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Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 54

post #1591 of 18891
3/23/08 at 12:35am
Thread Starter 
That does not support HDMI audio. Similar good cards are:

- XFX PV-T84J-UAL3
- XFX PV-T84J-YDF3

if you do not need S/PDIF pass-through.
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post #1592 of 18891
3/23/08 at 12:47am
i dont see anywhere on the xfx site about hdmi for this card
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/...tionId=1622995
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post #1593 of 18891
3/23/08 at 12:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fpsfreak View Post

i dont see anywhere on the xfx site about hdmi for this card
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/...tionId=1622995

So is MSI NX8600GT-T2D512E OC? If you need HDMI audio, the Zotac three models and MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH are the only choices.
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post #1594 of 18891
3/23/08 at 1:04am
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p...E_OC&class=vga

i'm confused,on the bottom where it says,wont that allow me to hear sound from tv if using that s/pdif adaptor to the sound card?


The NVIDIA® GeForce® 8 Series graphics card supports HDMI with audio integration solution. With a DVI-to-HDMI adapter and an extra signal cord through the bracket, audio source from sound card(S/PDIF) can be integrated into HDMI interface by simply plugging the cord into the pinhead located on graphics card. Only 1 single HDMI cable is required while streaming audio/video data to flat-panel display devices, such as Plasma/LCD TVs, or projector
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post #1595 of 18891
3/23/08 at 1:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fpsfreak View Post

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p...E_OC&class=vga

i'm confused,on the bottom where it says,wont that allow me to hear sound from tv if using that s/pdif adaptor to the sound card?

If MSI NX8600GT-T2D512E OC supports HDMI audio, then you will need a special DVI-HDMI dongle to extract audio from the DVI port (the blue dongle as seen in the MSI site). Unfortunately the model at Newegg.com does not come with it. "HDMI with Audio Integration Solution (Optional)" means that some retail version of the model may not support HDMI audio.
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post #1596 of 18891
3/23/08 at 1:23am
could i use the dvi to hdmi adaptor from monoprice or does it have to be the dvi to hdmi dongle?
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post #1597 of 18891
3/23/08 at 1:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fpsfreak View Post

could i use the dvi to hdmi adaptor from monoprice or does it have to be the dvi to hdmi dongle?

For ATI Radeon HD series cards, you need ATI's proprietary dongle. For GeForce 8-series, I don't know ... you may be able to get an answer from the MSI tech support.
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post #1598 of 18891
3/23/08 at 1:58am
thanks for your time and help
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post #1599 of 18891
3/23/08 at 10:44pm
I'm working on designing my first HTPC. This thread has been a great help! Thought i would list my parts list here to check for any concerns before i pull the trigger:

Case: Omaura TF11 w/IR option
MB: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS4 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W
Video: GIGABYTE GV-RX387512H Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
Memory: A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
PS: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W
HD: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
Cooling: ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO
OS: Vista

Any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks.
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post #1600 of 18891
3/24/08 at 12:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by f0rd View Post

I'm working on designing my first HTPC. This thread has been a great help! Thought i would list my parts list here to check for any concerns before i pull the trigger:

Case: Omaura TF11 w/IR option
MB: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS4 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W
Video: GIGABYTE GV-RX387512H Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
Memory: A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
PS: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W
HD: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
Cooling: ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO
OS: Vista

Any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks.

Check the new Enermax PSU. Right now it will cost $50 more than Corsair though.
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post #1601 of 18891
3/24/08 at 6:25am
My current setup is a Samsung LNT 4061f (supports 1080p) with a ReplayTV and standard DVD player; there are no speakers/receiver/etc. I'd like to wrap the PVR and DVD player functionality into a HTPC and I have no short-term plans to add a receiver or external speakers.

Some general questions:

1) To reduce power consumption, is it possible to configure an HTPC such that it will, for example, suspend to S3 and then wake itself up to record a show? What hardware/software is required?

2) My HDTV supports both DVI and HDMI. If I plan to watch only standard DVDs and non-Encrypted HD TV, is there a difference between these two connects?

3) To watch standard DVDs via HTPC, is there any particular hardware required beyond a simple DVD/RW? I understand that people will upsample DVDs, but it's unclear to me whether that's done on-the-fly while viewing? Or, is the DVD ripped, upsampled, and then viewed?

