Guide to Building a HD HTPC [Text View] - Page 45

renethx

11-21-09, 09:49 PM

Thanks a ton. I noted from some more research, however, that the height of jut the GeminII S is 62.7mm....so I am really getting tight at 62.7 + 12 = only 1.3 mm to spare. I am a bit concerned that more space might be required by that retention bracket set for LGA1156 from Cooler Master?? Do you know if this causes a need for any additional vertical clearance?

Next question, will this Scythe fan's rotation speed be automatically controlled by the MoBo and system to be ramped down in rpm when in idle for lower noise, etc.? If so, then I presume that is why you recommended 1,600 rpm version when quieter versions available as 800 or 1,200? If you had not specifically suggested the 1,600, I might have selected the 1,200 due to a relative significant dba savings with lesser cfm reduction (whereas going down to 800 really drops the CFM also).

Lastly, before I pull the trigger on this setup, I guess I am curious to know how tall, how loud, and how effective the stock heatsink is that comes with the i5-750 vs. this combination of the scythe 120 mm fan and the GeminII S. I can't find the dimensions or specifications for the stock heatsink that comes with the processor.
No, the retention bracket does not increase the height. 62.7mm is the distance from the bottom surface of the heatsink (i.e. the surface directly contacting the heat spreader of the CPU) to the top of the cooler (without fan).

You shouldn't worry about the fan speed, you can control the speed based on the CPU temperature via a software utility (the mb's own or SpeedFan). BTW 1600rpm is the same as the stock 12mm thick fan included in Scythe Big Shuriken (this cooler is another good choice, only 58mm tall).

The Intel stock cooler (its height < 60mm) is not bad, but Geminii S (with a thinner fan)/Big Shuriken is better. You can try the stock cooler first.

Joseph Clark

11-22-09, 02:33 AM

I have a problem with Win 7 Media Center HD file playback. Captures play back washed out. That's with a Radeon 4850, Catalyst software set up and displaying things properly in other software. I play the same files in PowerDVD and they look fine. Not only that, they look fine even in Microsoft's own Media Player - they look the same as they do in PowerDVD. Very odd.

I Like the way Media Center handles trick play with captures - especially skip (30 sec forward and 10 seconds back). Media Player can't do that, and PowerDVD looks for chapters and goes to end of file. The way I have my Harmony remote set up with Media Center, it acts just like my Dish DVR. Very slick. But I can't live with the washed out video. Someone must have a solution for it. If anyone here has run into the problem and has found an answer, I'd appreciate knowing. A registry hack perhaps?

Except for this serious problem, Media Center in Windows 7 is something I think I could grow to like a lot for HD OTA playback. I can edit the proprietary Microsoft .wtv files using the latest beta of VideoReDo, although I have to run them through Quickstream Fix, or VideoReDo frequently crashes.

avekevin

11-22-09, 07:09 AM

dbone1026

11-22-09, 08:53 AM

Over the next few months, I plan to build two new PCs. The first will be a media server box, hidden in a closet, and the second will be a front end HTPC that will sit next to the TV.

I am trying to determine the hardware specs needed for the server box. Here is the list of software I am looking to deploy on it:

Windows Home Server (still investigating, may change mind)
Audio streaming (Squeezebox Server or similar)
Ceton CableCard 4 tuner recording
Analog TV recording
File sharing services
Engine for media extenders

At this point, I will likely stay with a 32 bit OS. It seems like many HTPC apps are not ready for 64 bit yet.

Given this, what hardware platform should I be considering? Will the Atom platform provide enough horsepower, or should I be aiming at something more powerful?

Thanks,
Kevin

I am a fan of WHS (you can see my WHS build here (http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5045), just moved over from owning an HP Media Smart Server EX470). Just keep in mind that if you go with WHS you will need to install SageTV on it if you want to us your WHS machine as a TV Tuner farm since WMC is not fully integrated. I am hopefully that the next release of WHS (Vail, which is supposedly set to release at some point in 2010) has WMC fully integrated.

dbone1026

11-22-09, 08:56 AM

pmaisn

11-22-09, 10:40 AM

renethx,

Thz Zalman HD503 is one beautiful HTPC case!!! Where can it be purchased in the USA? All my searches have all brought up websites in the UK or Europe.

Joseph Clark

11-22-09, 10:57 AM

I don't know if this will help ( I have not tried yet) but here is an app that supposedly will help out with the black levels in WMC:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1187234

Thanks. I'll check that out. It looks interesting.

Once I entered a different set of search parameters into Google, I also came up with this registry hack (http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/06/fixing-media-centers-poor-black-levels.html) which seems to have solved the problem for me. There's a link to 2 files for download - 0-255_levels.reg and 16-235_levels.reg. Although it's counter intuitive to me, the 0-255 file works to bring Media Center in line with other system video levels. I shut down Media Center, applied the hack and then restarted - black level restored in Media Center.

I figured it was a "level" issue, but it's baffling to me that Microsoft defaults its own Media Center and Media Player applications to different values. Get one right and the other will be wrong. Adjust Catalyst Control Center to display one properly and the other won't. That's just plain wrong.

shrike424242

11-22-09, 12:17 PM

Seems like the one question I can't seem to answer is what wireless keyboard or keyboard/mouse combo to use. I'm trying for something that's a one-device solution so I wouldn't need a mouse and could just use the keyboard.

I keep looking over the guide here and keep seeing the Logitech DiNovo Edge recommended for the keyboard, with the DiNovo Mini. There's been numerous places I've read about Adesso customer service being pretty bad, so that's swayed me from the Adesso keyboard.

From some reviews I've read, it looks like the DiNovo Edge is discontinued (as it's no longer on Logitech's site) and when someone had it replaced under warranty, they sent a DiNovo Mini to replace it. It looks like the Mini wouldn't be big enough for my needs, especially if that ends up being the replacement for a defective Edge. Reviews on the Edge seem mostly positive, though commentary about the mouse control disc on the keyboard seems mixed. The non-replaceable rechargeable battery is a bit of an issue as well, since I'd rather just find something that takes AA's or AAA's and use Enerloops for it.

With that in mind, it looks like I'd lean towards the Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 or 8000. The 8000 looks like a nice keyboard with the backlit keys, though the price is pretty painful and I haven't seen any outstanding reviews of it. That in mind, it looks like the 7000 would be the better option and more cost-effective, though I've seen wildly different comments about the built-in mouse control on the 7000 and 8000.

So, I'm stuck to either taking a chance on the DiNovo Edge and dealing with any replacement issues in-warranty or jumping on the Entertainment Desktop 7000. Unless someone can give a glowing review or comment about the 8000, the price is making me discard that choice.

Anyone have any advice to offer?

gpounders

11-22-09, 12:44 PM

What laptops have a good enough onboard video that could be used as a casual HTPC? Something with HDMI, ony for DVD playback over the network.

I noticed some laptops with HD4200 builtin now, but what about Intel 4500MHD?

Thanks

davedelite

11-22-09, 12:57 PM

So, I think I am nearly ready to order all my components for upgrading my Aspire Q-Pack. Can you imagine I am running a P4 2.8 in it!! After the help of this and the ATI 5xxx series thread, I have settled on everything except the MoBo. I am seeking an opinion or two on the MoBo based on how I set the stage based on the following:

1) I will use this as a HTPC workstation that is also for playback of mkv files and maybe occasional BR, though I have a dedicated BR player so think of this as more or less the platform I use to play back HDTV files that are on hard drives but not necessarily for routine rental optical disc playback, will also use it for encoding and transcoding video and audio, making home movies, photoshop premier and elements, creating encoded slideshows, etc. Also, I want it to be as quiet as possible given my component selection and case selection thus far.

2) Here is what I plan to use thus far:

Existing Aspire Q-Pack Case
Existing HDDs
Existing Seasonic PS Model SS-500HT Active PFC F3

New components:

Core i5-750

Scythe SCSK-1100 100mm Shuriken Rev. B (Thanks for having me look at the Big Shuriken renethx...it caused me to consider it and then migrate to this one since in the SPCR reviews this was a bit better performer per dba and was a tad taller (though still under my 76mm need) but not as wide or impactful from a footprint on the horizontal plane since it is built around 100mm fan vs. 120mm.)

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

ATI HD 5750, most likely the fanless PowerColor SCS3 HD5750 (for noise reduction, though, I am now having second thoughts on this given my casing and the fact that a fan based 5750 might help me by direct forced exhaust out the back of the card so as to not have the case temp rise which could then just cause my case and cpu fans to have to run faster and louder...any thoughts?)

Optical Drive (TBD....based on seeking a shorter drive that can fit in this case with my standard sized PSU)

MoBo....TBD....and here is where I am looking for feedback. That is, if I am using the system as describe above, and given that I won’t be doing any real gaming on it (maybe very occasional) and that I don’t plan to overclock, based on the 4 MoBo options below, is there any reason I would not just go with either of the two cheaper options? And, is there a reason to go with one or the other of these two cheaper options since they are essentially the same price? I was getting a bit lost in all the technical specifications and comparing them to each other when I thought, “it probably doesn’t matter for my use case anyway so just buy a cheaper one” but I wanted to throw that out there to the experts on this thread.

Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 $149
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 $104 (one of the two cheaper solutions)
ASRock P55M Pro LGA1156 $99 (second of the two cheaper solutions)
ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX $199 (seems very pricey)

Thanks so much.

dbone1026

11-22-09, 12:58 PM

digitlnoize

11-22-09, 02:08 PM

gsr

11-22-09, 03:56 PM

Seems like the one question I can't seem to answer is what wireless keyboard or keyboard/mouse combo to use.

Anyone have any advice to offer?
I don't have any experience with the options you've listed, but I have been very happy with my Interlink Electronics VersaPoint RF keyboards (I've got one on my HTPC system and one on my bedroom system) with 1 exception. The exception is that when I upgraded my motherboard recently to an Intel DP55WG, the RF USB dongle isn't recognized by Windows when plugged into any of the motherboard USB ports (no message announcing that a new device was found and the keyboard doesn't work).

I tried replacing the motherboard with an Asus P7P55D and had the exact same problem, so it appears that it's some sort of chipset compatibility issue.

It's weird because the keyboard functions fine to change BIOS settings prior to booting into Windows. I've gotten around the problem by installing a PCI USB card in the computer, but that eats up an expansion slot.

Up until this problem, the keyboard had worked flawlessly through several motherboard replacements and XP / Vista, so I highly recommend it with the caveat that you may run into an issue with some motherboards.

If anyone has any idea of what I could do to resolve the problem, I'd be happy to hear it.

renethx

11-22-09, 05:41 PM

ATI HD 5750, most likely the fanless PowerColor SCS3 HD5750 (for noise reduction, though, I am now having second thoughts on this given my casing and the fact that a fan based 5750 might help me by direct forced exhaust out the back of the card so as to not have the case temp rise which could then just cause my case and cpu fans to have to run faster and louder...any thoughts?)

Optical Drive (TBD....based on seeking a shorter drive that can fit in this case with my standard sized PSU)

MoBo....TBD....and here is where I am looking for feedback. That is, if I am using the system as describe above, and given that I won’t be doing any real gaming on it (maybe very occasional) and that I don’t plan to overclock, based on the 4 MoBo options below, is there any reason I would not just go with either of the two cheaper options? And, is there a reason to go with one or the other of these two cheaper options since they are essentially the same price? I was getting a bit lost in all the technical specifications and comparing them to each other when I thought, “it probably doesn’t matter for my use case anyway so just buy a cheaper one” but I wanted to throw that out there to the experts on this thread.

Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 $149
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 $104 (one of the two cheaper solutions)
ASRock P55M Pro LGA1156 $99 (second of the two cheaper solutions)
ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX $199 (seems very pricey)
PowerColor SCS3 HD 5750: may not fit the case because of the tall heatsink.

MB:

- GA-P55M-UD2: Dual BIOS (easy recovery in case of BIOS failure), only one system fan connector, 7 SATA + 1 eSATA, Realtek ALC888B
- P55M Pro: Two system fan connectors, 4 SATA + 2 eSATA, VIA VT1708S.

I recommend GA-P55M-UD2.

avekevin

11-22-09, 05:44 PM

I am a fan of WHS (you can see my WHS build here (http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5045), just moved over from owning an HP Media Smart Server EX470). Just keep in mind that if you go with WHS you will need to install SageTV on it if you want to us your WHS machine as a TV Tuner farm since WMC is not fully integrated. I am hopefully that the next release of WHS (Vail, which is supposedly set to release at some point in 2010) has WMC fully integrated.

Truth be told, I'd prefer not to use WMC at all. I really need that ability to record using a CableCard, though, and I believe that WMC is the only way to accomplish this.

Kevin

dbone1026

11-22-09, 06:01 PM

Truth be told, I'd prefer not to use WMC at all. I really need that ability to record using a CableCard, though, and I believe that WMC is the only way to accomplish this.

Kevin

SageTV may offer support as well:

http://www.geektonic.com/2009/10/cablecard-and-sagetv-sittin-in-tree.html

StuBeck

11-22-09, 08:06 PM

What is the bare minimum for a system running 1080P movies flawlessly, as well as Blu-Ray at 60/24hz at 1080P? I'm getting rid of cable, and want a system which can do this, but spending $600 on a computer doesn't make sense when thats what I paid for cable for 10 months.

Here are the current specs which I'm considering, as well as prices:

CPU: E5300 2.6 GHz $70
Mobo: ECS G41T-M(2.0) LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX $55 before $17 MIR
Vid: MSI R4550-MD1GH Radeon HD 4550 1GB $51 before $10 MIR
HD: WD 1 TB Green $85
PSU: Seasonic 330 Watt $60 before $10 MIR
RAM: Crucial 2x1GB DDR 2 800 $49
Optical: Lite-On blu-ray $60
CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS 8000 $34 (Might drop this to save some money)
Case: Antec Fusion Remote $135

Total: $631 after 3 day shipping.

I've also setup an AMD system for a bit cheaper, using a GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI ($80) and a AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor ($61).

I believe this system will do this easily, but if I could bring it down to $500 I would feel better. Thanks.

Malin

11-23-09, 04:55 AM

The above recommended HTPC card: Sapphire and HIS are fan cooled and therefore NGs for my quiet HTPC setup. I am instead considering fan less cards such as Sapphire Radeon HD4550 or Zotac GF 9500GT

The GF9500GT card ( http://www.zotacusa.com/zone-geforce-9500-gt-512mb-128-bit-gddr3-550mhz-1600mhz-zt-95tes2p-hsl.html ) seems to be the best card for my HTPC needs provided it fits my Antec NSK2480 case

Does the Zotac card fit an Antec NSK2480 case???

....any other cards that u may recommend?

Regards,
Malin

HTPC setup
CASE: with PSU: NSK2480
MB: Gigabyte EG45M-UD2H
CPU: E7500
CPU Cooler: Ninja Mini
MEM: Patriot 2x2 GB PC6400
BD/DVD: Liteon iHES208
HD1: Hitatchi 7K1000.C 500GB
part1 (50GB NTFS): Windows XP Pro 32bit
part2 (25GB Ext3): Ubuntu 9.10
unallocated 125GB
part3 (300GB NTFS): Media (video,music)
HD2: Hitatchi 7K1000.C 1TB
part1 (4GB NTFS): Windows Swap
part2 (4GB Ext3): Linux Swap
part3 (300GB NTFS): Video1
part4 (300GB NTFS): Video2
part5 (350GB NTFS): backup

StuBeck

11-23-09, 07:59 AM

- CPU: poor performance.
- GPU: depends on each system.

Poor performance of CPU does not matter when GPU does every demanding task (typically decoding HD video codecs), of course.

Should a dual core Atom with an Ion work? Biggest importance is being able to play hulu and other flash based stuff without any shuttering.

jsntrmn

11-23-09, 10:00 AM

the problem with flash is moreso a software issue. adobe just put out a preview of flash player 10.1, which finally supports gpu acceleration.

read up on it here: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3678

Scott231

11-23-09, 11:08 AM

FYI - The November Update is now online! :)

StuBeck

11-23-09, 11:15 AM

Where?

cdika17

11-23-09, 11:19 AM

Page 370.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940972&page=370

Not quite done thou, beginning stages, I'm sure renethx will put an announcment out when it is all done.

Scott231

11-23-09, 02:08 PM

People looking to a Mini-ITX build will be more happy than others as of right now...:o

Page 367.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940972&page=367

Not quite done thou, beginning stages, I'm sure renethx will put an announcment out when it is all done.

cdika17

11-23-09, 03:11 PM

ha touché

Rocka2

11-23-09, 04:39 PM

FYI - The November Update is now online! :)

This is a happy day.

Rocka2

11-23-09, 04:44 PM

This is a happy day.

Perhaps a bit premature. Primarily interested in workstation.

klutch

11-23-09, 05:06 PM

So I've tried to read and read and read all day today. What chipset and/or motherboard in a micro-atx version supports mutichannel audio through the onboard HDMI port without the need for a separate graphics card? I want to build a low-end/medium end system that will only be used to play hard drive based media files and act as a media/file server to the rest of my home computers and have a blu ray player. I will not have any sort of video capture/TV device. I looked back at the September write up and almost all the motherboards aren't carried any longer.

lolachampcar

11-23-09, 06:22 PM

Klutch, I am with you with just a few more issues.

The mico form factor would seem perfect for me except for my desire to have one OS drive (Vista and SageTV) then two to four more drives in raid 0 for recording and serving multiple sources and destinations (two Homeruns, one VIP211 wth R5000 and serving three Sage HD200s).

Is there a good multi drive iGPU combination out there that has the good Intel/Nvida or AMD/AMD playback specs? I probably will not be using it for playback but want to keep my options open (which probably means I should be looking at better mobo and just add a good graphics card later if I want to use it for playback). It is the ability to handle the record and playback demands that is what is going to make the replacement box a hit.

ddruker

11-23-09, 07:21 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129054

For the next two days.

You are welcome...

klutch

11-23-09, 07:59 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129054

For the next two days.

You are welcome...

Only 2 internal 3.5" bays...

JohnPriest

11-23-09, 08:24 PM

ddruker, thanks for the tip on the Antec case. That's a great deal!

renethx

11-23-09, 09:28 PM

______________________________________________
Recommended HTPC Systems – November 2009 Edition
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Last Update on December 7, 2009

For the latest recommended systems, go to: Recommended Systems - The Latest Edition

First, a small advertisement:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159090&stc=1&d=1259033212

Table of Contents

Introduction
Organization of the Contents
Classification of HTPC Systems
1. Form Factor
2. Performance and Cost
3. CPU-Chipset-GPU Manufacturers
My Pick of HTPC
Peripheral Components and OS
Input Device
MCE Remote
Universal Remote
Keyboard & Mouse
So what do you need?
Optical Disc Drive
BD Rewriter/BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter
DVD Rewriter
TV Tuner/Capture Card
Digital+Analog
Digital Only
HD Capturing
Sound Card
OS
Brackets
S/PDIF Bracket
COM (Serial) Port Bracket
LPT (Parallel) Port Bracket
Mini-ITX System
General Consideration
Standard System
Intel-Intel (iGPU)
Intel-NVIDIA (iGPU)
AMD-AMD (iGPU)
AMD-NVIDIA (iGPU)
Gaming System
Intel-Intel
Intel-NVIDIA
AMD-AMD
MicroATX System
General Consideration
Low-End System
Intel-Intel (iGPU)
Intel-Intel (dGPU)
AMD-AMD (iGPU)
AMD-AMD (dGPU)
Mid-Range System
Intel-Intel
AMD-AMD
High-End System
Intel-Intel
AMD-AMD
Premium System
Intel-Intel
AMD-AMD
ATX System
General Consideration
Low-End System
Intel-Intel (iGPU)
Intel-Intel (dGPU)
AMD-AMD (iGPU)
AMD-AMD (dGPU)
Mid-Range System
Intel-Intel
Intel-NVIDIA
AMD-AMD
AMD-NVIDIA
High-End System
Intel-Intel
Intel-NVIDIA
AMD-AMD
AMD-NVIDIA
Premium System
Intel-Intel
Intel-NVIDIA
AMD-AMD
AMD-NVIDIA
DAS (Direct Attached Storage)
5-Drive SATA Enclosure
8-Drive SATA Enclosure
High-Performance 8-Drive SATA Enclosure
15 to 20-Drive SATA 4U Rack Mount Storage Chassis
Other DAS Solutions
Workstation
Media Storage Server
General Consideration
System
20 HDD Rack Mount System I
20 HDD Rack Mount System II
15 HDD Tower System

renethx

11-23-09, 09:28 PM

__________
Introduction
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________________________
Organization of the Contents
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Here is a brief summary of the contents.

