My New HTPC

[Nemo128]

Vista32? Bleh... why.

 

[poni02]

Many of you have mentioned that the system is way overdone. Just look at the technology - how quickly it progresses. I don't think anything is overdone in this setup, actually it is pretty amazing. Good job picking the components, I wish I did the same, when I build my HTPC about 6 months ago. Now I have pretty much start from scratch to be able to get it updated and believe me, I will also go overboard to future-proof the new setup.

 

[GlocksRock]

The Quad Core I wanted cost too much.

I don't beleive you... acudeftechguy has no price limit for his toys!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Vista32? Bleh... why.

I tried Vista64, but had issues with some applications like AnyDVD HD.

Which OS do you recommend?

Keep in mind that I use AnyDVD HD, DVDFab 6, TMT3, iMon, etc. I don't think they have drivers for other OS.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't beleive you... acudeftechguy has no price limit for his toys!

It's funny just how much each of us is willing to spend on certain things.

Sometimes if the price is even $50 more, we back off for some weird reasons.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Observation on WD Green Drive

One quick observation I noticed regarding those WD "Green" 5400 RPM HDDs: the OS does not like them!

The OS kept on crashing!

I had a spare Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200 RPM SATA HDD, so I installed it just for the OS. Now it works fine.

So my lesson learned: only use the WD 2TB Green HDDs for mass storage, not for OS!

 

[GlocksRock]

Will it work if you create a smaller partition for just the OS?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Asus Xonar Observation

Since the Asus Xonar could not bitstream TrueHD & DTS-HD on my other PC (Gigabyte AMD motherboard) with Vista & XP, but is able to bitstream TrueHD & DTS-HD on this Asus Intel MB w/ Vista & XP, I conclude that the Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 card is quite picky.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Will it work if you create a smaller partition for just the OS?

I don't know, but the Barracuda 7200 RPM is better anyway.

 

[Matt34]

I'm jealous, I think?


Moving this to the HTPC forum.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Many of you have mentioned that the system is way overdone. Just look at the technology - how quickly it progresses. I don't think anything is overdone in this setup, actually it is pretty amazing. Good job picking the components, I wish I did the same, when I build my HTPC about 6 months ago. Now I have pretty much start from scratch to be able to get it updated and believe me, I will also go overboard to future-proof the new setup.

The only other thing I would do differently would be to get a bigger motherboard with two PCIe x16 slots for two graphics cards and three PCIe x4 slots. Also, it would be nice if the PCIe x16 slots were further away from the PCIe x4 slots. Why?

The ATI HD4850 graphics card takes up not one, but TWO PCIe slots because it is HUGE.

The Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 sound card (deluxe w/7.1 analog) also takes up TWO PCIe slots.

 

[dlr]

I notice you have 8 GB RAM, but are only using a 32-bit system, correct? Windows 32-bit (actually any 32-bit OS) will not recognize anything over 3 GB RAM. Looks like a pretty sick setup all around though! I would like to do something similar one of these days

 

[GlocksRock]

I notice you have 8 GB RAM, but are only using a 32-bit system, correct? Windows 32-bit (actually any 32-bit OS) will not recognize anything over 3 GB RAM. Looks like a pretty sick setup all around though! I would like to do something similar one of these days

He mentioned in a different thread that he has 4 gigs. But 4 gigs in a 32 bit system will still give you 3.25 or 3.5 gigs, but Vista SP1 will show that you have 4 gigs, even though you still can't take advantage of all 4 gigs.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Parents!

Well, my dad checked out my new HTPC and said he wanted to BUY it from me.

But how can I possibly take money from my own dad?

So I just gave it to him.

It's almost Christmas, isn't it?

My brother just gave him a new Mitsubishi 65" DLP HDTV & Sony receiver.

I guess my dad is set.

 

[Nemo128]

Well, my dad checked out my new HTPC and said he wanted to BUY it from me.

But how can I possibly take money from my own dad?

So I just gave it to him.

It's almost Christmas, isn't it?

My brother just gave him a new Mitsubishi 65" DLP HDTV & Sony receiver.

I guess my dad is set.

You gave your father a PC with 8GB of RAM and a 32-bit OS? You're such a horrible son.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You gave your father a PC with 8GB of RAM and a 32-bit OS? You're such a horrible son.

What can I say?

I'm already looking forward to building another PC.

Should I go for the same Thermaltake Mozart case or should I go for something like, oh I don't know, MORE?

That PC I built does get pretty HOT like you guys said it would.

I think my room increased like 10 degrees.

Should I go for something cooler like AMD, instead of Intel CPU?

 

[Nemo128]

I would. A 45nm AMD chip will be fine for HTPC use, and if you're not going to run the most taxing games, a beefy video card is a waste of money and cooling threshold anyway.

Gaming on HTPC = 1920x1080, so it won't take much to run even Crysis in all its glory.

 

[lsiberian]

What can I say?

I'm already looking forward to building another PC.

Should I go for the same Thermaltake Mozart case or should I go for something like, oh I don't know, MORE?

That PC I built does get pretty HOT like you guys said it would.

I think my room increased like 10 degrees.

Should I go for something cooler like AMD, instead of Intel CPU?

Definitely go AMD IMO. Heat is a major issue for computers. Any reduction would be helpful.

 

[Sheep]

Are those 60mm fans? If so... they're either insanely noisy, or are literally doing nothing.

SheepStar

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would. A 45nm AMD chip will be fine for HTPC use, and if you're not going to run the most taxing games, a beefy video card is a waste of money and cooling threshold anyway.

Gaming on HTPC = 1920x1080, so it won't take much to run even Crysis in all its glory.

Definitely go AMD IMO. Heat is a major issue for computers. Any reduction would be helpful.

Okay, I'll go with a cooler AMD CPU.

That Intel E8500 was CRAZY HOT.

Ordering AMD MB & CPU right now.