Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 515

Anyone have a recommendation on a case mountable IR receiver? Looking to replace the IR to USB receiver that comes with the MCE remote control.

Thx

Looking CCC - Desktop Property options on my ATI 5600 video card, the max resolution option for HDTV is 1080i. Will this card be able to produce a 1080p signal via HDMI?

thx

A couple of noob questions. Looking to build my own HTPC system to mainly watch downloaded content and listen to music. May even do a little streaming. I was interested in a microATX system with a corei3. I know that this processor has integrated HD video. I see that some poeples systems with i3's have Radeon or Nvidia video cards. If it is already onboard, what would be the difference?

Also if I want to output to a home theater DTS/Dolby Digital system would I have to get an audio card? I would think the HDMI would do the trick.

Lastly, I plan on having XBMC load when Windows 7 is done starting up. I have a harmony one remote and I want to be able to use it to navigate XBMC. Would I need to just get an IR blaster for the PC? I say this as some cases come with remotes and I want to stick to only having 1. Thanks.

I don't have a exposed drive bay for one of these. The case (SilverStone GB02) has a bay but it is behind a drop down door.

Thinking more along the lines of just the IR receiver lens being exposed in the front of the case for that 'built in' look...

thx

Not sure how to add it manually. looking at the desktop resolution drop down options, it caps out at 1080i for HDTV.

Maybe this setting does not impact video playback but rather just controls the desktop???

Renethx,

Can you give me your thoughts on this power supply?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...959&CatId=1078

Wonder how efficient it is compared to your suggestions. Seems compact for a micro build. I have a sony BDP-S1 I want to mod into a HTPC and was thinking of using this supply. I really want to put internal TV tuners (2) into the case but I am not sure if it will accept a micro atx board instead of a mini atx board. I may have to go with external tv tuners for this reason. Going with the mod I think will save me 100 bucks on the build.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

I know this has been answered many times over, and even in the previous page. But what would the actual difference in real world performance be in using an i3-530, 560, or an i5-661? I know the 661 has a graphics core of 900MHz compared to 733.

I plan on building a microATX mid-range iGPU system. For now I only plan on using it for Blu-ray and DVD media playback and music with visualizations using XBMC.

My real question is, has anyone logged the CPU history while using something like XBMC or MC while playing back 1080p on a Core i3 using the iGPU? Can someone perform this quick benchmark using Process Explorer or something that has multi core history and post an image of the CPU history?

I'm very curious to know how much CPU is actually being used while watching video with the i3 iGPU. I wonder if a single core thread is being maxed out for the video playback or if both cores have plenty of idle time. This info would definitely show me if I should choose an i3-530, 560, or an i5-661. Thanks in advance for any input.

EDIT: This info (image) would probably be most helpful in the building guide too. As this would definitely show the new folks exactly what to expect in performance when using an i3 iGPU.

Alright, thanks for the explanation. But a graphic would be so much cooler.

Is there something wrong with 80 PLUS?

Thanks, and sorry for the noob question, I was mistaken Dolby TrueHD and DTSHD Master Audio support for bitstreaming.
one more question though, since I have form factor restricitons, I have to stay with small cards. Is 5550 a lot less card than 5570?

Search on Newegg for "ir receiver". Several show up with USB key receivers.

Need advice for a case. I would put these components in it:
* GIGABYTE GA-880GM-UD2H (uATX, AM3, AMD880G+SB710, 4*DDR4, 5*SATA...
* AMD Athlon II X2 240e (AM3, 2.8Ghz Dual Core, 2MB Cache, 45W, Boxed)
* 5.25" BluRay drive

Case would need to fit in my home theatre setup (Marantz SR6004 etc). Would prefer something not too high, but not too small so I can still use a 5.25" BluRay drive. I was going for the Silverstone LC19 first but slim bluray drives seem to be very expensive.

Any advice?

LOL, I searched Newegg, Amazon and half the frigg'n internet. 95% of what I found either was either an external USB solution involving some type of plastic box setting on the end of a USB cable (same thing I got with my MCE remote) or a drive bay solution that would not work for me since the only exposed bay I have is taken up by a Blu-Ray player. Another 4% of what I found were kits that I needed to assemble and I just did not want to go down that path

Finally found something I liked, cheap (less than $20 shipped) and easy to install. Just need a IR receiver lens to finish it off with and should be good to go. IR Receiver

Thank you very much. Now I need to make sure that card will fit in my AeroCool Qx-2000 case.

Any idea what the best passively cooled nvidia card is that will fit in an MI-008 and offer decent graphics for light gaming (such as a flight sim, so something a bit better than clarkdale igp)?

Just wondering if a quad-core is more beneficial or a higher clock speed with dual-core, if the objective is to reduce CPU usage when several ffdshow filters are selected.

Hey guys,

I'm looking to upgrade from my Popcorn Hour to a real HTPC. The reason? I just want to be able to browse the web on my TV. The tasks are going to be simple: play mkv's through XBMC or another such interface, and browse the web. I already have a 12TB NAS (WHS), so that's where the streaming will come from. I do not have cable service nor do I plan on getting it.

Cost is not a huge issue, but I don't need to go overboard on performance I won't use. I don't game. I'd like it to be future proof. And I definitely need it to run smooth (must be able to handle the best XBMC skins without lagging).

So far, I have only decided pretty much on 3 things: the Antec Fusion Remote Black case (it's the sexiest I could find... and it's not all that sexy I think), an SSD HD (OCZ I'm guessing since they are recommended here, probably 50GB as it will just be for the OS), and Windows 7 x64.

I've read a lot though these threads, but then just noticed that Intel is on the verge of release its new architecture (Cougar Point) right about now. Given that I have a Popcorn Hour right now and am in no rush, should I wait for it to come out? When is it expected to hit the market?

Thanks!

im interested in using the nMEDIAPC 5000B because it can hold 4 harddrives but i also want to have a dedicated video card for some gaming nothing serious but a decent one. I did some googling and read it will have issues with most video cards. anyone using this case and what video card is used or recommended? will the recommended motherboard and psu work fine with this case?

I've given up on HTPC cases. Way too overpriced IMO. You arent fooling anyone anyway when windows comes up on the TV. And I have found my old antec tower 49 dollar case is even quieter than the antec fusion remote and holds a ton of hard drives eliminating the need for expensive raid attached storage. I can also get a full ATX MB inside of it. I never turn it off so remotes and wiring changes inside are not needed for that. I use either an adesso RF usb keyboard or an Rii mini that fits in the palm of my hand.

Cool, I bought this an popped the plastic shell off the IR receiver
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823166095

Mine was much smaller, but nice find anyways! The mounting hole would probably be valuable for many people

EDIT 2: Oooh internal USB headers too!