Peripheral Components and OS: I collected common hardware components used in each system here. OS (Windows only) is also mentioned.
The list of recommended HTPC systems: This longest part is classified into several categories as stated below for convenience.
DAS (Direct Attached Storage): If you need more storage space, a quick solution is here.
Workstation: A system for (serious) video editing tasks.
Server: HD video files occupy lots of storage spaces. So you may need a dedicated media storage server.
_________________________
Classification of HTPC Systems
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HTPC systems here are classified into several categories for convenience, according to the following three criteria.

1. Form Factor

A form factor specifies the physical dimensions of a system. Basically it is the motherboard form factor that defines the overall size of a system. There are dozens of standardized form factors. Among them we will be concerned with the following three most popular form factors.

Mini-ITX: 170mm x 170mm (6.7″ x 6.7″)
MicroATX: 244mm x 244mm (9.6″ x 9.6″)
ATX: 305mm x 244mm (12″ x 9.6″)
Here is a picture of a motherboard/case of each form factor, Mini-ITX, microATX, ATX, from left to right, the bottom being an AVR.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159111&stc=1&d=1259043464

(FYI the model number of each motherboard/case in the picture is:

Form Factor|Motherboard|Case|Case Size
Mini-ITX|Zotac GF9300-G-E|Apex MI-008|W220 x H129 x D300 mm
MicroATX|GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H|Antec Fusion Remote|W445 x H145 x D414 mm
ATX|ASUS P7P55D EVO|Zalman HD503|W450 x H170 x D455 mm

The AVR is ONKYO TX-NA807, W435 x H199 x D436 mm. You may wonder why the width of the microATX case is almost the same as that of the ATX case. The reason is simple: the PSU is usually laid flat in a microATX case, while it is laid vertically in an ATX case. As a consequence, a microATX case is usually shorter in height than an ATX case.)

Because of the size, Mini-ITX provides the least expandability (0 or 1 expansion slot), usually 2 memory slots and CPU support is often limited by the cooling performance of a small Mini-ITX case. MicroATX supports up to 4 expansion slots, while ATX supports up to 7 expansion slots. Usually a Mini-ITX/microATX motherboard comes with an integrated graphics so that you may not need to use a discrete graphic card. An ATX case can usually hold more storage drives than an microATX case, and a microATX case can hold more storage drives than an Mini-ITX case.

2. Performance and Cost

Typical tasks done by a HTPC are

Playing back (or watching) media contents including:
Non-streamed media such as DVD movies, Blu-ray Disc movies, CDs.
Streamed media such as TV (terrestrial, satellite, cable, Internet) and radio.
Media files stored locally.
Creating media files from various sources, non-streaming or streaming (usually called "ripping" or "recording"), and storing them for later use.
Editing, including re-encoding, media files.
Hardware components that are important for each task is:

Playing back video: This includes video decode and various post-processing (deinterlacing, rescaling etc.). GPU is the most important for this task (unless you resort to a software playback solution such as ffdshow). A couple of GPUs integrated in motherboard are good. If you want to get the best picture quality, a good mid-range discrete GPU is recommended, however. A high-end card is good for better gaming experience of course, but it rarely improve video playback performance.
Ripping: The speed of ripping DVD/BD discs is often limited by the reading speed of the optical disc drive used.
Recording: HDTV contents are already encoded (in either MPEG-2 or H.264). So this is relatively easy for any system.
Editing and re-encoding video (except for simple cut and join): This is one of the most CPU-intensive tasks. A good quad-core processor is recommended. A trend is that GPU (stream processors) offloads CPU, and several video editing applications already support it (keywords: GPGPU, OpenCL, Microsoft DirectCompute, NVIDIA CUDA, ATI Stream).
In general better performance means costing more.

Performance and cost is the secondary category of the list.

3. CPU-Chipset-GPU Manufacturers

CPU, chipset (in motherboard; controlling various I/O devices and connecting them to CPU/memory) and GPU are the three main hardware components of a system. Intel and AMD are the main suppliers of CPU for PC. Intel and AMD are producing chipsets for its own CPUs and NVIDIA for both. Intel (integrated GPU only), AMD and NVIDIA are the top three GPU manufacturers.

CPU/chipset/GPU manufacturers is the third category of the list.
_____________
My Pick of HTPC
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In case you have no idea what to choose (and no time to dig), here is my pick.

MicroATX or ATX Mid-Range AMD-AMD System (with ATI or NVIDIA Graphics Card): The best video playback performance, as well as good performance in various CPU intensive tasks with a decent quad-core processor. The only caveat is that HDMI audio (ATI or NVIDIA) supports multichannel LPCM and Dolby Digital/DTS bitstreams, but does not support Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreams. For the latter support, you can go with ATI Radeon HD 5750 (with Corel WinDVD Pro 2010 or CyberLink PowerDVD 9 Ultra) right now or wait for the cheaper HD 5600 Series expected in Q1 2010.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159321&d=1259225289

renethx

11-23-09, 09:28 PM

_________________________
Peripheral Components and OS
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

A HTPC needs peripheral components (input devices, optical drive, TV tuner, sound card etc.) to be functional besides the core components (CPU, motherboard, memory, graphics card, HDD, PSU and case). The following is a quick list of recommended peripheral components and OS. In the subsequent sections, I will give only core components.

___________
Input Device
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

MCE Remote

A MCE remote is a (usually IR) remote control and a receiver to be attached to the HTPC (internally or externally via USB) that controls Windows Media Center and other front ends/media players at a distant place. Some HTPC cases and TV tuner cards come with a MCE remote. If not, you can buy one.

Anyware GP-IR01BK Windows Vista MCE Remote Control External IR Receiver and Remote, $21.
Antec Multimedia Station Basic Internal IR Receiver and Remote, $25.
Antec Multimedia Station Elite Internal IR Receiver w/VFD and Remote, $59.
Universal Remote

If you want to control all entertainment equipments at your home theater room, a universal remote is a must. Your HTPC needs to have an IR receiver (so you first need to have a MCE remote).

Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote, $186.
Logitech Harmony 700 (A stripped version of Harmony One: up to six devices, non-touch screen), $133.
Logitech Harmony 900 (Harmony One + RF capabilities), $300.
Logitech Harmony 1100 (3.5ˮ touch screen; RF capabilities), $330.
You may be able to find an older model cheap:

Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote, $130.
Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote (Harmony 880 + RF capabilities), $220.
The following is a universal remote (PC via RF + three CE devices via IR) with Gyration's MotionSense technology, eliminating the need for a mouse.
Gyration Air Music Remote GYR4101US, $68.
Gyration Air Music Remote with Compact Keyboard GYR4101CKUS, $83.
or the editions without music library LCD:

Gyration Media Center Remote GYR3101US, $68.
Gyration Media Center Remote with Compact Keyboard GYR3101CKUS, $108.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159112&d=1259043598

Keyboard & Mouse

Adesso 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Multimedia/MCE Keyboard with Optical Trackball WKB-3200UB, $55.
Logitech diNovo Edge, $135.
Logitech diNovo Mini, $126.
So what do you need?

So what do you need (besides a keyboard and a mouse when installing software)? There is no simple answer.

If you just want to control a front end remotely, a cheap MCE remote may be enough. But you still need to a keyboard/mouse, for example, to surf the web.
Logitech Harmony is good to control lots of CE devices as well as HTPC. But you still need to a keyboard/mouse, for example, to surf the web.
If you want to use your HTPC more like a normal PC (e.g. web browsing) without using a keyboard/mouse, Gyration is a good choice. This can also control three other CE devices.
_______________
Optical Disc Drive
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BD Rewriter/BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter

LG WH08LS20 Super Multi Blue BD & DVD Rewriter, $180.
LG CH08LS10 Super Multi Blue BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter, $104.
LITE-ON iHOS104 BD/DVD Reader, $60.
SilverStone TOB02 SST-TOB02 Slim Type BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter, $148.
DVD Rewriter

LG GH22NS50 Super Multi DVD & CD Rewriter, $29.
___________________
TV Tuner/Capture Card
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Digital+Analog

AVerMedia AVerTV Combo G2 PCIe x1 Card (White Box or Media Center Upgrade Kit), $90.
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 PCIe x1 Card (White Box or MC Kit), $114.
Digital Only

AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet PCIe x1 Card (White Box), $60.
Silicondust HDHomeRun Networked Device, $149.
HD Capturing

Hauppauge HD PVR model 1212 USB Device, $205.
__________
Sound Card
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

This is purely optional. Necessary hardware for HD digital audio is provided by either a motherboard, a graphics card, or a (upcoming) Intel CPU:

Dolby Digital and DTS bitstreams: The motherboard's coaxial or optical S/PDIF is enough. HDMI from AMD 785G chipset motherboards as well as all the solutions mentioned below also support them.
Multichannel LPCM over HDMI: All the Radeon HD 4xxx/5xxx discrete graphics cards, GeForce 8200/8300/9300/9400 chipset motherboards, Intel G45 chipset motherboards, and the upcoming Intel Core i5/i3 (Clarkdale) processor support it.
Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreams over HDMI: All the Radeon HD 5xxx graphics cards and the upcoming Intel Core i5/i3 (Clarkdale) processor support them.
So you don't need a sound card unless you want:

Good analog sound (coupled with a good amplifier);
Support for EAX 5.0 in gaming (to output via analog, S/PDIF with Dolby Digital Live/DTS Interactive or HDMI)
Here are a list of a couple of recommended sound cards if you are in the above two cases:

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe PCIe x1 Card, $240. (Topnotch analog sound as well as HD audio bitstreaming with ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater.)
Auzentech Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD PCIe x1 Card, $250. (EAX 5.0 support by an X-Fi audio chip; HD audio bitstreaming with a retail copy of CyberLink PowerDVD 9 Ultra.)
___
OS
¯¯¯

Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Service Pack 2, 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) edition. OEM should be enough.
Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate, 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) edition. OEM should be enough.
A couple of remarks:
Vista vs. Windows 7: If you own a license of Vista, do you need Windows 7? The answer depends on your usage. A notable improvement of Windows 7 over Vista is better TV integration in Windows Media Center. If you don't use TV feature of Media Center or don't use Media Center itself, then you may want to stay with Vista.
Vista editions: Vista Ultimate has several features that are not found in Home Premium, for example, complete PC backup and remote desktop, although you can find alternative programs easily (e.g. Acronis True Image; VNC, RAdmin).
Windows 7 editions: 7 Home Premium offers full-system backup and restore unlike Vista Home Premium. You can find comparison of Windows 7 editions in this Microsoft web page (http://content.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare-editions) and Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions).
x86 vs. x64: Currently the main advantage of Windows x64 is the support for more than 4GB memory. However Windows Media Center x64 is a 64-bit application and a couple of useful DirectShow filters are not available in x64 (e.g. madFlac Decoder, ReClock [a must tool for bit-perfect LPCM HD audio]). Unless you are sure you will take advantage of more than 4GB memory, you may want to stay with x86.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159113&d=1259043598

Lower-cost components

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159114&d=1259043598

Higher-cost components

________
Brackets
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S/PDIF Bracket

If your motherboard does not have an S/PDIF port in the rear panel, then you can build your own coaxial S/PDIF bracket: buy

RCA COMPOSITE VIDEO 2.5' - PANEL F TO 1X3 F (http://www.frontx.com/pro/p1062_030.html), $6.30
from FRONTX (http://www.frontx.com/store/order_pb.html) and attach it to an empty PCI bracket by drilling a hole.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159115&d=1259043625

COM (Serial) Port Bracket

If your motherboard has an internal COM connector, use
Cables To Go DB9M Serial Add-A-Port Adapter with Bracket for Intel Motherboards (http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=908&sku=28300)
LPT (Parallel) Port Bracket

If your motherboard has an internal LPT connector, use
Cables To Go DB25F Parallel Add-A-Port Adapter with Bracket (http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat%5Fid=908&sku=10338)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159116&d=1259043625

renethx

11-23-09, 09:29 PM

______________
Mini-ITX System
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__________________
General Consideration
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Mini-ITX form factor has become popular because of its small footprint. Almost every Mini-ITX motherboard has an integrated graphics processing unit (iGPU), and there are a couple of iGPUs that are very good for playing back HD contents. The number of expansion slots is at most 1 and the number of HDDs in a Mini-ITX case is usually 1 or 2. If you agree with these limitations, a Mini-ITX system can be not only a good HTPC (with iGPU) but also a gaming machine or a video encoding machine by placing a powerful discrete graphics card and/or CPU (as long as the motherboard and the case support them).

I will give a standard HTPC system with iGPU and a gaming HTPC with dGPU for each of the Intel chip-Intel chipset, the Intel chip-NVIDIA chipset, the AMD chip-AMD chipset and the AMD chip-NVIDIA chipset. Here is a feature comparison chart (needs to be updated).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159091&d=1259033212

renethx

11-23-09, 09:29 PM

______________
Standard System
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Intel-Intel (iGPU)

System

CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5300 2.60GHz 2MB L2 LGA775, $64.
CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-775, $19.
Motherboard: Intel DG45FC (BOXDG45FC) LGA775 Intel G45 chipset Mini-ITX, $115.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: Intel GMA X4500HD (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $40. An alternative is Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $50.
Total Cost: $348
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159118&stc=1&d=1259051568

Remarks

BD playback under Windows XP is not supported in this system due to the chipset driver limitation.
References

AVS Forum - *Official* Intel G45 DG45FC mini-ITX HTPC Motherboard Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1050640)
Intel-NVIDIA (iGPU)

System

CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5300 2.60GHz 2MB L2 LGA775, $64.
CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-775, $19.
Motherboard: ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi GF9300-G-E LGA775 GeForce 9300 mGPU Mini-ITX, $130.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: GeForce 9300 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $40. An alternative is Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $50.
Total Cost: $363
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159119&stc=1&d=1259051568

References

AVS Forum - *Official* Zotac GeForce 9300 Mini-ITX HTPC Motherboard Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1111996)
[Hard]|Forum - ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1384187)
AMD-AMD (iGPU)

System

CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-AM2, $20.
Motherboard: J&W MINIX 780G-SP128MB AM2+ AMD 780G chipset Mini-ITX, $129 (at MvixUSA (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001FRZQCO/ref=asc_df_B001FRZQCO962948?ie=UTF8&condition=new&tag=dealt650-20&creative=380345&creativeASIN=B001FRZQCO&linkCode=asm)).
Memory: Crucial CT2KIT12864AC800 DDR2-800 SO-DIMM 2 x 1GB Kit, $49.
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 3200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $40. An alternative is Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $50.
Total Cost: $358
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159120&stc=1&d=1259051568

Remarks

You need to add a discrete graphics card such as SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, $45, for multichannel LPCM over HDMI.
AMD-NVIDIA (iGPU)

System

CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: SilverStone NT07-AM2, $20.
Motherboard: ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi GF8200-C-E AM2+ GeForce 8200 mGPU Mini-ITX, $100.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: GeForce 8200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: ATX12V 250W SFX PSU (included in the case): $0.
Case: Apex MI-008 Mini-ITX, $40. An alternative is Apex MI-100BK Mini-ITX, $50.
Total Cost: $330
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159121&stc=1&d=1259051568

renethx

11-23-09, 09:29 PM

_____________
Gaming System
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

The systems here are based on SilverStone SG05 Mini-DTX/Mini-ITX case (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG05&area=usa). The case supports a 2-slot graphics card of up to 9″ length and has a 300W PSU, good enough in most cases.

Intel-Intel

System

CPU: Core i5 750 2.66GHz LGA1156, $196.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 風神鍛 (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $30, with Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120 mm Case Fan SY1212SL12M 1600rpm, $8 (the stock fan is too tall for the selected case), and Cooler Master RR-ACC-1156-GP LGA1156 Retention Bracket Set, $4 (necessary to attach the cooler to the LGA1156 socket).
Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY MI P55-T36 LGA1156 Intel P55 chipset Mini-ATX, $150.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit, $96.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770 GDDR5 1GB, $159.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GS-250X-ZDFC GeForce GTS 250 DDR3 1GB, $145.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60. You will need a 12 inch Right Angle SATA to Straight SATA Cable, $2.
PSU: ATX12V 300W SFX PSU (included in the case), $0.
Case: SilverStone Sugo SG05 SST-SG05B Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, $99.
Total Cost: $804 for ATI, $790 for NVIDIA
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159122&stc=1&d=1259051784

Remarks

The case supports a slim type optical drive, e.g., SilverStone TOB02 SST-TOB02 Slim Type BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter, $148.
Intel-NVIDIA

System

CPU: Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 LGA775, $183.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 風神鍛 (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $30, with Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120 mm Case Fan SY1212SL12M 1600rpm, $8 (the stock fan is too tall for the selected case).
Motherboard: ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi GF9300-G-E LGA775 GeForce 9300 mGPU Mini-ITX, $130.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $92.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770 GDDR5 1GB, $159.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GS-250X-ZDFC GeForce GTS 250 DDR3 1GB, $145.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60. You will need a 12 inch Right Angle SATA to Straight SATA Cable, $2.
PSU: ATX12V 300W SFX PSU (included in the case), $0.
Case: SilverStone Sugo SG05 SST-SG05B Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, $99.
Total Cost: $763 for ATI, $749 for NVIDIA
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159123&stc=1&d=1259051784

Remarks

The case supports a slim type optical drive, e.g., SilverStone TOB02 SST-TOB02 Slim Type BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter, $148.
References

[Hard]|Forum - ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1384187)
AMD-AMD

System

CPU: Phenom II X4 905e HD905EOCGIBOX 2.5GHz AM3, $175.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 風神鍛 (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $30, with Scythe Slip Stream Slim 120 mm Case Fan SY1212SL12M 1600rpm, $8 (the stock fan is too tall for the selected case).
Motherboard: J&W MINIX 780G-SP128MB AM2+ AMD 780G chipset Mini-ITX, $129 (at MvixUSA (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001FRZQCO/ref=asc_df_B001FRZQCO962948?ie=UTF8&condition=new&tag=dealt650-20&creative=380345&creativeASIN=B001FRZQCO&linkCode=asm)).
Memory: OCZ OCZ2M8004GK DDR2-800 SO-DIMM 2 x 2GB Kit, $90.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770 GDDR5 1GB, $159.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GS-250X-ZDFC GeForce GTS 250 DDR3 1GB, $145.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60. You will need a 12 inch Right Angle SATA to Straight SATA Cable, $2.
PSU: ATX12V 300W SFX PSU (included in the case), $0.
Case: SilverStone Sugo SG05 SST-SG05B Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX, $99.
Total Cost: $752 for ATI, $738 for NVIDIA
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159124&stc=1&d=1259051784

Remarks

The case supports a slim type optical drive, e.g., SilverStone TOB02 SST-TOB02 Slim Type BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter, $148.

renethx

11-23-09, 09:30 PM

______________
MicroATX System
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
__________________
General Consideration
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
A microATX system is perhaps the most popular form factor in HTPC because it generally costs less and is smaller than ATX, yet has enough expansion slots of four for many people. Almost every microATX motherboard has an integrated graphics processing unit (iGPU) and there are a couple of iGPUs that are very good for playing back HD contents. If you want the best video playback performance, a mid-range discrete graphics (dGPU) is the way to go, however.

