Building a 2nd Media Centre PC

FrankGrimes

I've given up on my Media Centre extenders and want to go with a full Media Centre PC in the living room. I've also decided against going with MythTV runnning on a mini-itx pc in the living room as I want full PC functionality in the living room also.

My existing tower PC will go into the office, though I'll be reusing some of the parts on it and connecting to it over my LAN if needs be (might centralise all music into PC in office). I reckon I can re-use the Hauppage PVR 500 MCE tuner card and at least one of the 2 200GB SATA hard-drives I have on it. I'll want to get a new 500GB HD in the new PC to give 700GB total.

The graphics card I have in my existing PC is a 'Sapphire Radeon X700PRO 128MB GDDR3, PCI-Express,Tv-Out, DVI-I, Lite-Retail' - should I reuse this or will onboard graphics do on the new PC for just media centre and web-browsing?

My existing mobo is an 'Abit AN8, nForce4, Socket-939, ATX SATA,GbLAN,Firewire,DDR,Sound,PCI-Ex16' - again, re-use or buy another?

I'll defo need optical audio out to feed a 5.1 surround sound system (preferrably active like the Logitech 5500 - will onboard digital optical out be perfect or is a special sound card required?

In terms of a case - I've seen the Silverstong LC17 and it's fine, but I wouldn't mind something a bit more slick (though I think Hush are poor value) - any recommendations for one that has enough space to hold the parts I need cooly and quietly, while lookin slick?

Ensuring the system is near silent will be another challenge - what should I be looking for in terms of PSU and other ways of reducing noise?

SouperComputer

I've given up on my Media Centre extenders and want to go with a full Media Centre PC in the living room. I've also decided against going with MythTV runnning on a mini-itx pc in the living room as I want full PC functionality in the living room also.

Dont have time right now to go through the whole post, but what do you need insofar as "full PC functionality"? If what you need is Windows specific, then fair enough, if not, MythTV is just another application just like windows MCE. You can close it or simply alt+tab to swicth to another application.

FrankGrimes

Hi SouperComputer - I should have clarified a bit further - based on info I got here, I was thinking of going with a mini-ITX in the living room running miniMyth - would allow basic browsing but not much else.

So I've decided to go with a dedicated HTPC in the living room - I haven't actually decided if it'll run MythTV or MCE, so want to make sure I have components that are compatible with both so that I can change between the 2 if needed.

FrankGrimes

I did a bit more research and reckon I'll go with the Antec Fusion case as it looks great, quiet, and spacious enough for lots of expansion, and also has a quiet PSU.

I've seen posts on the web suggesting that case and the Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD mobo is a good combination, particularly as it means I wouldn't need a dedicated gfx card (htpc to be used only for MCE and web-browsing) and the HDMI connection to my LCD TV would be nice.

It looks like that mobo needs DDR2 800Mhz RAM so I'll get 2GB of that.

For a CPU, I'm hoping that this Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 2GHz Socket LGA775, 2MB will cover my needs - am I on the right track there?

7.1 sound would be too many speakers for my small room, so I need to get optical out to feed a 5.1 receiver - do I need to get a separate soundcard for this and can I easily switch off the onboard 7.1?

I'll be reusing my SATA hard-drives and PVR 500 MCE dual TV tuner, so am I right in thinking I'll be sorted if I get the following?
I'll be running Vista Ultimate on it as I can get it for cost price through a contact in MS.

-Antec Fusion case
-Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD mobo
-2 x 1GB
-DDR2 800Mhz RAM
-Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 2GHz Socket LGA775, 2MB

Stoner

lovey case frankgrimes, funny enough i've been looking into the same thing again myself
( i think we built our first media pcs at the same time)

I like the suttle PC, they have a nice look, the bare bones come c/w motherboard and with one pci and pci express slot, sound in onboard , also has optical sound in and out. I pass this to my amp and it can tell what sort of signal it is, so for DIVX files i get 3 speakers and with DVDs i get 6 (but it can handle up to 8

I also have a built in DVI output for a hi defination connection to my TV with out the need for a graphics card.

everything works fine in mine except for the TV card, i have a few ideas for that though. The best thing about the shuttle PC s the nice coling system you get, loads of heat pipes and only one fan, the PSU they come wth are very quiet too.

However I added a 7300 GT 256MB graphics card to mine as its HD ready and passive cooling (also has 128 processing unlike other 7300 cards strangly enough)

I added some network storage to back everything up.

I'd go with shuttle again (i scrapped the bigger dual core jobbie we were dscussing a year or so ago)

FrankGrimes

Hey Stoner, yeh bit of a coincidence that alright!

