View Full Version : Critique, comments on this 1k setup
clckwrkorange
2009-02-07, 21:58
Wanted to make sure I get the right stuff before commiting $1000 to it. Let me know your thoughts, compatibility?
- Asus P5Q Motherboard - Intel P45, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, S/PDIF, Gigabit LAN, Firewire, USB 2.0, SATA, RAID (3.55 lbs)
- Kworld PlusTV HD PCI HDTV Tuner - PCI, DVR, Digital, Analog, EPG, 1920 x 1080i, Dolby Digital, ArcSoft TotalMedia (0.4 lbs)
- Q-See QSPDVR04 4-Channel DVR PCI Card (0.75 lbs)
- Ultra Gladiator w/ 600 Watt PSU - ATX Mid-Tower Case, 600W Power Supply (33.6 lbs)
- Lite On IHES206-08 Lightscribe Blu-ray Disc Reader with DVD Writer Combo - 6x BD-ROM, 16X DVD+R, 8X DVD+RW, 16X DVD-R, 6x DVD-RW, SATA (2.3 lbs)
- Visiontek Radeon HD 3870 Video Card - 512MB GDDR4, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, Video Card (1.3 lbs)
- Transcend JetRam Dual Channel 2048MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB) (0.1 lbs)
- Hitachi 7K1000.B Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM (1.7 lbs)
- Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler - Socket 775, AM2, AM2+, Copper Base, Copper Heatpipes, Aluminum Fins (2.8 lbs)
- Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 Processor HH80557PG0642M - 2.60GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, Allendale, Dual Core, OEM, Socket 775, Processor (0.05 lbs)
thank you
Is this going to be used only for XBMC, or will you game on it as well? What kind of screen are you hooking it up to?
Also, where are you buying the parts? $1000 seems rather expensive for all that.
I priced your list mostly through tigerdirect and newegg and your price of $1,000 is right on.
Comments in regards to a system for xbmc only:
If this computer is going to be by your tv it's going to be pretty big & loud, big components mean fans, the more fans, the more noise.
I don't believe xbmc currently supports blue-ray.
Your kworld tuner card is lowly rated on most sites, since i dont run a card like this though, couldn't really say.
Your memory speed and brand is lowly rated everywhere, get some name brand name pc6400 memory.
xbmc likes big processors to do its thing, not really sure a e4700 is going to cut it, go with with something around 3.0ghz.
Once again do not build your system on these comments alone, please get more opinions and do research.
TC :grin:
xbmc likes big processors to do its thing, not really sure a e4700 is going to cut it, go with with something around 3.0ghz.
I must beg to differ. XBMC easily handles (no frames dropped) decoding 40 MBit/s 1080p H.264/AC3 streams on my 2.5 GHz E5200 (not even a C2D) at about 80% CPU usage indicated.
Evil Elvis
2009-02-08, 07:47
Personally, I'd ditch the P5Q and the ATi card, and go with an ASUS P5N7A-VM.
Pocket the ~$150 bucks you save, or invest it in a slightly faster processor.
-Don't get a 3870, it's an old card. A ATI 4850 or nVidia 9800gt are better choices in the same price range.
-Go for DDR2 800 memory, it's basically the same price as DDR667.
-On Blu-Ray remuxes I make, a 2.6GHz Core 2 would not cut it.
clckwrkorange
2009-02-08, 18:57
awesome and thank you for all the advise. This PC will be in another room, I'm going to run the HDMI over cat6 to the TV with a balun so noise and size are not an issue. Will be using a harmony 890 for a remote control. And that's funny about tigerdirect, that's who I had put together the system! I will not be gaming, but would like 3d capability for Google Earth.
awesome and thank you for all the advise. This PC will be in another room, I'm going to run the HDMI over cat6 to the TV with a balun so noise and size are not an issue. Will be using a harmony 890 for a remote control. And that's funny about tigerdirect, that's who I had put together the system! I will not be gaming, but would like 3d capability for Google Earth.
If your concern is Google Earth, I would still step down to something like an nVidia 9500GT for graphics. Put the money you save into a better CPU.
I didn't realize you could do hdmi over cat6. I've seen DVI over fiber, but that made sense to me because fiber can carry 10Gbps no problem. HDMI is about 5 times the bandwidth of 1GbE, so I'm surprised that works.