4) In what scenarios is hardware HD encoding/decoding required? I'm considering the Low-End II system described earlier in this thread and that's the one limitation mentioned.

5) Since my TV supports 1080p, but most current HDTV is only 720p or 1080i, is upsampling possible? If yes, is it done on-the-fly? Or, is post-processing required?

This thread is a great resource, thanks!
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post #1602 of 18891
3/24/08 at 1:00pm
Getting ready to build my baby.

Here's the part list:

Scythe Mini Ninja - 32.00
AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition - 220.00
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H - 86.00
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB - 99.99
Samsung Spinpoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB - 96.00
BLK MEDIA CENTER CASE ANTEC FUSION 430 - 157.00
Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote - 142.00
LG Electronics GGC-H20L LightScribe Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Drive - 168.00

Total 1000.99 before taxes. All prices CAD.

What do you guys think?

The parts I'm not sure about are the CPU (would rather get the 9150e), the ram (2gb should be ok, but the price difference is negligeable), the remote and the case.

If you know of any cheaper alternatives without much performance difference please reply.

That machine will be primarily used for watching HD satellite feed (didn't choose the hd sat tuner card yet).

Thanks!!!
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post #1603 of 18891
3/24/08 at 1:42pm
The 2.8GHz AM2 X2's are on sale at new egg right now for less than $100. I cant see how the Phenom 9600 is worth double that price

Good choice with the remote however, I control my HTPC with the same harmony!
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post #1604 of 18891
3/24/08 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty2k1 View Post

The 2.8GHz AM2 X2's are on sale at new egg right now for less than $100. I cant see how the Phenom 9600 is worth double that price

Good choice with the remote however, I control my HTPC with the same harmony!

The phenom is needed for HT 3.0

Don't know if it is needed for my setup... It might be the best way to cut on the total price.
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post #1605 of 18891
3/24/08 at 2:00pm
The 5000+ Black Edition is available for 83.00

I might get it and wait for the 9150e (if needed) instead of going with the 9600.

Thanks for pointing that out!
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post #1606 of 18891
3/24/08 at 2:36pm
Will the new AMD 4160e (low power CPUs) be powerful enough? Do we really need a Phenom do make the HTPC work nicely?
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post #1607 of 18891
3/24/08 at 4:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vieux View Post

Getting ready to build my baby.

Here's the part list:

Scythe Mini Ninja - 32.00
AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition - 220.00
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H - 86.00
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB - 99.99
Samsung Spinpoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB - 96.00
BLK MEDIA CENTER CASE ANTEC FUSION 430 - 157.00
Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote - 142.00
LG Electronics GGC-H20L LightScribe Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Drive - 168.00

Total 1000.99 before taxes. All prices CAD.

What do you guys think?

The parts I'm not sure about are the CPU (would rather get the 9150e), the ram (2gb should be ok, but the price difference is negligeable), the remote and the case.

If you know of any cheaper alternatives without much performance difference please reply.

That machine will be primarily used for watching HD satellite feed (didn't choose the hd sat tuner card yet).

Thanks!!!

Will the Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote work with most TV/HD sat tuner cards in this configuration?
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post #1608 of 18891
3/24/08 at 7:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vieux View Post

Getting ready to build my baby.

Here's the part list:

Scythe Mini Ninja - 32.00
AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition - 220.00
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H - 86.00
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB - 99.99
Samsung Spinpoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB - 96.00
BLK MEDIA CENTER CASE ANTEC FUSION 430 - 157.00
Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote - 142.00
LG Electronics GGC-H20L LightScribe Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Drive - 168.00

Total 1000.99 before taxes. All prices CAD.

What do you guys think?

The parts I'm not sure about are the CPU (would rather get the 9150e), the ram (2gb should be ok, but the price difference is negligeable), the remote and the case.

If you know of any cheaper alternatives without much performance difference please reply.

That machine will be primarily used for watching HD satellite feed (didn't choose the hd sat tuner card yet).

Thanks!!!

Where are you getting the combo drive for $168.00?

Was hoping that was US $$$
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post #1609 of 18891
3/24/08 at 8:11pm
I decided to build from scratch.

