AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying Guide
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying Guide - Page 324

post #9691 of 15526
1/18/12 at 10:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tizi View Post

Same for WHS setting? Will give it a try and report back.


Worked perfectly on all HTPCs! Had to set server folders to be "read" for guests. There is another way I discovered, that is to use WHS "connector" and set that to remember my user name and password. That worked too.
Reply
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #9692 of 15526
1/18/12 at 5:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpeisher View Post

Assassin,
I put my HTPC together the night before last, and i have a 64GB SSD, 750GB HD, and a 2TB ahrd drive in it now. I started going through the guides last night for software setup and configuration. The guides are great and make the process so easy.

I'm not connecting to an HDMI receiver at this point, but what reciever would you recommend to be a good partner with an HTPC? What features would consider essential vs. those that are extraneous?

I haven't ripped any of my movies yet, but the Lion King, 300, and Avatar are surely on the list of soon to be ripped. I was very dissappointed when we first put on the Blu-Ray of 300. Playing directly from the Blu-Ray to the Epson 8350. The picture actually looked grainy through the new Epson 8350 we have. Avatar and Lion King look perfect. Why would 300 look grainy?

Lastly, you didn't go into too much detail on mkv compression, only stating that once you rip it, how much you compress the file after that is a matter of personal taste. We will be watching our movies on a 92in screen. What level of compression should i use to avoid having any quality loss at that screen size?

IMO if your using a projector to a large screen you want to minimize compression if possible. I have tried both ways with my fpj1 and any bit of compression is very noticeable on a 100" screen. Now, if your eyes aren't picky, you could probably get by with a factor of 16-18 but wouldn't go any lower. As for 300 its shot with a grainy look..
Reply
Reply
post #9693 of 15526
1/18/12 at 5:39pm
I also wouldn't go any higher than 20. It is a matter of taste and whether you're sensitive enough to visible compression. Personally, I'm happy with an RF value at around 18-20.
Reply
Reply
post #9694 of 15526
1/18/12 at 5:45pm
Does anyone know if this graphic card (GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity - on Newegg) will fit this case? SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B micro-ATX / Mini-DTX / Mini-ITX MB, 1x5.25", 2x3.5"+1x2.5"HDD or 1x3.5"+2x2.5"HDD, 3x120mm golf bladed fan, 11" expansion card capable HTPC Case

Sorry cannot post links yet.

I wanted to build it with a micoatx mobo and a i3 2105. Also planning on running 1 SSD for OS and 1 normal HD. Any idea on a good psu (amount of power needed) to use as well as if the GPU will be bottlenecked due to the processor? Also will a BD drive fit in if I wanted to put 2 hard drives in this case? Thanks for any input.
Reply
Reply
post #9695 of 15526
1/18/12 at 5:53pm
One of the reasons I have wanted to attempt an HTPC is more options for watching what I want, when I want. Getting rid of dish and saving a buck would be a plus.

I already have a Roku, right now in my sons room, that he doesn't use. But outside using those types of devices to stream movies from my HD, what else can they do? Without an individual PC at every tv, there is no browser, so looking at streaming sites outside of Netflix and Hulu, is out of the picture, correct?

My kids watch a lot of Netflix now. I am not sure what else with give them an advantage with a build.

Am I making any sense? I do believe it sounded like a question when I was thinking it.

EDIT.......I have been reading this board more in the last 2 weeks than I have since I joined. I am up to page 150 or so in this thread alone.

I came across a post pointing out some advantages of HTPC over set top boxes (roku, apple, etc). This user mentioned live tv. I have come across multiple posts about dvr'ing with an HTPC, but what are you recording? OTA? Outside of paid cable/satellite, what else is there?
Reply
Reply
post #9696 of 15526
1/18/12 at 6:59pm
Its been a LONG time since I did any work on a PC. I started the assembly today and have a couple of (probably simple) questions.

1. My power supply only had 2 SATA connectors. If I am not mistaken, there are some kind of adapters that convert the MOLEX to SATA.

2. I'm installing a Kingston 64GB SSD and a Hitachi 2TB Internal HD. I'll obviously be running the OS on the SSD. If I recall from years ago, there used to be 'slave' and 'master' connectors and pins that needed jumpers.... since I don't see anything like that, I'm assuming that SATA drives or something in the BIOS or hardware has done away with that requirement? I'm hoping the HD configuration is just handled in the BIOS. I'm thinking, install the SSD only, get windows up and running, then install the other HD and configure it through windows or BIOS?
Reply
Reply
post #9697 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjhearn View Post

One of the reasons I have wanted to attempt an HTPC is more options for watching what I want, when I want. Getting rid of dish and saving a buck would be a plus.

