Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 388

I see. Are you saying the better option for me is the more expensive build? (GIGABYTE board)
I want to keep it as quiet as possible. Are 5750 fans noisy?

I have a big issue, I'm trying to connect my HDMI from my new HIS video card to my Pioneer Plasma tv. I get video but no audio.... Any ideas?

I have a new Toshiba LCD down in the basement and i took the same computer and hooked it up the exact same way as the plasma and the audio and video work. The only thing that didn't work was the bluray through powerdvd but I think that was because I was using the trial version. I did get video.

So to recap, I get no audio from the plasma throught the HIS 5700 video card connnected via HDMI. The plasma is a Pioneer 5070HD

Thanks

I've got an update to this problem which may prove useful to others....

I was reading another forum where the same basic subject regarding keyboard incompatibilities with P55 chipset motherboards came up. A poster indicated that the issue is that each USB device has an identifier associated with it that has to be recognized by the BIOS in order to work, but if a hub that's supported by the motherboard is inserted in the middle, the problem will essentially go away. Sure enough, a few other posters indicated that connecting their keyboard to the USB hub on their monitor (which is then connected to a USB port on the motherboard) works while connecting the keyboard directly doesn't. I had a Belkin USB hub kicking around unused, so I figured there's no harm in trying it. I figured I had a 50/50 chance of it working, but I'm happy to report that my Interlink Electronics Versapoint RF keyboard is now recognized by Windows through the Belkin hub. I haven't tried rebooting yet to see if the keyboard is also recognized during boot for changing BIOS settings, etc. but it wouldn't be all that inconvenient to switch the connections around occasionally if needed.

Hopefully this info is useful to someone other than myself .

Quick question -- I'm running a low-profile system, so my choices of dVGA cards are limited. Right now I'm running an HD 4350, but I'm not satisfied with its performance. Is moving up to the HD 4550 going to make a big difference? I see newegg also offers a low-profile 4650, but it's still 64-bit interface, and has a fan (boo).

What do you need by performance? Gaming: minor difference. 1080i deinterlacing: no difference i think. video acceleration: no difference at all. same UVD2.

This is just for an HTPC, so 1080i/p stuff max. No 3D.

so your only handicap right now is 1080i deinterlacing. I don't think the 4550 will do you any better. correct me if im wrong renethx, both do MA?

That's funny that the 780G integrated HD 3200 supports MA, while the discrete HD 4350 only does Adaptive.

I'm trying to keep a WMC7 HTPC going without doing a major overhaul. It's an older AMD socket 939 system with an Athlon 3800+ in it. I've been using a Nvidia 7300GT for years, and it's worked fine for most 720p stuff up until now. We got a new Sony V-Series TV a month ago, and the HTPC just can't handle 1080p nor audio over HDMI. I'm going direct to the TV via HDMI, so I don't need to send all kinds of audio formats. I just need the HTPC to be able to process DTS and AC3 and who knows what else, and send it to the TV in Stereo (the main reason for wanting audio over HDMI is because an HDMI cable is hidden in the wall so I can use that).

Any recommendation on the cheapest fanless (for noise reasons) PCIExpress video card that I can use with a AMD 3800 for Windows 7 Media Center at 1080p that supports stereo audio over HDMI?

So would that make a big difference for 1080i?

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great guide!

Hi all,

I was hoping someone could critique my set up since I'm fairly new to building a system. I started my research into building an HTPC long before I found this forum and have made many changes based on the recommendations here.

I plan on using the iGPU until I can figure out what video card I want to put in the system. My primary purpose of this system will be streaming media, DVR from my HD antenna, Music Jukebox, and possible gaming. My HT system is primarily Panasonic with the TV being the Viera 50" plasma 720P.


Here's My final system:

Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT

Micro-ATX Case - AeroCool M40 Cube Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ool-_-11196028) - The case was a bit bigger than I thought but I really like it. It has a nice LED panel on the front that shows fan and HD activity plus shows the internal temperature of the case (Averages.between 24-28 degrees C).

Hard Drive - Western Digital WD15EADS Caviar Green Hard Drive 1.5TB, 32MB, SATA-3G (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=575) - For now!