MicroFly Ultra Micro (depth limitation in entertaiment center. $79

Intel Pentium Dual core E2200 2.2GHz. $79

EVGA e-7100/630i w/DVI out HDCP compliant $69

Corsair 2 x 1 GB DDR2-800. $29

WD SATA 250GB $69

I was planning to use the onboard graphics and connect DVI to HDMI on a Sony V3000 1080p LCD. Suggestions?

In my other HTPC I have an ATI Radeon HD2400 and Digital Mystique Dolby Digital Sound card. I could use these products if the integrated graphic and sound aren't performing well.

I would like to add a blu-ray drive in the near future. Would this system handle CyberLink Ultra playing bluray?
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post #1610 of 18891
3/24/08 at 9:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monad View Post

My current setup is a Samsung LNT 4061f (supports 1080p) with a ReplayTV and standard DVD player; there are no speakers/receiver/etc. I'd like to wrap the PVR and DVD player functionality into a HTPC and I have no short-term plans to add a receiver or external speakers.

Some general questions:

1) To reduce power consumption, is it possible to configure an HTPC such that it will, for example, suspend to S3 and then wake itself up to record a show? What hardware/software is required?

2) My HDTV supports both DVI and HDMI. If I plan to watch only standard DVDs and non-Encrypted HD TV, is there a difference between these two connects?

3) To watch standard DVDs via HTPC, is there any particular hardware required beyond a simple DVD/RW? I understand that people will upsample DVDs, but it's unclear to me whether that's done on-the-fly while viewing? Or, is the DVD ripped, upsampled, and then viewed?

4) In what scenarios is hardware HD encoding/decoding required? I'm considering the Low-End II system described earlier in this thread and that's the one limitation mentioned.

5) Since my TV supports 1080p, but most current HDTV is only 720p or 1080i, is upsampling possible? If yes, is it done on-the-fly? Or, is post-processing required?

This thread is a great resource, thanks!

1) Yes, for example under VMC. What you need is the support by the motherboard.

2) Basically DVI = HDMI in video. There is no difference.

3) Upsampling is done automatically by graphics card.

4) HD decoding is always necessary to play back HD contents encoded in MPEG-2/VC-1/H.264 or whatever format (e.g. BD/HD DVD movies). HD encoding (actually transcoding) will happen, for example, when you want to save a MPEG-2 content in another format, say H.264.

5) Your question is a bit unclear. Upsampling is part of post-processing and done by the grahics card (on-the-fly). There should be no problem.
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post #1611 of 18891
3/24/08 at 9:21pm
Just did a minor rebuild and got some nice results.

Previously I had a Biostar 7050 with a AMD X2 4000+ @ 2.6 Ghz. Most video would run but had a slight stutter which was just barely noticeable. Just upgraded to Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H and AMD X2 5000+ @ 3.0ghz. Everything runs much more smoothly and quite cool considering the boost. Seeing as that mobo+chip and 2gb of RAM is right around $220 from newegg it would be hard to suggest anything else at this point.
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post #1612 of 18891
3/24/08 at 9:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sid.leake@gdsonl View Post

MicroFly Ultra Micro (depth limitation in entertaiment center. $79

Intel Pentium Dual core E2200 2.2GHz. $79

EVGA e-7100/630i w/DVI out HDCP compliant $69

Corsair 2 x 1 GB DDR2-800. $29

WD SATA 250GB $69

I was planning to use the onboard graphics and connect DVI to HDMI on a Sony V3000 1080p LCD. Suggestions?

In my other HTPC I have an ATI Radeon HD2400 and Digital Mystique Dolby Digital Sound card. I could use these products if the integrated graphic and sound aren't performing well.

I would like to add a blu-ray drive in the near future. Would this system handle CyberLink Ultra playing bluray?

Coaxial S/PDIF is in only. So you need to use the optical port. The onboad video is not good for PowerDVD. You will need a discrete graphics eventually.
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post #1613 of 18891
3/25/08 at 5:23am
Thread Starter 
- 太平洋电脑网Pconline – nVIDIA GeForce 9500GT全球首发详细评测对比评测 (March 20, 2008)
- English translation

GeForce 9500 GT replaces GeForce 8500 GT. It supports PureVideo HD Gen 3 (full hardware decode for VC-1) and HybridPower.
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post #1614 of 18891
3/26/08 at 2:00pm
Hi i am just curious which onboard sound would be best suited for decoding DTS-MA. I am looking at the Realtek 885, 888, and 889A. Are all of these sufficient, or will 1 do a better job than another?

