I'm about at my wit's end with this system. In the interest of completeness, I'm listing EVERYTHING (descriptions taken from Newegg):
HARDWARE
-----------
Silverstone Black Aluminum CW01-B-WDR ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H
AMD Phenom 9150E
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ
LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM GGC-H20L
Coolmax CUG-600B 600W ATX 12V (V.2.2)
Adesso WKB-3000UB Black USB 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Mini Keyboard w/Optical Trackball
Zalman CNPS8700 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Syba CL-CNL-CHPMG2 Aluminum & Copper Northbridge Chipset Cooler
D-Link DWA-552 wireless NIC
Western Digital 640 & 320 gig HDs (can't recall the model #s)
Monoprice HDMI, optical, and speaker cables
SOFTWARE
-----------
Vista x64 Ultimate w/all updates
ATI 8.12 CCC (running 1920x1080p @ 60Hz w/some overscan correction)
Realtek 2.13 HD
AnyDVD HD 6.5.0.7
TMT .128
MPC-HC x64 (latest development version)
CONNECTED TO
---------------
Denon 2309CI Receiver
Samsung HL67A750 DLP TV
This system has been deteriorating for awhile now. First off, audio via HDMI stutters constantly. Thinking it could be a driver conflict, I restored the system to a baseline state using an Acronis image and just installed the Realtek HD driver (NOT the HDMI one). I then tried using optical. Same audio stuttering, maybe even worse.
To make matters worse, the Adesso keyboard has been getting more and more flakey, with dropped characters every two or three keystrokes. Resynching with the USB dongle doesn't seem to help. New batteries sometimes helps, but most times doesn't.
I installed the latest version of TMT last night and tried running some HD content (remember, this is with a freshly restored system). No go. I can hear audio, but video is black. I can >sometimes
For the coup de grace, I tried connecting audio via analog to the EXT IN jacks of my receiver. I actually prefer this way of audio cabling, as I can hear all system sounds, even short "burst" tones, and everything seems richer. Well, for whatever reason, I'm now starting to hear hard drive whine through the speakers. I suspect this is some bizarre grounding issue, but I have no clue whatsoever how to go about diagnosing the issue (I've already looked for shorts where I know to check).
I suspect the motherboard is marginal. It doesn't crash, but it shouldn't be causing all this grief, either.
I can't start from the ground up. I just don't have the willpower, not to mention the finances. I'm tired of futzing around with this thing. I'm not using anything exotic - the CPU and memory are pretty commonplace. I suppose the PSU choice was questionable, but I wanted a short-profile modular unit and the Coolmax fit the bill. And the D-Link card just "works".
Apart from trying to perform a House-like miracle diagnosis, would it be better to just replace the motherboard with a 9400-based chipset, like the GA-E7AUM-DS2H? I've heard nothing but good things about them. This would be sort of a Hail Mary toss, but I'm willing to replace the motherboard, CPU, and cooler.
Thanks for the advice. I >did
HARDWARE
-----------
Silverstone Black Aluminum CW01-B-WDR ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H
AMD Phenom 9150E
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ
LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM GGC-H20L
Coolmax CUG-600B 600W ATX 12V (V.2.2)
Adesso WKB-3000UB Black USB 2.4 GHz RF Wireless Mini Keyboard w/Optical Trackball
Zalman CNPS8700 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Syba CL-CNL-CHPMG2 Aluminum & Copper Northbridge Chipset Cooler
D-Link DWA-552 wireless NIC
Western Digital 640 & 320 gig HDs (can't recall the model #s)
Monoprice HDMI, optical, and speaker cables
SOFTWARE
-----------
Vista x64 Ultimate w/all updates
ATI 8.12 CCC (running 1920x1080p @ 60Hz w/some overscan correction)
Realtek 2.13 HD
AnyDVD HD 6.5.0.7
TMT .128
MPC-HC x64 (latest development version)
CONNECTED TO
---------------
Denon 2309CI Receiver
Samsung HL67A750 DLP TV
This system has been deteriorating for awhile now. First off, audio via HDMI stutters constantly. Thinking it could be a driver conflict, I restored the system to a baseline state using an Acronis image and just installed the Realtek HD driver (NOT the HDMI one). I then tried using optical. Same audio stuttering, maybe even worse.
To make matters worse, the Adesso keyboard has been getting more and more flakey, with dropped characters every two or three keystrokes. Resynching with the USB dongle doesn't seem to help. New batteries sometimes helps, but most times doesn't.
I installed the latest version of TMT last night and tried running some HD content (remember, this is with a freshly restored system). No go. I can hear audio, but video is black. I can >sometimes
For the coup de grace, I tried connecting audio via analog to the EXT IN jacks of my receiver. I actually prefer this way of audio cabling, as I can hear all system sounds, even short "burst" tones, and everything seems richer. Well, for whatever reason, I'm now starting to hear hard drive whine through the speakers. I suspect this is some bizarre grounding issue, but I have no clue whatsoever how to go about diagnosing the issue (I've already looked for shorts where I know to check).
I suspect the motherboard is marginal. It doesn't crash, but it shouldn't be causing all this grief, either.
I can't start from the ground up. I just don't have the willpower, not to mention the finances. I'm tired of futzing around with this thing. I'm not using anything exotic - the CPU and memory are pretty commonplace. I suppose the PSU choice was questionable, but I wanted a short-profile modular unit and the Coolmax fit the bill. And the D-Link card just "works".
Apart from trying to perform a House-like miracle diagnosis, would it be better to just replace the motherboard with a 9400-based chipset, like the GA-E7AUM-DS2H? I've heard nothing but good things about them. This would be sort of a Hail Mary toss, but I'm willing to replace the motherboard, CPU, and cooler.
Thanks for the advice. I >did
