like this one that I purchased (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880121001). Just plug the IR Receiver into your HTPC and you are ready to go.

DVDShrink will not rip Blu Ray. You will need either DVDFab or AnyDVD (my preference)

The onboard audio does not bitstream (I assume we are talking about bitstreaming HD Audio such as DTS-MA or TrueHD) which is why you need a dedicated card. YOu can read more about the 5xxx series in this thread Renethx started (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17170175).

TV Tuner would only be needed if you are looking to record tv content (QAM, etc...) directly to your HTPC.

dbone1026

10-29-09, 12:41 PM

Ok so Ive read and looked at the suggested builds and Im thinking the AMD/AMD low level will suit my needs to start for the living room.

My background never built a box from scratch or dealt with servers, added video cards and HDD ram the normal basic upgrades. Never messed with bios though. This all seems a bit confusing but I think the fog will clear since I start building and tinkering, my fear is buying the wrong parts and not working for what i want.

Overall Goal: 2 HTPC maybe 3 and 1 server
Living Room- Record TV and playback, Play BD/DVD rips and rip them, music, photos
Sons Room- Play the recorded TV shows, BD/DVD, music, photos
My Room - Same as sons
Server - Host all my music, movies, photos, recorded shows

I will be doing this in stages the first box I want to build will be the Living room one, like I mentioned I think the amd/amd low level build will suit my needs but will need to add a tv tuner, larger HDD and a (bd/dvd burner - maybe not right away).

Question is: I get free basic Cable at our place (so no box) and I get some 30 digital OTA stations plus some 100 SD staions. What TV tuner would work best in this scenario to watch and record at the same time.

I would like to only use HDMI to hook up the HTPC to the AVR one more HDMI then to the LCD.

My audio will be solely done by my AVR if possible with best sound possible, Im only going 5.1 from the AVR will be the onkyo 607.

When I build the Server which would be next I would want the recorded shows to automatically go to the server which would free up the living room HTPC. Is this possible? Also I will be using my wireless xtreme n router, will this work well enough to pull the movies and tv shows from the server to either of the htpc's?

Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated...

Looks like I will use mediaportal and sagetv...so far these seem to be pretty much handle everything...unless im wrong...

This is the TV Tuner I use (Hauppauge 2250 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116037)). It is a dual tuner but the split gets done internally so you only need to connect one coax to it. It supports both Analog and Digital (QAM) so you should be able to pick up all the unencrypted channels that you get.

You can specify what drive you want your recorded content saved to (i.e. a drive on the server) of which then all the PCs in your house can access.

As for wireless, a lot of factors will determine how well it works. Generally I find that wireless N is ok for SD content but if you are looking to stream HD content then wired is the best bet.

Regarding the HTPCs, keep in mind that if you go with SageTV you don't need to get multiple HTPCs, they have media extenders (The HD200) which can be used in conjunction with your main HTPC/server. Also, if you still want to go the HTPC route for your son's room or yours, another good alternative would be a small Ion based solution such as the Acer AspireRevo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=aspirerevo).

reddysteddy8150

10-29-09, 12:54 PM

Sounds good on the TV tuner card..

Since we live in an apartment the wired solution is not feasible...so we will have to go wireless...any suggestions as to what would work then?

dbone1026

10-29-09, 01:00 PM

Sounds good on the TV tuner card..

Since we live in an apartment the wired solution is not feasible...so we will have to go wireless...any suggestions as to what would work then?

A somewhat expensive solution would be powerline or MocA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122243&Tpk=MoCA). I have heard people successfully getting this to work without issues in an apartment. Since you are in an apartment I would definitely be concerned about wireless since there is a lot more potential for interference. If you do go wireless, make sure you go wireless-N all around.

Last ditch effort, run Cat 5e/6 along the walls and get creative hiding :)

reddysteddy8150

10-29-09, 01:01 PM

also on the video...is the onboard video going to work... ASUS M3N78 PRO AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

and for sound same question?

reddysteddy8150

10-29-09, 01:06 PM

that coax solution might just work...i probably would have spent about the same on wireless n adapters...since we are in a apt. connecting the main htpc to the server would be priority and hopefully by the time we start to work on the bedrooms we will have moved into a house.

very good option though i think...Thank YOU!

reddysteddy8150

10-29-09, 01:19 PM

This is the HTPC build that IM looking at: Am I missing anything?

Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

ASUS M3N78 PRO AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250

CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core

nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 6000B ATX Media Center

dbone1026

10-29-09, 01:48 PM

Technique

10-29-09, 02:35 PM

Can anyone recommend a way to boost the reception of my Antec Microfusion 350 IR receiver that came built in with my case? I have to point my harmony DIRECTLY at the HTPC case in order for it to pick up the signal... All my other components work even if the harmony is pointing towards the other side of the room!!

avsgroupie

10-29-09, 02:35 PM

Trying to decide between a few systems (price highest to lowest all other things being equal - E8400, Q6600, E7400). Any significant differences? Do any of these processors have the juice to do encoding? The Q6600 system will have higher heat output but may be favorable due to the potential increase in cpu power. - Thanks

renethx

10-29-09, 02:58 PM

xager8on

10-29-09, 05:45 PM

I think I have finalized my list. If there is something Im missing please let me know

Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body GD01B-R ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - $150

MB: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $135

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7500 - $120

CPU Fan: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983 - $30
XIGMATEK ACK-I7361 CPU Cooler Bracket - $8

Video: SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - $160

Power Supply: ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Compatible w/Core i7 Active PFC Power Supply - $120

Memory: Patriot Viper II 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory - $85

Main drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $40

Storage Drives: 2 Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 - $85 ($170)

Keyboard/mouse: Logitech Black USB Wireless Desktop MK300 Keyboard and Mouse - $40

BD Drive: LG Black (:CH08LS10) 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA - $130

Miscrosoft MCE remote with IR - $35

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade - $120

Total Cost - $1250. Well, its above my expected budget but it is what it is. And doesnt include other software.

Question: I have read the review on SAPPHIRE 5770. Will this card do True-HD?

cableuser001

10-29-09, 08:43 PM

Hi, I have two DIMMs from different companies. Both are rated DDR2 800, however, my BIOS shows that it is 667MHz Unganged. Why is this so?

One is a Crucial and another PNY

1.http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?imodule=CT25664AA800
2. http://www.amazon.com/PNY-MD2048SD2-800-5-5-5-15-PC2-6400-Desktop/dp/B001GF1M1E

The CUP-Z software also shows that both are rated 800MHz, but the DRAM frequency is at 334.8MHz. What is going on here? Attached are some screenshots

Thanks.

gsr

10-29-09, 10:08 PM

Question: I have read the review on SAPPHIRE 5770. Will this card do True-HD?
Once there is software to support it (ie: PowerDVD or ArcSoft), yes it should.

renethx

10-30-09, 01:34 AM

cableuser001

10-30-09, 12:13 PM

No. I didn't. The MoBo has M.I.T., where I could change, but didn't want go to to any overclocking methods.
Did you try manual settings?

cableuser001

10-30-09, 02:20 PM

Hi, I have another RAM related question.

I have a AMD Athlon II X4 620. Would a 1066MHz RAM be a significant improvement over 800MHz?

Thanks.

cableuser001

10-30-09, 02:31 PM

You are spending about $370 on MoBo+Processor+RAM. Why not spend a bit more and go for Core i5/Core i7 and DDR3 RAM? You are spending way too much for a dual-core rig.

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard ($174 AR) NewEgg
Crucial 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT3KIT25664BA1067 - $120 Newegg.
Core i5 Processor $150 (Micro Center)
Core i7 Processor $200 (Micro Center)

Cost for mobo+cpu+ram
Core i5: $450
Core i7: $500
Your config: $370 (6GB RAM)

You could go easy on the case and pick up a lower one, to get to the same total price, but get a faster rig.

I think I have finalized my list. If there is something Im missing please let me know

Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body GD01B-R ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - $150

MB: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $135

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7500 - $120

CPU Fan: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983 - $30
XIGMATEK ACK-I7361 CPU Cooler Bracket - $8

Video: SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - $160

Power Supply: ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Compatible w/Core i7 Active PFC Power Supply - $120

Memory: Patriot Viper II 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory - $85

Main drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $40

Storage Drives: 2 Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 - $85 ($170)

Keyboard/mouse: Logitech Black USB Wireless Desktop MK300 Keyboard and Mouse - $40

BD Drive: LG Black (:CH08LS10) 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA - $130

Miscrosoft MCE remote with IR - $35

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade - $120

Total Cost - $1250. Well, its above my expected budget but it is what it is. And doesnt include other software.