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor - 3.20GHz - I chose this processor based on recommendations here, price (I'm already over my budget!), the reviews it got and performance specs.

Motherboard - Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H Motherboard - I sent the MA785GMT-UDH2 motherboard back based on upgradability recommendations here.

Memory - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Memory.

Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V Power Supply I sent my first power supply back and still ended up getting the wrong one! I didn't realize this until I opened the box but I thought I was buying a 550W PSU. Must have clicked the wrong button when I added it to my cart! I didn't want to hassle with sending this one back so I'm using it. The Graphics card only requires 420W but the motherboard suggests 500W or higher. I hope this will not be a problem later.

MCE Remote - Antec Mult-Station Basic Internal IR receiver and remote - Until my Gyration remote comes in, I'm using the remote provided with the Hauppauge TV tuner.

I have the Gyration Media Center Remote and keyboard on order. I really had a hard time deciding what remote I wanted and was leaning towards the Harmoney 700. The HTPC replaces my DVD/VCR so I really only have the PC, TV, and Stereo to control so this should be fine for that plus it gets rid of the mouse. Will post a write up in the remotes section once I get a chance to play with it.

CPU Cooler - COOLER MASTER GeminII S RR-CCH-PBU1-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - This sucker is huge! I had to do some thinking to get my power supply cables routed around this thing. The documentation that came with the CPU said using any other CPU Cooler would void the warrantee! Hmm, let's hope I wont need warrantee service!

TV Tuner Card - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 - Works as advertised.

Optical Drive - PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K05 (cannibalized from a current system) - Already have a PS3 for playing BluRay

Graphics Card - Visiontek Radeon HD 5750 GDDR5 1


Thanks everyone for your help and especially renethx for creating this guide!

I read your guild to building a HD HTPC. My solution I don't have an HDTV yet, I won't be getting an HDTV till this spring or summer. I have a regular tube television. I wrote a thread already: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1212458. To summarize
I want to build an HTPC using using Windows 7 Home Premium and the upcoming Ceton CableCard tuner. The purpose of the HTPC to use it as a DVR using Media Center, and maybe to rip standard DVD's. I have revised my specs, I'm new to building htpc. I looking to build something that is mid-range and is upgradable for future use, i.e. a regular tube TV -> HDTV(display). I digital cable(broadcast station: fox, NBC, ABC, etc and encrypted channels: FX, TNT, Disney channel, ect) but no premium channels like HBO.

revised spec:

• MB:Intel BOXDP43TF LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU's:

• Intel Pentium E5200 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Or
• Intel Pentium E5300 Wolfdale 2.6GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

VideoCards:

• EVGA 512-P3-1220-LR GeForce GT 220 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card, Or
• EVGA 01G-P3-1225-LR GeForce GT 220 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card, Or
• Galaxy 96GGF6HMFEXX GeForce 9600 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card(all in one, HDMI, DVI, and S-video)

I'm I in the right direction in building a custom HTPC for my needs?

I agree with previous feedback that the CPU doesn't need to be that powerful.

The Gyration remote is great but you'll still need a keyboard.

I'm using the AverMedia dual tuner card and found it easy to setup and pulls in all the stations. If you don't need analog tuners this is 1/2 the price of the Happauge tuner card.

Thanks for the feedback gentleman

I went with the better CPU in case I wanted to do some gaming. I was playing WOW on my MAC for a while which isn't that CPU intensive but wanted the option just in case. I may drop that down if it's not necessary.

I'll look to see if the CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX is available locally before I return the one I have. I got most of my stuff from Tiger Direct and they don't carry the MA785GMT-UDH2 motherboard so I may have to go with Newegg for that. Sucks that I couldn't find everything in one location to save on shipping but I guess I'll have to bite the bullet on that.

I do currently have a logitech wireless keyboard and mouse and will use that in the interim but I definitely want a good remote. It would be nice to have the logitech Harmony features in the Gyration remote (or vise verse). I only have a few components that I need to control so the Gyration may be all I need as long as it can communicate with the Antec Multi-Station.

The Gyration remote comes with its own dongle, which is RF rather than IR. It's a great remote, but I don't think you'll be able to get it working with the station.