I will give a low-end system, a mid-range system, a high-end system and a premium system for each of Intel chip-Intel chipset and AMD chip-AMD chipset. Basic distinctions are:

Low-end system: provides reasonably good video playback performance by iGPU at a low cost.
Mid-range system: provides the best video playback performance without compromise by dGPU.
High-end system: should be able to handle other HTPC-related tasks such as video re-encoding and games with reasonably good performance.
Premium system: is intended to be the best (but not too expensive) overall system available today.
Here is a feature comparison chart (needs to be updated).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159091&d=1259033212

renethx

11-23-09, 09:30 PM

_____________
Low-End System
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I used here a budget, but well-built low-profile case. Alternative microATX cases are

Antec NSK1480 microATX, low-profile, $95.
Antec Micro Fusion Remote 350 microATX, low-profile, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $175.
Lian Li PC-C37B MUSE microATX, low-profile, $144.
Lian Li PC-C39 microATX, low-profile, with RF receiver/remote, $180.
Moneual MonCaso312 microATX, low-profile, with IR receiver/remote, $220.
Moneual MonCaso301 microATX, low-profile, with VFD/IR receiver/remote, $300.
Antec NSK2480 microATX, $94.
Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159126&stc=1&d=1259052075

Intel-Intel (iGPU)

System

CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5300 2.60GHz 2MB L2 LGA775, $64.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EG45M-UD2H LGA775 Intel G45 chipset microATX, $124. A cheaper alternative is Intel DG45ID (BOXDG45ID) LGA775 Intel G45 chipset microATX, $103.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: Intel GMA X4500HD (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: 80 PLUS 350W ATX PSU (included in the case), $0
Case: Antec NSK1480 microATX, $95.
Total Cost: $393
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159127&stc=1&d=1259052075

References

AVS Forum - *Official* Gigabyte GA-EG45M-DS2H Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1054632) (Note that GA-EG45M-UD2H is the successor to GA-EG45M-DS2H, but its PCI Express x16 slot is connected to G45 and works at 2.0 x16.)
Intel-Intel (dGPU)

A budget Intel system with dGPU is here:

System

CPU: Celeron E3200 2.40GHz 1MB L2 LGA775, $43. A better alternative is Pentium Dual-Core E5300 2.60GHz 2MB L2 LGA775, $64.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA775 Intel G31 chipset microATX, $50.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, $45.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: 80 PLUS 350W ATX PSU (included in the case), $0
Case: Antec NSK1480 microATX, $95.
Total Cost: $343
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159128&stc=1&d=1259052075
AMD-AMD (iGPU)

System

CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset microATX, $80. A cheaper alternative is ASRock A780GMH/128M AM2+ AMD 780G chipset microATX, $60.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: 80 PLUS 350W ATX PSU (included in the case), $0
Case: Antec NSK1480 microATX, $95.
Total Cost: $345
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159129&stc=1&d=1259052075

Remarks

If you prefer DDR3 SDRAM (with little performance increase, but DDR3 memory modules are reusable in future), choose
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G chipset microATX, $89.
G.SKILL F3-10600CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit, $57.
References

AVS Forum - The *Official* GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AMD 785G Chipset Motherboard Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1163214)
AMD-AMD (dGPU)

Radeon HD 4200 does not support multichannel LPCM over HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM, you have to add a discrete graphics card. Here is an example of such a system.

System

CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: ASRock A780GMH/128M AM2+ AMD 780G chipset microATX, $60. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset microATX, $80.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, $45.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: 80 PLUS 350W ATX PSU (included in the case), $0
Case: Antec NSK1480 microATX, $95.
Total Cost: $370
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159140&stc=1&d=1259058011

renethx

11-23-09, 09:30 PM

_______________
Mid-Range System
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Intel-Intel

System

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz 3MB L2 LGA775, $113.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 風神鍛 (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $30.
Motherboard: Intel DG43GT (BOXDG43GT) LGA775 Intel G43 chipset ATX, $87.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $92.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB, $70.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-220X-ZNF2 GeForce GT 220 DDR2 1GB, $70.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W, $65.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
Total Cost: $657 for ATI, $657 for NVIDIA
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159319&d=1259225289

AMD-AMD

System

CPU: Athlon II X4 630 ADX630WFGIBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $122.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 風神鍛 (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $32.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G chipset microATX, $89.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB, $70.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-220X-ZNF2 GeForce GT 220 DDR2 1GB, $70.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W, $65.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
Total Cost: $664 for ATI, $664 for NVIDIA
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159321&d=1259225289

renethx

11-23-09, 09:30 PM

______________
High-End System
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Intel-Intel

System

CPU: Core i5 750 2.66GHz LGA1156, $196.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 風神鍛 (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $30, with Cooler Master RR-ACC-1156-GP LGA1156 Retention Bracket Set, $4 (necessary to attach the cooler to the LGA1156 socket).
Motherboard: ASRock P55M Pro LGA1156 Intel P55 chipset microATX, $100.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): HIS H575FN1GD iCooler IV Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1GB, $145.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-240X-ZNFC GeForce GT 240 DDR3 1GB, $105.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $100. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $89.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
Total Cost: $863 for ATI, $823 for NVIDIA
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=160175&stc=1&d=1260200919

AMD-AMD

System

CPU: Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition HDZ955FBGIBOX 3.2GHz AM3, $175.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 風神鍛 (Geminii S) RR-CCH-PBU1-GP, $30.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G chipset microATX, $89.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): HIS H575FN1GD iCooler IV Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1GB, $145.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-240X-ZNFC GeForce GT 240 DDR3 1GB, $105.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $100. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $89.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Black microATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $140.
Total Cost: $827 for ATI, $787 for NVIDIA
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=160176&stc=1&d=1260200919

renethx

11-23-09, 09:30 PM

______________
Premium System
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Intel-Intel

System

CPU: Core i7 860 2.80GHz LGA1156, $284. A cheaper alternative is Core i5 750 2.66GHz LGA1156, $196.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $45, with Xigmatek Crossbow ACK-I5361, $11 (necessary to attach the cooler to the LGA1156 socket).
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD4 LGA1156 Intel P55 chipset microATX, $140.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit, $96.
Graphics Card (ATI): Radeon HD 5850 GDDR5 1GB, $300; two of this card for CrossFireX, $600. An alternative is Radeon HD 5870 GDDR5 1GB, $400.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB, $255; two of this card for SLI, $510. An alternative is GeForce GTX 285, $320 or GeForce GTX 295, $525.
HDD: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2 80GB SATA 3.0Gbps SSD, $223.
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT, $128. An alternative is Seasonic M12D 850W, $156.
Case: LUXA2 LM200 Touch microATX, with 7” touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $481. If you don't need or don't like a touch screen, choose LUXA2 LM200 microATX, with VFD/IR receiver/remote, $288.
Total Cost: $1708 for non-CrossFireX, $2008 for CrossFireX; $1663 for non-SLI, $1918 for SLI.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159135&stc=1&d=1259052800
AMD-AMD

System

CPU: Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition HDZ965FBGIBOX 3.4GHz AM3, $195.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $45, with Enzotech Type-X AM2 Retention Modules, $2, and four nuts (necessary to attach the cooler in the correct orientation).
Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY JR 790GX-M3H5 AM3 AMD 790GX chipset microATX, $135.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit, $96.
Graphics Card (ATI): Radeon HD 5850 GDDR5 1GB, $300; two of this card for CrossFireX, $600. An alternative is Radeon HD 5870 GDDR5 1GB, $400.
HDD: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2 80GB SATA 3.0Gbps SSD, $223.
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT, $128. An alternative is Seasonic M12D 850W, $156.
Case: LUXA2 LM200 Touch microATX, with 7” touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $481. If you don't need or don't like a touch screen, choose LUXA2 LM200 microATX, with VFD/IR receiver/remote, $288.
Total Cost: $1605 for non-CrossFireX, $1905 for CrossFireX.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159136&stc=1&d=1259052800

renethx

11-23-09, 09:31 PM

__________
ATX System
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__________________
General Consideration
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The ATX form factor supports up to seven expansion slots vs. four in microATX. Moreover motherboard manufacturers tend to implement better CPU power circuitry and cooling solution for MOSFET/chipset in ATX motherboards than microATX motherboards.

I will give a low-end system, a mid-range system, a high-end system and a premium system for each of Intel chip-Intel chipset, Intel chip-NVIDIA chipset, AMD chip-AMD chipset and AMD chip-NVIDIA chipset. Basic distinctions are:

Low-end system: provides reasonably good video playback performance at a low cost.
Mid-range system: provides the best video playback performance without compromise.
High-end system: should be able to handle other HTPC-related tasks such as video re-encoding and games with reasonably good performance.
Premium system: is intended to be the best (but not too expensive) overall system available today.
As the expandability is an distinguishing feature of the ATX form factor, I set the following criteria: the motherboard should have

Low-end:
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 for a 2-slot graphics card
3 x PCIe x1 for HBA, a sound card and a TV tuner
Mid-range and high-end:
1 x PCIe 2.0 x8 for a 2-slot graphics card
1 x PCIe x8 for HBA
2 x PCIe x1 for a sound card and a TV tuner
Premium system:
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (or x8) for dual 2-slot graphics
1 x PCIe x1 and 1 x PCIe x4 for a sound card/TV tuner/HBA
But a few systems do not meet this criteria (simply because there is no good motherboard). In addition, fully usable 6 SATA ports (I mean not blocked by a large graphics card) is a norm.

Here is a feature comparison chart (needs to be updated).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159091&d=1259033212

renethx

11-23-09, 09:31 PM

______________
Low-End System
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ATX Cases

The case selected here is just one example. Here are a list of well-built ATX cases. All SilverStone cases except for LC16M and GD01 can hold a graphics card of any length by removing a HDD cage.

Without LCD/VFD/IR receiver/remote:

SilverStone Lascala LC10-E SST-LC10B-E ATX, $109.
SilverStone Lascala LC13-E SST-LC13B-E ATX, $115.
SilverStone Lascala LC17 SST-LC17B ATX, $120.
SilverStone Lascala LC20 SST-LC20B ATX, $129.
SilverStone Lascala GD01 SST-GD01B-R ATX, with card reader, $136.
nMEDIAPC HTPC 2000B ATX, with card reader, $100.
nMEDIAPC HTPC 6000B ATX, with card reader, $90.
With LCD/VFD/IR receiver/remote:

SilverStone Lascala LC10-MX SST-LC10B-MX ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $179.
SilverStone Lascala LC16M-R SST-LC16B-MR ATX, with VFD/IR receiver/remote & card reader, $240.
SilverStone Lascala LC20M SST-LC20B-M ATX, with VFD/IR receiver/remote, $180.
SilverStone Lascala GD01MX SST-GD01B-MXR ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote & card reader, $233.
Thermaltake DH101 VF7001BNS ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $200.
Thermaltake DH202 VJ80011N2Z ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote & card reader, $240.
Intel-Intel (iGPU)

System

CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5300 2.60GHz 2MB L2 LGA775, $64.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: Supermicro MBD-C2SEA LGA775 DDR3 Intel G45 chipset ATX, $125.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-10600CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit, $57.
Graphics Card: Intel GMA X4500HD (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W, $65.
Case: SilverStone Lascala LC10-E SST-LC10B-E ATX, $109.
Total Cost: $480.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159196&stc=1&d=1259108250

Intel-Intel (dGPU)

System

CPU: Celeron E3200 2.40GHz 1MB L2 LGA775, $43. A better alternative is Pentium Dual-Core E5300 2.60GHz 2MB L2 LGA775, $64.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: ASRock P43DE LGA775 Intel P43 chipset ATX, $68.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, $45.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W, $65.
Case: SilverStone Lascala LC10-E SST-LC10B-E ATX, $109.
Total Cost: $440.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159197&stc=1&d=1259108250

Remarks

If you prefer DDR3 SDRAM (with little performance increase, but DDR3 memory modules are reusable in future), choose
ASRock P43DE3 LGA775 DDR3 Intel P43 chipset ATX, $75.
G.SKILL F3-10600CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit, $57.

AMD-AMD (iGPU)

System

CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX, $83.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W, $65.
Case: SilverStone Lascala LC10-E SST-LC10B-E ATX, $109.
Total Cost: $427
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159198&stc=1&d=1259108250

Remarks

If you prefer DDR3 SDRAM (with little performance increase, but DDR3 memory modules are reusable in future), choose
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GT-UD3H AM3 AMD 785G chipset ATX, $93, or ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G chipset ATX, $95.
G.SKILL F3-10600CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit, $57.
AMD-AMD (dGPU)

Radeon HD 4200 does not support multichannel LPCM over HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM, you have to add a discrete graphics card. Here is an example of such a system.

System

CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+ AMD 770 chipset ATX, $75. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX, $83 (with IGP; useful in case you use the motherboard for a server in future).
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4550 DDR3 512MB, $45.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Corsair VX450W CMPSU-450VX 450W, $65.
Case: SilverStone Lascala LC10-E SST-LC10B-E ATX, $109.
Total Cost: $464
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159199&stc=1&d=1259108250

If you prefer DDR3 SDRAM (+$10 with little performance increase, but DDR3 memory modules are reusable in future), choose
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 chipset ATX, $79, or GIGABYTE GA-MA785GT-UD3H AM3 AMD 785G chipset ATX, $93 (with IGP; useful in case you use the motherboard for a server in future).
G.SKILL F3-10600CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit, $57.

renethx

11-23-09, 09:31 PM

_______________
Mid-Range System
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Intel-Intel

System

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz 3MB L2 LGA775, $113.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983, $30.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA775 Intel P45 chipset ATX, $115.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $92.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB, $70.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-220X-ZNF2 GeForce GT 220 DDR2 1GB, $70.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $100. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $89.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Max ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $178.
Total Cost: $758 for ATI, $758 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159200&stc=1&d=1259110383

Intel-NVIDIA

System

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz 3MB L2 LGA775, $113.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983, $30.
Motherboard: ASRock N7AD-SLI LGA775 nForce 740i SLI MCP ATX, $100.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1B16K DDR2-800 2 x 2GB Kit, $92.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB, $70.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-220X-ZNF2 GeForce GT 220 DDR2 1GB, $70.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $100. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $89.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Max ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $178.
Total Cost: $743 for ATI, $743 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159209&stc=1&d=1259111744

Remarks

nForce 740i SLI MCP (codenamed MCP7A-D-SLI) is a discrete graphics version of GeForce 9300/9400 mGPU (codenamed MCP7A-U and MCP7A-S). Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=123266&stc=1&d=1225461706) is a comparison chart of the MCP7A family.
The motherboard supports both SLI and CrossFireX.
AMD-AMD

System

CPU: Athlon II X4 630 ADX630WFGIBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $122.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983, $30.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 AMD 790X chipset ATX, $110. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX chipset ATX, $114 (with IGP; useful in case you use the motherboard for a server in future).
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB, $70.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-220X-ZNF2 GeForce GT 220 DDR2 1GB, $70.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $100. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $89.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Max ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $178.
Total Cost: $758 for ATI, $758 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159202&stc=1&d=1259110383

AMD-NVIDIA

System

CPU: Athlon II X4 630 ADX630WFGIBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $122.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek NEPARTAK S983, $30.
Motherboard: MSI NF750-G55 AM3 nForce 750a SLI MCP ATX, $97.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4670 DDR3 1GB, $70.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-220X-ZNF2 GeForce GT 220 DDR2 1GB, $70.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax PRO82+ 525W EPR525AWT, $100. A cheaper alternative is Corsair VX550W CMPSU-550VX 550W, $89.
Case: Antec Fusion Remote Max ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $178.
Total Cost: $745 for ATI, $745 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159203&stc=1&d=1259110383

Remarks

nForce 750a SLI is an SLI x8 version of the GeForce 8200 mGPU (so it still supports multichannel PCM over HDMI).

renethx

11-23-09, 09:31 PM

______________
High-End System
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Intel-Intel

System

CPU: Core i5 750 2.66GHz LGA1156, $196.
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A LED, $41, with Zalman ZM-CS5B Clip Kit for Socket 1156/775, $3 (necessary to attach the cooler to the LGA1156 socket).
Motherboard: ASRock P55 Extreme LGA1156 Intel P55 chipset ATX, $140.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): HIS H575FN1GD iCooler IV Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1GB, $145.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-240X-ZNFC GeForce GT 240 DDR3 1GB, $105.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT, $128. A cheaper alternative is Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $85.
Case: Zalman HD503 ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $300.
Total Cost: $1101 for ATI, $1061 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=160177&stc=1&d=1260201744

Intel-NVIDIA

System

CPU: Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 LGA775, $183.
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A LED, $41, with Zalman ZM-CS5B Clip Kit for Socket 1156/775, $3 (necessary to attach the cooler to the LGA1156 socket).
Motherboard: ASRock N7AD-SLI LGA775 nForce 740i SLI MCP ATX, $100.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): HIS H575FN1GD iCooler IV Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1GB, $145.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-240X-ZNFC GeForce GT 240 DDR3 1GB, $105.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT, $128. A cheaper alternative is Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $85.
Case: Zalman HD503 ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $300.
Total Cost: $1049 for ATI, $1009 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=160178&stc=1&d=1260201744

Remarks

nForce 740i SLI MCP (codenamed MCP7A-D-SLI) is a discrete graphics version of GeForce 9300/9400 mGPU (codenamed MCP7A-U and MCP7A-S). Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=123266&stc=1&d=1225461706) is a comparison chart of the MCP7A family.
The motherboard supports both SLI and CrossFireX.
AMD-AMD

System

CPU: Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition HDZ955FBGIBOX 3.2GHz AM3, $175.
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A LED, $41.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 AMD 790X chipset ATX, $110. An alternative is GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX chipset ATX, $114 (with IGP; useful in case you use the motherboard for a server in future).
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): HIS H575FN1GD iCooler IV Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1GB, $145.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-240X-ZNFC GeForce GT 240 DDR3 1GB, $105.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT, $128. A cheaper alternative is Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $85.
Case: Zalman HD503 ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $300.
Total Cost: $1047 for ATI, $1007 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=160181&stc=1&d=1260201744

AMD-NVIDIA

System

CPU: Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition HDZ955FBGIBOX 3.2GHz AM3, $175.
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A LED, $41.
Motherboard: MSI NF750-G55 AM3 nForce 750a SLI MCP ATX, $97.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card (ATI): HIS H575FN1GD iCooler IV Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1GB, $145.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): XFX GT-240X-ZNFC GeForce GT 240 DDR3 1GB, $105.
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 625W EMD625AWT, $128. A cheaper alternative is Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $85.
Case: Zalman HD503 ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $300.
Total Cost: $1034 for ATI, $994 for NVIDIA.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=160182&stc=1&d=1260201744

Remarks

nForce 750a SLI is an SLI x8 version of the GeForce 8200 mGPU (so it still supports multichannel PCM over HDMI).

renethx

11-23-09, 09:32 PM

______________
Premium System
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Intel-Intel

System

CPU: Core i7 860 2.80GHz LGA1156, $284.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $45, with Xigmatek Crossbow ACK-I5361, $11 (necessary to attach the cooler to the LGA1156 socket).
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA1156 Intel P55 chipset ATX, $189. An alternative is Intel DP55KG (BOXDP55KG) LGA1156 Intel P55 chipset ATX, $205 (supporting Dolby Home Theater, good for S/PDIF gamers; single Gb LAN).
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit, $96.
Graphics Card (ATI): Radeon HD 5850 GDDR5 1GB, $300; two of this card for CrossFireX, $600. An alternative is Radeon HD 5870 GDDR5 1GB, $400.
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB, $255; two of this card for SLI, $510. An alternative is GeForce GTX 285, $320 or GeForce GTX 295, $525.
HDD: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2 80GB SATA 3.0Gbps SSD, $223.
PSU: Seasonic M12D 850W, $156.
Case: Thermaltake DH104 VH4001BNS ATX, with 7” touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $454. If you don't need or don't like a touch screen, choose Thermaltake DH103 VH3001BNS ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $270 or SilverStone Crown CW02 SST-CW02S-MXR ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $360.
Total Cost: $1758 for non-CrossFireX, $2058 for CrossFireX; $1713 for non-SLI, $1968 for SLI.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159221&stc=1&d=1259115833

Intel-NVIDIA

System

CPU: Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz 12MB L2 LGA775, $229.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $45.
Motherboard: XFX MB-N790-IUL9 LGA775 nForce 790i 3-Way SLI ATX, $165.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit, $96.
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB, $255; two of this card for SLI, $510. An alternative is GeForce GTX 285, $320 or GeForce GTX 295, $525.
HDD: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2 80GB SATA 3.0Gbps SSD, $223.
PSU: Seasonic M12D 850W, $156.
Case: Thermaltake DH104 VH4001BNS ATX, with 7” touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $451. If you don't need or don't like a touch screen, choose Thermaltake DH103 VH3001BNS ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $270 or SilverStone Crown CW02 SST-CW02S-MXR ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $360.
Total Cost: $1623 for non-SLI, $1878 for SLI.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159222&stc=1&d=1259115833

AMD-AMD

System

CPU: Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition HDZ965FBGMBOX 3.4GHz AM3, $195.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $45, with Enzotech Type-X AM2 Retention Modules, $2, and four nuts (necessary to attach the cooler in the correct orientation).
Motherboard: MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX chipset ATX, $164.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit, $96.
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 5850 GDDR5 1GB, $300; two of this card for CrossFireX, $600. An alternative is Radeon HD 5870 GDDR5 1GB, $400.
HDD: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2 80GB SATA 3.0Gbps SSD, $223.
PSU: Seasonic M12D 850W, $156.
Case: Thermaltake DH104 VH4001BNS ATX, with 7” touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $451. If you don't need or don't like a touch screen, choose Thermaltake DH103 VH3001BNS ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $270 or SilverStone Crown CW02 SST-CW02S-MXR ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $360.
Total Cost: $1635 for non-CrossFireX, $1935 for CrossFireX.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159223&stc=1&d=1259115896

AMD-NVIDIA

System

CPU: Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition HDZ965FBGMBOX 3.4GHz AM3, $195.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $45, with Enzotech Type-X AM2 Retention Modules, $2, and four nuts (necessary to attach the cooler in the correct orientation).
Motherboard: MSI NF980-G65 AM3 nForce 980a SLI MCP ATX, $149.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 2GB Kit, $96.
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB, $255; two of this card for SLI, $510. An alternative is GeForce GTX 285, $320 or GeForce GTX 295, $525.
HDD: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2 80GB SATA 3.0Gbps SSD, $223.
PSU: Seasonic M12D 850W, $156.
Case: Thermaltake DH104 VH4001BNS ATX, with 7” touch screen/IR receiver/remote, $451. If you don't need or don't like a touch screen, choose Thermaltake DH103 VH3001BNS ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $270 or SilverStone Crown CW02 SST-CW02S-MXR ATX, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, $360.
Total Cost: $1575 for non-SLI, $1830 for SLI.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159224&stc=1&d=1259115896

Remarks

nForce 980a SLI (rebadged nForce 780a SLI) is nForce 750a SLI + nForce 200 (a PCI Express switch for SLI x16).
The graphics card supports S/PDIF pass-through from the onboard audio codec through HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM audio, you have to connect your AVR to the HDMI port of the motherboard and your display to the graphics card. Please read Any GeForce graphics card + GeForce 8200 HDMI audio work together perfectly! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13897618#post13897618).

renethx

11-23-09, 09:32 PM

_________________________
DAS (Direct Attached Storage)
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If you need more storage space than the one provided by the motherboard and the case, the quickest solution is attach an external HDD enclosure. Possible interfaces are USB 2.0 (60MB/s), IEEE 1394a (50MB/s), PCI (133MB/s), PCI Express x1 (250MB/s), all of which are good enough for home use. If you need lots of drives, you may want to consider a dedicated file server (see "Media Storage Server"). If you need higher I/O throughput, e.g. for video editing, there are many SATA RAID controller cards with PCI Express x4 (1.0GB/s) or x8 (2.0GB/s) interface. Here are a couple of examples.