I like the sound of the shuttle PCs, but the Antec Fusion just looks so good and the reported quietness of it meant I just had to get it.

I've gone for the parts listed above with a 500GB HDD thrown in (might add another one in a while) and they should be delivered shortly.

The mobo sounds great as it has an onboard HDMI output and 7.1 sound onboard. I'll be passing the sound by optical cable to my new Yamaha T361 receiver (currently winging its way from Germany) - I'll let you know how I get on and might be onto you for advice on how to get it to output 5.1 signal instead of 7.1 (or can I just give 7.1 to the receiver and it'll know what to do?).

Stoner

FrankGrimes wrote:

I'll let you know how I get on and might be onto you for advice on how to get it to output 5.1 signal instead of 7.1 (or can I just give 7.1 to the receiver and it'll know what to do?).

To be honest, my shuttle came with realtec HD audio encoder and I can go in and choose the levels using the software.

Divx movies etc only play across 2 speakers, I'm no expert but I was trying for along time to get 5.1 working on DIVX, only to find out that the DIVX files I have contain stero mp3 format sound (or similar), and the software will not produce 5.1 sound even though there is a decoder.

I was on to Shuttle and avforums about it and they more or less laughed at what I was trying to do.

I got the DVD player working with 5.1 sound, there is a little bit of fluting to get power DVD to bypass the PC HW and just pass the sound straight through to the Amp. I actually just watch DVDs on the DVD player that I got with the AMP (it just came with it , there was no discount for not taking it)
anyway my amp can tell the difference from the signal its getting, there is a little picture of all the speaker positions on the front screen of the amp and they flash everytime a new type of input is switched, and it picks the speakers to use depending on the type of audio that the files were recorded/created with.

bazwaldo

Frank,

have you started putting this together yet? I'm thinking of doing the same and am wondering what components you used. I might go for the cheaper Antec case which does not have the display as I will be putting the PC behind frosted glass and won't see it. Then maybe adding a card reader to the extra 5.25 ext drive bay.
Other bits
Motherboard - Asustek M2n-mx Am2 Nvnf6100 Matx
Memory - Kingston 2GB KIT (2X1GB) DDR2 667MHz/PC2-5300 CL5 Non Ecc 1.8V
Processor - AMD Sempron 3400+ 1.8GHz Socket AM2 L2 256KB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Hard Disk - WD 320GB Sata
CPU Fan - Asus Silent Knight Socket 940, 939, AM2, 775 & 478 CPU Cooler or maybe Zalman CNPS7500-CU LED Socket 478, 775, AM2, 754, 939 & 940 CPU Cooler
TV Card - Hauppauge PVR 150
Graphics Card - Gainward Nvidia 8500GT (Passive cooling)


Cheers,
Baz

FrankGrimes

Hi Bazwaldo,

I built the machine a few days ago, and aside from a few teething problems, all is quite well.

My final spec is (200GB HDD and PVR 500 taken from my old htpc):

-Antec Fusion case
-Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD mobo
-2 x 1GB DDR2 800Mhz RAM
-Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 2GHz Socket LGA775, 2MB
-Samsung 500GB HDD
-Samsung 200GB HDD
-PVR 500 MCE
-LG DVD RW drive
-IR Remote
-MCE Wireless Keyboard

I'd advise going for more than 320GB of HDD space - it's very cheap these days and you'd be surprised at how quickly you can use it up with high quality video files.

I'd also go for the PVR 500 MCE or 2 PVR 150s as watching one channel while recording another (or having 2 people in different rooms watch different channels over an extender) is a great feature and good bang for the extra buck. All the best with the build.

bazwaldo

Cheers Frank. Sounds like a great setup.

My components arrived today. Ended up going for Fusion case as it looks the biz and has a better psu than the 2400.

Upgraded my processor also to dual-proc AMD. I'm raging I didn't buy another HD but I can always get one when I need something else of komplett (won't feel so hard done by with the postage). I have a standard Dell running as my MC now so I know how quickly recorded TV fills up disks.

I'll pick up a MCE keyboard too and will be using the composite output of my NTL box for my hauppauge 150. Only one channel at a time for me :-(.

FrankGrimes

Good luck with the build, one thing I will say is the mouse thing on the MCE keyboard is very finicky - I find I can just about tolerate it but the gf won't use it. Have seen mention that the MS Wireless Desktop 7000 is a better bet.

bazwaldo

The build went well considering its my first. Had to redo a few things as I went along but do damage done. Booted up first time and am well impressed with how quiet the case is. I have one problem now though, the VFD is not displaying anything and its not showing up as a USB device in device manager. I even tried using the external USB port with the cable from inside and still no joy. I've contacted Antec to see if they have any suggestions.

