AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 481

post #14401 of 18891
7/11/10 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andras View Post

In Post #14144
# Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G/SB850 chipset ATX, $98.
# Memory: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-2GBNQ DDR3-1600 2 x 1GB Kit, $65.

The above seem incompatible, since the motherboard can only handle DDR3 1866(OC)/1333/1066. G.SKILL F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK seems to be a good choice for that motherboard.

Yup, memory clock is a bit confusing.

- A memory module rated, for example, 1600MHz (effective) is able to run stably at any clock <= 1600MHz.
- The current Athlon/Phenom processors supports up to DDR3-1333.

So selecting DDR3-1600 is not bad in that

- The price difference between DDR3-1600 and DDR3-1333 is little.
- DDR3-1600 has overhead for moderate overclocking.
- There are dozens of memory modules DDR3-1600 that work with GA-880GA-UD3H. From Qualified Vendors List (QVL) for GA-880GMA-UD2H

Quote:


Memory modules listed below are for reference only. Due to massive memory models on the market, we can only verify some of them.

DDR3-1600

AX3U1600XB1G7-EF
etc.
Reply
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #14402 of 18891
7/11/10 at 10:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by samsung plasma View Post

Here's my el-cheapo HTPC build from Newegg:

Case: Antec MicroFusion Remote 350, $75
Mobo: ASUS M4A785-M Micro ATX, $70
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz, $59
Mobo + CPU Combo Discount, -$34
Mem: A-DATA AD2U800B1G5-DRH DDR2-800 2 x 1GB Kit, $45
HDD: Spare WD 1TB SATA

Total = $215

Just looking to play mkv files. No gaming, no encoding, nothing fancy. I'm hoping to run HDMI to the plasma and toslink to the cheapo 5.1 system. Will this build suit my needs or do I need to add a vid card?

Should work and onboard video is enough.
Reply
Reply
post #14403 of 18891
7/11/10 at 10:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by txredneckbud View Post

Ok, my eyes are getting blury. I've owned the 5770 for some time now based on this thread for my HTPC. Been contemplating getting an HDFury 3 so I can get component out to go thru my matrix switch. BUT, I am been reading for hours that the 5770 does component out with an adapter? WHAT?

Anyhoot, Ive searched and searched and cant confirm what to use, only that some are using the 5770 and doing component. Is this true? Please say its so! LOL

How do I do this?

Thanks!

HD 5xxx does not have a HDTV encoder (that converts digital video to analog YPbPr). HD 4xxx is the last card that supports it (not every HD 4xxx card actually has component out, however).
Reply
Reply
post #14404 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:00am
Someone has offered to sell me a nVidia GTX260 graphics card. I may have missed it, but did not see it referenced here. I use this same card for gaming. Would it be good for HTPC or should I just look at the ATI cards mentioned here?

Also, can you comment on the memory on these cards?

Type- DDR2, DDR3, DDR5? Bigger is better?

Amount- I see 512MB, 896MB, even 1792MB. Same? Bigger is better?

I am kidding, but really, what gives on memory speed and amount when looking for a graphics card?
Reply
Reply
post #14405 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

HD 5xxx does not have a HDTV encoder (converting digital video to analog YPbPr). HD 4xxx is the last card that supports it (not every HD 4xxx card actually has component out, however).

I never thought about it. It is actually encoding before going to the tv.

Something I need to ask concerning the connector for this on my 8600GT card. The port ofr this looks like an S-video connector. Then I have a special plug that plugs in there and comes out component video.

What gives? If this S-Video or Component Video?

When it comes to sending the image to a DLP tv is it better to be encoding on the card or to send it digital via HDMI and let it be encoded at the TV?
Reply
Reply
post #14406 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:34am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SJMAYE View Post

Someone has offered to sell me a nVidia GTX260 graphics card. I may have missed it, but did not see it referenced here. I use this same card for gaming. Would it be good for HTPC or should I just look at the ATI cards mentioned here?

Also, can you comment on the memory on these cards?