I will be using the analog outputs to my Onkyo 805.

Am i better off just scrapping the onboard sound altogether and getting a soundcard?

Ideally i would like to use the onboard sound.

Thanks!
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post #1615 of 18891
3/26/08 at 4:46pm
I finally ordered my parts yesterday.

The lucky winners:

Scythe Mini Ninja - 32.00
AMD 5000+ Black Edition unlocked - 85.00
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H - 86.00
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB - 64.99
Samsung Spinpoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB - 96.00
BLK MEDIA CENTER CASE ANTEC FUSION 430 - 157.00
Microsoft remote with ir receiver - 22.00
LG Electronics GGC-H20L LightScribe Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Drive - 168.00
Digiwave 103g sat tuner - 59.00

Total 860.00 including shipping/insurance/taxes. All prices CAD.

I decided to dump the harmony 880 because I already have the harmony 620.
But couldn't resist the microsoft remote as it was only 22$ and recommended here.

As stated previously I switched the 9600 phenom for a 5000+.
Saved 135$ and it should be powerful enough.

Went down from 4GB ram to 2GB ram mainly because it has been said that 2gb is enough. I still have mixed feelings about that because the digiwave 103g comes with a remote compatible with MyTheater and others, so maybe I should have kept the 4GB and forget the microsoft remote. Oh well...
If you have comments/suggestions about that just reply as I still have a day or two to change my mind.

One thing for sure: this machine will look good in my living room
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post #1616 of 18891
3/26/08 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by drakore View Post

Hi i am just curious which onboard sound would be best suited for decoding DTS-MA. I am looking at the Realtek 885, 888, and 889A. Are all of these sufficient, or will 1 do a better job than another?

I will be using the analog outputs to my Onkyo 805.

Am i better off just scrapping the onboard sound altogether and getting a soundcard?

Decoding is done by a software player like PowerDVD. If you use analog sound, ALC889A is the best among them, but you'd better buy a sound card.
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post #1617 of 18891
3/26/08 at 11:29pm
How about this for a HTPC?

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
PALiT NE/960TSX0252 GeForce 9600GT 512MB
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
G.SKILL 4GB
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB
LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM - $179 at the egg
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI"
Thermaltake Purepower RX W0144RU ATX12V / EPS12V 600W
and

OrigenAE S21T
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post #1618 of 18891
3/26/08 at 11:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carbo View Post

How about this for a HTPC?

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
PALiT NE/960TSX0252 GeForce 9600GT 512MB
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
G.SKILL 4GB
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB
LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM - $179 at the egg
Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI"
Thermaltake Purepower RX W0144RU ATX12V / EPS12V 600W
and

OrigenAE S21T

Looks fine.
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post #1619 of 18891
3/27/08 at 8:40am
With the price of the 5000+ BE being the same as the 5400+ non BE (OEM edition), what benefit is the 5000+ BE for me?

AFAIK, the BE only adds overclockability. Would I need to overclock this processor if combined with the new accelleration mobos (such as the 8200)?

I do not plan on overclocking unless I have to do so, so I currently plan on getter the higher clocked 5400+ (since neither comes with a HSF).

Is this wise, or am I missing something vital about the black editions?
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post #1620 of 18891
3/27/08 at 8:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cybrsage View Post

With the price of the 5000+ BE being the same as the 5400+ non BE (OEM edition), what benefit is the 5000+ BE for me?

AFAIK, the BE only adds overclockability. Would I need to overclock this processor if combined with the new accelleration mobos (such as the 8200)?

I do not plan on overclocking unless I have to do so, so I currently plan on getter the higher clocked 5400+ (since neither comes with a HSF).

Is this wise, or am I missing something vital about the black editions?

Nope, you have it - unlocked multiplier (overclocking) is the big feature of the black editions. And, they don't come with a heatsink / cooler so you'd have to spend additional for that. I would agree that the 5400+ makes more sense in your case.
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