HTPC Configs and Questions (builing it right now)

[megacrypto]

Hi all,

I thought i would get your opinion on the following package:
Case: Thermaltake DH101 + ThermalTake Purepower W0129RU ATX 2.2 600W Active PFC Power Supply
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4400+* (2.3GHz) AM2
Fan: Zalman CNPS7000B-ALCU Aluminum/Copper CPU Fan For Socket 478/462/Optern
Memory: STT DDR2-800 2GB (2x1GB) CL4 Dual Channel
DVD: Lite-On LH-20A1L-06 LightScribe 20X DVD+/-RW SATA
HD: Hitachi 500GB 0A35415 SATA2 U300 7200rpm 16MB RoHS

I already have:
DVB-S: Nexus-S & Skystar 2

A few questions:
1. whats the best fan for the CPU that is not noisy (really quiet) and does not cost much (anything over 50USD is alot)?
2. are the above specs any good?
3. will the 780G on MB decode the MPEG-2 if using only skystar 2 smoothly, or will it abuse the cpu power (like it did on old PC when playing encrypted channels - that is why i got the Nexus-s)?

Any other thoughts, pointers anyone can think of will be highly appreciated.

Thanks All

[kingnubian]

Originally Posted by megacrypto

Hi all,

I thought i would get your opinion on the following package:
Case: Thermaltake DH101 + ThermalTake Purepower W0129RU ATX 2.2 600W Active PFC Power Supply
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4400+* (2.3GHz) AM2
Fan: Zalman CNPS7000B-ALCU Aluminum/Copper CPU Fan For Socket 478/462/Optern
Memory: STT DDR2-800 2GB (2x1GB) CL4 Dual Channel
DVD: Lite-On LH-20A1L-06 LightScribe 20X DVD+/-RW SATA
HD: Hitachi 500GB 0A35415 SATA2 U300 7200rpm 16MB RoHS

I already have:
DVB-S: Nexus-S & Skystar 2

A few questions:
1. whats the best fan for the CPU that is not noisy (really quiet) and does not cost much (anything over 50USD is alot)?
2. are the above specs any good?
3. will the 780G on MB decode the MPEG-2 if using only skystar 2 smoothly, or will it abuse the cpu power (like it did on old PC when playing encrypted channels - that is why i got the Nexus-s)?

Any other thoughts, pointers anyone can think of will be highly appreciated.

Thanks All

Let me see here:

1) AMD did have a stock fan with heatpipes that cooled real well and ran quietly.
MADSHRIMPS - Hardware Reviews ,Crazy Projects, Modding Tutorials and Overclocking

That being said the Scythe Zipang is one of the quietest coolers around but just breaks your $50 limit. Here is an excellent source for coolers large and small, loud & quiet.
Top 5 Heatsinks (AMD/Intel) on FrostyTech

2) The above specs sound real nice. By going with a 780G based motherboard you can easily playback h.264 & VC-1 HD video streams completely in hardware so a "Lower" powered and cheaper cpu like a 4400+ can be used. Try to get your hands on a 45W cpu as opposed to the 65W and higher parts for a cooler running system which will lead to a quieter one as well since the cpu heatsink/fan won't have to work as hard.

3) With the specs you quoted above for sure SD Mpeg-2 broadcasts will be no problem whatsoever. With HD Mpeg-2 I can't answer for certain but from what I've been reading the 780G should be a big help, so I believe that you will be ok. Choose your codec wisely, one that will take advantage of the available hardware acceleration offered by the 780G.

P.S. The chosen power supply is more than what will be needed unless you will add a discrete high powered graphics card at a later time . See that even with the upcoming AMD 4850e the 780 system, which includes a Western Digital Raptor, doesn't even break 110W at load. Mind you the 4850e is a low wattage part.

Given the 780G based motherboard, the choice of 4400+ is a good one given the intended HTPC chores. If any gaming whatsoever is in the future for this build a 5000+ Black Edition cpu may be a better choice. The unlocked multiplier of the Black Edition 5000+ means easier overclocking.........to a point naturally.

Just a matter of opinion, I prefer Seagate drives in particular for their 5year warranty and 32meg cache on their 7200.11 series 500gig and higher drives.

All in all I like your component choices.

[megacrypto]

Thanks alot kingnubian Im supposed to receive these parts within the next few days. I will let you know how it works

[megacrypto]

Got the parts and put them together
Case: Thermaltake DH101 + PurePower 600W PSU
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
FAN: Zalman CNPS9500AM2
RAM: STT DDR2-800 2GB (2x1GB)
DVD: Lite-On Lightscribe LH-20A1L (SATA)
HDrv: Hitachi 500GB 7200RPM 16MB

Well, everything was put together allright. I must say, the case (DH101) is a bit bigger than i thought it would be and heavier, but it was very easy to put everything in place (given that this is my first PC assembly project All the wires found their plugs correctly. The PSU is a bit to much for the machine right now, i guess the next time I will go with a smaller PSU (450W i guess would sufficient) now I have almost 8 wires that are tucked into the case with nothing to connect to them. The ceramic glue that came with the fan was a bit annoying; a very tiny tube that was too frustrating to get the glue out, but it was enough to cover the CPU. The fan itself was very easy to install and fits just fine within the case (although its a big fan). In total there are 5 fans running inside the case, and you could barely hear them very nice. I took out the fan controller for the cpu fan which came with it (i think the case is doing just fine without it) I had it running for almost 12 hours and the thing was so cool and quiet.

I installed all the software, Win XP SP2, Avast Anti Virus, VNC, and then came the turn to MP. Installed the latest stable 0.2.3. Now came the time to start working on the iMON. I must say that it was a bit tough but I managed to get the basic controls mapped. I removed all the mapping from MP, and added only the controls that I need. I don't run any TV server on the machine, for that I will hook up my DM600 box and work on the Dreambox plugin (maybe) or i will just leave them seperate, haven't decided yet. I still can't get the graphic EQ on the iMON LCD to work !!

I also tried to run the myBurner plugin but no luck until now, for some reason it does not write. First I thought maybe its the DVD, so I tried burning a disc with Nero and it worked fine, so i guess i have to work on that a bit.

As for the board, i really can't say much about it until now, still have to try it on some of the more demanding media. I might throw in my SS2 DVB-S card to see how it work on this board just for kicks.

All in all, i must say that its a very nice piece of equipment and i'm very happy with it

[finrudd341]

Sounds like you did well. The fan control you mention - is that the plastic switch that comes with the Zalman CPU fan that controls the fan speed? I didn't use that either - it may be ok on some PC's but just looks horrible on a nice HTPC case.

Lovely case, by the way - link here for those interested:

DH101 VF7001BNS