Type- DDR2, DDR3, DDR5? Bigger is better?

Amount- I see 512MB, 896MB, even 1792MB. Same? Bigger is better?

I am kidding, but really, what gives on memory speed and amount when looking for a graphics card?

You'd better buy HD 5670 unless you want to play games or he gives it to your for free.
Reply
Reply
post #14407 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

You'd better buy HD 5670 unless you want to play games.

Thanks for the reply. I will, but can you comment on the memory and amounts on these cards? The card mfrs make many variations of the original spec from ATI or nVidia.

I would feel dumb to go with the Bigger is Better thinking. I would like to understand what I am looking for and WHY.
Reply
Reply
post #14408 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SJMAYE View Post

I never thought about it. It is actually encoding before going to the tv.

Something I need to ask concerning the connector for this on my 8600GT card. The port ofr this looks like an S-video connector. Then I have a special plug that plugs in there and comes out component video.

What gives? If this S-Video or Component Video?

When it comes to sending the image to a DLP tv is it better to be encoding on the card or to send it digital via HDMI and let it be encoded at the TV?

An ATI/NVIDIA card may have a S-video like connector; that's a 7-pin mini-DIN connector, supporting all three analog SD/HD TV formats: composite, S-, and component video. You just need a proper breakout cable for component video.

Digital is usually better (unless the display supports only analog in).
Reply
Reply
post #14409 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SJMAYE View Post

Thanks for the reply. I will, but can you comment on the memory and amounts on these cards? The card mfrs make many variations of the original spec from ATI or nVidia.

I would feel dumb to go with the Bigger is Better thinking. I would like to understand what I am looking for and WHY.

Specifically which card are you talking about? For decoding 1080p24, DDR3 is enough. For 1080p60 (some camcorder), dual 1080p24 video stream, and MPEG-4 MVC (Blu-ray 3D), GDDR5 may be better. Necessary memory bandwidth depends on the task and GPU architecture. There is no universal answer.
Reply
Reply
post #14410 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Specifically which card are you talking about? For decoding 1080p24, DDR3 is enough. For 1080p60 (some camcorder), dual 1080p24 video stream, and MPEG-4 MVC (Blu-ray 3D), GDDR5 may be better. Necessary memory bandwidth depends on the task and GPU architecture. There is no universal answer.

I have not narrowed it down to a specific card yet. Based on your replies I am considering the HD 5670. The mfrs seem to change the specs with regard to memory type and amount. Even the nVidia website states the mfrs change specs and to go to your card mfr site for proper specifications.


Here is an example of what I am talking about-

Sapphire Technology Sapphire HD 5670 PCIe 512MB DDR5 HDMI
XFX Radeon HD 5670 Graphics adapter - 1 GB - GDDR5 SDRAM

or

ZOTAC nVidia GeForce GT240 AMP! 512 MB DDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI
Asus NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 1GB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card ...
Palit nVidia GeForce GT 240 1GB DDR5 DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card
Galaxy Technology GeForce GT 240 512 MB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0

Again, these are just examples.
Reply
Reply
post #14411 of 18891
7/12/10 at 3:13am
Hello everyone,

It has been a while since I came here. I changed job, moved country, etc...anyway, I just re-plug my htpc (see my signature). I wanted to know what you would recommend to upgrade my system, GPU? What driver should I install? I'm asking as I recently played back a mkv file, image was from time to time showing big pixels, whereas via another pc with a LCD monitor as display playing is smooth. Thanks for your advice/help.
Reply
Reply
post #14412 of 18891
7/12/10 at 3:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by vblanche View Post

I recently played back a mkv file, image was from time to time showing big pixels, whereas via another pc with a LCD monitor as display playing is smooth. Thanks for your advice/help.

You don't need upgrade hardware components.

Install the latest NVIDIA graphics driver (257.21). I recommend to stay away from KMPlayer and Splash (the former is outdated, the latter has several bugs). Use the latest MPC HomeCinema (svn 2099, 32-bit, with installer) instead.

