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My New HTPC - Three 3.5" Hard Drive Locations and an SSD in a Mini-ITX Build - Page 4

post #91 of 125
9/29/11 at 3:59pm
So I finally had time to play with my Blu-ray player and try PowerDVD 9, it came with it, but it won't play any discs. Is there any special drivers I need for playing Blu-rays out of a Samsung player with PowerDVD 9? Is this a trial version of the software?
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post #92 of 125
10/6/11 at 4:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by laszlomdq View Post

So I finally had time to play with my Blu-ray player and try PowerDVD 9, it came with it, but it won't play any discs. Is there any special drivers I need for playing Blu-rays out of a Samsung player with PowerDVD 9? Is this a trial version of the software?

Anyone?
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post #93 of 125
10/6/11 at 7:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by laszlomdq View Post

Anyone?

Almost all the software that comes with the drives are crap trial version that try to entice you to buying the full version.

However, the last Samsung drive I used the software did allow me to play bluray disc in 2 channel only.
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post #94 of 125
10/18/11 at 10:59am
Assassin,
I moved a HTPC from another case to the APEX and used the same Silverstone cooler on the build. The cooler attachement points did not work well when installing to the motherboard, they were backwards, as you picture shows. The slotted screw driver turn location should be toward the fan, not away from it. Every OEM fan I have installed has been turn in toward the fan, not away from it. Is that a manufacturing defect?
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post #95 of 125
10/18/11 at 11:29am
The Apex MI-008 is $39.99 at NewEgg.com today and you get free shipping w/ code: EMCJKJB24.
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post #96 of 125
10/18/11 at 12:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tizi View Post

Assassin,
I moved a HTPC from another case to the APEX and used the same Silverstone cooler on the build. The cooler attachement points did not work well when installing to the motherboard, they were backwards, as you picture shows. The slotted screw driver turn location should be toward the fan, not away from it. Every OEM fan I have installed has been turn in toward the fan, not away from it. Is that a manufacturing defect?

I don't recall specifically. I do recall having to mess with the cooler a little longer than usual to get it to lock. Maybe that was the reason.

Usually I install outside the case and just look underneath the board to make sure that all the pegs have engaged completely. Then I give it the old gentle rock back and forth test once its installed in the case.
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post #97 of 125
10/24/11 at 12:13pm
hi assasin, paid member from the uk, great website and guides,

was looking to build a htpc but as im in the uk i cant get the same case so i was wondering if the Thermaltake VL52021N2 Element Q 220W Mini ITX Case would be ok. it seems similar to the case you used. also the Asrock H67M-ITX 1155 mini-Itx Motherboard .. unless there is a better mini itx board that i could use, also gonna go with the 2100t for the lower cpu cooler.
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post #98 of 125
10/24/11 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by notorious19 View Post

hi assasin, paid member from the uk, great website and guides,

was looking to build a htpc but as im in the uk i cant get the same case so i was wondering if the Thermaltake VL52021N2 Element Q 220W Mini ITX Case would be ok. it seems similar to the case you used. also the Asrock H67M-ITX 1155 mini-Itx Motherboard .. unless there is a better mini itx board that i could use, also gonna go with the 2100t for the lower cpu cooler.

Thanks. Glad you enjoy the guides.

Yes, I think that combination would work just fine.
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post #99 of 125
10/26/11 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Thanks for posting! Glad you liked the build. I put it through a test run tonight and it did fantastic!

assassin,

I have 4 of these in my house. Do you experience any issues with bluray iso playback with the intel HD2000 GPU? I am asking because i am having an issue and cnanot figure out what the problem is. i just now ordered a pico psu and a SSD for this main tv room build. This PC will do all my Lburay ISo and 3D playback form my server.
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post #100 of 125
11/24/11 at 12:33pm
Hi. I'm in the process of upgrading my 3 year old htpc and i'm mostly concerned about idle power consumption. Will I see the same results if I use an asrock z68m itx/ht motherboard? Or will the h67 itx be better? Have you tested this particular z68 board with a kill a watt? I've read a review about this z68 board and it idles at 40 watts with an ssd. Any thoughts on this?
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post #101 of 125
11/24/11 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NO1B4ME View Post

assassin,

I have 4 of these in my house. Do you experience any issues with bluray iso playback with the intel HD2000 GPU? I am asking because i am having an issue and cnanot figure out what the problem is. i just now ordered a pico psu and a SSD for this main tv room build. This PC will do all my Lburay ISo and 3D playback form my server.

