Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 399

Thanks for the quick replys they are always very much appreciated.

I must say that it doesn't really help matters that NORCO doesn't have any documentation for this case - it is pretty easy to figure out most of it but since I am not an expert at building computers (more likely a novice) I always like to confirm what I believe is the correct setup with some sort of manual or data sheet. As you can see by my question I was somewhat confussed by the 10 4 pin molex power connectors (2 on each of the 5 backplanes) and with my current Corsair modular power supply I did not have enough power cabling to complete the build by connecting all of these.

So I ordered some more cabling and emailed NORCO customer support. Mike Wang responded quickly with a reply that they don't currently have any documentation for the RPC-4020 and that if using a standard ATX power supply only 1 of the 2 molex connectors needs to be connected and if using a redundant power supply then both connectors would be used. I will finish the build in a day or 2 and suppose I will find out if only 1 connector per backplane is needed.

I'm using Norco 4020 and can assure you that you only need the one power plug per row.
Either that, or my HDDs are running on air , now that would be cool.

You only need to connect one 4-pin molex per backplane. The second is for redudancy / backup in case the other gets damaged or quits working.

Can anyone help me on this? I double checked and there is no low profile 4670 so now I'm a bit stuck. I read about the 4650. Is this the next best card? A few are made low profile. The Nvidia 220 is also low profile. Please keep in mind that I'm not concerned with gaming, just video playback and naturally cool and quiet.

That would be very cool. Considering how difficult it is to get the 4 pin molex's plugged in this case, I am glad I only need one per row. I ended up pulling the bracket for the fans as my hands would just not cooperate.

I want to use my Harmony 880 with my HTPC. I have the ASRock H55M pro motherboard, is this possible?

If you have a case with built in IR blaster then no problem. If not, you will need to buy a MCE remote and blaster (they are very cheap) and then you can use the Harmony after you get the MCE remote setup from the database or have the Harmony learn from the MCE remote.

Can you not buy an IR blaster by itself? And how would u set t up with logitechs software?

Well you probably can, but you can get a cheap remote and blaster for around $20 or less. You just plug in the IR blaster to a USB port and then get any MCE remote template from the logitech database - just like if you were getting the remote for your TV or whatever. I don't use a logitech personally, but do use a URC MX-800 that works similar. If you can't find a template that works how you want then that is where the MCE cheap remote comes in to use to teach your Harmony.

Hi all! This is my first post, jumping into this topic...

I'm just about finished building my rig, based on renethx's recommendation for a "Premium Intel-Intel" system, and I've run into a potential problem.

I went "whole hog" on this system, and bought the Radeon 5870 graphics card. This thing is HUGE! As such (because of my choice of case - Moncaso 932T) I can't use it in PCIe slot 1... it interferes with the optical drive. According to the manual for the Asus P7P55D EVO mobo, it says not to put a single VGA card in slot 2. I really don't have a choice, short of returning this card and going with a 5850.

I appeal to those who have more experience with this board, for instruction! I did try the card in slot 2, and it's working (with both a CRT monitor, and the front LCD panel). Any potential problems with this, or any tweaks I should make to optimize this configuration?


On edit: For anyone who is contemplating this case (I know it's a bit dated, now), and has been put-off by the limitations on the length of optical drive, ANY drive can be used (up to 185mm long) as long as LEFT ANGLE connectors are used for power and data. I installed a Pioneer BDR-205BKS drive, and have room to spare between it and the mobo. A shorter optical drive would not have made a difference with the 5870 graphics card, however.

I think you guys are probably referring to an IR receiver. A blaster actually sends out IR signals. In this case the remote would be doing the blasting and the USB receiver would be reciveing the IR signals. Easiest would be to buy a case with a receiver built in (like the antec fusion) but there are some USB ones. There is a model of the USB-IRT that has a receiver bult in but it is mainly built to blast. I think Antec makes an add on receiver. I think some tuner cards also come with a remote and a receiver.

This is the cheap IR Receiver I use with my Harmony remote:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-001-_-Product

Well, I finally took the plunge.

Copied ReneThx almost 1:1

System

CPU: Core i5 750 2.66GHz LGA1156

CPU Cooler: Stock

Motherboard: ASRock P55M Pro LGA1156 Intel P55 chipset microATX.

Memory: Kingston 4GB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600 Kit

Graphics Card (ATI): Sapphire HD5770 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E Vapor X

HDD1: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB, 64 MB Cache
HDD2: Samsung Hard Disk Drive 160 GB SATA2

PSU: Be-Quiet Straight Power E7 550W

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

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech DiNovo Mini (already owned that one)

It's a bit more expensive because of some parts. And in The Netherlands, prices are a bit higher than in the US.

I'm hoping this system will be enough to last me a while.
Will be getting the parts tomorrow!

This forum really helped me out, so thanks a lot!

Cheers!

E.

What dBa is considered noiseless when shopping for fans? <25dba? this is from a viewing distance of about 10ft.

Very nice system!