5-Drive SATA Enclosure

AMS DS-2350S VENUS T5 5-Drive SATA SteelVine Storage Processor Enclosure , $205. (The picture below.)
SilverStone DS351 5-Drive SATA SteelVine Storage Processor Enclosure, $480.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159225&d=1259116325

Each of them has Silicon Image SiI4726 (http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=74) SATA to 5-Port SATA Device SteelVine Storage Processor and is bundled with a 2-port SATA PCIe x1 host bus adapter based on Silicon Image SiI3132 (http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=32). You can attach up to two enclosures (10 drives) to one card by FIS-based Port Multiplier. Supports RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 and JBOD.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159226&d=1259116325

8-Drive SATA Enclosure

Rosewill RSV-S8 8-Drive SATA Port Multiplier Enclosure, $300.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159227&d=1259116325

The case has two SiI3726 (http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=26) port multipliers and is bundled with a 2-port SATA PCIe x1 host bus adapter based on Silicon Image SiI3132 (http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=32) supporting port multiplier. The difference between SiI3726 and SiI4726 is that SiI4726 can be connected to a non-PM aware SATA port, while SiI3726 needs to be connected to a PM aware SATA port.

High-Performance 8-Drive SATA Enclosure

8-Drive SATA to InfiniBand Enclosure (http://www.pc-pitstop.com/sata_enclosures/scsat84xt.asp), $399.
HighPoint RocketRAID 2322 8-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x8 Card, $250.
1m SFF-8088 to SFF-8470 Cable (e.g. HighPoint Ext-MS-1MIB), $30.
Total Cost: $679.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159228&d=1259116370

RocketRAID 2322 uses the same SATA (PCI-X) controller as Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 mentioned in "Media Storage Server" (Marvell 88SX6081). However it lacks a hardware RAID processor. For better performance you should choose a RAID controller card with a hardware RAID processor engine such as

HighPoint RocketRAID 3522 8-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x8 Card with with IOP341 Processor, $498.
Areca ARC-1221x 8-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x8 Card with with IOP341 Processor, $595.
Adaptec RAID 3085 8-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x8 Card, $595.
Adaptec RAID 5085 8-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x8 Card, $760.
LSI SAS3801E 8-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x8 Card, $300.
15 to 20-Drive SATA 4U Rack Mount Storage Chassis

Addonics is manufacturing a highly customizable 4U rack mount chassis supporting up to 20 HDDs:

Addonics Storage Rack (http://www.addonics.com/products/raid_system/rack_overview.asp)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159229&d=1259116370

You can use the chassis in various ways. For example,

20 HDD Enclosure (via Port Multiplier)

Addonics SRDA460S Storage Rack DA base unit with 460W ATX power supply, $335.
Addonics AE5RCS35NSA Disk Array 5SA, $129.
Addonics AE5RCS35NSA Disk Array 5SA, $129.
Addonics AE5RCS35NSA Disk Array 5SA, $129.
Addonics AE5RCS35NSA Disk Array 5SA, $129.
Addonics AD5SAPM Internal SATA Port Multiplier, $69.
Addonics AD5SAPM Internal SATA Port Multiplier, $69.
Addonics AD5SAPM Internal SATA Port Multiplier, $69.
Addonics AD5SAPM Internal SATA Port Multiplier, $69.
18 inch SATA Cable x 24, $24.
1m eSATA Cable x 4, $24.
Addonics ADSA3GPX8-4E 4 Port eSATA RAID5/JBOD PCIe 8x Controller , $180.
Total Cost: $1384.
However, considering the total cost and noise/heat emitted from the enclosure, you may want to build a dedicated media storage server instead and place it at a distant location.

Other DAS Solutions

Please check:

Newegg.com > Servers > Server RAID Systems (http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=509&name=Server-RAID-Systems)

renethx

11-23-09, 09:32 PM

__________
Workstation
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Workstation here is a PC intended for various HTPC-related tasks other than video/audio playback. The CPU and the motherboard chosen here are good enough for the most demanding tasks and future upgrades (4 cores/8 threads, supporting PCI Express 2.0 x16, x16 / x16, x8, x8 / x8, x8, x8, x8 links). The selection of other components depends on the tasks you are going to do. The system below is a consumer-grade high-performance video editing machine.

System

CPU: Core i7 860 2.80GHz LGA1156, $284.
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V, $45, with Xigmatek Crossbow ACK-I5361, $11 (necessary to attach the cooler to the LGA1156 socket).
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55 WS SuperComputer LGA1156 Intel P55 and nForce 200 chipsets ATX, $230.
Memory: A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit, $88.
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 275 DDR3 896MB, $210.
HBA: Adaptec RAID 51645 20-port SAS/SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x8 Card, $1,040.
HDD: Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH080G2 80GB SATA 3.0Gbps SSD, $223.
PSU: Seasonic M12D 850W, $156.
Case: Chenbro SR109 EATX/ATX, $250.
HDD Cage (optional): Chenbro 84H210910-010 5-in-3 Hotswap HDD Cage, $99. The case supports up to 15 HDDs (besides the OS drive) with three cages.
Total Cost: $2582 (optional HDD cages and drives for data storage are not included)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159255&stc=1&d=1259153681

Remarks

You can even use:
CPU: Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA1366, $284.
Motherboard: ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution LGA1366 Intel X58 and nForce 200 chipsets ATX, $335 (supporting PCI Express 2.0 x16, x16, x16 / x16, x16, x8, x8 / x16, x8, x8, x8, x8 links), or ASUS P6T7 WS SuperComputer LGA1366 Intel X58 and dual nForce 200 chipsets ATX, $400 (supporting PCI Express 2.0 x16, x16, x16, x16 / x16, x16, x16, x8, x8 / x16, x16, x8, x8, x8, x8 / x16, x8, x8, x8, x8, x8, x8 links).
Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ DDR3-1600 3 x 2GB Kit, $135.
if your applications can utilize that expandability.

renethx

11-23-09, 09:32 PM

_________________
Media Storage Server
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__________________
General Consideration
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Purpose of a Media Storage Server

The main purposes of the media storage server described here are:

Storing/archiving media files (ripped/downloaded/recorded SD & HD video contents/music, photographs etc.) in one centralized place.
Streaming media to HTPCs.
Possibly serving as a DVR with TV tuners added.
Here are some considerations in building such a system.

Component Selection

OS: The intended OS is one of
Windows Vista or 7, x86 or x64, with or without FlexRAID and/or FlexRAID-View
Windows Home Server (WHS), with or without FlexRAID (in place of Folder Duplication)
unRAID (a Linux variant with RAID 4 capability)
You can also use Linux with software RAID, OpenFiler etc. as long as your hardware components are supported.
Case: Currently NORCO RPC-4020 and NORCO RPC-4220 are the best cases for a media storage server. Both support 20 HDDs in hot-swap bays at a relatively cheap price. The latter has a backplane with five SFF-8087 connectors instead of twenty SATA connectors in the former. If you need more storage space, build another server of the same type and store them in a rack such as iStarUSA WO22AB 22U WO Open Frame Rack (http://www.istarusa.com/server_cabinet/open_frame_rack/default.aspx), ~$300:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159306&stc=1&d=1259196845

PSU: Each hard disk drive consumes as low as 5W at idle, but as much as 30W at start-up (depending on each model). So we will need a powerful PSU to start up all the drives at a time. A typical power consumption of a server consisting of twenty HDDs is
~600W at start up
~200W at seek
~150W at idle
CPU: We chose a cheap dual-core processor because archiving/streaming/recording is not CPU-intensive.
Memory: 2GB is enough for a similar reason.
Motherboard: Basic requirements are
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.
Gb LAN (that provides enough bandwidth for streaming HD contents to several HTPC simultaneously)
Proper support for power management, in particular WOL (Wake-On-LAN)
If you are going to use the server as a DVR, you may want more expansion slots. The motherboard chosen here has enough expansion slots and is reasonably cheap. You can even use a RAID controller PCIe x8 card.
HBA (host bus adapter): As the number of onboard SATA ports is not enough, we use SATA controller cards. I chose cheap non-RAID SATA controller PCI-X (compatible with PCI) or PCI Express x4 cards, that are enough for our purpose.
OS drive: You can use any drive for OS (a USB flash memory for unRAID).
Storage drives: There are several good cheap 1TB/1.5TB HDDs.
WD Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 5400 rpm SATA 3.0Gbps, $85.
Samsung HD103SI 1TB 5400 rpm SATA 3.0Gbps, $80.
WD Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB 5400 rpm SATA 3.0Gbps, $120.
Samsung HD154UI 1.5TB 5400 rpm SATA 3.0Gbps, $120.
Backup

You will need to back up important, irreplaceable data (e.g. personal documents and family photos), perhaps off-site. Building a dedicated backup system is one method (you can use similar hardware components here). A caution to those who consider RAID5: RAID 5 is not a backup strategy, it's about uptime - if a drive fails, you can swap it for a new one to rebuild with no service interruption. You may lose the entire date in the array instantly however if multiple drives fail or if a hardware issue kills the array. FlexRAID and unRAID are better in this point: you can still get data from each non-failed drive.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159091&d=1259033212

renethx

11-23-09, 09:33 PM

______
System
¯¯¯¯¯¯

20 HDD Rack Mount System I

The first system uses NORCO RPC-4020 case (20 SATA connectors in the backplane) and two 8-port SATA controller PCI-X cards.

System

Case: NORCO RPC-4020 4U EATX/ATX (20 x SATA/SAS drive bay), $265.
PSU: Corsair TX750W CMPSU-750TX 750W, $110.
CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX, $83.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics: Radeon HD 4200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HBA: Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI-X Card, $95.
HBA: Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI-X Card, $95.
OS HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
Total Cost: $818 (storage drives are not included)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159307&stc=1&d=1259197086

Remarks

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 (this is natural considering the bandwidth of PCI is 133MB/s, higher than most single disks).
You may need two Right (Left?)-Angle SATA cables so that one of the Supermicro cards does not interfere with the onboard SATA ports, such as:

StarTech SATA18LA1 18 inch Left Angle Serial ATA Cable (http://www.startech.com/Product/ItemDetail.aspx?productid=SATA18LA1&c=US)
20 HDD Rack Mount System II

The second system uses NORCO RPC-4220 case (five SFF-8087 connectors in the backplane) and two 8-port SATA controller PCI Express x4 cards.

System

Case: NORCO RPC-4220 4U EATX/ATX (20 x SATA/SAS drive bay), $300.
PSU: Corsair TX750W CMPSU-750TX 750W, $112.
CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX, $83.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics: Radeon HD 4200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $102.
HBA: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $102.
Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to Four SATA Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087OCR-05M or Norco C-SFF8087-4S), $11.
Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087-05M or Norco C-SFF8087-D), $11.
Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087-05M or Norco C-SFF8087-D), $11.
Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087-05M or Norco C-SFF8087-D), $11.
Cable: 0.5m SFF-8087 to SFF-8087 Cable (e.g. 3ware CBL-SFF8087-05M or Norco C-SFF8087-D), $11.
OS HDD: WD Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT 320GB SATA 3.0Gbps mobile 7200 RPM, $69.
Total Cost: $931 (storage drives are not included)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159308&stc=1&d=1259197086
Remarks

Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 is a PCI Express x4 card so that there should be enough bandwidth even if you go with software RAID. However currently the supported OS' are limited to:
Windows Home Server, 2003, 2008 and Vista
RedHat Enterprise Linux
Fedora Linux 9
SuSE Linux Enterprise
So you can't use it with, for example, unRAID or OpenFiler.
15 HDD Tower System

In case you prefer or have to use a tower case, here is a 15 HDD tower system.

System

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX (9 x 5.25” bay), $60.
HDD Cage: Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
HDD Cage: Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
HDD Cage: Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
PSU: Corsair TX650W CMPSU-650TX 650W, $85.
CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler, $0.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX, $83.
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
Graphics: Radeon HD 4200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
HBA: MonoPrice 2530 2-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $14.
HBA: MonoPrice 2530 2-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $14.
HBA: MonoPrice 2530 2-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $14.
HBA: MonoPrice 2530 2-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $14.
HBA: MonoPrice 2530 2-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $14.
Cable: 18 inch SATA Cable x 16, $16.
OS HDD: WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
Total Cost: $813 (storage drives are not included)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159309&stc=1&d=1259197086

A couple of other tower cases suitable for a server are:

15 HDDs in Hot Swap Bays, $551
Chenbro SR109 EATX/ATX, $245.
Chenbro 84H210910-010 5-in-3 Hotswap HDD Cage, $102.
Chenbro 84H210910-010 5-in-3 Hotswap HDD Cage, $102.
Chenbro 84H210910-010 5-in-3 Hotswap HDD Cage, $102.
15 HDDs in Hot Swap Bays, $380
Cooler Master Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX (9 x 5.25” bay), $50.
Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
18 HDDs in Non-Hot Swap Bays, $284
Antec Twelve Hundred ATX (12 x 5.25” bay), $146.
Lian Li EX-23NB Internal HDD Kit, $23.
Lian Li EX-23NB Internal HDD Kit, $23.
Lian Li EX-23NB Internal HDD Kit, $23.
Lian Li EX-23NB Internal HDD Kit, $23.
Lian Li EX-23NB Internal HDD Kit, $23.
Lian Li EX-23NB Internal HDD Kit, $23.
20 HDDs in Hot Swap Bays, $586
Antec Twelve Hundred ATX (12 x 5.25” bay), $146.
Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane, $110.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159310&stc=1&d=1259197263

You can use any combination of the following HBAs:

Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI Express x4 Card, $102.
Supermicro AOC-SAT2-MV8 8-port SATA Controller PCI-X Card, $95.
PROMISE SATA300 TX4 4-port SATA Controller PCI Card, $58.
MonoPrice 2530 2-port SATA RAID Controller PCI Express x1 Card, $14.

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davedelite

11-23-09, 10:37 PM

PowerColor SCS3 HD 5750: may not fit the case because of the tall heatsink.

Of course, you would be correct here. Rats. I exchanged email with PowerColor today and the SCS3 HD 5750 is reported as:

Dimension: 8.5 * 5.25 * 1.5 inches
The heatsink goes above the card by 0.75 inches.

By the way, this card popped up on Newegg today.

Any ideas for a good Micro-ATX case that is more or less like the cube form of the Q-Pack or Q-Pack2, but with enough clearance for this PowerColor card? Short of this, I guess I could use a recommendation of the quietest possible HD 5750 card out there that sports a fan and does not take up extra space above the card.

MB:

- GA-P55M-UD2: Dual BIOS (easy recovery in case of BIOS failure), only one system fan connector, 7 SATA + 1 eSATA, Realtek ALC888B
- P55M Pro: Two system fan connectors, 4 SATA + 2 eSATA, VIA VT1708S.

I recommend GA-P55M-UD2.

I take it omission then, that for the pursposes of this HTPC as I laid it out, that you see no value in buying the more expensive boards? And, moreover, that you see no relevant difference between the UD4 over the UD2?

blockofwood

11-23-09, 10:48 PM

wow! I just learned of this HTPC thing. This is exactly what I have been looking for! I have built several desktop PCs, but this is entirely different. I am excited to start building. In the next couple weeks I will have a few questions for you so please go easy.:)
Looks like I have a lot of reading to catch up on.

I think I have chosen the case for the HT.
At lease it is a start.

oops can't post url yet..

Broadway Com Corp Black Aluminum / Thick Steel HTPC-HT1100 ATX Media Center ---- Newegg

turkeylord

11-24-09, 01:49 PM

Hi!

I'm finally getting around to building my HTPC, thanks all for making this info available!

I was all set to do the Low-End ATX AMD/AMD system when I decided I wanted to be able to do RAID 5. From what I understand reading here & newegg reviews I need a board with the AMD SB750 southbridge chipset to support RAID5. What's a good alternate board?

Is this a good choice?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138130

Or this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186150

Cheap?!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135235

On a side note, will the HDMI / DVI / VGA ports all be active at the same time?

Thanks in advance!!!

shrike424242

11-24-09, 02:31 PM

Looking at the Intel-Nvidia gaming system config, with the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi GF9300-G-E motherboard, the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770 GDDR5 1GB or XFX GS-250X-ZDFC graphics card and the SilverStone Sugo SG05 SST-SG05B case, will those three items all work with one another? Both graphics cards use a PCI-E slot and a adjacent slot, though there really isn't an adjacent slot on the GF9300-G-E motherboard if you're using the built-in WiFi.

Would you need to skip the WiFi to get either graphics card to fit in that combination of case and motherboard?

mingus

11-24-09, 06:50 PM

Just received my Silverstone GD04 to transfer my HTPC components to, and realized my Cooler Master GeminII is too tall to fit under the optical drive.

Other than the Silverstone cooler, what is the best quiet short fan that will fit?

Better just to get the Silverstone cooler?

Will the Nexus Low-7000 at 70.3mm work? Says 70mm max...

thx

klutch

11-24-09, 07:03 PM

So I'm still a bit confused by all this. Looking at the diagram in post 11077 it shows both low and mid range Micro-ATX systems with Intel/Nvida and AMD/Nvida configurations but yet in the builds there are only Intel/Intel and AMD/AMD. I would just use that Zotac board and go ITX but the dang thing only has 2 SATA connectors and that's just too few.

This one below is the one I'm interested in and although the footnote doesn't mention it in this particular build the one just below it says "Radeon HD 4200 does not support multichannel LPCM over HDMI. If you want multichannel LPCM, you have to add a discrete graphics card. Here is an example of such a system."

AMD-AMD (iGPU)

System

* CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3, $60.
* CPU Cooler: Stock cooler, $0.
* Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset microATX, $80. A cheaper alternative is ASRock A780GMH/128M AM2+ AMD 780G chipset microATX, $60.
* Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A16K DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $50.
* Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4200 (integrated in the chipset), $0.
* HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps, $60.
* PSU: 80 PLUS 350W ATX PSU (included in the case), $0
* Case: Antec NSK1480 microATX, $95.
* Total Cost: $345

0majestic1

11-24-09, 07:29 PM

DJWikiera

11-24-09, 08:00 PM

I am looking to put together a HTPC that will do Blu-ray with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreams over HDMI.
I have some old components that I was hoping to use in this build and was wondering if anyone could tell me if the following would work:

Intel DG33TL - LGA775 Intel G33 microATX
Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 - 2.93GHz 3MB L2 LGA775
4GB Corsair XMS2 - DDR2 800

If I purchased a Radeon HD 4670, would this machine support the Blu-ray playback and the bitsreams over HDMI? Would I need to upgrade my motherboard to a G45?

Thanks for the help.