A mate has a media center keyboard so I might take a lend to see what its like. Cheers for the heads up.

FrankGrimes

Hi Bazwaldo. Glad all went well. My system isn't as quiet as I'd like - mainly the hard drives, though I'm not sure if I fit them correctly - could you get screws in from both top and bottom or just from the top? I could only get screws in from the top down and feel they're rattling a bit at the bottom causing noise.

I have the exact same problem with the VFD - no life out of it even though I downloaded the Vista drivers for it. Googling seems to suggest it wasn't initially supported in Vista, but it should be working at this stage. Let me know if Antec give you a solution, will do the same if I find one.

bazwaldo

I put the screws in from the top and not the bottom. I tighted them by hand to ensure they were not over tightened and maybe even a little loose so that the bottom of the drive was touching the grommits beneath.

I don't think its a vista problem with the vfd. Theres a new driver for it on http://www.antec.com/ec/support_faqDownload.html which you would expect is for Vista but regardless, it still should show up as an unrecognised device in device manager if Vista did not know what it was.

I'll let you know if I find out more.

bazwaldo

After reading some of http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=721783 I thought I better have another look for cables. I pulled out the block for the dvd player and sure enough there was another cable not connected. Its quite short, hence you'd miss it under the block, and there is a matching white plug from the power supply. On connecting this, the display works.

FrankGrimes

Interesting stuff bazwaldo, glad you got it working. What do you mean by 'block for the dvd player' - is this at the front of the case where the DVD tray is?

Will try find it this evening, though the suggestions on that thread that it might prevent MCE going into S3 standby automatically are not good. Never got S3 standby sorted on my last machine, and its one of my main priorities for this one, so anything that complicates that minefield is not good, though hopefully its a red herring.

bazwaldo

Yeah, the pull-out metal tray that houses the dvd player/writer. Underneath that lies a power cable for the vfd.

Yeah, I saw that about the s3 sleep. For me too, this would be an issue. I did manage to get my last MC into S3 and wakeup to record etc but sometimes it would lose the remote control connection and not record. (which after looking for a fix found that many had the same issue and could never get it to work 100% so gave up). Hopefully Vista has it sorted as my current MC is XP.

Not sure when I'll get to try this PC with making it sleep and wakeup. When I do, I'll report back.

FrankGrimes

Thanks for that.

Reckon I'm going to have a look at MCE Standby when attempting to setup S3 - seems to be plenty of info about it on thegreenbutton.com so I'll see if that makes it any simpler.

FrankGrimes

Mmmm, I found that power cable for the VFD last night (wouldn't have hurt them to show it in the manual) and there's some progress as when I disconnect and then reconnect the internal USB cable the device picks up and it asks to install the driver.

I've got a core 2 duo so it's a 64-bit Vista system so I manually browse to the folder with the 64-bit driver and that installs grand....but no life out of the VFD. When I installed the iMON software I now get an error message popping up in Vista saying 'The VFD H/W connected is the front panel and not iMON VFD H/W'....after all this hassle I hope I like the VFD if I ever do get it sorted (though that LCD Smartie software does sound interesting)

bazwaldo

I don't think you need to put 64-bit Vista on just because its a 64-bit processor. For whatever benefits a 64-bit OS has, there is that bit of hassle you may run into with drivers etc.
BTW, there a line in the instruction booklet to say that the VFD power cable needs to be connected (step 2). I mistook it as being part of step 3 which is the usb connection. Anyway, I don't think the VFD display will ever be looked at, unless it just has the time, or maybe some system stats for curiousity when first in use. Why would you read the news or whatever when you have a media center and telly to use instead. Getting it to display was more about not having a faulty component in the case and figuring out what the problem was.;) LCD Smartie, I'll have to look at up.

I have to build a cabinet to fit the case into under the telly so won't be able to get any further till I get that done. Whats there now is too small and the kids have it wrecked.

I read up on that MCE standby, sounds like its worth a try.

FrankGrimes

Mmm, had just assumed that cos it was a 64-bit processor it needed the 64-bit version. Vista came with separate 32 and 64-bit DVDs, wonder would it be worth/possible uninstalling the 64bit and installing the 32bit one?

bazwaldo

Well I have an AMD Athlon 64 running 32-bit Vista so its defo possible. Just delete+create the partition during the setup and install if you want 32-bit Vista. For home use, there is no need for 64 bit. You would imagine that 64-bit would be a little better for performance and memory management, but I've heard thats not really the case. You may want to do a search to see whats reported on the web but for me, I'm sticking with 32-bit for now.