Question: I have read the review on SAPPHIRE 5770. Will this card do True-HD?

corwiniii

10-30-09, 04:12 PM

I agree totally on this. However my preference is socket 1156 instead of 1366. Newegg has good combo deals on the boards and cpus too, like $419 MSI P55 GD-65 & i7 860 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273132). I've seen combos for as low as $366 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.280673) depending on the MOBO

You are spending about $370 on MoBo+Processor+RAM. Why not spend a bit more and go for Core i5/Core i7 and DDR3 RAM? You are spending way too much for a dual-core rig.

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard ($174 AR) NewEgg
Crucial 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT3KIT25664BA1067 - $120 Newegg.
Core i5 Processor $150 (Micro Center)
Core i7 Processor $200 (Micro Center)

Cost for mobo+cpu+ram
Core i5: $450
Core i7: $500
Your config: $370 (6GB RAM)

You could go easy on the case and pick up a lower one, to get to the same total price, but get a faster rig.

baltik

10-30-09, 06:32 PM

I have a brand new PS3 slim sitting in front of me but since I have a rapidly growing MKV movie library (4-8GB) I am considering returning it and pursuing a HTPC solution. The HTPC will be connected to my Onlyo SR805 via HDMI and then to my 1080p plasma via HDMI as well.

I am fairly techy but have no Linux experience - so would prefer to run windows 7, but if necesarry and with the help of a few how to's willing to give it a shot

My needs
Case: small footprint low heat and quiet, PC will be sitting in an enclose media cabinet...
Basically Mini ITX would be ideal if I can get enough firepower and figure out a solution for the audio if not MicroATX it is
Blueray Support = Crucial and should be as smooth as PS3
HD Support = 720p and 1080p files to play smoothly from HDD and LAN.
Audio: Really hoping to get all the latest audio formats such as DTS-HD/True HD via bitstream or LPCM, based on my research this could be an issue.
Formats: MKV and all common codecs, would prefer HULU and others..
Power on: Via remote, in fact all daily operation should be via remote

Other thoughts: I would like to run a fairly slick skin (aeon or derivative)

I really like the Asrock package but it seems like it can't handle the audio and I'm concerned about the ability to run an elaborate skin.

cableuser001

10-30-09, 08:16 PM

Did you consider this?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/641147-REG/Western_Digital_WDBAAN0000NBK_NESN_WDTV_LIVE_HD_MEDIA.html

I have a brand new PS3 slim sitting in front of me but since I have a rapidly growing MKV movie library (4-8GB) I am considering returning it and pursuing a HTPC solution. The HTPC will be connected to my Onlyo SR805 via HDMI and then to my 1080p plasma via HDMI as well.

I am fairly techy but have no Linux experience - so would prefer to run windows 7, but if necesarry and with the help of a few how to's willing to give it a shot

My needs
Case: small footprint low heat and quiet, PC will be sitting in an enclose media cabinet...
Basically Mini ITX would be ideal if I can get enough firepower and figure out a solution for the audio if not MicroATX it is
Blueray Support = Crucial and should be as smooth as PS3
HD Support = 720p and 1080p files to play smoothly from HDD and LAN.
Audio: Really hoping to get all the latest audio formats such as DTS-HD/True HD via bitstream or LPCM, based on my research this could be an issue.
Formats: MKV and all common codecs, would prefer HULU and others..
Power on: Via remote, in fact all daily operation should be via remote

Other thoughts: I would like to run a fairly slick skin (aeon or derivative)

I really like the Asrock package but it seems like it can't handle the audio and I'm concerned about the ability to run an elaborate skin.

renethx

10-30-09, 08:58 PM

Hi, I have another RAM related question.

I have a AMD Athlon II X4 620. Would a 1066MHz RAM be a significant improvement over 800MHz?

Thanks.
0-10% performance increase in various applications. As for video playback, you may see CPU usage decrease by a couple of percents.