I already have a Roku, right now in my sons room, that he doesn't use. But outside using those types of devices to stream movies from my HD, what else can they do? Without an individual PC at every tv, there is no browser, so looking at streaming sites outside of Netflix and Hulu, is out of the picture, correct?

My kids watch a lot of Netflix now. I am not sure what else with give them an advantage with a build.

Am I making any sense? I do believe it sounded like a question when I was thinking it.



EDIT.......I have been reading this board more in the last 2 weeks than I have since I joined. I am up to page 150 or so in this thread alone.

I came across a post pointing out some advantages of HTPC over set top boxes (roku, apple, etc). This user mentioned live tv. I have come across multiple posts about dvr'ing with an HTPC, but what are you recording? OTA? Outside of paid cable/satellite, what else is there?

Well I think a lot depends on what you are after. A lot of these media players can only do so much and some are great for say media playback off a nas etc and some excel at streaming internet stuff. An HTPC gives you a little of everything.

MCE - Live TV/DVR, Hulu plugin, Zinctv plugin, ESPN3 plugin, DVD playback from DVD Player, Video Playback off your local hd/nas.
Reply
Reply
post #9698 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by krooooog View Post

Its been a LONG time since I did any work on a PC. I started the assembly today and have a couple of (probably simple) questions.

1. My power supply only had 2 SATA connectors. If I am not mistaken, there are some kind of adapters that convert the MOLEX to SATA.

2. I'm installing a Kingston 64GB SSD and a Hitachi 2TB Internal HD. I'll obviously be running the OS on the SSD. If I recall from years ago, there used to be 'slave' and 'master' connectors and pins that needed jumpers.... since I don't see anything like that, I'm assuming that SATA drives or something in the BIOS or hardware has done away with that requirement? I'm hoping the HD configuration is just handled in the BIOS. I'm thinking, install the SSD only, get windows up and running, then install the other HD and configure it through windows or BIOS?

3. I'm using the Intel Pentium G620 and the Asrock H61M-GE. The manual for the CPU says nothing about using any thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink/fan but a lot of "how to's" online include it. Is it something I should do, is it necessary, is it worthless for this build?

1. Yes, you can buy those at Newegg or most computer stores.
2. No slave or master. Install the sata connector to the motherboard and then the SSD. Do not connect the Hitachi until after you install Windows. After installation is complete, shut down the PC, plug in the storage drive, restart and you are good to go.
3. Yes use thermal paste or you will fry the CPU. The Intel fan that came with the G620 should have it already applied. That should be sufficient. Install the CPU, install the fan and you are good to go.
Reply
Reply
post #9699 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by krooooog View Post

Its been a LONG time since I did any work on a PC. I started the assembly today and have a couple of (probably simple) questions.

1. My power supply only had 2 SATA connectors. If I am not mistaken, there are some kind of adapters that convert the MOLEX to SATA.

2. I'm installing a Kingston 64GB SSD and a Hitachi 2TB Internal HD. I'll obviously be running the OS on the SSD. If I recall from years ago, there used to be 'slave' and 'master' connectors and pins that needed jumpers.... since I don't see anything like that, I'm assuming that SATA drives or something in the BIOS or hardware has done away with that requirement? I'm hoping the HD configuration is just handled in the BIOS. I'm thinking, install the SSD only, get windows up and running, then install the other HD and configure it through windows or BIOS?

Yes to all -

Molex to Sata

Basically look at your Sata connectors on the board 0/1/2/3 they go in that order usually. So your SSD would connect on the sata 0 port and so on.

You still can change boot order in your BIOS though.
Reply
Reply
post #9700 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cburbs View Post

Well I think a lot depends on what you are after. A lot of these media players can only do so much and some are great for say media playback off a nas etc and some excel at streaming internet stuff. An HTPC gives you a little of everything.

MCE - Live TV/DVR, Hulu plugin, Zinctv plugin, ESPN3 plugin, DVD playback from DVD Player, Video Playback off your local hd/nas.



