Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 423

I don't see any lines

Nope. It just captures a mpeg2 stream. Your PC software decodes it.

Renethx, I see you recommending the 5750 and 5770 all the time.

Does this exist as a low profile card? I was originally thinking about going with a full height HTPC case, but a 3.5" tall case is sounding much better than 6.7" tall.

6.7" - SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body GD01B-R ATX HTPC Case
3.7" - LIAN LI Black Aluminum PC-C37B Micro ATX HTPC Case

I'll likely start with an iGPU anyway, but I want to know if I am limiting my upgrade options...

Thanks!

I'm thinking about purchasing a 5450 ATI card. It would go in my HTPC with Vista Ultimate/VMC, Gigabyte MOBO that has Analog and Optical out audio.

The question: any idea if I could ouput from the MOBO audio if I use this card, either via analog or optical while sending via HDMI? I want it to be able to play to Zone 2 on my Onkyo, and Zone 2 only accepts analog. Currently I am sending audio via the optical from MOABo, and I am sending that through a converter that will send to analog while also sending to the optical. I am aware that it may depend on the OS, because when my HTPC was XP, I could send out analog and digital simultaneously, but on Vista Ultimate, I have to use the converter.

I suppose another option to inquire about: Any chance there is a HDCP care that would oupt to analog while sending HDMI?

With a HDCP card, I'm not sure if I would be totally out of luck to get the audio to analog.

Hello everyone,

I am looking to archive my library to a hard-disk array and build myself an HTPC but would like to know your thoughts on whether I can expect the HTPC quality to be comparable to that of a dedicated player such as my Oppo BDP-83. I posted my question in detail in the following thread so please send any replies to that thread instead.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post18216597

Thank you very much in advance!!

Warm Regards,

Anthony

Has anyone been able to get bitsreaming on Blu rays to work with the Asrock H55M Pro motherboard? I have the mobo connection to the AVR via HDMI and am using TMT3 for Blu ray play back but am only able to get Dolby Digital and DTS working. When I change to TrueHD on a Blu ray my speakers don't produce any sound.

I am currently running the stock drivers that came on the AsRock cd but am going to try the newest Intel 2082 drivers to see if that resolves the issue. I wanted to see if anyone has gotten bitstreaming to work with the AsRock Mobo.

I have a question on the suitability of the Antec Fusion Remote case for my situation.

All my home theater components go into a BDI Home Theater Cabinet. A nice piece of furniture but each component is on a shelf and behind doors. My concern is the width. Where the HTPC would go is an 18.5" wide shelf, solid wood on each side. Open to the back though.

I noticed the Antec Fusion Remote case is 17.5" wide. So it would fit but without much clearance on the sides. I also noticed that there are 2 fans on the right side of the case. Would this present a problem with cooling? Are these intake or exhaust? Would there be a better case choice instead?

I just did a build with this case.

Those fans on the right (as you look at the front) are exhaust. They recommend a minimum of 1" clearance next to those fans. You'd be cutting it close with this case. Plus, the case _actually_ measures 17 5/8" across. And 1/8" means something when you're cutting it that close already.

Thank you. It's too close. I'll have to look for a different case.

I'm going to be building an HTPC in a few months that I will also use for occasional gaming (Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, Diablo III when it comes out, other single player things) and I had a few questions. I plan on using the Antec New Solution NSK2480 case and was wondering if it would get too hot and noisy with a Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB and Radeon 5770 (or maybe a 5670) using the stock cooling?

Alternatively I was thinking of using the Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB is available for about the same price as the Black, but it only has a 3 year warranty and I wasn't sure if it would be considered too slow for decent gaming performance?

Thanks.

Hello all,

I looked through Renethx's guide and am a little confused. I don't need a full blown HTPC but need something a bit more than a NAS box. My needs are :
1. centralised storage and streaming of BD, DVD, audio, divx, photos, etc.
2. I'd also like to access my data from any pc over the network.
3. I'd like to set up shares and control user access by folder. I've done some reading and have decided to go the FlexRAID route for added protection so i beleive that rules out most nas boxes.
4. I want to have a minimum of 4 drives and would like to be able to grow my storage pool as necessary. Backup preotection is also required (flexraid).
5. I will be using this with either a pch or blueview player.
6. If possible i'd like the storage pool to be accessible by usb 3.0 and/or esata as well as over the network.

My primary computer is my laptop with a usb bd drive so i'd like to avoid building an all dancing and singing HTPC if possible. Any suggestions would be welcome.

These days, Large capacity Hard Drives seem be be crap shoot for Quietness and especially with the faster spins, and may be relative to the heavy hits they might take. The mentioned Western Digital Blacks have been better "overall", than the Greens for me. Samsung has never disappointed here, and currently using the new SJ F3 series, very cool, quite and speedy too...I'm ready to purchase some more.
Bring on the "Best bang for your Buck" SSD

You should explore a WHS build.

