MyPVR's HTPC

[MyPVR]

Hello all,

I want to show all of you my current HTPC system and i hope you like it!

CPU: Intel Pentium D 630 (3.0 GHz HT, fast & cheap)
Mainboard: ASUS P5VD1-X (ATX, AGP & PCIe gfx slot, 5.1 Sound, SPDIF)
Memory: 2x256MB DDR400 (perhaps upgrading to 4x256)
GFX Card: Club 3D GF 7600GS (PCIe, 256 MB, passive cooling, HDTV enabled)
TV Card: Hauppauge HVR-1300 (Analog & DVB-T TV, FM Radio)
FireWire: Adaptec FireConnect AFW-4300 (no on board fw)
Hard Disk: Samsung HD300LJ (300GB SATA, quiet & fast) + 30GB IDE (boot drive)
DVD ROM: NEC ND-4571 (lowered to 8x, now it's quiet)
Case: Coolermaster Cavalier 2 (CAV-T02-UW, black, 300W, 438x135x420)
Noise Absorb: Revoltec be quiet! kit (customized, assembly took nearly an hour)
Fans: 6 fans (little bit tricky: temp controlled + Fan-Mate2, min noise @ normal load)
PowerLAN: devolo dLAN duo (no cables in the living room, perhaps upgrading to 85MBit)
Remote: Logitech Harmony 525 (good programable RC)
Speakers: Logitech X-230 (only 2.1, but for the first steps good enough)
Display: Samsung WS-32Z409T (32' 16:9, HDready 1080i, SlimFit CRT, 910x750x415, 54kg)

The HTPC (~750€) is running since 3 months with XPSP2 and MP0.2RC4 plus PVRS 1.4.5 using S3 stand-by mode. The display is connected via SVideo2SCART and DVI2HDMI, so I'm able to switch between PAL and 720p/1080i resolution on the fly. Mostly the PAL resolution will be used but I have tested the HDTV function with a WMV-HD DVD and the hole system is working fine & without problems (after a BIOS update). This machine generates ~3950 pts in the 3Dmark2005 and at normal load (recording, music, video or dvd playback) the overall CPU/case temperature is lesser than 50/40°C without any perceptible noise after 24h runtime.

Feel free to comment this HTPC.

Thanks all devs for their wonderfull MediaPortal!

[MyPVR]

During the last days i tweaked my setup:

• Replaced the intel boxed cpu cooler with a CoolerMaster Hyper L3:
  CPU/Case temp is now at 35/35 °C and the noise level decreased!
  
• Replaced the two hard drives with a Samsung SpintPoint HD501LJ:
  500 GB storage volume (the old boot drive was not very quietly)
• Added a wireless keyboard and mouse:
  Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000, cable vs comfort :-)

[geov]

Looks good....

Cheers
GeoV

[MyPVR]

After the tweak is before the tweak! Here comes the next stage of completed modifications

• Changed from Analog Cable to DVB-T input signal
• Added a second HVR-1300 for seperated watching and recording TV
• Changed screen resolution from PAL 4:3 (720x576) to 16:9 (1024x576)

The result is a very good TV and a stunning DVD playback quality.

! Using dual DVB tuner setup under XP Pro caused bigger problems, but where solved with Callifo's DVB patch.

The next stage will be to step over to MP 0.2.2.0 client/server installation and the build up of a low end client based on a PIII750 (perhaps with some NAS features) and the integration of my desktop. But for those modifications I need some spare time and that is actual very rare.