I am assuming you are refering to the browser for WMC? I had to google it, and that's what I came up with.
Reply
Reply
post #9701 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tizi View Post

1. Yes, you can buy those at Newegg or most computer stores.
2. No slave or master. Install the sata connector to the motherboard and then the SSD. Do not connect the Hitachi until after you install Windows. After installation is complete, shut down the PC, plug in the storage drive, restart and you are good to go.
3. Yes use thermal paste or you will fry the CPU. The Intel fan that came with the G620 should have it already applied. That should be sufficient. Install the CPU, install the fan and you are good to go.

Thanks. I just saw that the heatsink came with paste pre-applied. Hadn't noticed that before. Damn MOLEX. I was just at Microcenter today picking up a DVD drive and bracket for my SSD. I guess I'll be making another trip tomorrow...

One more ?


3. There is a dual connector coming off my case....1 leg says HD Audio, the other AC97, though the connectors appear identical. There is some reference to them in the motherboard manual but I have no idea what either is. I assume I should connect the HD Audio, if only because judging by the Mobo instructions, the AC97 connector seemed more of a "special circumstance" and the header is labeled HD_AUDIO1. The case is a Logisys ATX box if that helps. http://www.logisyscomputer.com/views...308RD&DID=C001
Reply
Reply
post #9702 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by krooooog View Post

Thanks. I just saw that the heatsink came with paste pre-applied. Hadn't noticed that before. Damn MOLEX. I was just at Microcenter today picking up a DVD drive and bracket for my SSD. I guess I'll be making another trip tomorrow...

One more ?


3. There is a dual connector coming off my case....1 leg says HD Audio, the other AC97, though the connectors appear identical. There is some reference to them in the motherboard manual but I have no idea what either is. I assume I should connect the HD Audio, if only because judging by the Mobo instructions, the AC97 connector seemed more of a "special circumstance" and the header is labeled HD_AUDIO1. The case is a Logisys ATX box if that helps. http://www.logisyscomputer.com/views...308RD&DID=C001

Yes. Use hd audio. I agree with all other info that you have received.
Reply
Reply
post #9703 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:35pm
Thanks everyone. I'll check back in tomorrow.....hopefully with a functioning PC.

Then the hard part begins...
Reply
Reply
post #9704 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by awakeningosiris View Post

Does anyone know if this graphic card (GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity - on Newegg) will fit this case? SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B micro-ATX / Mini-DTX / Mini-ITX MB, 1x5.25", 2x3.5"+1x2.5"HDD or 1x3.5"+2x2.5"HDD, 3x120mm golf bladed fan, 11" expansion card capable HTPC Case

Sorry cannot post links yet.

I wanted to build it with a micoatx mobo and a i3 2105. Also planning on running 1 SSD for OS and 1 normal HD. Any idea on a good psu (amount of power needed) to use as well as if the GPU will be bottlenecked due to the processor? Also will a BD drive fit in if I wanted to put 2 hard drives in this case? Thanks for any input.

1. Check silverstone's website. They list the size constraints of video cards for that case.
2. See my psu selection. The antec or seasonics should be fine.
3. No, the i3 will not be a bottleneck. It is very capable.
4. Yes, a bluray drive will fit just fine and in that case is in no way impeded by the hard drives.
Reply
Reply
post #9705 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by krooooog View Post

Thanks everyone. I'll check back in tomorrow.....hopefully with a functioning PC.

Then the hard part begins...

Hook up your ssd and optical drive tonight. Add your 2tb drive when you get the adapter. Go ahead and get that htpc setup and going!
Reply
Reply
post #9706 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tizi View Post

Worked perfectly on all HTPCs! Had to set server folders to be "read" for guests. There is another way I discovered, that is to use WHS "connector" and set that to remember my user name and password. That worked too.

Great! Glad I could help!
Reply
Reply
post #9707 of 15526
1/18/12 at 7:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by eNoize View Post

I also wouldn't go any higher than 20. It is a matter of taste and whether you're sensitive enough to visible compression. Personally, I'm happy with an RF value at around 18-20.

This is why I purposely didn't go into great deal about compression. It's a personal preference on what you think is acceptable based on your system.
Reply
Reply
post #9708 of 15526
1/18/12 at 8:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post


1. Check silverstone's website. They list the size constraints of video cards for that case.
2. See my psu selection. The antec or seasonics should be fine.
3. No, the i3 will not be a bottleneck. It is very capable.
4. Yes, a bluray drive will fit just fine and in that case is in no way impeded by the hard drives.