If your concern is Google Earth, I would still step down to something like an nVidia 9500GT for graphics. Put the money you save into a better CPU.
I didn't realize you could do hdmi over cat6. I've seen DVI over fiber, but that made sense to me because fiber can carry 10Gbps no problem. HDMI is about 5 times the bandwidth of 1GbE, so I'm surprised that works.
I do alot of media center installs around here last week put in a system with cat5/6 to hdmi (http://www.port-place.com//hdmi-extender-by-cat5e6-cab56.html) and for the price it is way cheaper then buying a 100ft HDMI cable and works well. where going to start using them in more installs.
clckwrkorange
2009-02-08, 20:12
Tripp Lite makes one that's not too expensive:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=tripp+lite+hdmi&cid=6136990033916241809&sa=title#ps-sellers
Sound like it would work fine, but haven't used one yet.
SickIcarus
2009-02-09, 03:50
I just built an HTPC through Newegg for about half that cost.
motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H
has built in 9400 video w/ hdmi out, 7.1 surround with optical out. perfect for htpc
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz
plenty fast
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
plenty of ram
case: APEVIA X-QPACK2-NW-BK/500
nice and small
sits in the front room with the rest of my a/v gear.
works PERFECTLY for an HTPC.
the mobo also supports PCIX2, so I can add a top of the line video card later if I want to game on it. It'll support DDR3 if I want to upgrade, and all the 775-socket CPUs, so I can upgrade there with ease as well (unless i want to go to i7).
Already had the hdd & dvd for it.
This HTPC also acts as my NAS, as well as my all-around work-horse.
Need to reencode something? remote in and do it. Doesnt effect anybody watching tv on it.
How do you remote in without logging out the user watching tv on it?
clckwrkorange
2009-02-09, 13:29
You could use WinVNC or RealVNC to remote in.
Ahh theres nothing better than a "i know more than you but im not going to help you post". Way to contribute blahblah. Not.
Heres a 1080p non bluray kit list i mocked up for myself.
Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW Dual Layer Internal SATA Black Bare Drive - OEM
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H GeForce 9400 Socket 775 onboard VGA DVI HDMI 7.1 channel audio mATX Motherboard
Antec Fusion Remote Veris Black MATX Media Center Case - No PSU
Scythe Mini Ninja Socket 478/775/754/939/940/AM2 Heatpipe Cooler
OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 Memory Gold GX XTC CL5 DUAL CHANNEL (LIFETIME WARRANTY)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket 775 (3.0GHz) 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor
525W Enermax MODU82+ EMD525AWT Modular Triple PCI-E Rail, ATX12v 2.3 , 88% Eff, AirGuard, SafeGuard
Noctua NF-S12-1200 120mm 1200RPM Quiet Fan
OCZ 30GB 2.5" SATAII Solid Series Solid State Drive
SickIcarus
2009-02-10, 00:54
How do you remote in without logging out the user watching tv on it?
In Vista (32 and 64) theres a patch/hack/mod to allow multiple concurrent rdesktop sessions. Google up "concurrent remote desktop sessions" and also check out thegreenbutton.net.
(Theres also one for XP - XP32 is easily found with the googles, XP64 took a LOT more digging).
It can work in a couple of different ways, depending on one registry entry.
The standard way after applying the patch is that when you rdesktop in, it starts an entirely new session, regardless of user account used - so if user X is logged in locally, and I rdesktop in as user Y, I get a clean desktop environment. If I rdesktop in again as user X, with the first two (one local, one remote) I get yet another clean environment.
This is useful for most - but not for me.
So I modified a registry entry, to limit it to one login per user account.
So the way it works for me, is XBMC runs locally as a user called Media Center.
I then rdesktop in as a different username, and get my own session. The Media Center account has no idea I'm there.
If I have to log in again as myself, say from work to check on some things, I connect to the same session - perfect!
If for some reason I need to connect to the Media Center account's session, I have UVNC server running on that account - so I UVNC into that account, which leaves the display on the TV screen as normal :-)
Works like a champ :-)
(Not sure how much detail I can go into here, as far as posting links and such to specific information, since its not exactly, ummm, MS approved. If a Moderator gives me the green light I'll post for all to see, otherwise PM me :-) )