I'm sure this is covered in this thread in great detail, but I've spent the past few days looking through it (and the rest of the forum), and now I'm just more confused than I was before.

I'm considering building one of Renethx's recommended HTPC's as I've given up on streaming to my xbox or PS3. I just want to make sure an HTPC with windows 7 MC and maybe TMT3 will allow me to stream my Blu-ray iso's with full surround sound, menus, and ffwd and rwd intact? One catch is my AV receiver does not pass through HDMI, but only accepts digital audio input or individual 7.1 inputs.

I upgraded the bios on Asrock to 1.90 and installed the 2082 intel drivers, the good news is with the intel drivers you get HDMI sound, but the bad news is that TrueHD and DTS-MA still don't play. I'm thinking of getting another mobo due to this. Any suggestions?

Well now I look with a different cpu and they are not visible anymore. There must be a problem somewhere in the relay of the video feed. It goes from my cpu to an Onkyo 606 to my tv.

Just wanted to report back and thank reneTHX for his excellent guide I had never built a PC before, the farthest I got was swapping memory or a hard drive.

After ordering last weekend and receiving the parts this week, I got to work late Saturday morning. It took me most of the rest of day, taking it easy and breaking for food and drink at the local hangout, but I got it together first try

Most time was wasted by trying to determine what order to put the parts together in. The documentation for the case and the MoBo were pretty good though, so I just followed those. The CPU cooler also posed some pronblems to this newb, but I finally got it together. Overall, pretty easy and a great learning experience.

I basically ordered renethx' recommended system (AMD/AMD), choosing the USB3 motherboard. I added a Hauppage 2250 TV card and a LiteOn BD drive (from the local Frys). After installing Windows 7 Ultimate, I was up and running - no hickups. If I were to do it again, I could probably do the hardware in an hour or so. Key is knowing what order to put it together in :-)

I like the whole setup overall, but if I were to build another one, I would probably:
- buy a faster harddrive
as it is now, the drive is the slowest link in the whole chain
- look for a different case
I see no use for the LCD screen, and it's way too bright even in the lowest setting


The only thing missing is a good Media Center remote. The one that came with the Antec case is not going to cut it, and the Hauppage that came with the 2250 apparently is not programmable (so I can control TV on/off and volume from it). I looked at the Gyration remote (spendy), but it apparently does not allow for volume 'punch through' when in PC mode :-(

Right now, I'm using the Lenovo keyboard/mouse thingie, and like it a lot as a mini keyboard and mouse, but it's no good for controlling Media Center.

Hai fellows
I have this gateway gm5478
the only thing i did upgrade memory from 2GB to 4gb

does this pc runs 64 bit O.S?

rightnow iam running vista home premium 32 bit

And if i upgrade to full 8gb does my 32 bit works or do i need to install 64 bit

Iam using this pc for bluray playback and backup and i want to make it 3d ready by upgrading gpu
what kind of gpu should i go for inorder to be 3d ready

do i need to upgrade power supply unit rightnow i have 400 watt
please help




Specifications
Part Number: 1009570Gateway GM5478 Desktop Computer
Model: GM5478
The following table provides the specifications for the Gateway® GM5478 desktop computer.


Feature Specification
Processor •Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor with VT
•Each core operates at 2.40 GHz
•Shared 8 MB L2 cache
•1066 MHz front side bus

Chipset Intel G33
Memory •Installed: 2048 MB DDR2, 667 MHz, (PC2-5300) dual channel memory (two 1024 MB DIMMs)
•Expandable to: 8 GB (4 DDR2 DIMM slots)

Hard Drive 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA II hard drive
Support for up to two hard drives
Optical Drive DVD ±RW, 16X super multi-format dual layer drive
•Write max: 16X DVD±R, 6X DVD-RW, 6X DVD-R DL, 8X DVD+RW, 8X DVD+R DL, 12X DVD-RAM, 48X CD-R, 32X CD-RW
•Read max: 12X DVD-ROM, 12X DVD-RAM, 48X CD-ROM

Media Card Reader 15-in-1 high speed digital media manager supporting the following:
•Compact Flash (CF) I, II
•IBM Microdrive™ (MD)
•SmartMedia Card (SMC)
•Memory Stick™ (MS)
•Memory Stick Duo (MS Duo)
•Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO)
•Memory Stick PRO Duo (MS PRO Duo)
•Secure Digital™ (SD)
•Mini Secure Digital (MiniSD)
•Multi Media Card (MMC)
•RS Multi Media Card (RS-MMC) (need adapter)
•Multi Media Plus Card (MMC Plus)
•Multi Media Mobile Card (MMC Mobile)
•xD-Picture Card (xD)

