My second HTPC (pictures and install)

[ThaClown]

My second build:

Origen ae H6 € 199,00

MA78GM-S2H (AMD 780G) € 75,00
AMD A64 X2 AM2 2700BOX5200+ 1MB € 75,00
Syche Ninja Mini € 35,00 DOES NOT FIT!!
Geheugen 2x Transcend 1GB DDR2 SDRAM PC6400 € 41,00
Sharkoon SHA350-8P PSU € 29,00
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic € 70,00
Samsung 250GB SATA300 8MB, HD250HJ € 41,00
WD500GB SATA300 16MB, WD5000AACS € 67,00
DVD drive Samsung DVD-/+/RAM SH-S202J 20x/20x/12x Bulk € 21,50

Total € 681,00

1) Arrival:
Al produducts came in nice packaging and nothing was damaged... So far so good!


2) The case:
What can I say, the looks are great (like all OrigenAE stuff) and everything is nicely put together.
You get alot of crews, some cable holders, a metal front for the DVD slot and a MCE Remote with OrigenAE on it (nice little touch)
Problems:
- No manual! I have to download and print it form the OrigenAE website! Very dissapointing for a 200 euro case!


3) Components:
I went for the MA78GM-S2H (AMD 780G) to have no need for a graphic card, and it is the most popular MB now, so it seems a good choice.
The rest is focused on low power and noise, im quite happy with my choices, exept for:
- OOPS The Syche Ninja Mini is not 'Mini' at all! This one does NOT fit this case! (will use it in a other build I guess)

4) The build:
I wanted a nice fast and clean build so I waited till I had all components together and told my cats and girlfriend to stay away for 2 hours or so....
Problems:
- the HDD- and DVD tray is very hard to remove/install. The screws are located very low in a narrow part of the case (pic is coming). Get a long screwdriver with magnetic top or you will be very frustrated building this case!


- Install the VF110 (Display and IR Receiver) FIRST! I realized thet I needed to use the USB cable too a bit late, after I nstalled the DVD tray. (Had to do the difficult bit twice )


- The optical drive placing (inside the DVD tray) has to be very exact for the open/close button to work. To place it, the DVD tray has to be removed (did I mention this was hard?)


Messy cables:


A little better:


5) The Install:
Software:
Vista Home Basic
Media Portal RC1
SVN-Snapshot:-06-13-2008 23-32h - Revision:19376

ATI Catalyst 8.6
PowerDVD Ultra 8 (buy it, its good )
Haali Media Splitter
FFDShow Tryout
Quicktime Alternative Lite Real Alternative
VSFilter
FLV Splitter
IR Trans Software
CybrDisplay External Status (put in Plugins/Progress!)

Plugins:
Mptray4Irtrans
CybrDisplay External Status
My TVSeries SVN
Media Slayer
My Lyrics
Last.fm
UitzendingGemist.nl

Installation:
- Codec's I used Goose's codec guide
- PowerDVD: checked DVXA in the video settings.
- Deamon tools: Disabled Secure Mode
- IR Trans Software: follow Install, PC startup and MCE Remote setup
- CybrDisplay External Status: config under processes, set IRTrans V1.0 and USB.
- Mptray4Irtrans to startup with Green MCE button (put a link in the windows startupfolder)

6) The first test:
GREAT everything plays and runs:
DivX nice with FFDShow upscaling
ISO and Video_TS play well with deamonTools and FFDShow Upscaling, DTS audio when avalible
.MKV and Blue-Ray Rips run fine, did not etst the CPU% yet but no jutters at all with Planet Earth or Star Wars 1080P..
Icons and FanArt works great!
It is quiet as a mouse..
Did not test the temp yet...

TODO:
- Buy a remote or keyboard with mouse function for simple file management (anybody got nice suggestions?)
- Install 3 skins (Aeon, Monochrome and X-face) for easy changing
- Set startup and hybernate settings for MCE remote for complete usage without keyboard/mouse
- Setup ripping plugin for music and DVD's
- Change Windows startupscreen and wallpaper
- Setup Emulators

Problems:
- Make ISO rips by Media Slayer have OSD info (if anybody know please let me know! topic here)
- Start button on MCE Remote makes the screen toggle from fullscreen/window.
I can't seem to turn this off! It is couse by the IRTrans software i think, becouse the normal 'home' function also works...
Anybody got any idea?
FIXED!
simply edit the apps.cfg from irtrans/remote folder and delete the EHOME related line:

[APP]MEDIACENTER
  [ACTIVE]
  [APPNAME]%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe
  [CLASSNAME]eHome Render Window
  [TYPE]MCE
  [REMOTE]mediacenter
  [COMMANDS]
    EHOME	[FNC]HOME    REMOVE THIS LINE!!!
    PLAY	[FNC]PLAY
    STOP	[FNC]STOP
    REC		[FNC]REC

[Gixxer]

nice setup, tell us how it works when u get it. and pics would be good.

why did u get vista for it? i mean instead of xp

[ThaClown]

Want it to be a 'normal' updated PC as well.
And I read that Mp works very well on Vista.

[Gixxer]

Originally Posted by ThaClown

Want it to be a 'normal' updated PC as well.
And I read that Mp works very well on Vista.

thats what i have heard also, thats why i was asking, just to confirm.

[ThaClown]

Alot more info...
See start post.

[armandp]

What revision is the mainboard ? if it's 1.1 - i'm curious if there is an improvement with the new northbridge heatsink
I'm planning a server build and if this change is worth it i might be thinking of using my 1.0 mainboard for the server and put a 1.1 in the HTPC.

[roopert]

That Origen case looks very nice and solid. Where did you get it from (internet shop?)

I'm interested in the S14V, will the display work with MP as described above?

[ThaClown]

@armandp:
No its 1.0, I did not know about this change untill I ordered... is it a big improvement?

@roopert:
I got it at PC GLOBE - Voor de Beste Koop very fast service I must say.
The S14V has a newer VF210 VFD/IR Module but it should work fine...

I love that S14V case too, might got for it as my next upgrade (the H6 is for a friend) or a Omaura TF5....

[armandp]

Originally Posted by ThaClown

@armandp:
No its 1.0, I did not know about this change untill I ordered... is it a big improvement?

The only physical change is the new heatsink and fan connector for the northbridge. So the only condition for me to change to 1.1 is if the temp goes down significantly. I'm getting the same mainboard for my server and if it should be the 1.1 revision i have the option to swap it with my htpc - but i'm not rebuilding it if the change is minor one

[roopert]

I got it at PC GLOBE - Voor de Beste Koop very fast service I must say.
The S14V has a newer VF210 VFD/IR Module but it should work fine...

I love that S14V case too, might got for it as my next upgrade (the H6 is for a friend) or a Omaura TF5....

The Omura products have no build-in display. You can order an optional oled display, but will it be compatible with MP?
The good thing is that the cases are less expensive than the origens.
The TF5's dimensions are rather bad, a TF8 (200 euro) would be a better choice I think.

Another thing: If I use The Origen S10V case, will there be enough room to install a sound card (Asus Xonar HDAV1.3)?
I see that there is an auxiliary access slot, would a riser card do the trick to connect to the motherboard? In my opinion, this could be a serious problem...

EDIT: I realise this case is too small, a tv card and sound card would never fit properly. The I/O slots are not long enough, strange why they are verticaly aligned. The problem is that the case must fit into a housing, 12 cm high.