It will be a tight fit and you will need to remove the top bracket and HD cage to install.
Reply
Reply
post #9709 of 15526
1/19/12 at 12:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by awakeningosiris View Post

Does anyone know if this graphic card (GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA Series GV-R685OC-1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity - on Newegg) will fit this case? SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / 0.8mm SECC Grandia Series GD05B micro-ATX / Mini-DTX / Mini-ITX MB, 1x5.25", 2x3.5"+1x2.5"HDD or 1x3.5"+2x2.5"HDD, 3x120mm golf bladed fan, 11" expansion card capable HTPC Case

Sorry cannot post links yet.

I wanted to build it with a micoatx mobo and a i3 2105. Also planning on running 1 SSD for OS and 1 normal HD. Any idea on a good psu (amount of power needed) to use as well as if the GPU will be bottlenecked due to the processor? Also will a BD drive fit in if I wanted to put 2 hard drives in this case? Thanks for any input.


I have the same Silverstone case; that card will fit fine in the case. Though the specs does say you can fit up to 11" card 10" is pretty much the max, especially if you have to connect the PCI-E 6-pin connector on the end of the card.

For my PSU I went with a modular supply, 500 watt Silverstone. No problems. You can do just fine with less, depending on what you will add in the case.
Reply
Reply
post #9710 of 15526
1/19/12 at 1:57am
Assissin,

I watch many shows downloaded from Internet sites Revision3, and the TWIT.tv networks. I currently use Miro to download these shows into a folder, then I view them in WMC in the videos section. To set this up I entered the RSS feed URL into Miro for each show.

Is this the best way to download videos? I didn't see a reference to this type of viewing in your guides contents...

I don't want to stream, I want to download so I can fast-forward while watching.

Thanks
Reply
Reply
post #9711 of 15526
1/19/12 at 5:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpeisher View Post

Assassin,
I put my HTPC together the night before last, and i have a 64GB SSD, 750GB HD, and a 2TB ahrd drive in it now. I started going through the guides last night for software setup and configuration. The guides are great and make the process so easy.

I'm not connecting to an HDMI receiver at this point, but what reciever would you recommend to be a good partner with an HTPC? What features would consider essential vs. those that are extraneous?

I haven't ripped any of my movies yet, but the Lion King, 300, and Avatar are surely on the list of soon to be ripped. I was very dissappointed when we first put on the Blu-Ray of 300. Playing directly from the Blu-Ray to the Epson 8350. The picture actually looked grainy through the new Epson 8350 we have. Avatar and Lion King look perfect. Why would 300 look grainy?

Lastly, you didn't go into too much detail on mkv compression, only stating that once you rip it, how much you compress the file after that is a matter of personal taste. We will be watching our movies on a 92in screen. What level of compression should i use to avoid having any quality loss at that screen size?

Don't do any compression. You paid good money for the movies at that particular bit rate, why would you want to lower the quality? Especially on a large projector screen.
Reply
Reply
post #9712 of 15526
1/19/12 at 5:52am
I've been following your guides (even subscribed to the paid ones) and have built a htpc from scratch. So, first off Thank You so much for all the info.

Now, hopefully you can get me straightened out on a problem I'm having. On "Paid Guides #9" "Guide #10:HD Audio Bitstreaming for XBMC (Option 1)", I get to the part of downloading your "advancedsettings.xml" and "mediasconfig.xml" but when I click to download, it opens up a new tab with the .xml info and doesn't download anything. Is there something I'm doing wrong?

Thanks in advanced.
Reply
Reply
post #9713 of 15526
1/19/12 at 5:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rodg1984 View Post

I've been following your guides (even subscribed to the paid ones) and have built a htpc from scratch. So, first off Thank You so much for all the info.

Now, hopefully you can get me straightened out on a problem I'm having. On "Paid Guides #9" "Guide #10:HD Audio Bitstreaming for XBMC (Option 1)", I get to the part of downloading your "advancedsettings.xml" and "mediasconfig.xml" but when I click to download, it opens up a new tab with the .xml info and doesn't download anything. Is there something I'm doing wrong?

Thanks in advanced.

That's strange. I will take a look at this tonight.
Reply
Reply
post #9714 of 15526
1/19/12 at 5:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pureheart View Post

Assissin,

I watch many shows downloaded from Internet sites Revision3, and the TWIT.tv networks. I currently use Miro to download these shows into a folder, then I view them in WMC in the videos section. To set this up I entered the RSS feed URL into Miro for each show.

Is this the best way to download videos? I didn't see a reference to this type of viewing in your guides contents...

I don't want to stream, I want to download so I can fast-forward while watching.

