The machine I built a month or so back was great until we got a new tv and I tried running high def, so back to the drawing board and put together second build designed for 1080p playback.
(original post)
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/completed-htpc-projects-61/completed-2-4ghz-p4-49769/
I picked up a x2 5200 off ebay for about $50, and got an ASUS M2N68 mobo for it. My Desktop had 6gb ram in it (which I had *never* maxed out) so I figured there wouldnt be any performance hit by pilfering 2gb from that. It also had a Radeon 4850 512meg in it, which, although overkill for an htpc, saved me from wrath-of-wife in having to shell out even more money for a card specifically for the machine.
The only remaining component I needed was a beefy enough psu to run the 4850 (the 250w I had in there wasnt up to the task) so I managed to get a SHAW 650 from a local place for $55 thinking it was a bargain (more on that below)
The build all went ok, until I switched the machine on and heard the ROAR or the Power Supply. Seriously, this thing was *noisy*. Long story short, I took it apart thinking to use a couple of ball bearing 80mm fans I had lying around but the setup wouldnt allow it as the fans it came with were special low profile things to allow the big 120mm to share the case with them. After a bit of toying around with the PSU I noticed two things; 1) there was virtually no heat sync inside (just a couple of tiny aluminium rails) and 2) that most of the noise was coming from the 120mm which was revving really high (I assume because the thing is built without adequate heatsync). Anyway, I wasnt able to use it that noisy, so I soldered in a variable resistor on the 120mm and that cut most of the noise.
The other STUPID thing about the design of this psu is that it sucks air from _outside_ the case rather than from inside. I dont know why you would make a PSU like that but there you go (Im aware know its a common way to put them together but strikes me as stupid from an internal airflow POV and because of the potential to trim down noise having the exhaust fan further inside the case). . Not an option to reverse it without some minor surgery on the housing to accommodate the screws - but I wasnt going to go there.
And it runs really HOT! (regardless of fan setting). Its like having a fan-heater sitting under the TV (not great here in Adelaide where the temp regularly gets to 40 Celsius in summer.
Oh, and the other annoyance was that when I remove the power cord after the first use, two of the retaining pins that hold it against the housing of the metal case snapped off, leaving the whole plug assembly wobbly and loose. The materials are just S*&^T
I had heard bad things about cheap pus's before but figured I could modify anything that wasnt up to the task. This thing was a real white elephant. I *swear* I will never buy another SHAW product again.
So after a lot of faffing about with setting up the OS and installing MP, I finally managed to run some of the high-def (1080p) movie trailers I had not been able to run on the new TV using the old build (the impetus for the upgrade). [drumroll.....]
Needless to say, they looked great!
I had a bit of a play with codecs. Had always used klite (ffdshow) but thought I might have a squizz at PowerDVD. Sure enough, CPU useage dropped and am opting to stick with that.
Got my first look at high def tv on it Xmas Eve and was fascinated to flick between SD and HD channels to see the difference. Really a big improvement. Even my wife was impressed!
One of the good things about the upgrade was that I was able to use Vista. I had heard good things about the power management on it and wasnt disappointed. With the sleep mode I dont have to power it off and it starts right into MP in no time flat. I was really impressed with that.
So all in all it was a (mostly) very positive experience. The only thing remaining is to re-build or replace the *&%^*&%^*&%^ SHAW PSU.
Grrrrrrr
(original post)
https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/completed-htpc-projects-61/completed-2-4ghz-p4-49769/
I picked up a x2 5200 off ebay for about $50, and got an ASUS M2N68 mobo for it. My Desktop had 6gb ram in it (which I had *never* maxed out) so I figured there wouldnt be any performance hit by pilfering 2gb from that. It also had a Radeon 4850 512meg in it, which, although overkill for an htpc, saved me from wrath-of-wife in having to shell out even more money for a card specifically for the machine.
The only remaining component I needed was a beefy enough psu to run the 4850 (the 250w I had in there wasnt up to the task) so I managed to get a SHAW 650 from a local place for $55 thinking it was a bargain (more on that below)
The build all went ok, until I switched the machine on and heard the ROAR or the Power Supply. Seriously, this thing was *noisy*. Long story short, I took it apart thinking to use a couple of ball bearing 80mm fans I had lying around but the setup wouldnt allow it as the fans it came with were special low profile things to allow the big 120mm to share the case with them. After a bit of toying around with the PSU I noticed two things; 1) there was virtually no heat sync inside (just a couple of tiny aluminium rails) and 2) that most of the noise was coming from the 120mm which was revving really high (I assume because the thing is built without adequate heatsync). Anyway, I wasnt able to use it that noisy, so I soldered in a variable resistor on the 120mm and that cut most of the noise.
The other STUPID thing about the design of this psu is that it sucks air from _outside_ the case rather than from inside. I dont know why you would make a PSU like that but there you go (Im aware know its a common way to put them together but strikes me as stupid from an internal airflow POV and because of the potential to trim down noise having the exhaust fan further inside the case). . Not an option to reverse it without some minor surgery on the housing to accommodate the screws - but I wasnt going to go there.
And it runs really HOT! (regardless of fan setting). Its like having a fan-heater sitting under the TV (not great here in Adelaide where the temp regularly gets to 40 Celsius in summer.
Oh, and the other annoyance was that when I remove the power cord after the first use, two of the retaining pins that hold it against the housing of the metal case snapped off, leaving the whole plug assembly wobbly and loose. The materials are just S*&^T
I had heard bad things about cheap pus's before but figured I could modify anything that wasnt up to the task. This thing was a real white elephant. I *swear* I will never buy another SHAW product again.
So after a lot of faffing about with setting up the OS and installing MP, I finally managed to run some of the high-def (1080p) movie trailers I had not been able to run on the new TV using the old build (the impetus for the upgrade). [drumroll.....]
Needless to say, they looked great!
I had a bit of a play with codecs. Had always used klite (ffdshow) but thought I might have a squizz at PowerDVD. Sure enough, CPU useage dropped and am opting to stick with that.
Got my first look at high def tv on it Xmas Eve and was fascinated to flick between SD and HD channels to see the difference. Really a big improvement. Even my wife was impressed!
One of the good things about the upgrade was that I was able to use Vista. I had heard good things about the power management on it and wasnt disappointed. With the sleep mode I dont have to power it off and it starts right into MP in no time flat. I was really impressed with that.
So all in all it was a (mostly) very positive experience. The only thing remaining is to re-build or replace the *&%^*&%^*&%^ SHAW PSU.
Grrrrrrr