VarianSyn

10-30-09, 08:59 PM

I've been reading through this guide / thread for a few days. I've narrowed down most of the hardware I want to purchase. I figure I'd get some information from the "very" knowledgable folks here.

So my intentions. I want to build a rig capable of playing HD movies / TV shows via MKV or the other formats out there in my home theater. On the same turn, I want to be able to stream these formats to 2-3 360's in the house and wouldn't mind using TVersity if I have to along with Windows Media Center (Windows 7).

I'm not so concerned with Live TV or OTA at this point, although I do plan on purchasing the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 for the PVR / DVR needs that may occur as I'm with Uverse in California at this point. They still have some issues with WMC.

So I've got two rigs I'm thinking about building, both will be on Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit, both will Tversity Pro. Both will have main drives with 4 other storage drives bringing the total to 6-8TB per rig (If I build both). But I may build a central storage rig with all of the storage space. I want to be able to stream my bluray media via transcoding to the 360's without the loading or hiccups. I also want to be able to bitstream audio to my Home Theater AVR where the rig will be locally. I just want the experience as smooth as possible.

Rig One : Total - $1,137.97

AMD Phenom II X4 965Be : $192.00 - 215.00
MSI - GD70 (790FX) - $163.00
Two sets of Mushkin Enhanced BL 4GB (2x2GB) for a total of 8GB : $124.99 a set
XFX ATi 577A Radeon HD5770 : $174.99
OCZ Summit 120GB SSD : $335.00

Rig Two : Total - $670.96

AMD Phenom II X3 720 : $119.00
GIGABYTE GA-MA790 : $174.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) : $85.99
ASUS EAH5770 Radeon HD5770 : $159.99
Western Digital WD1500HLFS 10k RPM : $130.99

I'm open to any and all suggestions. I'd much rather stay AMD but am completely open to Intel. So any suggestions, I've got my ears (eyes) glued. I'm looking to get this going shortly, so any help is appreciated. Thanks guys.

renethx

10-30-09, 09:19 PM

VarianSyn

10-30-09, 09:30 PM

@VarianSyn

The second system is enough.

- Athlon II X2 630 or 620 unless you play games (L3 cache is good for games).
- GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, $174.99 is for hardcore gamers who use CrossFireX x16. GA-MA790XT-UD4P, $109.99 AR is enough (zero performance difference).

Well the games more than likely will come into play, including some encoding (flac and other audio, mkv, rips X264 etc).

I just want to be able to stream to 2 Xbox 360's (BR backups and DVD Backups) without much of a hitch while possible watching a HD feed, movie on the theater. I've saw firsthand what Tversity on an older system with a simple file would do to an aged rig. So I want to keep it tight for quite a bit of time with a few other output sources. Would it still be feasible ?

baltik

10-30-09, 09:32 PM

Did you consider this?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/641147-REG/Western_Digital_WDBAAN0000NBK_NESN_WDTV_LIVE_HD_MEDIA.html

I did - but not flexible enough in terms of interface and no blu-ray

renethx

10-30-09, 09:43 PM

Well the games more than likely will come into play, including some encoding (flac and other audio, mkv, rips X264 etc).

I just want to be able to stream to 2 Xbox 360's (BR backups and DVD Backups) without much of a hitch while possible watching a HD feed, movie on the theater. I've saw firsthand what Tversity on an older system with a simple file would do to an aged rig. So I want to keep it tight for quite a bit of time with a few other output sources. Would it still be feasible ?
If you mean true video re-encoding (not just ripping), then Phenom II X4 965 is the best AMD processor (Intel Core i7 is better). 790X (not 790FX) is enough unless you want to use CrossFire x16 in future.

cableuser001

10-30-09, 09:44 PM

Though a topic for different thread, it would be interesting to see a solution to add a USB Blu-ray drive to such a device. I remember seeing solutions for a external DVD drive.

I did - but not flexible enough in terms of interface and no blu-ray

VarianSyn

10-30-09, 09:50 PM

If you mean true video re-encoding (not just ripping), then Phenom II X4 965 is the best AMD processor (Intel Core i7 is better). 790X (not 790FX) is enough unless you want to use CrossFire x16 in future.