As far as 1080P playback, will the i3/H55 be in the same league as say my HD 4670? too soon to tell maybe?

Hi guys,

Any bit of advice would be much appreciated. I built the "Low-End MicroATX AMD-AMD (iGPU) System" (see below) and my playback skips in VLC player on the infamous bird scene in Planet Earth 1080p. Any upgrade(s) that would resolve this? Thanks!!

CPU: Athlon II X2 240 ADX240OCGQBOX 2.8GHz AM3.
CPU Cooler: Stock cooler.
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G chipset microATX.
Memory: G.SKILL F3-10600CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1333 2 x 1GB Kit.
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 4200 (integrated in the chipset).
HDD: Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA 3.0Gbps.
PSU: 80 PLUS 350W ATX PSU (included in the case).
Case: Antec NSK1480 microATX.

Try using MPC HC instead of VLC

+1. VLC is not so hot with HA.

I don't think any ATI gpu supports that file with H.264 profile L5.1. You would have to get a Nvidia card.

Or you could try turning off DxVA acceleration on your card and see if software decoding by cpu will cut it.

I have been quietly reading much of this thread and a few other threads over the past month, with the intention of building a home media server, based upon WHS. Though competent technically my experience is totally software related and my meager hardware experience is limited to installing PCI cards and internal disk drives. Nonetheless I am now about to attempt this build with some help from a friend. I wish to thank all the folks who have contributed to these threads, particularly, of course, renethx, without whose insights and recommendations I would never have even considered this undertaking.

My intent to is build a tower system. I had originally intended to build using the one of the two Norco cases, but abandoned that idea based upon too many concerns I've read about noise, questionable quality, difficulty in routing connecting wires, excessive heat, etc. That, plus I rather doubt I'll need to fill more than 15 drives worth of data in any reasonable time frame. My concerns may well be overstated, and I'm sure others have had great success using the Norco cases, but in the end I decided it was a little too ambitious for me.

Here is my hardware build list. It pretty well follows the build recommended by renethx for his 15 HDD Tower System, though it makes a few changes that I will further highlight below. I would much appreciate any and all comments regarding anything I may have conceptualized incorrectly or anything that would improve the resulting system.

Case: Cool Master Centurion RC 590-KKN1-GP
HDD Cage: Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane
HDD Cage: Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane
HDD Cage: Athena Power BP-SATA3051B 5-in-3 backplane
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750X
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240 ADX24OCGQBOX 2.8 GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H AM2+ AMD 785G chipset ATX
Memory: A-DATA ADQVE1A26K DDR2-800 2x1GB Kit
SATA Card: Promise SATA300 TX4 PCI SATA II 4-Port Adapter
SATA Card: Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 8-Port SAS/SATA
SAS-SATA Cable: LSI/3Ware CBL-SSF8087OCF-10M SFF-8087 to Discrete Forward Breakout
SAS-SATA Cable: LSI/3Ware CBL-SSF8087OCF-10M SFF-8087 to Discrete Forward Breakout
OS Disk: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640 GB

Here are the deviations from the proposed build that I made and my reasons/prejudices for doing so.

Power supply: I decided to use a different power supply due to a preference for a modular power supply which would make it easier for me - a novice - to deal with routing all the wires in a clean fashion. I also moved up a step to a 750W power supply. It was only $20 more than the Corsair CMPSU-650TX, though I could be convinced to go for the 650 if the consensus is that it is a waste of money and power and would add nothing in such a build.

SATA Cards: Renethx's 15 HDD build suggessted using 5 2-port cards. I preferred to go with two cards that leave several of the SATA ports on the motherboard free, and some PCI slots free so that others things can be added later, such as a card to convert SATA ports to eSATA ports so that eSATA drives could be added externally if needed at some time.

SAS-SATA cable: Here I was flying on my own since the only mention of SAS type cables involve the Norco 4220 which contains both SAS-SAS cables and SATA-SAS cables. I need to go from SAS to SATA. My question: Is this the proper cable for the job?

Thanks again to all who have contributed to making this thread such a great source of info.

Is the Galaxy GPU good, or should I look for another graphic card? Also to connect my pc the tv I would need a cable like this:
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/videoware_2088_633730