As soon as possible, send in any rebates for any components that you ordered. I had thought that the rebate slips might come in the package from Newegg with the ordered product but, silly boy, that would be too easy. However, Newegg did make it pretty easy. If you didn't print out the rebate information at the time of the order, you can still go back to Newegg and print it. I will warn you that the rebate information does not appear on the order and, if you created a wish list, the rebate information that appears there is the current rebate. It is best to login to Newegg, click on My Newegg, then click on Rebate Center on the right. In the rebate center, enter the item number for each item that you have ordered and then press Search. The current and recent rebates for the item will appear in the lst. Most mail-in rebates have an Offer Valid Through date, so make sure that you pick the right one.
Note that most mail-in rebates require you to send in a UPC number or some other item off the packaging, meaning that you can't return the item after you mail in the rebate, so don't dilly-dally around. Put the machine together before the rebates expire and make sure that you are happy with the components before you send in the rebates.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
It's Alive, It's Alive!
It wasn't until the next evening that I got a chance to open the HTPC box up again and verify my electrical connections. Indeed, I had made two mistakes.
The first problem was that I reversed the ends of the SATA cable. I strongly doubt that was causing the problem, but the 90 degree turn in the hard drive connector was covering other sockets on the motherboard and that didn't look right. A picture in the instructions told me the correct orientation of the cables using text over an image of the cable. I guess that was an OK way to tell me that.
The second problem was that I plugged the connector for the power switch into the pins for the power LED. I suppose that could be it.
So, after correcting those problems, I flipped the power switch, the keyboard lights came on, went off, and, ... nothing else happened.
I pressed the power button on the front of the case and, and, hey the fans are turning, the speaker is beeping.
It's Alive! It's Alive! (Whew! I was afraid that this was going to be one expensive door stop.)
I made some adjustments to the Setup settings, which I will write about next, and called it a night.
(Whew!)
The first problem was that I reversed the ends of the SATA cable. I strongly doubt that was causing the problem, but the 90 degree turn in the hard drive connector was covering other sockets on the motherboard and that didn't look right. A picture in the instructions told me the correct orientation of the cables using text over an image of the cable. I guess that was an OK way to tell me that.
The second problem was that I plugged the connector for the power switch into the pins for the power LED. I suppose that could be it.
So, after correcting those problems, I flipped the power switch, the keyboard lights came on, went off, and, ... nothing else happened.
I pressed the power button on the front of the case and, and, hey the fans are turning, the speaker is beeping.
It's Alive! It's Alive! (Whew! I was afraid that this was going to be one expensive door stop.)
I made some adjustments to the Setup settings, which I will write about next, and called it a night.
(Whew!)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
And then (almost) nothing happen...
So, after putting the machine together, I didn't follow my own advice. I felt comfortable enough that the machine wouldn't go up in a puff of smoke that I hooked up a monitor, keyboard and mouse, plugged in the machine and flipped the switch.
... And (almost) nothing happened ...
I say almost because the lights came on on the keyboard and then went out.
Hmmm, that seemed to indicate that there's power getting to the motherboard. Ahhh, I pressed the power button and ... nothing happened (except for the keyboard).
I tried the reset button and the same almost nothing happened.
SIGH. It was 11:30 PM and time to call it a day.
Cycle power one more time. Nothing happened. Sigh.
... And (almost) nothing happened ...
I say almost because the lights came on on the keyboard and then went out.
Hmmm, that seemed to indicate that there's power getting to the motherboard. Ahhh, I pressed the power button and ... nothing happened (except for the keyboard).
I tried the reset button and the same almost nothing happened.
SIGH. It was 11:30 PM and time to call it a day.