-0majestic1

Get a series 5xxx ATI card as you are able to bitstream HD Audio with this card, without getting any other hardware cards to bitstream. You will need the newest version of PowerDvd also as they just added bitstreaming support for this card. You should be fine with everything else that you have.

tsanga

11-24-09, 08:27 PM

blockofwood

11-24-09, 08:46 PM

I had a question about the OS. Here is what I want my HTPC to do:

Play DVD's
Play Blu-Ray
Stream DVD and Blu-Ray from server and from local HDD.
Stream HULU
Stream Netflix

I like the way XBMC looks and may use that program.

What are the benefits of using Windows over Linux. Or which would work better Linux or Windows?

I have never installed Linux. I own a retail CD of XP Pro.

Thanks :)

renethx

11-24-09, 10:05 PM

Of course, you would be correct here. Rats. I exchanged email with PowerColor today and the SCS3 HD 5750 is reported as:

Dimension: 8.5 * 5.25 * 1.5 inches
The heatsink goes above the card by 0.75 inches.

By the way, this card popped up on Newegg today.

Any ideas for a good Micro-ATX case that is more or less like the cube form of the Q-Pack or Q-Pack2, but with enough clearance for this PowerColor card? Short of this, I guess I could use a recommendation of the quietest possible HD 5750 card out there that sports a fan and does not take up extra space above the card.

I take it omission then, that for the pursposes of this HTPC as I laid it out, that you see no value in buying the more expensive boards? And, moreover, that you see no relevant difference between the UD4 over the UD2?
I would choose a quiet active cooler for HD 5750 (it still consumes 86W at load).

UD4 supports:

- 12 phase power design and better cooling for MOSFET and chipset (good if you are going to overclock CPU)
- 4 fan connector vs 2.
- Dual PCI Express 2.0 x8 for SLI/CrossFireX
- ALC889A supporting full quality Blu-ray audio via onboard analog with PowerDVD.
- S/PDIF supports Dolby Home Theater (good for S/PDIF gamers)

I think none of them is relevant to your usage. Save your money (and send me a donation with that money; just kidding :D).

renethx

11-24-09, 10:30 PM

renethx

11-24-09, 10:33 PM

ScoHo

11-24-09, 11:47 PM

So I'm now looking at building a low-end Intel/Nvidia micro system due to the apparent great playback of HDTV material, but it seems the GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H mobo is no longer sold through Newegg. So is there a newer (LGA 775 Geforce 9400) alternative to that?

Or am I reading too much into that chart? Would I be totally fine with AMD/Nvidia? I will be using it for Blu-ray/DVD discs, as well as streaming HD material from a network share, and probably some internet streaming (Netflix, Hulu, etc). Also ripping Blu-ray/DVDs. Probably Windows 7 with XBMC.

EDIT: I should add, I need S/PDIF out, since my TV doesn't do HDMI audio.

davedelite

11-25-09, 07:37 AM

I would choose a quiet active cooler for HD 5750 (it still consumes 86W at load)

Why? If my goal is to maintain low noise.

Also, thanks so much on the trade-off detail on the UD2-UD4.

Lastly, I noticed in the just release November recommendations that you changed the recommended memory on the Micro-ATX High End System to A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit from the memory that the September list had for the high end system with i5-750 (which at that time was the same memory as the Premium system for Sept or Nov lists). Why did you make this change?

davedelite

11-25-09, 07:54 AM

Still looking for a good replacement to my Apevia Aspire Q-Pack for my system rebuild. I was trying to get away with using this same case since I had also sound proofed with insulation, etc., but it appears now that I am really limited by it in two ways based on the system I had hoped to build. (1) Now that I have a standard ATX PSU in it I need optical drives that are shorter than the current Blu-Ray burners (that tend to run 180 to 185 mm, whereas my current opitical DVD DL drive is like 170mm and fits fine) (2) it won't have room of the extra 0.75 inch necessary for the fanless PowerColor HD 5750 I was hoping to use.

One of the other things I was hoping to achieve was to stick with one larger system fan (like the QPack uses) to achieve how CFM through the case with low rpm and low noise. Looks like some of these LAN style cases (even some of the HTPC style cases) now use 2 or more system fans which is really concerning from a noise standpoint.

So, I did some research (QPack 2), SilverStone SG01 and SG02, and the Thermaltake and CoolerMaster lines and have not really found my cup of tea. Honestly, it appears that the LUXA2 LM200 is maybe the best fit for me, but it is a lot more money than I wanted to spend. Not really looking for the remote control integration and all that since I am fine with my gyro mouse and keyboard, etc.

Wondering if anyone has a good suggestion...the criteria is quite simple:

1) Lan type style (like the ones I mentioned)
2) MicroATX and accomodates ATX PSU with optical drives that renethx has suggested (i.e. 180-185mm in length)
3) Supports a "little" more clearance above the video card so I can use the passively cooled Power Color HD 5750 SCS3 with fanless heatsink
4) 1 system fan (for low noise)
5) 1 x 5.25" drive for optical
6) 2 x 3.5" drive internal for HDDs

and is not tinny or noisy, but low noise.

Doesn't seem too much to ask, does it?

renethx

11-25-09, 08:49 AM

ScoHo

11-25-09, 10:16 AM

Then go with AMD-AMD with IGP (if you use a low-profile case) or HD 4670 (for a full-height case).

Thanks Rene.

So with AMD/AMD, Blu-ray playback at 24hz is still okay?

With that, I'm looking at this setup:

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDZ550WFGIBOX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680) $102
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397) $89.99
Alternative mobo - ASUS M4A785T-M/CSM AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131609) $84.99 (I am an ASUS fan)

(Would prefer DDR3 memory.)

I've already got the Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129054)

Will I need a separate graphics card for that, or will the integrated one work?

(By the way, donation just sent. :) Thank you for all your efforts for putting this guide together, and I encourage anyone here who has used Renethx's services to do the same.)

stevenash

11-25-09, 11:45 AM

problem:
- choppy/stuttering live TV (video and sound)
- analog (NTSC) cable [don't have digital to compare]
- same for recorded live TV
- always been this way, never worked
- all other (not recorded by me) video and audio files play fine
- using win 7 media center

- its a new build (see below) and everything else seems to be working fine
- deleted and reinstalled drivers for the tuner and gpu several times with no change
- tried messing with refresh rates but no change
- can't seem to find any help on this issue anywhere (sorry to clog this forum)

* any ideas?

Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P; AMD Phenom II X4; Radeon HD4850 1G 256bit GDDR3 (HIS H485FM1GH); Win7 (64bit; Home Prem); G.Skill 2Gx2 DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel; AverTV Combo G2; WD Caviar Blue 80Gb 7200rpm; Zalman CNPS 9500; Plextor PX-880SA; Corsair CMPSU-650TX

turkeylord

11-25-09, 12:23 PM

davedelite

11-25-09, 03:32 PM

(By the way, donation just sent. :) Thank you for all your efforts for putting this guide together, and I encourage anyone here who has used Renethx's services to do the same.)

x2...I just sent a donation also. Efforts like this should be rewarded...

renethx

11-25-09, 06:18 PM

Why? If my goal is to maintain low noise.

Also, thanks so much on the trade-off detail on the UD2-UD4.

Lastly, I noticed in the just release November recommendations that you changed the recommended memory on the Micro-ATX High End System to A-DATA HY63I1B16K DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB Kit from the memory that the September list had for the high end system with i5-750 (which at that time was the same memory as the Premium system for Sept or Nov lists). Why did you make this change?
To achieve the same temperature, passive cooling tends to be noisier than active cooling (i.e. the case fan has to run faster that causes more noise than the low-speed quiet GPU fan). People who prefer passive cooling are usually content with higher GPU temperature that shortens the lifetime of GPU.

Core i5 supports up to DDR3-1333. Unless you are going to overclock, that's enough.

davedelite

11-25-09, 07:03 PM

Core i5 supports up to DDR3-1333. Unless you are going to overclock, that's enough.

Just saw the newegg.com black friday listings and lo and behold. I assume you have no problem substituting either of these? Looks like this is a slightly better grade of memory at lower price due to black friday?? Regarding tese two below, I take it the former is good if you don't overclock. Is the latter "just as good" if you don't overclock, but giving you more flexibility in the future? Or, do you suffer if you don't overclock due to mismatches in clock timing, etc.?

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - Retail $69.99

.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM - Retail $79.99

renethx

11-25-09, 07:22 PM

Just saw the newegg.com black friday listings and lo and behold. I assume you have no problem substituting either of these? Looks like this is a slightly better grade of memory at lower price due to black friday?? Regarding tese two below, I take it the former is good if you don't overclock. Is the latter "just as good" if you don't overclock, but giving you more flexibility in the future? Or, do you suffer if you don't overclock due to mismatches in clock timing, etc.?

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - Retail $69.99

.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM - Retail $79.99
Either one is good. The latter also runs at 1333MHz/looser timings/1.5V fine. (People choose this type of memory for slightly better frame rate in gaming.)

renethx

11-25-09, 07:34 PM

Thanks Rene.

So with AMD/AMD, Blu-ray playback at 24hz is still okay?

Will I need a separate graphics card for that, or will the integrated one work?

(By the way, donation just sent. :) Thank you for all your efforts for putting this guide together, and I encourage anyone here who has used Renethx's services to do the same.)
Yes.

No. Try IGP first. A better discrete graphics card will come in Q1 2020 (HD 56xx).

bobby_t1

11-25-09, 08:18 PM

Rene, hoping you can help me out.

I've shifted gears a few times in what I'm doing for my HTPC and currently, I"m thinking about buying a new desktop PC and turning my current desktop PC into my HTPC. Far cheaper this way if I can make it work.

Spec wise, my machine is great except for the video card. I already replaced the video card once so I could power my 30" desktop LCD since it required a pretty crazy resolution. So I upgraded the video card to ATI HD3400, however this won't be powerful enough to use for my HTPC setup.

The biggest problem is that my desktop PC is a slim tower, so only supports Low profile PCI -- either PCIe x1 or PCIe x16

I'm not overly concern about fan noise since the HTPC will be in another room with an HDMI run to the living room to connect to the plasma. However, since that other room is an office, I don't want it screaming loud.

I previously saw a recommendation for the Sapphire HD4550 low profile card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102819&Tpk=sapphire%20HD4550). Is this still the current best low profile card to get?

I'm interested in getting HD audio (dolby TrueHD) over HDMI and itlooks like I need to step up to an ATI 5xxx series to get that.However, ae ter any low noise and low profile cards yet?

renethx

11-25-09, 11:22 PM

@bobby_t1

Low-end HD 5xxx (< $100) are released in Q1 2010. Perhaps a couple low-profile models are available. Or go with Sapphire HD 4550 now (without HD audio bitstreams).

bobby_t1

11-26-09, 06:45 AM

@bobby_t1

Low-end HD 5xxx (< $100) are released in Q1 2010. Perhaps a couple low-profile models are available. Or go with Sapphire HD 4550 now (without HD audio bitstreams).

Any advantages over the HD 4650 over the 4550?

I'm likely going to get a standalone bluray player thus can avoid waiting until Q1 2010 for the low profile HD 5xxx to come out.

guerila

11-26-09, 08:59 AM

renethx

11-26-09, 09:01 AM

Any advantages over the HD 4650 over the 4550?
Advantages of what over 4650/4550?

bobby_t1

11-26-09, 01:30 PM

Advantages of what over 4650/4550?

Wondering if there is any reason to get the ATI 4650 instead of the 4550?

bobby_t1

11-26-09, 01:32 PM

This just came out:
http://www.avermedia-usa.com//AVerTV/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=482
Using this will i be able to upscale 1080i from my set top box and deliver1080p to my monitor?Of course via my HTPC

It's meant for video capture from something like a camcorder or a cable box so you can record it. This isn't meant to do real-time video upconversion or even output -- you still need a video card.

renethx

11-26-09, 06:17 PM

Wondering if there is any reason to get the ATI 4650 instead of the 4550?
Zero reason (except for slightly better 3D performance).

shrike424242

11-26-09, 10:19 PM

SG05 supports mini-DTX, that's the point.Sorry, had a braindead moment when asking the question.

I started building it today and saw exactly why it was a dumb question to ask.

guerila

11-27-09, 04:48 AM

It's meant for video capture from something like a camcorder or a cable box so you can record it. This isn't meant to do real-time video upconversion or even output -- you still need a video card.

my problem is as follow:
I have a 40 inch pannel with dvi input.All it can handel is 1080p/60fps.Nothing else.Other format cannot be decoded and displayed. I build an HTPC and via its video card i give this format to pannel.
Now, because our cable provider don't wanna provide a CAM so i can use an DVB-C tuner for digital cable, i have to use their set top box if i want to see digital cable.For this i have to use an capture card able to handle 1080i-format that box is providing, via hdmi.

Fot that i have in mind card i put up or this :AVerMedia Capture HD tuner.Is it possible to "preview" via its hdmi input information provided by set top box in a good quality>?

Malin

11-27-09, 07:18 AM

I have arrived at the conclusion that Zotec GT240 zone edition is the best HTPC card at the moment for my needs. If ure not messing with Linux or CUDA stuff, Sapphire HD4670 would probably be the better solution.

The price and gaming performance is the same or even a bit better than Asus silent 9600GT.

The GT240 chipset beats 9600GT in terms of

its ability to pass 8 channel PCM and compressed DTS/DD just as Radeon 4xxx cards do. 9600GT can only pass SPDIF.
much lower power consumption
better video processing capability with PureVideo4

beats Radeon HD 4670 in terms of

better gaming performance
CUDA and VDPAU
Linux drivers
image quality (subjective)

but is beaten by HD 4670 in terms of

power consumption
price (HD4670 is about USD 30 cheaper)

I am ordering the Zotac Zone GT240 ending a month of decision agony over which one of Sapphire HD4550, Sapphire/HIS HD4670, Kuroto/Zotac/Asus/Palit/Leadtek 9500GT, Asus 9600GT to choose for my second HTPC built.

Thank you for you help and good luck with your HTPC projects.
Regards,
Malin

FishWhale

11-27-09, 09:56 AM

renethx
Hello! Thanks for your information!
Excuse, if my English language bad.
Now there are some possibilities of conclusion HD-audio (TrueHD, HD Master Audio …) bitstream (LPCM-audio It is included,) basically:
Radeon HD 5xxx + PowerDVD (+ patch)
ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 + ArcSoft TMT

I plan to use HTPC basically for reproduction torrents files (BD, .mkv, .ts, .wav, .flac ...), received of a network the Internet, is a little converting videо and audio, it is a little games and other standard programs PC. I consider that ArcSoft TMT approaches for performance of these works is better. For example, PowerDVD reproduces the information only with BD/DVD a drive or an image of a disk (.ISO).

I ask to recommend configuration HTPC with participation ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim, having removed expensive not the necessary components. Connection HTPC on HDMI to receiver ONKYO TS SR-606-E, further on HDMI to TV Pioneer PDP-LX5090 and separate acoustic Monitor Audio Silver 5.1.
For a basis I assume to take ATX system High-end AMD / AMD as the case choice (HTPC or PC) is not finished yet (additional HDD will be established in case HTPC?).
In addition: - 1 HDD for OC – 100 Gb ?; - HDD for a data storage - 3-4 Gb; - Possibility of construction of a house network

thanks

Eopian

11-27-09, 11:32 AM

FishWhale:

This thread is all about recommending components. Read the guide a few pages back and ReneTHX lays out serveral recommended systems at several price points. When you have your components picked out, post them here to double check it will do everything you want it to do.

OCD Panda

11-27-09, 12:55 PM

This information is extremely dated and biased. Nvidia could not be farther from the defacto standard for HTPC right now.

Edit- ok the guide is useless, not the bazillion other pages! I figured I was responding to guide creator, missed that page count.

dbone1026

11-27-09, 12:57 PM

This information is extremely dated and biased. Nvidia could not be farther from the defacto standard for HTPC right now.

What information, I hope you are not referring to the 1st page in this thread as the latest guide is here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17591247#post17591247

OCD Panda

11-27-09, 01:04 PM

Yep, and thx. Good to see current opinions.

OCD Panda

11-27-09, 01:10 PM

BTW, I am vastly preferring discrete ATI cards right now, of at least 48xx series. With new standards coming along and the hardware acceleration ATI is focusing on for this stuff, I would gladly spare more for the GPU, over the CPU. I lean towards the faster vid RAM for gaming reasons.

vdiesel

11-27-09, 07:33 PM

My Windows 7 Media Center UI is slow when HD is playing in the background. Is this a problem with the CPU (AMD BE-2300) or the onboard 780G chipset (HD3200)?

Thanks for any input.

OCD Panda

11-27-09, 08:02 PM

Haven't checked the specs in a while, but the discrete 3200 card itself doesn't have a smoking amount of processing power for the higher res and bit rates. Also, it lacks some hardware accel features relative to the higher (4/5 series) cards. Your question is also vague enough in your PC description for me to wonder if you have enough RAM, or if the 3200 IGP is not strong enough. Is this playing Blu- ray 1080P, or is it 720p H.264 rips, etc? I'll look up what ya gave, and see if either is simply falling down for others.

Ok, 3200 IGP is 3450 equivalent....

No idea on the CPU identification w/o more info.

Updated edit: That IGP seems like a solid bet. The last time I saw a truly laggy Media Center while viewing content was low RAM.

I personally never use less that 4 gigs in anything, so I have yet to see that type of lag, even when multitasking.

If the processor is short on cache, and has 2 cores at less than 2.4 Ghz, I could maybe see an issue with some content, if you have all kinds of default services and an internet security suite running along with other things. That would be odd on a HTPC purposed unit. Most run them lean on fluff.

vdiesel

11-27-09, 08:14 PM

Thanks for the quick reply.

It's got 2GB of RAM. Trying just to play 720p/1080i content recorded from HDHomeRun. I thought the HD3200/780G had hardware acceleration for this kind of stuff? What gives?

renethx

11-27-09, 09:38 PM

My Windows 7 Media Center UI is slow when HD is playing in the background. Is this a problem with the CPU (AMD BE-2300) or the onboard 780G chipset (HD3200)?

Thanks for any input.
BE-2300 + HD 3200 is a bad combination (memory bandwidth is not enough for various video playback tasks). You will need a HyperTransport 3.0 processor such as Athlon/Phenom II X2/X3/X4 for good video playback performance.

HD 3200 support HD video decode acceleration and good deinterlacing (with a HT 3.0 processor).

xager8on

11-28-09, 10:32 AM

Renethx - I see in your updated posting (pg 370) that for those of us thinking about using RAID5 that you recommend either FlexRaid or UnRaid for possible issues with a RAID configuration. Would a better solution just be using another Hard Drive as the backup drive with Win7 backup utility? I personally do not want to lose all of the video/music files that have taken an extraordinary amount of hrs to convert.

davedelite

11-28-09, 12:14 PM

MB:

- GA-P55M-UD2: Dual BIOS (easy recovery in case of BIOS failure), only one system fan connector, 7 SATA + 1 eSATA, Realtek ALC888B
- P55M Pro: Two system fan connectors, 4 SATA + 2 eSATA, VIA VT1708S.

I recommend GA-P55M-UD2.

renethx:

I have changed an assumption in my system. I think I have settled on changing out my case and have selected the SilverStone SG01-F. I understand that this case has an 80mm fan for the hard drives (cross flow), an 80mm fan above the video card area, and an optional additional 80mm fan on the top). I views this as essentially 2 minimum, with up to 3 system fans.

Given this, do I now need to go to a GA-P55M-UD4 (which supposedly has 2 system fan headers and 1 power fan header...not sure what that is, but I presume it will meet my needs as a 3rd case fan header)?? I ask the question because I assume choosing this case now causes me to need more than the UD2 (one system fan support) or the AsRock P55M Pro with only 2 system fan support. While I assume you can hook up multiple or daisy chain, what I do want is independent automatic control of all fans based on temp and rpm settings.

TombKeeper

11-28-09, 12:31 PM

My dad finally bought a new tv...so he finally has 1080p. He wants BluRay also which means I need to update his HTPC....

First, would upgrading his 3870 to a 5750 provide any better pic quality (or anything along that line)?

Second, he uses a Yamaha receiver that can do all that BluRay sound stuff (TrueHD sound or whatnot)... how can he watch BluRay movies via HTPC and get the best sound? Would he still need to get a 5750 video card to do that and or sound card? This is in regards to playing recorded BluRay movies off HD and actual discs...or is that only if he wants to use just a hdmi cable (vs hdmi + coax/opt)

I'm thinking the sound card is ONLY for those that don't have a receiver that can do the specific sound decoding (like for bluray)...? Would he just continue to use his spdif (?) out from the MB to receiver? ...Or? (using Asus P5Q Deluxe motherboard)

If he does need to get a sound card, is one better than the other (Asus vs Auzentech ones mentioned)?