You should be ok. I had the same issue with a gigabyte motherboard, and ended up running my 5770 card in the second PCIE slot. Even though it's limited to 8x speed, this is not a bottleneck. I actually benchmarked my overclocked 5770 in both slots, and saw only 1% performance decrease when video card was installed in slot 2. Even a more powerful Radeon 5870 is barely limited by PCIE x8 speed.

Thanks for the recommendation. Quite the cooler. Cleared the memory heat sinks perfectly.

51°C after 30 minutes of 8 threads on Prime 95 with i7 860.

Fan was running at 1,800. I think my computer started to move.

Is it available compiled anywhere? I poked around the MPC-HC SourceForge page without finding it... Just the August revision.

Marc

PS Edit: Found a bunch of builds at the Russian Xvid site and downloaded a more recent build there but it didn't have the frame rate switching and the Subtitles option seems greyed out. Sigh. And, "I get not the stable version of the program." :-)

Hey, kind of a noob type question. Putting together my first HTPC. Should I install my graphic card's audio drivers as well as my Xonar's? I am inclined to install Win7-32 bit, then ATI 5750 graphic driver 9.12 without the audio driver, then the Xonar suite with the 1775/splendid/gamer/TMT3. OK??

Then what would the preferred settings be? Win7=speakers (stereo/5.1 or 7.1) then Xonar=hdmi/192khz/8 speakers??

Does Imon play nice with this?

My build is:
Asrock p55 extreme w/i5-750
HIS h575 (5750) VGA
Xonar HDAV 1.3 Deluxe
Siverstone CW02 with iMON
Win7-32 bit
7.2 Marantz HT system

I couldn't find anything yet on this combo.
Thanks for any help in advance.

First I don't believe it is necessary to use the game patch with 1775 ASUS driver, at least I used it with the 1773 drivers and then stopped using it with the 1775 on a win 7 x64 system, but I am using the SLIM so I could be wrong. Also thought most everyone was staying away from the splendid, but again I could be wrong. Make sure to set the audio to HDMI pass-through in TMT3 (both players). I find that iMon works fine in the standalone player, but I can't get the main buttons to work (FF, REW, PLAY, PAUSE) in the TMT3 media center player.

Yeah sorry, meant receiver not blaster.

Mate, Check http://www.techbuy.com.au. HIS 5670 added today $154.35.


Umart Online have the Sapphire HD5670 currently for $119.

So, where did you get that build. Got a link?

I need a little guidance on finishing up my 1st HTPC build. I just need a mobo and I got it narrowed down to 2 finalists, but I'm looking for some last minute input. Here's my equipment so far:

Case: Apevia X-Master
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W
Proc: Phenom II X2 550 BE
HDD: 1 TB WD
80 GB WD
Mem: Corsair DDR2 800 (2 x 2GB)
Opt Dr: Lite-On Blu-ray 4x

I have narrowed down the mobos to:
ASRock A790GXH (possiblity to unlock to x4) and ECS Black Series A790GXM

I want to be able to play Blu-ray and eventually do some gaming (both of these boards offer CrossfireX). Can anyone see a glaring hole or offer up a different direction I should go? Will these boards suffice? Any constructive criticism would be appreciated.

...then again, don't we all?

Given the new i3 and 5670 products, I'm looking to go this route. I'm looking to do the following:

• Play ripped DVDs
• Play various media files, both audio and video. We've been very invested in Apple TV to this point.
• We have an archaic (pre-HDMI) stereo that will eventually be replaced.
• We've got a great 52" 1080p LCD.

My current product list is:

ASRock H55M Pro LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80616I3530 - Retail
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail
SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
Antec Black Aluminum / Steel Fusion Remote Black Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ... - Retail
Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail
COOLER MASTER GeminII S RR-CCH-PBU1-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

My primary question is whether the power supply is big enough. Any gotchas you think you see in this mix?

Thanks a TON for this amazing resource...

I just completed my build using the new i3 cpu and h55 asus motherboard and am getting excellant hdmi and sound from the combination to a 54" lcd tv. When watching tv I run the hdmi directly to the tv and run the sound thru the Asus. When playing blu-ray/dvd I run the hdmi output of the Asus to the tv and the sound out of the Asus to my Denon receiver. Why are folks putting one of the 5000 series video cards in the combination? What do you get video wise that the h55 can't deliver? Just wopnder what I'm missing.

I think it's because they want gaming options and the H55 boards are currently (on Newegg, at least) cheaper than the P55 boards.

Anyone have experience with MSI GT 240 512mb GDDR5, especially in relation to the fan noise? It's really cheap right now at $50 with a rebate. Same price as the GT 220.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch...=BD11210&px=SB

Why get the i3 though? The whole appeal to the Clarkdale line is that the integrated graphics and cpu are in the same package...and it can bitstream. It seems to me that if you are going to go with a separate video card (that can bitstream) then getting a Clarkdale cpu is sort of pointless. I would go with a better processor without the integrated graphics since that function is now being taken care of by the dedicated video card. Just my two cents.