Cycle power one more time. Nothing happened. Sigh.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A Computer is Born
Before I give you my construction steps, let me give you a disclaimer. I hate disclaimers, but I feel like I must give you a reminder that I'm no expert in this area. This is my first time building something like this. I am reconstructing the instructions from memory, so I might leave something out. Plus the manufacturers may change something in a component, so these instructions might be wrong, even if I remembered everything correctly. You have the final decision in the building of your HTPC. If something doesn't seem right, stop what you are doing until you understand well enough what you are doing, and are sure that you do the right thing. The instructions that I'm about to write here are merely to document what I did, to help people who are scratching their heads about what the component instructions, such as they are, are trying to tell them. I strongly recommend reading actual the instructions for each component.
In my instructions, I am assuming that the back of the case is facing you, and when I use the term left and right, it is relative to the back of the case.
Congratulations, you're completed the most complicated part of this operation. There will further steps, but they're child's play compared to this.
In my instructions, I am assuming that the back of the case is facing you, and when I use the term left and right, it is relative to the back of the case.
- Set the case on a clear table, with the back facing you, top up. Remove the two thumb screws at the top of the case and set them aside. There is a short lip on the case top at the back. Use this to pull the top toward you. Then lift the case top and remove it. Set it aside with the two knobs.
- There is a large support bar running down the middle of the case from front to back. In the left front, attached to the support bar and the case side is a cage for a hard drive. This cage is attached to the side of the case by 2 black screws and to the support bar by two silver screws. Remove these screws and set them aside.
- Remove the hard drive cage from the case.
- In the side of the cage, near the corners, are four small holes. From the bag of parts, install a rubber grommet into each of the corners of the hard drive cage. (There's a good picture of this in the Lian Li Case Installation Guide. See HDD installation.)
- Insert the hard drive into the cage, with the end that contains the connectors oriented such that the connectors will point into the case. The screw holes in the drive will line up with the rubber grommets.
- Locate four round head screws that have threads missing near the head of the screw. Insert these screws into the grommets and secure the hard drive to the cage. Set this cage aside.
- In the right front, there is a cage for the optical drive and another hard drive. This cage is screwed to the case by a thumb screw. Remove the thumb screw and set it aside. Slide the cage to the back of the case and remove it.
- In the bottom of the optical drive cage is a place for a second hard drive. Insert the rubber grommets into the corner holes. If you have a second hard drive, place it in the cage with the connectors pointing into the case and secure it with four of the hard drive mounting screws.
- In the top of the optical drive cage, insert the optical drive such that its connectors are pointing into the case. Locate four round headed screws that have threads all the way along the shaft of the screw. On one side, place two of them through the cage into the optical drive, but do not tighten them completely. Repeat this process with two screws on the opposite side, again not tightening them.
- Insert the optical drive cage back into the case and replace the thumb screw. With you fingers, push the optical drive forward until the optical drive door on the front of the case opens. Next, push the optical drive door on the case closed, pushing the optical drive back into the case. Tighten the optical drive screws on the side of the cage that is next to the support bar. Remove the optical drive cage from the case, tighten the screws on the other side of cage. Set the optical drive cage aside.
- Remove the support bar from the case by removing the black screws from one end, and the thumb screws from the other.
- The case fan on the middle right hand side of the case will be in the way of the power supply. Move this case fan to the front of the case by removing the screws from the outside of the case, repositioning the fan to the right front vent on the case and replacing the screws.
- Install the power supply. This is totally undocumented in the Lian Li installation guide. Fortunately, the power supply goes in only one way. The fan faces up, and the power switch will be in the back. On my power supply, the words on the back of the power supply are upside down (causing me quite some confusion). This could have simply been a manufacturing problem with the power supply, or just an issue with putting a full sized ATX power supply, originally intended for a tower, into a micro ATX case. Using the screws that came with the power supply, attach the power supply to the case. The holes in the case and the holes in the power supply are in a trapezoid shape and the power supply can only be installed one way.
- There are three large cables that permanently attached to the power supply. One of them has 24 pins, one has 8 pins, and one has 4 pins. The one with 8 pins will not be used with this motherboard. Route the 4-pin cable to the left hand side of the case, leaving the connector outside of the case. This cable will be beneath the motherboard after its installation. Route the 24-pin connector to the left front side of the case. This cable should not pass under the motherboard. It should pass between the motherboard and the optical drive cage and then beneath the set of 4 cables coming from the front of the case.