Awesome thank you. I'm not really looking into Crossfire, so that definitely makes sense. Hmmm, decisions decisions. How is the 720 with the transcoding to extenders ? Does it work pretty damn well or would the 965 still be the better bet ?

renethx

10-30-09, 10:56 PM

German HD 4550/4650 people now reported a simple CCC setting to enable VA + Aero, even on 2 displays:

CCC - "AVIVO Video-Settings" in "Presets" set Video-Preset to "Custom".

The most there use CCC 9.5 for former and later Catalyst issues watching TV.
I tested again with Catalyst 9.5 (as well as 9.10), now with "Preset" set to "Custom", but with no luck. VA works only when Aero is Off with a single 1080p display.

- Sapphire HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, Sapphire HD 4650 DDR2 512MB
- MPC HomeCinema 1.3.1249.0 with internal source filter, Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder/CyberLink Video/SP Deocder (PDVD0) and EVR
- Cheese Slices NTSC 1080i MPEG-2

dkramer3

10-30-09, 11:10 PM

If you mean true video re-encoding (not just ripping), then Phenom II X4 965 is the best AMD processor (Intel Core i7 is better). 790X (not 790FX) is enough unless you want to use CrossFire x16 in future.

What is meant by "true video re-encoding"? I have ripped all my DVD's in VIDEO_TS folder structure on my server and would like my HTPC build to be able to convert these to some compressed file (MPEG?) for portablility. Does this classify as "video re-encoding"?

I was planning to go with the Athlon II x4 630, do I need more?

renethx

10-30-09, 11:32 PM

What is meant by "true video re-encoding"? I have ripped all my DVD's in VIDEO_TS folder structure on my server and would like my HTPC build to be able to convert these to some compressed file (MPEG?) for portablility. Does this classify as "video re-encoding"?

I was planning to go with the Athlon II x4 630, do I need more?
I meant by re-encoding, for example, converting MPEG-2 to H.264. If you do such tasks routinely, Core i7 860/920 is the best processor. 630 is also good, but it just takes a longer time to finish a task than Core i7.

x264 HD Benchmark Second pass (from AnandTech)

- Core i7 860: 26.8 fps
- Core i7 750: 21.0 fps
- Phenom II X4 965: 20.3 fps
- Athlon II X4 (corrected) 630: 16.5 fps

dkramer3

10-31-09, 02:14 AM

That was supposed to be the Athlon x4 630, so x4 630 or Phenom x2 550?

Eopian

10-31-09, 02:42 AM

I tested again with Catalyst 9.5 (as well as 9.10), now with "Preset" set to "Custom", but with no luck. VA works only when Aero is Off with a single 1080p display.

- Sapphire HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, Sapphire HD 4650 DDR2 512MB
- MPC HomeCinema 1.3.1249.0 with internal source filter, Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder/CyberLink Video/SP Deocder (PDVD0) and EVR
- Cheese Slices NTSC 1080i MPEG-2

How do you test to see if VA is working? I have a 3650 that allows me to choose VA in CCC. Is it just doing MA?

I'm running WinXP btw. If you are just using your pc as a htpc, is there any advantage to turning Aero on (I'm just about to 'upgrade' to Win7 Home Premium)? Or just leave it off you can use VA at 1080p?

Thanks!

olwe

10-31-09, 05:24 AM

renethx

10-31-09, 06:04 AM

That was supposed to be the Athlon x4 630, so x4 630 or Phenom x2 550?
Yup, X4 630.

renethx

10-31-09, 06:12 AM

How do you test to see if VA is working? I have a 3650 that allows me to choose VA in CCC. Is it just doing MA?

I'm running WinXP btw. If you are just using your pc as a htpc, is there any advantage to turning Aero on (I'm just about to 'upgrade' to Win7 Home Premium)? Or just leave it off you can use VA at 1080p?

Thanks!
Cheese Slices is perhaps the only test pattern to detect the actual deinterlacing method. Basically most cards except very cheap ones support VA under XP because XP does not support Aero.

3650 has enough stream processors to support both Aero and VA under Vista/7.

renethx

10-31-09, 06:15 AM

Just a quick question here.

I am using the onboard video (4200) of my motherboard, Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H. Will I see a significant improvement in picture quality if I add a discrete GPU like a 4550 or 4670? I'm seriously thinking about this.