If you want to upgrade something, perhaps it's OS first: XP to Windows 7.
Reply
Reply
post #14413 of 18891
7/12/10 at 3:29am
wow, very quick answer. Thanks for that. I'll try tonite your recommendations.

just realised how many replies this thread has...impressive...


Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Use the latest MPC HomeCinema (svn 2099, 32-bit, with installer) instead

How do I install it? I mean, what about codec, etc...

Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

If you want to upgrade something, perhaps it's OS first: XP to Windows 7

I'm running Win7 64-bit on my other PC. Do I need another license to install w7 on my htpc?
Reply
Reply
post #14414 of 18891
7/12/10 at 4:01am
Thread Starter 
Upgrading XP 32 to W7 64 is not supported. You can clean install W7 64 of course.
Reply
Reply
post #14415 of 18891
7/12/10 at 4:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Upgrading XP 32 to W7 64 is not supported. You can clean install W7 64 of course.

sorry, yes. In fact, it's what I did when installing win7 on my other pc. Can I use the same DVD for 2 pcs? I guess not?
Reply
Reply
post #14416 of 18891
7/12/10 at 5:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by vblanche View Post

sorry, yes. In fact, it's what I did when installing win7 on my other pc. Can I use the same DVD for 2 pcs? I guess not?

Yes, you can use the same DVD, but you need a new product key (meaning you have to buy a new copy of DVD anyway).
Reply
Reply
post #14417 of 18891
7/12/10 at 5:48am
ok, I will then keep XP 32-bit for now...win7 pro is £100 here.
Reply
Reply
post #14418 of 18891
7/12/10 at 8:46am
Does anyone know if the Radeon 4250 chipset combined with HDMI video and audio has been repaired? In the guides, renethx states that when using on-board video, the audio over HDMI is limited to stereo LPCM. Is this still the case? This just seems like a problem that should have been repaired immediately.
Reply
Reply
post #14419 of 18891
7/12/10 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by S1dewinder View Post

Does anyone know if the Radeon 4250 chipset combined with HDMI video and audio has been repaired? In the guides, renethx states that when using on-board video, the audio over HDMI is limited to stereo LPCM. Is this still the case? This just seems like a problem that should have been repaired immediately.

HDMI audio from HD 4250 is limited to stereo PCM, DD and DTS. I don't know if it should/can be "repaired" or if AMD recognizes it as a "problem" (perhaps not).
Reply
Reply
post #14420 of 18891
7/12/10 at 8:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by S1dewinder View Post

Does anyone know if the Radeon 4250 chipset combined with HDMI video and audio has been repaired? In the guides, renethx states that when using on-board video, the audio over HDMI is limited to stereo LPCM. Is this still the case? This just seems like a problem that should have been repaired immediately.

Still need to get a video card for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA. Look at a HD 5450 or HD 55xx card.
Reply
Reply
post #14421 of 18891
7/12/10 at 11:25am
This is a pretty good deal I think. I'm thinking about doing it, let me know what you guys think.

HP s5580t slimline

Windows 7 64bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-540 dual-core processor 3.06GHz
4GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM
640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450
HP wireless keyboard and wireless optical mouse
LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive

This set up is $630 but Bing Cashback is at 30% right now so $630-$189 = $441 That's a pretty good deal, isn't it?
Reply
Reply
post #14422 of 18891
7/12/10 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fletcher6490 View Post

This is a pretty good deal I think. I'm thinking about doing it, let me know what you guys think.

HP s5580t slimline

Windows 7 64bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-540 dual-core processor 3.06GHz
4GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM
640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450
HP wireless keyboard and wireless optical mouse
LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive

This set up is $630 but Bing Cashback is at 30% right now so $630-$189 = $441 That's a pretty good deal, isn't it?

Where do you get 30% for bing? I see 8% as usual.
Reply
Reply
post #14423 of 18891
7/12/10 at 11:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by H8nXTC View Post

Where do you get 30% for bing? I see 8% as usual.

