Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 609

I have the november guide but there they all seem to be cooled with a fan. I know that there are some passive cooled ITX boards out there like ASUS E35M1-I de Luxe but they are not mentioned. Are these no good?

Bummer. The E-350 boards don't really support 1080p so not really an option. Is there a mini ITX board that is passive cooled but support 1080p? If not, is there one which is very silent?

But there is an "X" at HD p video in the table for the E-350 boards (which is the only passive cooled mini itx I can find) and even dashed (-) when it concerns "2d video by ffdshow"; My reading of your table is that this means that 1080p playback is NOT smooth.

Am I reading this wrong or has there been a change in the december version of the guide?

So the more I read on this the more confused I get:
I got my external seagate goflex usb3.0 3TB. (2nd one, first was DOA ). This one seems to be working as I tested at store very quickly.
I have win 7 x64
This will not be an OS drive, only storage of movies, music, etc.
The reformatting thing is whats confusing me, some sites say reformat using gpt, make changes to bios MBR, firmware updates ...
Do i need the files that are on there already?

I'm so confused

FYI to anyone shopping for a mini-itx case: The Lian Li PC-Q08 doesn't come with the same USB3.0 front panel connector as pictured when you zoom into picture 6 - which shows a ghetto USB3.0 connector that you would have to string out of the back of the case. That is actually what I was going for just to move the usb3 to the front. The one I got came with a proper USB3.0 INTERNAL connector. The problem is - I can't find a single mini-itx board that has an internal USB3.0 connector. I contacted Newegg and they told me that just ship what they get. I tried to email Lian Li a few times and they haven't responded.
Between that and the size of the Q08 - I am going to return it and go back to the Silverstone SG05BB-450 I was looking at except in 450w.

I have a question on the slim drives. This Sony Optiarc AD-7740H-01gets down to $23 with the coupon code for -$7/8. What is wrong with this drive? Just a no feedback stigma?
Thanks,
John

Hey renethx, in November built one of your spec'd Intel mid-range mini-ITX systems and am VERY pleased with the results. Am looking to do it again soon and was wondering if you saw any substantive hardware changes coming in the next couple months or are your current spec's going to be unchanged before I buy?

Thanks!

When is next update of the guide?

Hey guys,

I have a dilemma. Which APU is better to go for HTPC.

A8 3870 (TDP 100W) or A6 3500 (TDP 65W)

I am worries about 100W TDP in A8 3870. Please help!

I know that A8-3800 / A8 3820 are better but I can't find them to buy.

Are you sure about 3500 ~ 50W / 3870K ~ 60W at video playback? Weird, only 10W difference between them.

If its true than no sense to buy A6-3500

I am running an HTPC that I built based on renethx's March 2011 guide, but for some reason, there is now an about 1 second lag on the audio, which occurred after I reinstalled windows. In other words, the audio is about 1 second after the video.

I am running:
Windows 7 64-bit (SP1)
Intel i3-2100 @ 3.10
AS Rock P67 Extreme4
4 GB RAM
SSD
2nd Spinning HD for Data
ATI Radeon HD 3600
Windows Media Center
Ceton 4-tuner card
Shark 007 codecs

Videos are saved to a second (spinning) hard drive. But the problem occurs even when I run videos off the SSD boot drive.

The problem occurs whether I play through WMC or another video player (e.g., Hulu, Youtube). The HTPC is connected via an HDMI cord to a Sharp 60 in (LC-60e79u).

I have tried the following, all with no luck:

-- updating the video drivers
-- changing the TV and the HDMI cord; no luck
-- uninstalling and reinstalling codecs (tried Shark 007 and CCCP)
-- reinstalling Windows 7

In my ATI settings, I can increase the audio lag, but not decrease it. About a month ago, I installed an SSD. On the prior set up (same hardware, just a regular HD), I was not having the issue. The SSD and a new install of Windows are the only things that have changed.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

I will use HTPC for:

60% - Surfing, Online TV, SD content.
25% - HD content 1080p
15% - Old games, like Burnout Paradise Ultimate, Unreal Tournament 2004, Need for Speed Undercover.

Can you tell which system is better from power consumption and noise level side.

1.
- AMD A8 3870 Black Edition Unlocked 3.0 GHz + integrated ATI Radeon 6550D (TDP 100W)
- ASUS F1A75-M PRO

2.
- Intel Core i3 2100T 2.5GHz (TDP 35W)
- Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H-B3
- ATI Radeon 6670 1GB (TDP 66W)

3.
- AMD A6 3500 2.1 GHz + integrated ATI Radeon 6530D (TDP 65W)
- ASUS F1A75-M PRO

Looks like AMD A8-3870 is better choose compare to Intel i3 2100T for my HTPC. The total power consumption will be lower with A8. Am I wrong?

Is the video card really necessary for the Intel system?

renethx,

Purchased your guide and love it. You have saved us tons of researching and hours. Thank you.

Question for you. I built the budget Intel system for my bedroom. It is working famously, but the case is extremely noisy. My wife says it sounds like a jet. Its all from the case fan. It runs constantly. Is there something I can do? Quieter case fan. Adjust fan settings some how?

Any help would be appreciated. Get the waf back.

Thanks!

Thanks renethx. So do you just turned down the voltage to the fans, which will reduce the sound? Is that how it works? Also, I am assuming the fanmate goes inside the case, zip tied to the case or something. Correct?

Hi Renethx, looking forward to your next guide.

I have a question regarding the Intel DH61AG. Can you run a discrete graphics card from the PCIe 2.0 -X4 socket? An adaptor may be needed, but I'm wondering if it can be done, and if so, what is the likely affect on the video performance for HTPC?

Thanks in advance...

Do you mean cut/file out the closed end?

thanks...