Video •NVIDIA® GeForce® 8500GT 256 MB video card
•DirectX® 10 and Blu-ray™/HD DVD™ capable
•One DVI-I port with HDCP
•One HDMI port
•One S-Video port (includes DVI-VGA Dongle)

Audio Integrated 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Network Support Intel integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Modem 56 K ITU V.92 ready fax/modem
Power Supply 400 watt
Add-in Card Slots •One PCI Express ×16 (graphics interface)
•Two PCI Express ×1
•One PCI conventional

External Connectors •One PS/2 keyboard port
•One PS/2 mouse port
•One VGA monitor port
•One S/PDIF Optical port
•Eight USB ports (six rear, two front)
•Two IEEE 1394a port (one rear, one front)
•One RJ-45 Ethernet LAN port
•Seven audio jacks (five rear, two front)
•Three front RCA jacks (one video, two audio)

Drive Bays Five total:
•Two external 5.25-inch
•One external 3.5-inch (with a docking bay for optional Gateway 2.5-inch removable USB hard drive)
•Two internal 3.5-inch (hard drive)

This is not good because I was going to upgrade my drive to a Blu Ray and this is a deal breaker for me. I can't return it though because I have had it for over a month.

So what H55 boards have confirmed bitstreaming? Last night I thought I had settled on the ASRock board, but now this one, like the Gigabyte board, doesn't have bitstreaming? What board is confirmed to perform HD audio?

Another experiment: Low Profile HTPC

I have http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Products...ProductID=3321 which works perfectly with i3-530. I put it

in http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811121027 and it's working great. VERY QUIET. It has a 270w power supply, I want to add http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131339 and
am wondering if this is pushing the power supply. One hdd(500g) and a bd drive (401S)
already installed.

Thanks

i am thinking to buy a nvidia video card for the nvidia 3d glasses but i dont know which card is compatible.

Recently I have been having problems with WMC. I am running Windows 7 64 Bit and HDHomeRun tuner. When I am watching live TV in WMC the picture and audio judders and skips constantly. I ran the HDHomeRun LiveTV program and it was fine there. What is the problem with WMC?

Just about finished watching the OTA (CTV 9-1) Olympics in HD on my HTPC running Win7 & SageTV. Perfect, flawless. I could even rewind and watch the lipsincing
It was even recording Family Guy & American Dad in the background at one point.
Audio via optical SPDIF was great in DD5.1
Tip, onboard video cards like the HD4200 (shared memory) just can't keep with high motion up at 1920x1080 @ 60Hz, the HD4550 can.

The HTPC is Win7 32bit & SageTV, 2G DDR2, Hauppage tuners 2250 & 1600, Gigabyte motherboard, AMD 5050E, ATI 4550 fanless with HDMI.

Ahh always thought it was a RAM bandwidth limitation with shared memory.

The 4550HD was cheap and silent plus did the trick. The 5050E was attractive because of its low thermal power.

I recently built renethx's recommended NORCO 20 bay server which I currently have 20 TB of space with half of it filled now with Blu-ray and SD movies. I have just started watching some of my Blu-rays on my HTPC streaming from the server and I am getting an ocassional hiccup(maybe 2 times per movie) or stutter where the movie slows down and audio goes off and on (lights on AVR link off and on) for maybe 30 seconds and then it's fine. If I load these same movies on a external HDD and plug it into the USB port of the HTPC I don't expierence this problem at all. Not really sure how to troubleshoot this or where to start to try and track down what the problem is exactly? So can anybody point me in the right direction? The only changes I made to the recommended server setup was to get a supermicro motherboard MBD-X7SBE-0. My network consists of a D-Link DIR-655 wireless extreme N router and D-Link DGS-2208 8 port switch. 2 HTPC's that are wired with CAT6, both with gigabit NICs and both the router and switch are gigabit as well. Shouldn't I be getting better throughput from the wired network than I can get from the USB2 port? I am running WHS no raid and windows 7 64 bit on main HTPC and windows 7 32 bit on other.

Thats what its looking like at the moment. If I decide to go the WHS route wouldn't i need a full pc (keyboard, mouse and display) to install software and administer? Is there any way to get a 'storage box' only without the screen, etc? Perhaps I could administer the system from my notebook?

I'd appreciate any links or suggestions anyone could provide.

Thanks

If you build your own WHS box, then you need to attach a screen/keyboard/mouse temporarily for initial software installation of the WHS OS. Once up and running, WHS can be a headless system administered remotely from your notebook or other PC on your network.

A good resource is the WeGotServed site, which has an active users forum and a wiki of WHS resources and topics.