In bing I searched HP and it came up for me
Reply
Reply
post #14424 of 18891
7/12/10 at 12:50pm
I just got the GA-H55-USB3 and paired it with a i3-530, but I can't power-on the board! I didn't go with the suggest powersupply and am using a new corsair 400W 80plus power supply and am connecting both 24pin and 8pin power cables. I tried the corsair with an old P4 computer and it's fine. Could my motherboard be DOA or do I need a better powersupply since the manual recommends 500W or greater? I have only the powersupply, cpu, cpu-cooler fan, and power-button wire connected to the board so I'm not sure what else it could be.

Should have bought a Dell...
Reply
Reply
post #14425 of 18891
7/12/10 at 1:46pm
You stated that you used an older ps and it worked so it's not the ps. You didn't mention the memory which might be required???
Reply
Reply
post #14426 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HTPCat View Post

I would go into the BIOS and set to default settings see if that gets you into WHS. If that doesn't work I would pull out everything but one stick of RAM and see if it will load WHS then add one thing at a time and reboot.

I was able to get into WHS when i pulled all 5 of the monoprice 2 port SATA PCI cards. then i added them one at a time and booted up with nothing connected to them. 4 of them installed with no problem. when i installed the 5th one, the system failed to boot. I took the card out and booted up fine. i connected all the cables and inserted the 5 hard drives i have right now. everything seemed to work leading me to think that 5th card was bad. i started adding the drives in WHS. it added all but one with no problem. when i try to add the last one my connection to the server fails because i think my server is crashing. I didnt have time to look and see if that last drive is the only one connected to a sata PCI card, but i am guessing it is. I have 5 drives (my OS HDD and 4 storage drives) connected to my MB and i would bet those 4 storage drives are the ones that added no problem. i bet the one that keeps failing is the only one i currently have connected to a PCI card. It must be the cards. I installed the drivers, but dont know what else to try as i have never worked with cards like this. Do i need to go into the PCI cards onboard controllers when it asks me to hit F2 or ctrl s for each of the cards and change some setting? Does it have to do with the RAID defaults on the cards not working with WHS? I need to figure this out so i can continue buying more HDD and adding them, but if i dont figure out why these cards arent working i am at a standstill. Any help would be much appreciated.
Reply
Reply
post #14427 of 18891
7/12/10 at 2:45pm
Does anyone know
1) is this thing any good?
2) what does/can it display while an htpc is in standby (ACPI S3)?
My guess is that it's blank, but I'd like to display data and time.

Is there anything that will work (ie, display computer date/time while in standby), that can be made to look like it's part of the htpc? Would need to keep time itself (I guess), but be updated from htpc.
Reply
Reply
post #14428 of 18891
7/12/10 at 4:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by H8nXTC View Post

You stated that you used an older ps and it worked so it's not the ps. You didn't mention the memory which might be required???

I assume the motherboard doesn't need ram installed to show a sign of life, but I had tried with or without ram. The closest I get to life is when I barely insert the 24pin power cable into the board and some lights on the board flash and the cpu fan spins. But if I insert it further in, nothing. I even tried it without even the cpu installed and nothing.

I'm going to RMA both the board and the cpu. Argh. The last system I self built was a Pentium III, but at least that involved used and second-hand parts so I knew they at least worked at one point. I hate still not knowing what's wrong.
Reply
Reply
post #14429 of 18891
7/12/10 at 5:27pm
Must have at least one stick ram.
Reply
Reply
post #14430 of 18891
7/12/10 at 6:08pm
Alright so this is the HTPC I've built for myself...

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=15127946

Any mistakes? Is there any thing I can skimp on without losing much performance? I know the 1TB is a multi-platter HD but I plan on downloading 10GB+ Blu-Ray movies so I'll need the space (will probably have to buy another drive soon but I don't wanna get too ahead of myself lol).

As a note I wanted to go with the G.Skill ram but I don't wanna wait two weeks for it to come off backorder.

Also which of these cards would be the better pick?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102874

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102870

An extra 512MB or having GDDR5, which is the better choice?
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 › Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server