Third, any reason for going with TMT vs PDWD9? (I think from the Nov guide that to get the TrueHD sound from Bluray movies you need PDVD9...?)

blockofwood

11-28-09, 06:04 PM

renethx

11-28-09, 06:29 PM

I personally do not want to lose all of the video/music files that have taken an extraordinary amount of hrs to convert.
Then duplicating all the files in other HDDs and keeping them in a different machine (preferably at a distant location) is recommended.

renethx

11-28-09, 07:11 PM

renethx:

I have changed an assumption in my system. I think I have settled on changing out my case and have selected the SilverStone SG01-F. I understand that this case has an 80mm fan for the hard drives (cross flow), an 80mm fan above the video card area, and an optional additional 80mm fan on the top). I views this as essentially 2 minimum, with up to 3 system fans.

Given this, do I now need to go to a GA-P55M-UD4 (which supposedly has 2 system fan headers and 1 power fan header...not sure what that is, but I presume it will meet my needs as a 3rd case fan header)?? I ask the question because I assume choosing this case now causes me to need more than the UD2 (one system fan support) or the AsRock P55M Pro with only 2 system fan support. While I assume you can hook up multiple or daisy chain, what I do want is independent automatic control of all fans based on temp and rpm settings.
Besides a CPU fan connector (which always supports PWM fan control),

- ASRock P55M Pro: 2 x fan connector, of which only 1 controls fan speed.
- GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2: 1 x fan connector, controls fan speed.
- GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD4: 3 x fan connector, of which only 1 controls fan speed.

(BTW Intel DP55WB (Whitesburg; Media Series), Intel DP55SB (Sharpsburg; Extreme Series) has two system fans and controls fan speed of both.)

So whichever motherboard you choose, there is only one automatic fan control.

Ewingr

11-28-09, 07:42 PM

My relatively recent HTPC has no HDMI for anything at the moment. I am finally getting a new receiver that supports HDMI, True HD, etc. Might receive next week.

I was thinking HDMI put out the audio and video, but it seems like on the PC, I'd be looking at HDMI for sound, and another HDMI for the Video.

My current video card is not HDMI, but DVI.

I'm guessing there is no reason to run the HTPC video through the receiver, even though it does what I am told is good upscaling (Onkyo 3007). I'm presuming I won't get improvment over what the HTPC is already doing through it's software (sometimes I play through Theatertek, sometimes through TMT).

If it is recommended I run video through the receiver, I'm not sure how I will lhandle video on 1 HDMI and Audio on another, but I suspect I'll see something in the manual once I get it.

Thoughts?

WalkinPaul

11-28-09, 07:47 PM

I just wanted to drop in and say thanks to renethx. I have connected one of my HTPC's to an EPSON HC8100 HD projector and a Onkyo AV Receiver.

I'm using a 100" WilsonArt DW DIY screen I built and have in a spare ~12ft.sq. bedroom in my house.

Hulu, netflix, BD, HD-DVD, DVD, are so freaking cool at 100". I haven't tried gaming yet. (Too busy) :)

When I get everything setup, I'll stop to take some pics.

Thanks again. & also all the others that have helped me hear at AVS.

carter698

11-28-09, 09:05 PM

Renethx, thank you for such a great HTPC building guide. I would never consider building one without this forum. This is my first build, so I am pretty much sticking with the components from the low-end AMD/AMD (iGPU) system on pg 370:

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX240OCGQBOX (newegg combo w/ mb $103)
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K (newegg $50)
Western Digital Caviar Blue 640 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD6400AAKS (amazon $55)
Antec NSK2480 Desktop case 380W PS (amazon $93)
Subtotal for low-end AMD/AMD iGPU system: $301
Add-ons:

LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Disc Reader SATA Model iHOS104-08 (newegg $50)
Avertv MTVHDDUWB HD Duet (White Box) (amazon $60)
Gyration GYR4101CKUS Air Music Remote with Compact Keyboard (amazon $39 after rebate)
Total (not including Windows 7): $450

Requirements for this system, in order of priority:

Play DVDs (both SD and BD)
Stream online content (mlb, espn360, hulu)
Occasional DVR, but w/ all the content available online, this is primarily for increasing the WAF.

Questions:

Chose the non-low-profile NSK2480 to allow a possible upgrade to a mid-range system someday. Is this a good case for this build? Is it quiet?
Given that this is my first build, will I encounter any issues putting these components together in this case? What issues, if any, may I encounter in getting this hardware working? Please keep in mind that I have never done this before. The last computer I built was 25+ years ago.
I've been debating between the low-end and mid-range system. What am I giving up by going with the low-end iGPU system, given my requirements? Which of my requirements is the hardest to meet with the low-end system?
I need to add a wireless-n adapter. What is a good one?
Renethx's recent posts recommends the UD2H/DDR3 but I chose the US2H/DDR2 because newegg has a great combo price ($103). Would this choice affect future upgrades to the mid-range system or a dGPU?
Enough questions for now. I'm sure I'll have more! :)

Flaring Afro

11-28-09, 09:19 PM

Was hoping you guys could make sure everything would work together since I'm new to this and am only basing my knowledge off of a little online research on this.

Uses: Connect to 47" 1080p lcd tv and have the audio pass through the hdmi.
Run mediaportal and max out project64 on it (i assume this is easy).

I watch standard def tv shows more than movies, so SD playback should be great.
I will either use XP or vista64 (computer science majors get free OS's ;)), and could shrink them with software if it would save a lot of money for less hardware.

Hardware:

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor $58
ZOTAC GF8200-D-E AM2+/AM3 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $35
MSI R4550-MD1GH Radeon HD 4550 1GB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Low Profile Ready Video Card $41
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $54

$188 total and I already have the hdds and a remote. Case will probably just be an eMachines case my dad doesnt need. Thanks.

EDIT: Now I'm wondering how powerful a pc I need. For me, VMR9 with gausian quad filtering makes SD videos look the best by far. Looks fantastic. However, watching a 1080p dts movie, I get lag in places even with vrmr9 at "none" for filtering. VLC plays it fine (but looks bad with SD). Specs are overclocked @ 2.9 dual core with a 260gtx graphics card and 6 gigs of ram running vista64. If I can play crysis in native resolution on very high settings, I dont understand why it lags for the video, even sometimes at "none". Is this a codec problem? I never installed ffdshow since everything has been playable, would that solve it?

Marc_G

11-28-09, 09:52 PM

Renethx, thank you for such a great HTPC building guide. I would never consider building one without this forum. This is my first build, so I am pretty much sticking with the components from the low-end AMD/AMD (iGPU) system on pg 370:
...Enough questions for now. I'm sure I'll have more! :)

I'll just pipe in that my experience with an iGPU wasn't that great. It was a generation earlier than the one on your MoBo (Radeon HD3200), and the PQ particularly on SD stuff was quite poor. It "worked" but I was never happy.

Addition of a cheap fanless Sapphire 4550 solved all that.

Depending on your display, (mine was 1080i, 50" plasma), you may or may not have the same issues I did.

Marc

davedelite

11-29-09, 12:31 AM

So whichever motherboard you choose, there is only one automatic fan control.

So what is the best method for configuring a case like this then that might have more than one fan? Is it to run the 2/3 case fans all off of the same control so that at the least you have the ability to control upward or downward by temp or rpm all of them as a "set"? In the past, I had a separate fan control unit (a Thermaltake Hardcano 13) but I was hoping in this rebuild to step up to where the MoBo and software running on the PC itself was going to control all of my fans more intelligently and without the possible failure of a separate battery powered unit like the Hardcano.

renethx

11-29-09, 01:14 AM

So what is the best method for configuring a case like this then that might have more than one fan? Is it to run the 2/3 case fans all off of the same control so that at the least you have the ability to control upward or downward by temp or rpm all of them as a "set"? In the past, I had a separate fan control unit (a Thermaltake Hardcano 13) but I was hoping in this rebuild to step up to where the MoBo and software running on the PC itself was going to control all of my fans more intelligently and without the possible failure of a separate battery powered unit like the Hardcano.
Three critical components that require good cooling are CPU, GPU, and HDD. I recommend active cooling for CPU and GPU (this is the most effective cooling method). HDD: a slow constant speed fan is enough. All the case fans remove heat emitted from hardware components outside the case. Choose quiet case fans and run them at a constant speed (possibly with a GELID Y cable (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812718001) or a similar item, and a potentiometer such as Zalman Fan Mate 2).

davedelite

11-29-09, 01:28 AM

Three critical components that require good cooling are CPU, GPU, and HDD. I recommend active cooling for CPU and GPU (this is the most effective cooling method). HDD: a slow constant speed fan is enough. All the case fans remove heat emitted from hardware components outside the case. Choose quiet case fans and run them at a constant speed (possibly with a GELID Y cable (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812718001) or a similar item, and a potentiometer such as Zalman Fan Mate 2).

I actually have a Zalman Fan Mate 2.... that is a good idea. Put the Zalman on the HDD fan and run it real low, then allow the PWM control of the main case fan along with the GPU, CPU fan(s).

Lastly, there is no reason that I could not have two case fans running off of the same PWM header is there?

And, any reason not to go with an Intel DP55WB (Whitesburg; Media Series)? I see it is $99 at Newegg, so that is on par the the AsRock and the UB2.

Thanks again for all your help. Picking a MoBo is my last decision to complete before ordering all materials.

renethx

11-29-09, 04:48 AM

I actually have a Zalman Fan Mate 2.... that is a good idea. Put the Zalman on the HDD fan and run it real low, then allow the PWM control of the main case fan along with the GPU, CPU fan(s).

Lastly, there is no reason that I could not have two case fans running off of the same PWM header is there?

And, any reason not to go with an Intel DP55WB (Whitesburg; Media Series)? I see it is $99 at Newegg, so that is on par the the AsRock and the UB2.

Thanks again for all your help. Picking a MoBo is my last decision to complete before ordering all materials.
Another consideration is a second PCI Express x16 slot. This can be used to connect an external exclosure with a SATA controller card (check DAS section on page 370).

- ASRock: The second PCI Express x16 works at x4.
- GIGABYTE UD2: The same as ASRock.
- GIGABYTE UD4: (x16, x0) or (x8, x8).
- Intel: No second PCIe x16 slot.

Otherwise DP55WB should be good.

ASRock supports PWM fan control for a case fan (with GELID Y-cable, you can control two PWM case fans), while the GIGABYTE UD2 and UD4 support voltage fan control.

davedelite

11-29-09, 08:46 AM

renethx:

Good point on that. In order to allow the flexibility for future support of SATA RAID controller cards with PCI Express, I did not choose the Intel Board. Further, prompting me to think about this and dig in more, once I considered a potential future valid use for a second PCIE slot, I noticed the different layouts of these boards from a practical standpoint. Bottom line, I chose the UD2 because the two PCI slots are between the PCIE slots (more space between the latter). This will give more free space around a fanless video card if I go that route. Currently, I am planning on ordering the PowerColor SCS3 fanless card (not sure it will fit in the SG01-F....but I think it just might given the angle of the case fan bracket moving up by the time the extended heatsink rises)...and if it does fit, it seems ideal to have the exhaust fan just above that fanless video card.

Anyway, I did not like the idea of having another card or the side of the case directly adjacent to a two slot fanless video card from an airflow perspective.

I presume that all of these MoBos use PWM fan control for the GPU, CPU fans, etc and that your distinction between the Gigabyte and the AsRock for fan control was only related to the case fan(s)?

Now that I am leaning toward the UD2, can I run 3 case fans on it where I put the hard drive fan on a Zalman Fanmate 2 and then run the other two connected to the singular case fan controller and still benefit by automatic control of the fan's rpm via linear voltage control in case of Gigabyte?

John P

11-29-09, 08:50 AM

I searched the forum and did not see an answer to my question.

I need to buy some HDD's for my HTPC build. My question is about quantity over volume.

Is it better to have six 1TB drives or three 2Tb drives?
They will be 7200rpm sata.

does it matter at all?
I plan on streaming my Blu-ray off the HDD's.

Three 2TB drives. Typically same power requirement per drive as smaller drive, so less power is used. Less controller and power connections required. Larger capacity drives often perform better than smaller drives. Downside one failed drive is more lost data.

renethx

11-29-09, 09:08 AM

renethx

11-29-09, 09:46 AM

davedelite

11-29-09, 10:45 AM

Here is a potential problem. As SpeedFan can't detect ATI GPU temperature (NVIDIA GPU is fine in this point), there is no way to control the two case fans intelligently based on GPU temperature. Hence overheating could occur when GPU is used intensively (not just games but ATI Stream [a couple of video editing applications already support it]). GPGPU is a future trend. To achieve good airflow for proper GPU cooling, the case fans may have to run at a higher speed. Then GPU active cooling with intelligent GPU fan control may be much better (in noise and GPU temperature).

I guess since I have never used SpeedFan before, I am shooting in the dark here, but I really never expected to vary the case fans directly based on GPU temp, though maybe not a bad idea as one of a few factors to consider. I guess my assumption was that the case fans would be varied based on case temperature, the CPU fan based on CPU temperature, the GPU based on its temperature, etc. In the case of the SCS3 I presume no fan control obviously, since no fan, but then if the case warmed (due to higher GPU activity...or CPU activity of course...or due to inadequate airflow in the case) then case fans would be ramped up. Is it not true that by definition, if the GPU is heating up then the case should be heating up? I realize there may be a response time lag, but the heat has to go somewhere.

Bottom line, I would think you would directly vary the case fans based on a case fan temp probe. Monitoring the GPU temp itself would be good to know for sure but if the case had adequate temperature and the GPU was overheating, then it is a GPU card design issue and would be time to go active cooling and dispose of the hope go fanless at the GPU.

By the way, are you saying there is no way to monitor GPU temperature other than with SpeedFan?

TombKeeper

11-29-09, 10:50 AM

davedelite

11-29-09, 11:41 AM

being honest, and I am going through a rebuild of my HTPC myself...and have had one from when long before they were cool...like early days of this decade...

if my dad made a change that really meant he just wanted blu-ray playback, and the rest of the performance of the htpc was fine...I would buy a consumer grade BR player in a heartbeat (esp how cheap they are this christmas)...and move on.

The ONLY reason I am considering going BR on my HTPC now is because I am into a major project anyway and redoing the whole thing....but if I was otherwise happy with it for all other uses.....I would not get myself down the rathole of an experience something like this can be...especially then having to "support" it for my father.

Just my 2 cents.

mandark0

11-29-09, 02:27 PM

hi there!

first of all: this must be one of the most useful threads on the internet :)
many thanks to everyone, who is helping out all the htpc-newbies with their htpc-knowledge (especially renethx!).

i myself am about to start my first htpc project, which has existed as an idea in my head for some time now.

i've already put together the components of my future htpc, but before i order them, some feedback would be great, since there are some minor questions, i'm not so sure about.

the main USAGE of my htpc will be:

music-jukebox
bluray/dvd-player
gaming-"console" (emulator games as well as modern games)
movie-jukebox

the planned SOFTWARE is:

windows 7 64bit
XBMC

the planned HARDWARE is:

CPU: Intel Core i5-750
MB: Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4
PSU: Enermax MODU82+ 425W
CASE: Antec Fusion Remote
RAM: G.Skill DIMM Kit 4GB PC3-12800U CL9-9-9-24 (DDR3-1600) (F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ)
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB (HD103SJ) (maybe later an additional SSD)
CPU-COOLER: Scythe Big Shuriken
BD-ROM: LG Electronics GGC-H20L (i already got that one!)
GPU: for now an old HD1950 Pro, later a silent ATI HD5850 (i hope for a vapor-x-version from saphire)

here are some questions i still have:

will the Big Shuriken fit on a GA-P55M-UD4 inside a Antec Fusion Remote?
unfortunately the LGA1156 Retention Bracket Set for the Coolermaster Geminii S doesn't seem to be available in europe (austria/germany) yet, so i can't use that one. another alternative would be the normal Shuriken, but it is smaller then the "Big" one, and therefore presumably less cooling performance.
are 425W enough for this system or should i get the 525W-version of the PSU?
is there an alternative to the Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4? i definitely need a "Dolby Home Theater"-function for gaming, and the ASRock P55M Pro has a VIA VT1708S-audiochip, of which i couldn't find any info, if it has that feature.
i know that the HD5850 is too long for the Antec Fusion Remote. thats why i plan to cut out a part of that inner wall, thats blocking it. has anyone done that already? is it very problematic?

i'm also grateful for any other ideas, suggestions or possible problems, that could arise with the suggested combination!

renethx

11-29-09, 08:07 PM

are you saying there is no way to monitor GPU temperature other than with SpeedFan?
Every ATI HD 5750 card with active cooling supports intelligent fan control based on the GPU die temperature. Otherwise there is no way to monitor GPU temperature and reflect it in the case fan speed. This is the most effective AND the quietest cooling method. Fan control based on the system temperature (I [and perhaps anybody else] even don't know where in the ASRock/GIGABYTE motherboard the sensor is located!; usually the system temperature changes only slightly even if GPU is fully active) to cool down GPU is a bad idea.

davedelite

11-29-09, 09:42 PM

Every ATI HD 5750 card with active cooling supports intelligent fan control based on the GPU die temperature. Otherwise there is no way to monitor GPU temperature and reflect it in the case fan speed. This is the most effective AND the quietest cooling method. Fan control based on the system temperature (I [and perhaps anybody else] even don't know where in the ASRock/GIGABYTE motherboard the sensor is located!; usually the system temperature changes only slightly even if GPU is fully active) to cool down GPU is a bad idea.

Ok, you have talked me into the active cooling card route. I am going to get the SAPPHIRE 100284VXL Radeon HD 5750 with Vapor-x.

Interesting about the sensor for system temperature. I was just doing some research on how I might use Smartfan for the system fan(s) given that I was unclear how you get the temperature information for the case. In my experience, temperature right off the board is not ideal. With something like the Hardcano 13 you could place the probes where you felt was best insofar as monitoring the case. And, then the Hardcano could change the fan speed. The problem is that it is not as ideal as doing it all in software. Yet, if I rely on Smartfan for even the case fan it appears that the system temperature reading will likely be the least accurate in my system. Or, do you decide to vary the case fan speed based on the GPU/CPU/HDD readings via Smartfan and not the system fan reading?

Just wondering what practices are here.

renethx

11-29-09, 10:09 PM

SpeedFan (or any mb specific system utility) can communicate with:

- AMD/Intel CPU's digital thermal sensor
- Super I/O chip (IT8720 in the case of UD2/UD4; that supports legacy I/O such as PS/2, FDD, COM/LPT, and monitoring system hardware [including "system temperature sensor"] and controlling fan speeds)
- NVIDIA video card sensor, possibly.

You can't add a custom sensor to the list. That's the main reason why I recommend the case fans to run at a constant speed and forget about that. Varying case fan speeds based on CPU/system temperatures is not so effective as you think (it still helps to remove heat out of the case quickly when CPU is working hard [that emits up to 95W] and cool down hardware components inside the case in general, though; heat will radiate from the case surface too).

carter698

11-29-09, 10:25 PM

renethx

11-29-09, 10:37 PM

ScoHo

11-29-09, 10:38 PM

So with all of this hardware talk, I don't see any discussion of Blu-ray drives. Is there one that is recommended for the HTPCs? None of them seem to get great reviews at Newegg or Amazon.

MordredKLB

11-29-09, 10:50 PM

So with all of this hardware talk, I don't see any discussion of Blu-ray drives. Is there one that is recommended for the HTPCs? None of them seem to get great reviews at Newegg or Amazon.Check the LG Blu-ray drives. They all have 5 eggs at Newegg.

davedelite

11-30-09, 12:24 AM

The system I am now settling on, minus any last minute changes:

SILVERSTONE Sugo SG01-BF Black Aluminum / Steel MicroATX Case

GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

Scythe SCSK-1100 100mm Shuriken Rev. B 3 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler

SAPPHIRE 100284VXL Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0x16

Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (for use for loading OS and applications)

For the time being, I will use my existing DVD DL drive and assorted data drives...but i will keep an eye out for a good deal on the BR burner's that have been recommended and a 1.5 or 2 TB Seagate drive.

renethx

11-30-09, 01:07 AM

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

Scythe SCSK-1100 100mm Shuriken Rev. B 3 Heat Pipes CPU Cooler.
Cooler Master Geminii S + Yate Loon 120x120x20mm 1800 rpm (http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120x120x20mm-Case-Fan-D12SM-12C-Medium-Speed-pr-3826.html) is a better cooler for the 95W processor (if it fits the case).