Thanks

I am not familiar with Miro.
Reply
Reply
post #9715 of 15526
1/19/12 at 7:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by awakeningosiris View Post

I wanted to build it with a micoatx mobo and a i3 2105.

Unless you are getting the i3-2105 cheaper than the i3-2100, it's a waste to pay the premium price for the HD3000 graphics in the 2105 when you're planning to use a discrete GPU instead of the integrated GPU.
Reply
Reply
post #9716 of 15526
1/19/12 at 7:52am
We've got POST and BIOS!!!! We've got Windows 7!!!!

Just completed my first build last night and she booted. I have to admit I was a little surprised when I got that POST and BIOS screen. LOL

Huge thank you to Assassin for the guidance provided by this thread. I went with your recommendations:

Gigabyte Z68 Motherboard
Intel i3 2105
G-Skills Ram (4 GB)
Crucial 64 GB SSD
Silverstone GD05B Case
Silverstone Modular 500W power supply
Lite-on Blu-ray
Hitachi 2TB HD
Rosewill PCI Wireless-N Card

I broke one of my three SATA connectors so haven't hooked up the 2TB storage drive yet. But everything else is up and running. Got Windows 7 installed, updated all my drivers, and have it outputing through HDMI to my Pioneer receiver (video and sound).

I highly recommend people pay for Assassin's guides on his blog. They are a HUGE help and timesaver!

One question: How can I connect more than one case fan when my MB only has one SYS FAN header? My Silverstone case has 3 case fans on it. Can I just get one of those Y adapters and connect two case fans to the one SYS FAN header?
Reply
Reply
post #9717 of 15526
1/19/12 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrjinglesusa View Post

One question: How can I connect more than one case fan when my MB only has one SYS FAN header? My Silverstone case has 3 case fans on it. Can I just get one of those Y adapters and connect two case fans to the one SYS FAN header?

I have that case and that's what I did. At first I just hooked one fan to the "front" fan header, one to the "back" fan header, and one directly to the power supply. That worked, but one of the fans ran full tilt all the time. Great to keep the temp down, not so great for the noise. Once I got the splitter all the fans ran at more reasonable speeds.
Reply
Reply
post #9718 of 15526
1/19/12 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pureheart View Post

Assissin,

I watch many shows downloaded from Internet sites Revision3, and the TWIT.tv networks. I currently use Miro to download these shows into a folder, then I view them in WMC in the videos section. To set this up I entered the RSS feed URL into Miro for each show.

Is this the best way to download videos? I didn't see a reference to this type of viewing in your guides contents...

I don't want to stream, I want to download so I can fast-forward while watching.

Thanks

I use Miro in this manner and it works great. The only comments I would add to your method is to use Custom Setup when installing Miro and Uncheck all file associations. This also prevents Miro from asking to install BonJour service every time you reboot. Additionally, use the Miro Guide (either from within the program or directly on the internet) to select your feeds. Much easier than copy and pasting URL's.

The only other way I've found to download the videos, is use MediaBrowser. There's a tab in the configurator to setup the URLs. There's no metadata and the display is butt ugly. Miro works much better IMHO.
Reply
Reply
post #9719 of 15526
1/19/12 at 11:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrjinglesusa View Post

We've got POST and BIOS!!!! We've got Windows 7!!!!



One question: How can I connect more than one case fan when my MB only has one SYS FAN header? My Silverstone case has 3 case fans on it. Can I just get one of those Y adapters and connect two case fans to the one SYS FAN header?


I have the same case and it came with the splitter to power all three fans from a single power feed. I lowered the speed to 5v as described on the first page.
Reply
Reply
post #9720 of 15526
1/19/12 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rodg1984 View Post

I've been following your guides (even subscribed to the paid ones) and have built a htpc from scratch. So, first off Thank You so much for all the info.

Now, hopefully you can get me straightened out on a problem I'm having. On "Paid Guides #9" "Guide #10:HD Audio Bitstreaming for XBMC (Option 1)", I get to the part of downloading your "advancedsettings.xml" and "mediasconfig.xml" but when I click to download, it opens up a new tab with the .xml info and doesn't download anything. Is there something I'm doing wrong?

Thanks in advanced.

I looked at this using Google Chrome and can verify that both of those files are there and functioning as intended. Try a different browser if you can't access them for some reason.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Home Theater Computers

Gear mentioned in this thread:

AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Assassin's Simple/Beginner HTPC Buying Guide