Sorry I missed this question. I use mkv instead of iso so I have very little experience with it.
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post #102 of 125
11/24/11 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by booker1 View Post

Hi. I'm in the process of upgrading my 3 year old htpc and i'm mostly concerned about idle power consumption. Will I see the same results if I use an asrock z68m itx/ht motherboard? Or will the h67 itx be better? Have you tested this particular z68 board with a kill a watt? I've read a review about this z68 board and it idles at 40 watts with an ssd. Any thoughts on this?

I haven't used the z68 itx board. Why do you want or need a z68 board? I have found that h67 boards are more stable IMO for htpc use and z68 gives you very little advantages unless you are overclocking it for some reason. Or perhaps if you are building a small gaming build and want to use virtu technology.
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post #103 of 125
11/25/11 at 2:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I haven't used the z68 itx board. Why do you want or need a z68 board? I have found that h67 boards are more stable IMO for htpc use and z68 gives you very little advantages unless you are overclocking it for some reason. Or perhaps if you are building a small gaming build and want to use virtu technology.

Thanks for the reply. I really don't need the features of the z68. I'm also buying another mce remote and the price of an asrock h67 board + mce remote is equal to the price of the z68 itx/ht with the bundled remote. You think I should just go with the h67 board and just get a separate remote?
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post #104 of 125
11/25/11 at 8:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by booker1 View Post

Hi. I'm in the process of upgrading my 3 year old htpc and i'm mostly concerned about idle power consumption. Will I see the same results if I use an asrock z68m itx/ht motherboard? Or will the h67 itx be better? Have you tested this particular z68 board with a kill a watt? I've read a review about this z68 board and it idles at 40 watts with an ssd. Any thoughts on this?

I have this board with the following:

I3-2100T CPU
60G vertex 2
1TB WD green drive
Hauppauge 2250
150 Pico PSU.

I am idling at around 27i-29 watts, with 1080i TV stream I run up between 38-42 watts.

Tested with a kilowatt meter. It looks higher than what assassin is getting with the H67 chip. I went with the Z68 board because I repurpose all the time, but if I did not I would have went with the 67 for the power savings.

I will try and find time to post some pics of the kilowatt meter.
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post #105 of 125
11/25/11 at 2:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SUBCOB View Post

I have this board with the following:

I3-2100T CPU
60G vertex 2
1TB WD green drive
Hauppauge 2250
150 Pico PSU.

I am idling at around 27i-29 watts, with 1080i TV stream I run up between 38-42 watts.

Tested with a kilowatt meter. It looks higher than what assassin is getting with the H67 chip. I went with the Z68 board because I repurpose all the time, but if I did not I would have went with the 67 for the power savings.

I will try and find time to post some pics of the kilowatt meter.


Nice. Thanks for posting your results. Have you tested it without the 1TB drive and Hauppage 2250?

What's the model number of your 1TB? If it's the WD10EACS, then I would assume that the Z68 board has the the same power consumption as the h67 board. From what I've read, the lowest idle power consumption of an asrock h67 itx with a 2100T is 17 watts. Add in your 1TB (5w idle) and Hauppage 2250 (5-6w idle) and we get the same idle power as yours. Or am I mistaken? What do you think?
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post #106 of 125
11/25/11 at 2:44pm
Thread Starter 
Power consumption shouldn't be dramatically different between the two.
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post #107 of 125
11/25/11 at 4:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by booker1 View Post

Nice. Thanks for posting your results. Have you tested it without the 1TB drive and Hauppage 2250?

What's the model number of your 1TB? If it's the WD10EACS, then I would assume that the Z68 board has the the same power consumption as the h67 board. From what I've read, the lowest idle power consumption of an asrock h67 itx with a 2100T is 17 watts. Add in your 1TB (5w idle) and Hauppage 2250 (5-6w idle) and we get the same idle power as yours. Or am I mistaken? What do you think?