Rocka2

11-30-09, 01:56 AM

I noticed solid state drives come in different thicknesses. I guess it has to do with what will fit in your laptop. Not sure. Is this important or should I just look for the thicker ones that are 9.5mm thick? About blu-ray, my experience trying to record cable and over the air stuff to blu-ray has been less than satisfactory. Someone told me blu-ray does not like interlaced sources and that pretty much covers everything I try to burn and would explain my experiences. I have also read it has to do with a lack of software. I have been trying to get blu-ray authoring working for more than a year and have sort of taken a break. Again the problem could just be me since I am a beginner, but I doubt it and I know there is a thread dedicated to blu-ray authoring. The drives work great for playback and ripping I suppose. I do not rip much if at all. Again I am a novice. HD-DVD was great for authoring what I try to author. Just my one cents worth. Not really confident posting this in this thread since I am not sure how relevant blu-ray authoring is to this thread. Oh well.

renethx

11-30-09, 02:10 AM

Clearly Blu-ray authoring is out of fashion in this HTPC forum (ditching optical discs completely is one of the major purposes of HTPC :)).

Nomgle

11-30-09, 04:13 AM

my problem is as follow:
I have a 40 inch pannel with dvi input.All it can handel is 1080p/60fps.Nothing else.Other format cannot be decoded and displayed.
All you need to do is buy a stand-alone upscaler.
For this i have to use an capture card able to handle 1080i-format that box is providing, via hdmi.
Definately don't do this - buy a stand-alone upscaler instead. There are plenty on the market, and they'll convert any video input to 1080p.

davedelite

11-30-09, 08:13 AM

Cooler Master Geminii S + Yate Loon 120x120x20mm 1800 rpm (http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120x120x20mm-Case-Fan-D12SM-12C-Medium-Speed-pr-3826.html) is a better cooler for the 95W processor (if it fits the case).

It won’t fit given that would be 82.7mm together and I have 82mm. Even if it did fit, do you have a source for why it is better?? From two different SPCR review articles: First, http://www.silentpcreview.com/mini-heatsink-roundup2 claims that the Big Shuriken, GeminII S, and Nexus LOW-7000 are extremely close to each other (provided you change the fan on the GeminII S....as you suggested the Yate-Loon while this article used their reference Nexus fan). With noted problems on Big Shuriken for fit or painful install (great for fit when height is an issue, but low clearance on vertical dimension and hard to get push pins in) I researched and found another SPCR reference comparison chart that the original Shuriken was very slightly better than the Big Shuriken (and now they have a Rev B on the Shuriken to fit these new sockets). What you give up in going to a slightly smaller horizontal area (100 mm fan) you get back with more vertical heat sink area, etc. So, once I realized I was not “quite as cramped” as one would need to be for the Big Shuriken, I decided the Shuriken would give me a couple percent better performance with less impact on the horizontal plane inside the case for clearances, etc.

You previously suggested pairing the Scythe "SLIP STREAM SLIM" 120 x 12mm fan 1,600rpm SY1212SL12M with the GeminII S when I as looking at using my old QPack case. I presume that if you have good clearance, that you favor the Yate-Loon over this Scythe fan. But regardless, unless I were to see a performance comparision that is counter to the one I saw that indicated the Shuriken was narrowly better than the Big Shuriken, not sure why I would do this. The total height would still be 75mm with the low profile 12mm fan on the GeminII S, while the Shuriken Rev B is 64mm. While either would fit, the fact that the PSU fan sits right above this fan would argue that if you aren’t using that PSU fan to complement a fanless heatsink (like the SilverStone NT06) that you might want a little more clearance between them since the fans are going to be forcing air in separate directions and they would compete with each other the closer they get to each other with limited air flow channel between them. In fact, this might be reason to go back on my original logic and get the Big Shuriken...to give as much clearance as possible between the heatsink fan and the PSU fan that sits right above it? I know that these coolers perform better when air is forced down on them rather than pulled up off of them.

renethx

11-30-09, 09:19 AM

Fit or not fit: SilverStone SG05 also supports up to 82mm cooler (here (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=SG05&area=): "Ample space for CPU cooling (82mm in height)"), and Geminiii S + Yate Loon 20mm thickness fits SG05 (barely) fine (check this post (http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1033829332&postcount=294)). So...

Geminii S vs Big Shuriken vs vanilla Shuriken: A rule of thumb (from my experience) is that Geminii S and Big Shuriken are good for 95W-125W processors, while vanilla Shuriken is good for up to 65W processors (this is almost a trivial fact). It's a bit hard to compare Geminii S and Big Shuriken because I (or even SPCR) have never tested them with the identical fan. At least both come in the top of these charts (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article976-page9.html). As long as Geminii S (with a thinner fan) fits the case, this is the cooler of my recommendation (based on my experience).

BTW the fan should suck the air off the heatsink and blow it to the PSU bottom fan.

mburg

11-30-09, 10:25 AM

I've read through the most recent posts as I try to determine how best to "upgrade" my HTPC. What I have is:

Case: Antec Overture II
PSU: 380 watt (came w/case)
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+
MOBO: MSI MicroATX RS480M2
HDD: 2 - Seagate barracuda SATA 7200RPM. 300GB ea.
RAM: 2 - 512KB
Sound: ESI Juli@
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTS250 (01G-P3-1155-TR)
BR: LG (Blu-ray read/write)
OS: Windows XP Media Center (2005)
Other programs include AnyDVD & Total Media Theater

I am thinking it is time to replace the CPU, motherboard & RAM, and I am looking for a "premium" solution. I am looking for an arrangement that will output 1080p video to my Pioneer KRP500 panel (DVI connector), and in which I can mount my ESI soundcard - which puts out an "untouched" digital signal to my Classe AV preamp where the processing of the signal is accomplished. For this I need coax out.

Additional questions concern my GPU - it is a tall card, and with the power connector at the top, I have had to resort to a ribbon connector that allows me to leave the card sitting on its side in the cabinet - an awkward situation. I would prefer a different arrangement.

Also, with the current configuration, I often get lock-up and shut down when playing a DVD - I have not yet determined if the problem is the GeForce card, the software, or the Blu-Ray player.

I will be using the HTPC as a music source (it is my library for all my CDs and "ripped/restored" LPs, as a source for streaming movies/music off the web, as a source for playing/ripping DVD (incl Blu-Ray), and potentially as a TiVO type unit (once I get the proper card).

Thanks!

carter698

11-30-09, 10:57 AM

The main advantages of the AMD-AMD (with ATI or NVIDIA GPU) mid-range systems over the low-end are:

- Quad core is good for various CPU intensive tasks including ffdshow video playback
- Better video playback, in particular HD deinterlacing
- Multichannel LPCM over HDMI

Thanks, Renethx.

What is the benefit of ffdshow if I run Windows 7? I was under the impression that Media Center in Windows 7 did a good job for SD DVDs?
Is HD deinterlacing important for streaming internet video and watching DVDs? I only have stereo, so I don't need the 4670 for multichannel LPCM.
If I decide to go with the mid-range microATX AMD/AMD system on pg 370 with the HD4670, can I use an Antec NSK2480? I don't need IR, since I bought a Gyration. Will I run into any assembly issues? (I'm new at this.)
The NSK2480 comes w/ a 380W PS, but you used a 450W PS with the Fusion. Is 380W adequate?

davedelite

11-30-09, 12:42 PM

BTW the fan should suck the air off the heatsink and blow it to the PSU bottom fan.

I am confused. I could swear that my Zalman CNPS7000C-AlCu blows downward. I also recall putting an external fan on an old ATI 9800 AIW card (after I ripped off the loud stock fan that whined) and testing it both ways with much better effect having it blow onto the heatsink.....and, then in the SPCR article you point to they discuss the use of their reference Nexus 120 mm fan placed on top of the stock Intel Cooler and suggest that a side benefit of the over-sized fan is that it cools down portions of the board that surround the heatsink (the impression this forms is that it is blowing down).

On one level, I would have always assumed the best thing to do is suck the hot air off of these heatsinks and up and away (and in this case into the bottom of the PSU fan...and then exhaust it from the case) and that this woudl be best (in which case having the fan close to the bottom of the PSU fan is a good thing). However, through the data points in my prior paragraph, I was operating under the assumption these coolers all blow the air downward onto the fins (and then it bounces off the board and reflects out and away).

Which is it? Or, does it vary based on cooler and/or suggestion for which case configuration you have? (i.e. if in a small case like the SG01 do you intentionally flip the fan over so as to not fight the PSU fan...even if the cooler in other cases has the fan blowing downward)

EDITED: note, after I made this post I noticed in the Frostytech review that the GeminII S is supposed to be blowing downward as I had suspected. http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2288 So now I am not doubting my memory or recollection at all.....rather, my curiousity is piqued renethx, on whether or not you were mistaken or intentionally referring to the fact that given the PSU sitting right on top of the cooler in this microATX SG01-F, that you would want to reverse the natural direction of the fan's flow? If indeed down-exhaust is required on all of these options I am considering, then I might go with the Big Shuriken after all to get the cleanest air.

davedelite

11-30-09, 12:52 PM

renethx:

Other question on hdd's. I noticed that you suggest the Intel X25-M 80GB SSD for the high end system and have a price quote of $223? Do you know where it can be had for that? I saw it for $214 at newegg over the weekend but was sold out and now that it is back up they have it from $255-$289.

Also, Newegg has 300 GB Velociraptoros for $179 today. I was curious if you think that I might just go with 2x300GB Velociraptors in Raid 0. I am most interested in performance as defined as snappiness of applications and workstation editing of video and audio and encode/decode. I can get more storage on outside (future DAS...or my current NAS) later if needed. I care about (a) noise, (b) low heat, (c) having at least 500 gb but not needing to have 2 B in the case.

1) I was thinking about 1 X25-M 80 GB for OS/Apps and then getting a 1.5 or 2 TB drive for "inside case" storage, etc.

2) Or, using 2 of these Velociraptors @ 300 GB in Raid 0.

I know the former case would give better boot times, etc. but for a workstation I will leave it running all the time in most cases. Hence, given that I am thinking more of I/O performance and how applications work with data files between the drive/partition with the apps on it and the drive with the data, am I better to go with (1) or (2) above? or, 3, getting a 600 GB or 1 TB drive (or maybe two of them) and put them in Raid 0 for performance?

I know Raid 0 does nothing on redundancy as my other drives would be used for that purpose (i.e. externals or NAS, etc.)

tsanga

11-30-09, 02:42 PM

Geminii S vs Big Shuriken vs vanilla Shuriken: A rule of thumb (from my experience) is that Geminii S and Big Shuriken are good for 95W-125W processors, while vanilla Shuriken is good for up to 65W processors (this is almost a trivial fact). It's a bit hard to compare Geminii S and Big Shuriken because I (or even SPCR) have never tested them with the identical fan. At least both come in the top of these charts (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article976-page9.html). As long as Geminii S (with a thinner fan) fits the case, this is the cooler of my recommendation (based on my experience).

What do you guys make of the differences in test methodology and results between SPCR and frostytech.com? There are some subtle and not-so-subtle differences in findings and conclusions as to what performs better than stock cooling. Frostytech also has the Geminii S (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2288), Big Shuriken (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2425) and vanilla Shuriken (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2247) reviewed, but it looks like their stock Intel baseline is different than SPCR's.

troglodytes

11-30-09, 03:20 PM

renethx:

Thanks for all of your info but I have one quick question about my micro-atx build. I noticed you listed the Sapphire Radeon HD 4670 card for many of the options, however, I have found the HIS version of the 4670 for a good $20 cheaper. Will this be a problem as I believe the card is slightly longer due to a long fan on top?

Edit: I'm going with the Intel DG43GT MOBO and I will want:
1)wireless card
2) TV Tuner

I just don't want to block a necessary PCI slot.

Thanks.

davedelite

11-30-09, 04:19 PM

What do you guys make of the differences in test methodology and results between SPCR and frostytech.com? There are some subtle and not-so-subtle differences in findings and conclusions as to what performs better than stock cooling. Frostytech also has the Geminii S (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2288), Big Shuriken (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2425) and vanilla Shuriken (http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2247) reviewed, but it looks like their stock Intel baseline is different than SPCR's.

tsanga:

I can not comment on the different findings, but what I do know is that within one test methodology comparing the different heatsinks should be straight forward. And most importantly, thanks for reminding me where I saw that the vanilla Shuriken out-performed the Big Shuriken. It was in these Frostytech charts. As you can see by linking on these different tables that you point to, that under both 85W and 150W, that the Shuriken is a bit better performer than the Big Shuriken. Hence, if you have the space it would appear that this is a better way to go. However, also what I noticed this time through the charts (that I did not notice the first time through) is what renethx suggests ...that the GeminII S is a betters solution if you have space for it (and even better if you have a different fan). What is interesting here is that the GeminII S with its stock fan in low mode performs almost equally with the Shuriken in high mode. Then, you get the added benefit with the GeminII S of being able to turn up the fan and completely outperform the standard and Big Shuriken's. If you put a quiet high performing fan on the GeminII S I bet it would be even more compelling.

Bottom line inference I take from this is that if you have the clearance (and are not concerned with free air above the fan), go with the GeminII S with a higher performing fan (renethx has suggested two such fans in the last 4 pages...one of which is a slim Scythe that only adds 12 mm to the heatsink). If you need something a bit smaller, go with the Shuriken...if you need ultra-low profile but can tolerate wider footprint real close to board level, go with the Big Shuriken.

My rediscovery of this frostytech data shows why I felt the Shuriken was better choice than the Big Shuriken if you have 64mm and desired clearance to spare. However, in the process I also confirmed why renethx is so supportive of the GeminII S.

Now, if I can just confirm the optimum way to orient the fans on these heatsinks and whether or not it is dependent on the sink itself. If flow is upward I will go with the GeminII S and aftermarket fan to exhaust right into the PSU (note, is that really a good idea? Or, does it cause the PSU to get too hot?) If flow is downward I think I will go with the Big Shuriken to give more free air above the heatsink for the fan to induct. (since while the Shuriken is a bit better...they are so close as to be negligible difference) Obviously these fans are not tested or optimum performers in constrained environments. And, while you can maybe squeeze certain coolers into a place from a clearance standpoint, is that always the best thing to do if the fan doesn't have great access to free air to perform?

tsanga

11-30-09, 04:45 PM

Now, if I can just confirm the optimum way to orient the fans on these heatsinks and whether or not it is dependent on the sink itself. If flow is upward I will go with the GeminII S and aftermarket fan to exhaust right into the PSU (note, is that really a good idea? Or, does it cause the PSU to get too hot?)

My take is it's generally a better idea to keep airflow moving in one direction through the case - more efficient airflow equals better cooling. If it means following the path out the PSU, then that's the way to do it. Especially if the clearance is low, making two fans battle for air is a recipe for poor cooling and higher noise. However, ultimately, it should be an easy test while building your system to determine which way you should flip the fan when you decide on which HSF to buy.

My take-away from the frostytech numbers is unless you're running a 95W+ CPU (as in your case), the C2D stock HSF is provides very adequate cooling and acoustics for <65w processors unless you're overclocking. Somehow, the Intel stock samples tested by SPCR led them to conclude otherwise.

renethx

11-30-09, 07:16 PM

@davedelite

If you are going with Geminii S, sucking the air is the only reasonable, effective orientation. This is how SG01-F is designed. The picture below is SG05, but the principle is the same.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=159710&stc=1&d=1259626519 (source (http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1034442824&postcount=10))

and

This picture (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/recommend.php?pno=SG01-F&area=usa)

You shouldn't worry about the PSU temperature. The PSU fan is controlled intelligently based on the temperature inside the PSU.

For effective cooling when the air is blowing down, there should be at least an inch between the bottom of the PSU and the top of the CPU fan (Big Shuriken is good).

renethx

11-30-09, 07:31 PM

renethx

11-30-09, 07:36 PM

Thanks, Renethx.

What is the benefit of ffdshow if I run Windows 7? I was under the impression that Media Center in Windows 7 did a good job for SD DVDs?
Is HD deinterlacing important for streaming internet video and watching DVDs? I only have stereo, so I don't need the 4670 for multichannel LPCM.
If I decide to go with the mid-range microATX AMD/AMD system on pg 370 with the HD4670, can I use an Antec NSK2480? I don't need IR, since I bought a Gyration. Will I run into any assembly issues? (I'm new at this.)
The NSK2480 comes w/ a 380W PS, but you used a 450W PS with the Fusion. Is 380W adequate?

1. Yup, GPU hardware upscaling is good enough.
2. HD deinterlacing is important for BD interlaced contents (1080i 59.94 or 1080i 50) and HDTV 1080i.
3. If you use Gyration, NSK2480 is a good choice.
4. Yes.

renethx

11-30-09, 07:38 PM

davedelite

11-30-09, 08:16 PM

For effective cooling when the air is blowing down, there should be at least an inch between the bottom of the PSU and the top of the CPU fan (Big Shuriken is good).

Great stuff. This was exactly my intuition. So, my gut was correct, that the normal operation of these heatsinks is to blow down, but that with the SG01-F you might do it differently and go up to take advantage of the PSU.

Yes, I knew that the NT06-E was designed that way, but I had not really considered it that much given its bad performance in the charts on SPCR and Frostytech. (even though I have liberty to use it given its design specifically for the Sugo cases)

But, frankly, given how the "real life" use of these heat sinks in a situation like this (the SG01 case where you then need to flip over the fan of a tall heat sink and blow it up through the PSU....which is clearly not how it was "tested" in the benchmarks) is different when they are side by side reviewed it makes you wonder what is the best solution for the specific case environment you end up selecting. Meaning, I do have real curiousity now that if I am going to exhaust through the PSU anyway and leverage its fan, why the NT06-E in a SG01-F case might perform just a well as some other heat sink solution given a GeminII S that must now blow upward. So, while on the test bench test bench the NT06-E has no ability to compete, I bet in real world inside an SG01 case it might signficantly close the gap that was measured in an "ideal test bench" of an active fan solution that must be set up differently due to the case environment.

carter698

11-30-09, 09:17 PM

renethx

11-30-09, 11:31 PM

Renethx,

Thank you for your reply. One more quick question. Amazon has a great sale right now on the WD Green 1.5TB. You use the WD Blue in the builds on pg 370. Would the WD Green drives make good HTPC drives?
Yes.

ScoHo

11-30-09, 11:57 PM

EazyM3

12-01-09, 12:10 AM

Right now I have a GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H with an internal GeForce 9400 + an Intel Q9550. Will I get better PQ if I got a better graphics card? Does it matter (like a 4670 or 5750)?

Rocka2

12-01-09, 01:29 AM

Clearly Blu-ray authoring is out of fashion in this HTPC forum (ditching optical discs completely is one of the major purposes of HTPC :)).

As long as you keep helping I know that some day I am going to get it. I have already learned so much and I do not plan to stop. I cannot thank you enough for your continual guidance and assistance. What you have shared here is a great gift. Don't want to sound mushy. As you help individuals, others are learning from your every comment including me. Thank you for this.

Malin

12-01-09, 01:54 AM

Hi renetxh

1. Yup, GPU hardware upscaling is good enough.
2. HD deinterlacing is important for BD interlaced contents (1080i 59.94 or 1080i 50) and HDTV 1080i.
3. If you use Gyration, NSK2480 is a good choice.
4. Yes.

Talking about cases, Thermaltake HD503 seems to be the pick in the article above. All right, it seems to be a great case with lots of nice features, but how does it compare to NSK2480 wrt noise? NSK2480 has separate chambers for PSU, MB and hard drives which seems a better layout than the one chamber only solution for HD503.

Please advice, best regards,
Malin - the ribbon girl :)

renethx

12-01-09, 02:04 AM

Hi renetxh

Talking about cases, Thermaltake HD503 seems to be the pick in the article above. All right, it seems to be a great case with lots of nice features, but how does it compare to NSK2480 wrt noise? NSK2480 has separate chambers for PSU, MB and hard drives which seems a better layout than the one chamber only solution for HD503.

Please advice, best regards,
Malin - the ribbon girl :)
Are you referring to Zalman HD503? It's not easy to discuss and compare HD503 and NSK2480. The former is ATX, ~$250, no PSU, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, the latter is microATX, ~$90...

Malin

12-01-09, 02:24 AM

Are you referring to Zalman HD503? It's not easy to discuss and compare HD503 and NSK2480. The former is ATX, ~$250, no PSU, with LCD/IR receiver/remote, the latter is microATX, ~$90...