Thanks again in advance.
As for SD upscaling, there is not a big difference HD 4200 and a discrete card. As for HD deinterlacing, HD 4670 or higher is better.

Eopian

10-31-09, 08:47 AM

Cheese Slices is perhaps the only test pattern to detect the actual deinterlacing method. Basically most cards except very cheap ones support VA under XP because XP does not support Aero.

3650 has enough stream processors to support both Aero and VA under Vista/7.

Thank you for this information, I thought only the 4670 and above could do VA. What would I gain by upgrading to the 4670 or the upcoming 5670(other than the audio differences) from my 3650?

xager8on

10-31-09, 09:08 AM

So what is the real difference between socket 1156 instead of 1366?

renethx

10-31-09, 09:10 AM

Thank you for this information, I thought only the 4670 and above could do VA. What would I gain by upgrading to the 4670 or the upcoming 5670(other than the audio differences) from my 3650?
No hardware decode acceleration for dual video stream -> hardware decode acceleration for dual video stream (Picture-in-picture) -> hardware decode acceleration for dual 1080p video stream

5670 should have several other improvements (see the thread in my signature).

renethx

10-31-09, 09:13 AM

So what is the real difference between socket 1156 instead of 1366?
Check the thread in my signature.

xager8on

10-31-09, 09:27 AM

What would I gain for a HTPC over socket 1156 instead of 1366? Other than a few more years of life?

renethx

10-31-09, 09:32 AM

Lower power?

Bodhaguru

10-31-09, 09:33 AM

Rene, I have built a htpc using your recommendations, except for the case for which I used Silverstone Sugo 01. Everything works well except for the noisy case fans. Can you rec some 80mm case fans that are silent & economical. TIA

JohnDoe2000

10-31-09, 09:44 AM

Hi @ all,

I want to build a new HTPC. It's very important for me to have a perfect BluRay picture on my Full HD Screen (TOSHIBA).

I want to by the following hardware components:

- Software: XP or Win7 with MediaPortal
- Case: Moneual MONCOSA 312B (already ordered)
- HDD: WD15EADS
- BluRay: LG CH08LS10
- Power: Seasonic S12-430
- RAM: 2x 2GB PC1330 DDR3
- CPU Cooler: Shuriken Scythe

At the moment I don't know what board and CPU is the best for MediaPortal. Is this Board ok?

1. Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H (integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200) with AMD X4 620 CPU
2. Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H (integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200) with AMD X2 250 CPU

Or is Intel a better choice:

RAM: 2x 2GB PC800 DDR2
EG41MF-US2H
E6300 CPU

Please help me the buy the rigth components for MediaPortal. Have I missed something? Do you have better ideas?

Thank you very much for your answers.

renethx

10-31-09, 10:01 AM

renethx

10-31-09, 10:05 AM

At the moment I don't know what board and CPU is the best for MediaPortal. Is this Board ok?

1. Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H (integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200) with AMD X4 620 CPU
2. Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H (integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200) with AMD X2 250 CPU

Or is Intel a better choice:

RAM: 2x 2GB PC800 DDR2
EG41MF-US2H
E6300 CPU
GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200) with AMD X4 620 CPU

tsanga

10-31-09, 10:15 AM

dkramer3

10-31-09, 10:50 AM

As for SD upscaling, there is not a big difference HD 4200 and a discrete card. As for HD deinterlacing, HD 4670 or higher is better.

In one system, I will be staying with a standard DVD for now, so a 4550 or 4670 would not add much over the Gigabyte IGP?

In the main system, I will have Blue Ray, so the 4670 or better is best, yes? Should I wait for a 55xx/53xx? I will NOT be doing audio over HDMI.

Both systems will have the x4 620/630, if that affects anything.

Thanks for all the advice, would like to order toady (rebates end today).

Bodhaguru

10-31-09, 10:53 AM

Thanks.Rene.

xager8on

10-31-09, 11:00 AM

By modifying my MB from "GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775" to "ASUS P7P55D EVO" and CPU from "Intel Core2 Duo E7500" to "Intel Core i7" for an additional $220 doesnt appear to be cost effective to me.

I have 3 kids (ages 5-14) at home. Majority of the time the HTPC will be used for TV, Movies, Music, and WII (which is the wifes and mine). When I get the chance Id like to play some high end games on it. Make my 10 yr old son jealous since he has an X-Box and Nintedo DS.