Unfortunately, I found the pictures in the power supply's manual to be unhelpful, as their resolution is not sufficient to tell one connector from another. In the following steps, we'll need to identify the individual cables and install them in the power supply. We'll plug them into the actual devices in a later step. In the back of the power supply, you'll find two sets of sockets. In one set the pins are in a rectangular pattern and another set with the pins in a linear pattern. The ones in a rectangular pattern are for PCI-Express cards. The ones in a linear pattern are for the drives. - Look for a pair of cables labeled PCI-E on one of the connectors. If the cables are unlabeled, look for a cable with 6-pin male connectors on both ends in a rectangular pattern. These are the PCI-E cables. Set these cables aside, as the Hauppauge card does not need it.
- Look for a Y-cable that has a 4-pin male connector and two linear connectors. This is the Peripheral cable. We will not be using it, and may be set aside.
- Look for three cables with a pair of 4-pin female connectors and one linear connector. These are the FDD (Floppy Diskette Drive) cables. The manual describes these as Y cables, but the version of the power supply that I have has the female connectors in a series. (I suppose this depends on your definition of a Y cable.) Plug the linear connector of one of these cables into the power supply and set the other two aside.
- There should be only one set of cables left. They will have a linear power supply connector on one end and three thin linear female connectors in the cable in series. These are the SATA cables. Plug the linear power supply connector of one of the cables into the back of the power supply and set the other SATA cable aside.
In the next set of steps, we'll prep and install the motherboard. The Gigabyte instructions are pretty good. There's a booklet entitled Multilingual Installation Guidebook that tells part of the story. Unfortunately, this booklet glosses over how to plug-in the drives and internal connectors to the motherboard, but there aremore instructions in the booklet entitled User's Manual that gives a better description. The following steps will assume that you have read these books. I don't plan to reproduce the many diagrams in them. - Either set the case aside or move to another work area. Open the box containing the motherboard and remove it and the foam insulation at the bottom of the box. Set the motherboard on top of the foam insulation on your work area, with the I/O Shield toward you. (The I/O Shield protects the external sockets on the side of the motherboard.) On the right hand side of the motherboard nearest you, look for the revision number of the board. Make a note of this, at it will be needed later for updating the BIOS.
- Locate the socket for the CPU on the motherboard and lift the small lever until it is at 90 degrees to the board.
- Making sure that you have grounded yourself, open the box containing the CPU. The CPU is mounted on a small printed circuit board. Being sure to handle the CPU only by the sides of the printed circuit board, rotate the CPU until you have located the small triangle on the top of the CPU printed circuit board. Examine the socket on the motherboard until you find a find a small triangle on it. Align the triangle on the CPU printed circuit board until it is over the triangle on the socket and then carefully set the CPU into the socket. To quote the Gigabyte manual, "Do not force the CPU into the CPU socket. The CPU cannot fit in if oriented incorrectly. Adjust the CPU orientation if this occurs."
- Again, making sure that you are grounded, carefully place a finger on the top of the CPU and place light pressure on it. Then carefully close the small lever on the socket and latch it into its locked position, parallel to the motherboard.
- OPTIONAL STEP: There must be a thin layer of heat sync compound between the CPU and the heat sync. The heat sync that comes with the CPU already has this compound applied to it, but my friend Judy recommends using a better heat sync compound like Arctic Silver. If you wish to do this, remove the stock heat sync compound from the heat sink using a Q-Tip and alcohol. Make sure that you remove it completely. Next, place a tiny bit of the heat sync compound on the top of the CPU, about the size of a grain of rice.
Note: I'm using the term bracket for the metal bar that runs through the heat sink and has square holes on each end. The bracket attaches to a pair of tabs on the CPU socket and are locked in place with a small clamp. The Gigabyte User's Manual describes these as the CPU cooler clip and mounting lug. - Carefully align the heat sync over the top of the CPU socket such that the bracket is over the tabs in the socket. I positioned the heat sink such that the clamp on the heat sink is to the right side of the socket. I'm not sure that it is important which side the clamp is on, but I was trying to get the power lines for the CPU fan to be close to the pins on the motherboard for the CPU fan.