Thank you for your reply.
Provided you put the same PSU in the Zalman HD503 as the one preinstalled in the NSK2480; which one will be the quieter? On what grounds is the HD503 recommended as a HTPC case in the article above?
Regards,
Malin

renethx

12-01-09, 02:28 AM

Which article?

davedelite

12-01-09, 03:25 AM

Malin

12-01-09, 04:33 AM

Which article?

Your own article at: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17591247#post17591247

It would be interesting to know about the rationale behind yiour pick!
Hugs,

renethx

12-01-09, 07:38 AM

Your own article at: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17591247#post17591247

It would be interesting to know about the rationale behind yiour pick!
Hugs,
NSK2480 is also recommended (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17591247#MicroATX%20System:%20Low-End%20System). If you are going with microATX, NSK2480/Fusion Remote are the best in cooling. For an ATX system, Fusion Remote Max and Zalman HD503 are excellent.

carter698

12-01-09, 09:19 AM

tsanga

12-01-09, 10:38 AM

Anyone have any thoughts on one Seagate 7200.12 1TB drive vs. 2 x Seagate 7200.4 Momentus 2.5" 500GB drives in a Raid 0 for the main storage inside the HTPC? The latter should be quieter, more power efficient, cooler and get benefit of Raid performance. Though the momentus drives are 16MB while the 7200.12 is 32MB (not sure how that causes impact since the 7200.4's would be in Raid 0 and the 7200.12 would not).

Not too worried about the cost ($90 difference).

For storage alone inside a HTPC, I would do neither. Instead, I would opt for 1TB (or even 1.5TB or 2TB) Seagate Barracuda LP or WD Green - lower RPM, lower acoustics, and the small decrease in performance is unimportant for media storage.

Otherwise, without actual data, I would argue that one 3.5" 1TB drive may still have better transfer rate than two 2.5" drives in a RAID setup. Also, one needs to consider acoustics of two drives vs just one; in both cases the fundamental frequency is very audible at 120Hz. I can attest that when I unplug my 7200RPM drive, the two 5900RPM drives in the system are much quieter (at least the tonal quality is less annoying).

Malin

12-01-09, 11:40 AM

davedelite

12-01-09, 05:47 PM

For storage alone inside a HTPC, I would do neither. Instead, I would opt for 1TB (or even 1.5TB or 2TB) Seagate Barracuda LP or WD Green - lower RPM, lower acoustics, and the small decrease in performance is unimportant for media storage.

Otherwise, without actual data, I would argue that one 3.5" 1TB drive may still have better transfer rate than two 2.5" drives in a RAID setup. ...

I did a lot of comparison research before asking the question and had some interesting learnings (used the guides on Tom's ...might try this yourself and check the boxes for "compare" for the "green", "LP" and 7200.12. You will find some interesting overall observations. 1) That the 7200.12 is one heck of a drive. Don't dismiss it like you can easily many other non- LP or green drives ....its 2 platter design essentially gives you a lot of the features (or at least 80% of the incremental benefit) that the "green" or "LP" drives do insofar as consumption of power, heat output, etc. while not reducing performance at all. If you were compareing the LP or green ot the 7200.11 or multi-platter designs I am tracking with you....but after studying this all carefully I realized that you really are giving up a lot more performance on the "green" or "LP" drives than if you have the option of only needing 1 TB that then allows you to consider the 7200.12. Since my HTPC is not just for media....but is also a workstation, I don't want to suffer the performance when I can get 80% of the incremental reduction in power, or heat, or noise that the LP or Green models got me over the older "non green" or "non LP" models like the 7200.11.

As for the "without actual data" ... what I was wondering was if anyone did have the data or saw it anywhere from same sources for a heads up comparison.

Lastly, if you look at the new Momentus 7200.4 500GB Seagate drive and compare it to the "green" or "LP" drives, you will notice that you essentially have a 2.5" drive there that gives you many reasons in proximity of performance (in some benchmarks no performance deficit) along with all the benefits of a 2.5' drive (negligible noise, low heat, low power, etc.) to ask yourself the question, "if i don't care about a few extra dollars...its not like we are talking SSD prices here.....and I can manage with 500GB drive size, then why wouldn't I choose a 2.5" drive if I care about the benefits of a drive that make me consider "green" or "LP?"

I would avoid RAID in HTPCs. My pick for a quiet, energy efficient and fast drive is the brand new 1TB Hitachi 7K1000.C that has two 500GB platters. Use as few drives with as few platters as possible to reduce noise. Drives with higher density and fewer platters are also faster wrt data transfer.

Not familiar with this Hitachi but it must be a straight up competitor to the 7200.12 1 TB from Seagatge as that is 2 platter also. So, I agree with you on that. I would avoid RAID inside an HTPC if it meant multiple 3.5" drives due to noise, heat, etc. HOWEVER, the purpose of the question was on performance and if RAID 0 on what every reviewer reports is an awesome 2.5" drive .... Momentus 7200.4 at 500 GB, would outperform the 7200.12. You can add up the heat, watts consumed, and noise of 2 of these 2.5" drives and still not equal the numbers of one LP, Green, etc.

Flaring Afro

12-01-09, 06:07 PM

nice to hear good things about the hitachi, i bought it on newegg for $65 shipped on black friday :)

Was hoping you guys could make sure everything would work together since I'm new to this and am only basing my knowledge off of a little online research on this.

Uses: Connect to 47" 1080p lcd tv and have the audio pass through the hdmi.
Run mediaportal and max out project64 on it (i assume this is easy).

I watch standard def tv shows more than movies, so SD playback should be great.
I will either use XP or vista64 (computer science majors get free OS's ;)), and could shrink them with software if it would save a lot of money for less hardware.

Hardware:

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor $58
ZOTAC GF8200-D-E AM2+/AM3 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $35
MSI R4550-MD1GH Radeon HD 4550 1GB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Low Profile Ready Video Card $41
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) $54

$188 total and I already have the hdds and a remote. Case will probably just be an eMachines case my dad doesnt need. Thanks.

Anyone have any comments on this? I did my basic research on what graphics card, etc but I just want to make sure everything should be compatible. I could post links to it if its allowed on these forums.

Also, the gpu comparison was useful, but hhow does it compare to a laptop 260m gtx for video playback? Just curious because thats what im using now.

sspeace

12-01-09, 09:20 PM

Renethx:

I am interested in a motherboard that will give me the most sound and blue-ray/video capabilities using the on board iGDP (not sure of the abbreviation) on the motherboard with an Asus XONAR HDAV Slim card.

One of the AMD-AMD motherboards with a 785 and 4200 on-board? Or something else?

renethx

12-01-09, 09:42 PM

Intel GMA X4500HD/ATI Radeon HD 3200/4200 should be good.

Davinleeds

12-01-09, 10:53 PM

Rene, I have had no luck with IGP 4200 and Xonar. Anytime there is hdcp not supported in windows (driver doesn't matter, only windows) my Xonar won't bitstream. That's my experience.

syyid

12-02-09, 02:55 AM

Malin

12-02-09, 05:33 AM

Hi
I was wondering if there's any benefit on upgrading from a 9500GT to GTS250. I don't really play games. Are there any upcoming OpenCL apps that would make it worthwhile, is the video quality worse in the GTS250 (being a rebadged 8800GT/9800GT). Also regular desktop usage I presume I'll be wasting a lot of power unnecessarily? Any pro's / con's would be appreciated. Thanks

Yes 9500GT, 9600GT as well as GTS250 are based on 65nm power hungry legacy technology and are limited both in terms of audio and video acceleration capabilities. Moreover, GTS250 only implements PureVideo2 and has this uggly SPDIF patch to support PCM stereo, DTS, AC3 through HDMI.

For a moderate gamer who wants a silent ultimate AV card for her HTPC, I would recommend having a look at Zotac fan-less GT240 DDR3/1GB/128bit. It supports all the audio codec including 8 channels PCM, DTS, AC3, TrueHD and DTS Master through HDIM and has improved h/w support for video acceleration (especially VC-1) with PureVideo 4. Thanks to the new 40nm technology, idling power consumption is amazing. Also, since it has no propeller, it is ofcourse totally silent.

... I am replacing my current Sapphire Ultiamte Radeon HD4670 card with this one for better gaming, video processing and gettnig TrueHD/DTSMaster sent to the receiver.

darkslyde

12-02-09, 06:22 AM

i've replaced my old gaming system and i have lots of leftover parts. i'm planning of making an htpc for my living room from what i have.

Intel E6600 (C2D 2.4GHz 65W TDP) w/ Scythe Shuriken Rev B
Corsair Dominators DDR2-800 2GB
Lots of random HDD (both IDE & SATA)
Silverstone Sugo SG02-SF (was suppose to be a WHS but meh)
Thermaltake Toughpower 850w (i know it's overkill but its just going collect dust if i don't use it)

i still need:
- Motherboard LGA 775, Micro-ATX, mGPU (geforce 9300?), DDR2-800
- Tuner card (looking at asus my cinema dual-hybrid)
- 2x 2TB WD Caviar

looking at win7 with my movies (w/ anydvd, clonedrive, tmt).

i'm more of a hardware guy so i'm not too familiar with the software involved in htpcs.. can anyone help me out? suggestions/comments on the parts are most welcome too.

renethx

12-02-09, 07:06 AM

renethx

12-02-09, 07:11 AM

b_rubenstein

12-02-09, 07:53 AM

My pick for a quiet, energy efficient and fast drive is the brand new 1TB Hitachi 7K1000.C that has two 500GB platters. Use as few drives with as few platters as possible to reduce noise. Drives with higher density and fewer platters are also faster wrt data transfer.

I got one of these drives that newegg was selling over the weekend for $65. The drive is very fast with good numbers in HD Tach. At idle it's very quiet, however during heavy random disk access one can easily hear a ticking from the moving heads. This may be much less of an issue for a HTPC which tends to do sequential reads and writes of large files. Now, this drive is in an Antec 900 case (my son's general purpose/gaming PC) that uses solid mounting and is quite open. It's probably quieter when used in a case with a rubber mounting system.

Ewingr

12-02-09, 09:53 AM

Basic specs of my system:

- Intel Core 2 Duo E7200
- GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS4
- DDR2-800 2 x 2GB
- ASUS EAH3650 SILENT/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 3650

I am finally springing for a good receiver with HDMI, True HD, etc (Onkyo TS SX3700).

I am sending sound via the SPD/if now. I'm sending vidoe via DVI.

I presume I will need a new sound card if I wnat to get the TrueHD to the receiver, one with HDMI. Is that correct? (I noticed on the 'recent' posts about systems, there is this comment:

"This is purely optional. Necessary hardware for HD digital audio is provided by either a motherboard, a graphics card, or a (upcoming) Intel CPU"

But I am presuming given that my system is a year old, that capability is not there.

carter698

12-02-09, 10:28 AM

t.doyle11

12-02-09, 12:40 PM

Thanks for all the information on all these 375 pages its Great!!!! AWESOME!!!

Im currently looking to build my first HTPC.

My primary use will be as a HD DVR recording 2 HD shows.
and lite web surfing and streaming videos sometimes, audio is not a concern now. SPDIF out

1. Will the lower end ATX with internal video cards work for this?
2. Instead of buying a new video card SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1GB, $145
i thought i would just upgrade to a new motherboard+ CPU+memory and use the internal card
Supermicro MBD-C2SEA
GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H
any recommendation would be great.

Problem now is when recording 2 HD while watch one the Blue screen of death comes up alot!! (video card??)
But if i record 2 hd shows not watching either of them it works ok shutter sometime
also sometimes just watching LIVE HD i will get blue screen.(video card?)

Currently have
Win 7
Hauppage 2250 dual tuner
1 TB WD HDD
Pentium 4D 3.0ghz
motherboard P5ND2 - SLI
EVGA 8600GT
63" Samsung DLP

sspeace

12-02-09, 01:51 PM

Rene, I have had no luck with IGP 4200 and Xonar. Anytime there is hdcp not supported in windows (driver doesn't matter, only windows) my Xonar won't bitstream. That's my experience.

Do you have a recomendation? Just want to utilize the Xonar, with the onboard graphics. Trying to utilize a low profile case. I have a MB with a 9400 on it, but is there something better?

C E Jones

12-02-09, 01:54 PM

Renethx, thanks for your reply regarding HDDs. I will go for the WD Green.

Anyone have any recommendations for wireless-n adapters? The last recommendation I found on this thread isn't currently available on newegg.

The cheapest on newegg right now is an ENCORE ENLWI-NX2 PCI Wireless Adapter, but some of the reviews aren't good. Anyone have experience w/ this one?

Any performance advantage to a PCI card vs. a USB adapter?

I have a Linksys WRT610N dual-N band router, which is great.

Brand definitely does matter with wireless adapters, and most will tell you that Linksys and D-Link are the best brands, and that PCI is better than USB, which can be unreliable. I'm using the D-Link WDA-2320 in my HTPC, and haven't had any problems with it. It's selling for the exact same price at Newegg and Amazon right now--must be a price war going on :D

crazyfool1

12-02-09, 02:51 PM

ipodhappy

12-02-09, 04:32 PM

Getting ready to do a possible build with either the clarkdale or the upcoming "inexpensive" 56xx. I do have a quick question about a problem with my current setup, if everyone would indulge me. I have a 2.6 pentium with a nvidia agp geforce 6200. I use zoom player with coreavc to do 720p. I constantly get audio dropouts tho. Like for example when i surf the web (firefox) when I scroll on a page the audio drops out bad. Does anyone know of a fix or have an idea what would cause this? It does it on SD material too, so dont think its a CPU problem. Any help would be appreciated.

blockofwood

12-02-09, 07:33 PM

So here is my build. most parts were taken from page 370 Med build Intel/Intel

Let me know if you see anything that is wrong or I missed.
Thanks
Also..where do I look to learn which os to use? I plan on running XBMC.

As the title suggests, I am putting together my HTPC. I have no experience with this, so your help is appreciated.

I will watch HULU and Netflix with it.
Watch DVD
Watch Blue-ray
I will be burning my DVd and Blu-ray collection to the HDD's as well.
All connected with HDMI

ZALMAN Black Aluminum / Plastic / Steel HD503 ATX Media Center / HTPC Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235023)

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358)

XFX GT220XZNF2 GeForce GT 220 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150446)

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017)

Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056)

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188)

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives -Bare Drive
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284)

LG Black 8X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk Model WH08LS20K - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136175)

Thermaltake CL-P0372 92mm Enter CPU Cooler - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106087)

I plan on running Linux (never used it b4) with XBMC on top.

Let me know if this is a competent system, if it is too much or if I left anything out.

thanks

rsmclay

12-02-09, 07:39 PM

renethx

12-02-09, 10:01 PM

@blockofwood

The system will work fine under Windows. I am not sure of XBMC under Linux. Maybe Linux subforum or XBMC forum is a good place to ask the question. The most important thing is how GeForce GT 220 performs with XBMC/Linux.

renethx

12-02-09, 10:07 PM

renethx

12-02-09, 10:17 PM

Malin

12-02-09, 10:41 PM

I'm about to upgrade my gpu from onboard and looking at the guide the GT220 is recommended for low-mid range htpcs and the GT240 is recommended for high end htpcs. Was just wondering in terms of video quality/performance what would be the benefit of going for a GT240 over the 220? They can both handle hi def materal, and from what I've read they can both perform VA equivalent deinterlacing on 1080i material. Can't see a benefit myself, what am I missing?

First, I must say that the HTPC guide presented at the top is excellent. The move from middle end to high-end here seems to be for those who want a HTPC with good gaming support, yet still quiet enough to remain being a good HTPC.

To your question: For video and audio quality, there is absolutely no difference between GT220 DDR3 and GT240 DDR3. 48 scalar processors and a memory bandwidth of 25GB/s in GT220 are more than adequate for GPU based 1080i to 1080p conversion (de-interlacing). Why I choose GT240 instead for my puter, is based on the number of scalar processor available for CUDA programmers like myself and some portion of spec fetish ;) …… I am not a gamer; if you are then GT240 is absolutely a better pick than GT220.

Drile

12-02-09, 11:52 PM

audionewer

12-03-09, 12:16 AM

i am wondering what is the difference between avermedia m780 G1 and m780 G2 tuner card?

also i have an old Am2 motherboard, i am wondering can i still use it for htpc ( only for recording shows and watch movies (720p or 1080p))? if yes, what cpu can i buy for it?

carter698

12-03-09, 01:40 AM

Renethx and Everyone,

This is a great thread. I have the AMD/AMD mid range spec'd out from the latest recommendations.

My question is, this is a truly invaluable thread for the hardware side, but is there any one great source of info on what to do once you have it built? What codec's, software, front-end, etc... options should be used? I know there are many options, but there are obviously many options for the hardware side also, and it's obviously been done giving different options.

Just wondering, as I am patiently, (ok not so patiently) waiting for my hardware to arrive.

Thanks!!!!

I was thinking about this as well. I know that putting together a "software guide" would be a huge undertaking, and very much depends on preferences and what you want to do with the system. There is a wealth of info on alternatives to Media Center on this forum as well.

However, is it possible to briefly summarize the "essential" things you would do to Windows 7 to optimize any HTPC regardless of whether you use the "stock" Media Center or download some other front-end? I think I read a good summary post by Renethx on "essential" things to download, but I think it was a while ago, and not specifically for Windows 7.

My wife told me that UPS delivered some boxes today. It's like an early Christmas! :)

cvccv

12-03-09, 02:56 AM

what is that about?

crazyfool1

12-03-09, 04:06 AM

To your question: For video and audio quality, there is absolutely no difference between GT220 DDR3 and GT240 DDR3. 48 scalar processors and a memory bandwidth of 25GB/s in GT220 are more than adequate for GPU based 1080i to 1080p conversion (de-interlacing). Why I choose GT240 instead for my puter, is based on the number of scalar processor available for CUDA programmers like myself and some portion of spec fetish ;) …… I am not a gamer; if you are then GT240 is absolutely a better pick than GT220.
Thanks for the reply. I don't use the htpc for gaming and as renethx suggested above I wouldn't need insane denoising ability etc... My main concern was is it powerful enough to be able to perform va deinterlacing (I know nvidia calls it some temporal crap) on 1080i material because I need this to be my last htpc upgrade and I don't want to realise when I get HD broadcasts that it struggles. Seeing as you guys are saying it will be fine then I'll go for it, save me a bit of money over the 240 as well. Thanks.

Malin

12-03-09, 09:09 AM

I got one of these drives that newegg was selling over the weekend for $65. The drive is very fast with good numbers in HD Tach. At idle it's very quiet, however during heavy random disk access one can easily hear a ticking from the moving heads. This may be much less of an issue for a HTPC which tends to do sequential reads and writes of large files. Now, this drive is in an Antec 900 case (my son's general purpose/gaming PC) that uses solid mounting and is quite open. It's probably quieter when used in a case with a rubber mounting system.

My drives are mounted on rubber feet inside Antec Solo and Antec P182. The only moving parts in those boxes are fans that reside inside Corsair HX520W and Enermax EMD525AWT as well as the Hitachi drives. I can’t hear any drive noise at all when idling and during high def. playback from content stored on those. However, during inter drive file-copy operations; I can hear slight scratching sound. At any rate, you should put those on rubber as that may reduce noise significantly.

ctraber

12-03-09, 12:53 PM

Brand definitely does matter with wireless adapters, and most will tell you that Linksys and D-Link are the best brands, and that PCI is better than USB, which can be unreliable. I'm using the D-Link WDA-2320 in my HTPC, and haven't had any problems with it. It's selling for the exact same price at Newegg and Amazon right now--must be a price war going on :D

Renethx, thanks for your reply regarding HDDs. I will go for the WD Green.

Anyone have any recommendations for wireless-n adapters? The last recommendation I found on this thread isn't currently available on newegg.

The cheapest on newegg right now is an ENCORE ENLWI-NX2 PCI Wireless Adapter, but some of the reviews aren't good. Anyone have experience w/ this one?

Any performance advantage to a PCI card vs. a USB adapter?

I have a Linksys WRT610N dual-N band router, which is great.

I don't think the D-Link WDA-2320 is an N class. I have found a large number of recc'd "G" adapters, but few "N". I finally went with this $70 at newegg (sorry new here so cannot post link) D-Link DWA-556 IEEE 802.11n

but I actually need 2 (one for my Christmas HTPC build and a second for my son's current gaming PC he is using an old "G" USB adater on) so I plan to test this one I just bought. Will report back.

Also, want to thank all the contributors to this thread and especiall renethx. I think I have read most of the 375+ pages over the past 2 weeks now and they have been more helpful than any prior guide I have read on this topic. My Christmas HTPC build is based primarily on the mid-range AMD/AMD build a few pages back.