I plan on upgrading our main computer to:

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366, Intel Core i7-920, Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333, and SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770.

So, is my logic flawed?

renethx

10-31-09, 12:00 PM

GA-EP45-UD3P for just $110 is a steal. You can't find an equivalent LGA 1156/1366 mb at this price (you have to pay +$50). E7500 ($120) is not that bad unless you do video encoding/editing on the machine. Or Q9400 ($190) if you can afford, but perhaps the following are better:

Core i5 750 ($200) + ASRock P55 Extreme ($140; close to GA-EP45-UD3P in feature/price)

Phenom II X4 945/955/965 ($165/$175/$195) + GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P ($110)

guerila

10-31-09, 02:24 PM

Just got this on mail today

MB Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
proc AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.80GHz skt AM3 box
memo A-DATA 4GB DDR2 1066+MHz Vitesta Extreme Dual Channel Kit

Tomorrow i will buy a sata hard disk and a PSU.Monday i will receive Cinergy C PCI CI.
To this a blu ray will be attached soon and a wireless network.Can you sugest a PSU for all this (how many watts)? All this will be on an 40 inch display full HD.
Thanks for this subject o forum it realy helped.

Viremia

11-01-09, 12:10 AM

renethx,

I just wanted to thank you again for all the help you've given everyone. I got all the parts for my build yesterday and spent today putting it all together. Not a single hiccup with anything.

My hope was to get a new system that was 1/2 as loud as my old HTPC (which had 3 80mm fans and 2 92mm fans including case and components, so it wasn't exactly silent). Well, the Antec Fusion case was outstanding as were all the components. I'd say my new HTPC is about 1/10th as loud and at least 2-3 times as powerful with more functionality.

You sure saved me a lot of time and agonizing over what components to focus on. I couldn't be happier.

:)

anywhereanytime

11-01-09, 12:26 PM

Well if Nvidia is the root cause of Gigabyte discontinuing the board rather than Gigabyte's own determination, then I'm going to assume that Nvidia is coming out with a 9300/9400 successor. I'll wait a month, and see what happens.

WOW, I checked about 25 online retailers + contacted our local Silicon Valley system integrators who checked with the big distributors ... supposedly NVIDIA is the culprit by EOLing the 9400 on Sept 25th according to CDW???

NONE ... GONE ... I don't think I have ever seen a channel dry up completely so fast !!!

I would think Gigabyte knew about this months ago and would have a replacement considering it was so popular and prominently featured on renethx's "recommended" lists!

anywhereanytime

11-01-09, 03:28 PM

i just ordered this from NewEgg, all aluminum and currently $60 off with free shipping - one of renethx's optional cases from page 85 - too good to pass up and I needed a new look for the LR - and the inputs are all hidden.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811280014

I intend to use the "successor" to the GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H which is out of stock everywhere as soon as it become available.

So I need some expert advice from this forum ... I read that everything is "tight" relative to a modest 15 inch depth and low profile ... any anyone experienced with a HTPC build involving this case ... like:

1) Best PSU for a Quad core Q9400 I already have
2) Best Blu-ray BURNER combo that will fit
3) Best Cooling fans for super quiet operation - or fanless?
4) Best CPU cooler that will fit (tough one since we don't have any specs on the new board)

Oh yes, the black case has an "orange" backlite volume knob and I need BLUE, as found on the silver case version, to match my other gear - any ideas?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=156809&stc=1&d=1257106717

Mike Alt

11-01-09, 05:21 PM

Post not replied to, updated, moved to:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=17466521&postcount=10775

vinha916

11-02-09, 12:28 AM

HIS H485Q1GH Radeon HD 4850 GDDR3 1GB

I have video card above and connect to 47" LCD screen. The issue is that it doesn't come out to fit the whole screen. I did adjust resolution but It doesn't work. Anyone have this video card and have same issue/? Thanks

Thor2j

11-02-09, 03:02 AM

Need to use the overscan feature in ccc, it will fix it.