- Place the heat sink on the CPU. First, slip the bracket with the clamp over its tab on the CPU socket and press the bracket slightly toward the heat sink. Then slip the bracket on the opposite side of the heat sink over its tab in the socket. Finally, close the clamp to lock the heat sink in place. (I made a real mess of this process the first time and decided to try again. If you decide do the same, use a Q-tip and alcohol to remove the heat sink compound and apply fresh compound.)
Next, we install the memory. - The memory is installed in the two yellow memory sockets. Spread the retaining clips at both ends of a memory socket. Make sure you are grounded and handle a memory module only by the printed circuit board on the ends. Never touch the contacts on the printed circuit board. Place a memory module into the socket. The memory module will fit in the socket one way, so do not force the module into the socket. Press down on the top of the memory module until the retaining clips snap into place. (I found that there was only so far that the clips would move up. Rather than forcing the memory down until the clips snap into place, just push the clips up the remaining distance and snap them into place manually.)
- Returning to the case, there is already one power cord running through the motherboard area, the one with the 4-pin connector. Locate the cable with the sockets labeled HD Audio and AC'97. Route this cable through the motherboard area as well, being sure not to cross the 4-pin power connector. Lay the audio connectors on the left hand outside of the case. The audio cable will be a little further to the front of the power cable. (It might be better to try to route these cables under the motherboard after the motherboard is installed, but I found that a real pain.)
- Remove the motherboard from the foam insulation and align it with the back panel connectors toward the back of the case. Carefully set the motherboard into the case, being sure not to trap any cables between the motherboard and its mounting posts in the case.
- Snap the motherboard's I/O Shield into place in the case.
- Check the alignment of the screw holes in the motherboard and the mounting posts in the case. There are seven screw holes and posts. (The Lian Li installation guide only shows six.) Using the rounded headed screws, the same type used to secure the optical drive, partially screw in the seven screws. When all seven have been partially screwed in, tighten all of them remaining way.
Now it is time to plug in the remaining cables. - Plug in the 24-pin power connector to the 24-pin socket in the left front part of the motherboard.
- Plug in the 4-pin power connector to the 4-pin socket labeled ATX_12V in the left back part of the motherboard.
- Plug in the CPU fan into the socket labeled CPU_FAN in the back center part of the motherboard.
- Take the power cable for the fan on the left hand side of the case, route it along the front edge of the motherboard and plug it into the socket labeled SYS_FAN on the right front side of the motherboard.
- There is a socket on the right back portion of the motherboard labeled NB_FAN. This is for the North Bridge Fan. As far as I can tell, the North Bridge chip has only a heat sink, so this socket will not be used.
- Locate a ribbon cable with an light green connector and plug light green into the light green socket on the front central edge of the motherboard labeled IDE. Leave the other end of this ribbon cable disconnected at this time.
- Locate a yellow cable labeled Serial ATA on a connector and plug the straight connector into the socket labeled SATA2_0 on the right front of the motherboard.
- In the left front of the case, locate a cable labeled Power LED on the connector. Locate the header (a set of pins coming out of the motherboard) labeled PWR_LED. Both the connector and the header have 3-pins, although there are only two wires in the connector. Insert the connector with the non-white wire toward the back of the motherboard.
On the front right of the motherboard is a header labeled F_PANEL. This is the most complicated portion of the electrical wiring so proceed carefully. - In the left front of the case, locate a cable labeled Power SW on its connector. This connector is plugged into pins 6 and 8 of F_PANEL. These pins are on the left hand side of the header and are the second pair from the back of the case in the header. The printed circuit board is brown beneath these two pins.
- In the left front of the case, locate a cable labeled H.D.D. LED on its connector. This connector is plugged into pins 1 and 3 of F_PANEL. These pins are on the right hand side of the header and are closest to the back of the case. The printed circuit board is blue beneath these two pins. Insert the connector with the non-white wire toward the back of the motherboard.