It's an older drive I believe it is an EARS drive
I have not tested without the Hauppauge card, but will look at that during the weekend.

I forgot to mention the standby which is 4w, not sure why so high was expecting no more than 2w, but that may be the difference between the 120 and 150 pico unit.
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post #108 of 125
11/25/11 at 5:13pm
This is the first time seeing this thread, but it came at the right time. The Apex MI-008 case used in this project is currently on sale at Newegg for $34.95 with free shipping (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811154091). I picked one up thinking I'd use it for a future project. After seeing this thread it may happen sooner than later.
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post #109 of 125
11/25/11 at 6:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by captain_video View Post

This is the first time seeing this thread, but it came at the right time. The Apex MI-008 case used in this project is currently on sale at Newegg for $34.95 with free shipping (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811154091). I picked one up thinking I'd use it for a future project. After seeing this thread it may happen sooner than later.

Its a fun project. I love my little Frankenstein.
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post #110 of 125
11/25/11 at 8:24pm
It is a great little case, especially if you are working with limited space in your entertainment center.
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post #111 of 125
11/25/11 at 10:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Power consumption shouldn't be dramatically different between the two.

Yup. Seems like it.

By the way, thanks for this thread. This is exactly what I wanted to build for a small htpc/media server. I was thinking of modifying the case to something like this for more airflow.


Attachment 228910
LL
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post #112 of 125
11/25/11 at 10:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SUBCOB View Post

It's an older drive I believe it is an EARS drive
I have not tested without the Hauppauge card, but will look at that during the weekend.

I forgot to mention the standby which is 4w, not sure why so high was expecting no more than 2w, but that may be the difference between the 120 and 150 pico unit.


Thanks again for all the help. The EARS is 3w idle. 4w in standby is a little high.

Would really appreciate it if you could test it some more if you have time. Looking forward to it.
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post #113 of 125
11/27/11 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Thanks for posting! Glad you liked the build. I put it through a test run tonight and it did fantastic!


Assassin,

Question for you. What kind of display are you using for hte HTPC? What is the resoultion of the TV itself set to? Are you able to output 1080p 24p on your display with the setup without issues?

I was going crazy chasing a movie judder issue and realized it started happening when I upgraded to new sharp 70" tv with the new SB setup and a new Onkyo receiver to handle the 3D of the TV.

I have to set the intel graphics on the HTPC to 1920x1080 at 60hz. I had it at 24 hz and it was causing the judder issue in Total Media Theater.
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post #114 of 125
11/27/11 at 7:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NO1B4ME View Post

Assassin,

Question for you. What kind of display are you using for hte HTPC? What is the resoultion of the TV itself set to? Are you able to output 1080p 24p on your display with the setup without issues?

I was going crazy chasing a movie judder issue and realized it started happening when I upgraded to new sharp 70" tv with the new SB setup and a new Onkyo receiver to handle the 3D of the TV.

I have to set the intel graphics on the HTPC to 1920x1080 at 60hz. I had it at 24 hz and it was causing the judder issue in Total Media Theater.

1920x1080 @ 60hz. 61" Samsung DLP.
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post #115 of 125
11/27/11 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

1920x1080 @ 60hz. 61" Samsung DLP.

Awesome that is what I thought and thanks for the fast response.
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post #116 of 125
11/28/11 at 11:07am
$35 at Amazon.com today: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H0BA24/
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post #117 of 125
2/24/12 at 11:09pm
Sorry for bumping this old post but after building this HTPC last year I had almost no time to play with the blu ray part of it until recently. My issue is that I tried playing a blu ray and is not working smoothly. Is there any setting that I'm missing?

Thanks in advance!
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post #118 of 125
2/25/12 at 8:06am
Asssassin is this your daily use HTPC ?
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post #119 of 125
2/25/12 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

Asssassin is this your daily use HTPC ?

Absolutely.
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post #120 of 125
2/25/12 at 7:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by laszlomdq View Post

Sorry for bumping this old post but after building this HTPC last year I had almost no time to play with the blu ray part of it until recently. My issue is that I tried playing a blu ray and is not working smoothly. Is there any setting that I'm missing?

Thanks in advance!

Assassin, do you have any problems playing blurays?
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