kirth73

11-02-09, 03:18 AM

Hi, could you reccommend me another HBA, apart from the Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI-X Card one? Cause I can't find it in any shop in my country...
All the other controllers I've seen raise their price significanlty. I'd like to stay around those 100$.
Any similar card I could look for?
Motherboard bought: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GT-UD3H (AM3) AMD785G VGA(+DVI+HDMI) 6xSATA2 Raid au8CH FW400 2xPCI-E

Thanks a lot

renethx

11-02-09, 05:32 AM

nalooti

11-02-09, 08:33 AM

Hi renethx, all

You provided me with valuable info to build a midrange HTPC using Chenbro, Intel DG45FC, etc.
Usually this HTPC is going to output to the HDMI port to my TV.
Yet, I have also to monitor and manage the Windows (7). Here are the ways I see to do this and my questions.

1/ via HDMI port on my TV: not very practical because of size/resolution and the fact that I have to install a USB keyboard (Blutooth or wired). Also, some MB has problems booting on HDMI i.e. nothing is output before the Windows logo comes up (probably because HDMI doesn't understand text output, only graphical)

2/ remotely via UltraVNC: what I don't like in this scenario is the latency!!! The response time is really annoying (and getting the right resolution with VNC isn't trivial) specially when switching from a local system to the remote one.

3/ I wonder if there is a third solution where I could connect a laptop directly to a MB's port in order to control locally (not via wired/wireless network and VNC) the HTPC ?
HDMI being an output only port on my laptop, which port can I use for this ?

How every HTPC owners usually connect to their PC and what is the most used method to do it ?

thanks
nalooti

kirth73

11-02-09, 08:55 AM

@kirth73

- PROMISE SATA300 TX4 4-port SATA Controller PCI Card, ~$60.
- MonoPrice 2530 2-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10407&cs_id=1040702&p_id=2530&seq=1&format=2), $14, if you can find a similar card in your country.

These cards are non-RAID and can be used in the same way as AOC-SAT2-MV8. The GIGABYTE mb supports up to:

- 5 x MonoPrice 2530: 10 SATA ports
- 2 x PROMISE SATA300 TX4: 8 SATA ports
- SB710: 6 SATA ports
- Total: 24 SATA ports

Thanks for your advises renethx.
I've found one European reseller who sells the Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 thus I think I'll go with that, as suggested by you in the Media Server section.
Just a doubt, here (http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/addon/AOC-SAT2-MV8.cfm) I don't see Windows Home Server as supported operating system. Is this card reported as working without issues in WHS, as that is the OS I'll run?

Thanks again!

cromo320

11-02-09, 09:01 AM

renethx

11-02-09, 09:09 AM

renethx

11-02-09, 09:11 AM

Thanks for your advises renethx.
I've found one European reseller who sells the Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 thus I think I'll go with that, as suggested by you in the Media Server section.
Just a doubt, here (http://www.supermicro.com/products/accessories/addon/AOC-SAT2-MV8.cfm) I don't see Windows Home Server as supported operating system. Is this card reported as working without issues in WHS, as that is the OS I'll run?

Thanks again!
AOC-SAT2-MV8 works fine with WHS (which is based on Windows Server 2003).

renethx

11-02-09, 09:31 AM

Hi renethx, all.

can you give your opinion about that htpc configuration:
are all of them compatible?

• CPU: Athlon II X4 630 ADX630WFGIBOX 2.8GHz
• CPU Cooler: Scythe SCBSK-1000 Big Shuriken
• Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY JR 790GX-M3H5 AM3 AMD 790GX chipset microATX,
• Memory: 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Platinum AMD Edition
• Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express
• HDD: Samsung Spinpoint M7 500 GB SATA (HM500JI)
• HHD1: Samsung EcoGreen F2 1,5TB, SATA II (HD154UI)
• HDD2: Samsung EcoGreen F2 1,5TB, SATA II (HD154UI)
• PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT
• TV: Avermedia AverTV DUO Hybrid PCI Express
• Case: Silverstone SST-GD04B Grandia Desktop - black
Yup, all components are compatible. Cheaper (depending on where you buy) components are

- GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (or GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H) AM3 AMD 785G chipset microATX: if you don't need a second PCI Express 2.0 x8 slot perhaps for CrossFireX, this is enough.
- G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit: enough for HTPC.
- Enermax MODU82+ 525W EMD525AWT: enough for your system.