- In the left front of the case, locate a cable labeled Reset SW on its connector. This connector is plugged into pins 5 and 7 of F_PANEL. The pins are on the right hand side of the header and are the second pair from the back of the case in the header. The printed circuit board is green beneath these two pins.
- In the case's bag of small parts, locate a short pair of wires with a small electronic component on one end and a connector labeled Speaker on the other. Plug this connector into pins 14, 16, 18, and 20 of F_PANEL. These are the remaining 4 pins on the left hand side of the header, closest to the front of the case.
- Locate the connector labeled AC'97. Its cable should be running under the motherboard and the connector should be outside the case on the left hand side. Plug this connector into the header labeled F_AUDIO on the center back of the motherboard. (Note, the pins for the connector labeled HD Audio, according to the case's Installation Guide, do not match the pins of the F_AUDIO header, but the AC'97 does, so I'm assuming that AC'97 is the right connector to use.)
- My DVD drive did not come with a CD audio cable, so I did not connect anything to the CD_IN socket on the right back of the motherboard.
- I did not connect anything to the header labeled SPDIF_IO on the right back of the motherboard.
- In the center front of the case, locate the cable with the connector labeled USB. Plug this connector to the header labeled F_USB1 on the right front of the motherboard.
- In the center front of the case, locate the cable with the connector labeled 1394. Plug this connector to the socket labeled F_1394_1 on the right center of the motherboard.
- I did not plug anything into the LPT, COM or CI headers.
Almost done! - Install the optical drive cage into the case. Take the ribbon cable plugged into the IDE socket and plug it into the back of the DVD drive. Take the end of the 4-pin power cable and plug it into the back of the DVD drive.
- The fan on the right hand side of the case has two connectors, one of which has a 4 pins. Plug this connector into the middle connector of the 4-pin power cable.
- Take the end of the SATA power cable and plug it into the hard drive. Take the right angled connector at the end of the yellow Serial ATA cable and plug it into the hard drive. Install it such that the cable points down.
- Reinstall the support bar, replacing the thumb screws and black screws.
- Reinstall the hard drive cage, replacing the black screws in the case and silver screws in the support bar.
- Reinstall the case top, replacing the thumb screws.
- This is a most important step, resist the urge to plug the machine in and turn it on. As hard as it is, I strongly suggest putting the machine aside for a few hours or overnight and come back to it later, double checking that the cables are all plugged in in the right place.
Congratulations, you're completed the most complicated part of this operation. There will further steps, but they're child's play compared to this.
Order Up!
So, here is my HTPC, in all of its expensive glory:
With all the discounts and mail in rebates, this total system came to approximately $750.00. The most expensive components were the case ($170), the tuner ($113) and Windows ($130). The least expensive was the DVD burner ($25).
I want to take a moment to give a plug to the newegg.com website. A lot of the research for this project was accomplished on this site, reading their through specifications of the products. I might have saved some money by shopping around, but as helpful as their site was, I would have felt guilty going some where else. (You, of course, are encouraged to shop where ever you like.)
| Item | Size | Comments |
| LIAN LI Black Aluminum PC-C37B | Micro ATX | Media Center / HTPC Case |
| AMD Athlon X2 4850e CPU | 2.5 GHz | 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor |
| CORSAIR XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5C | 4GB | 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory |
| GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H | micro ATX | AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard |
| SeaSonic M12II SS-430GM | 430W | ATX12V 2.2 /EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power |
| Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AACS | 640 Gb | 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 Gb/s 3.5" internal hard drive |
| LG DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model GH22NP20 | 22X | |
| Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 | Dual TV Tuner/Encoder 1229 PCI-Express x1 Interface | |
| Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 64-bit for System Builders DVD |
With all the discounts and mail in rebates, this total system came to approximately $750.00. The most expensive components were the case ($170), the tuner ($113) and Windows ($130). The least expensive was the DVD burner ($25).
I want to take a moment to give a plug to the newegg.com website. A lot of the research for this project was accomplished on this site, reading their through specifications of the products. I might have saved some money by shopping around, but as helpful as their site was, I would have felt guilty going some where else. (You, of course, are encouraged to shop where ever you like.)
Wizard of OS
At last, a subject that I already know something about.
There two choices for operating systems to run on your HTPC: Windows and some version of Linux (Red Hat, Ubuntu, CentOS, to name a few). So which OS is the best? Well, to misquote Hans Solo, I've been from one end of this galaxy to the other and I've seen a lot of crazy operating systems, and I don't really like either Windows or Linux. Window's problems are well known and I won't dredge them up here, plus it costs money. Linux is free, but you get what you pay for. I'm rather a fan of the original UNIX myself, although I realize that it was not perfect. At least, when an upgrade to the operating system came out, programs that use to work will continue to do so, because UNIX understood the importance of backward compatibility. Linux seems to take the attitude that, no one uses that programming interface any more, so we don't need to support it. Well guys, not every software application is open source, and not every programming shop wants to spend time rewriting their app because of your whims. We'd rather spend time putting in new features. (Getting off soapbox now.)
I would say that, if you're familiar with Linux and like a challenge, then pick your favorite flavor and go for it. Otherwise, buy Windows.
There is also one other driving factor and that is the driver software for the hardware, such as the TV Tuner cards. If there isn't software support for your hardware in the operating system of your choice, then you're shiny new hardware is useless to you. This is also true of the software that you are planning to use to record programs. Look at the operating systems that it supports, and let that drive your decision. In my case, the TV Tuner card that I chose is supported on Windows Vista but not Linux, so Vista it is.
The next question is which version of Windows? And I don't mean XP vs Vista vs Windows 7. I mean Home vs Business vs Ultimate. I suspect that Home is sufficient for an HTPC, but see which version that your recording software supports. In most cases the recording software won't care which version of Windows, but you should check anyway. Wait, what's this? It's a message from the future! It says, "Vista Business doesn't have have a DVD Decoder for playing DVDs and getting a cheap or free one is hard on 64-bit Vista. Get Home or Ultimate instead."
Then there comes the age old question: Retail vs OEM. OEM is significantly cheaper, but officially you should get that version if you are building this machine for resale and only if you are planning to support it yourself. So, if you already know something about Windows, and can are up to a challenge, buy the OEM version, otherwise buy Retail.
For my HTPC, I went with Windows Vista Business, because I am fond of the remote desktop feature. I also got the OEM version because, if there's a problem that I can't solve, Microsoft customer support won't be able answer it either. (I have also found that Microsoft's knowledge base articles have many, many answers in them. Go to msdn.microsoft.com to search them.) Finally, I got the 64-bit version, since the CPU is a 64-bit microprocessor. I've been warned that there may not be 64-bit driver software for all of my hardware, but I'm going to plow ahead.
You may have noticed that I have not touched much on the recording software. This is because I haven't done the research on them. I'm planning of starting with the trail version of Sage TV and seeing how that works. Once I have some opinions on this subject, I'll blog about it.
So, next up, the final shopping list.
There two choices for operating systems to run on your HTPC: Windows and some version of Linux (Red Hat, Ubuntu, CentOS, to name a few). So which OS is the best? Well, to misquote Hans Solo, I've been from one end of this galaxy to the other and I've seen a lot of crazy operating systems, and I don't really like either Windows or Linux. Window's problems are well known and I won't dredge them up here, plus it costs money. Linux is free, but you get what you pay for. I'm rather a fan of the original UNIX myself, although I realize that it was not perfect. At least, when an upgrade to the operating system came out, programs that use to work will continue to do so, because UNIX understood the importance of backward compatibility. Linux seems to take the attitude that, no one uses that programming interface any more, so we don't need to support it. Well guys, not every software application is open source, and not every programming shop wants to spend time rewriting their app because of your whims. We'd rather spend time putting in new features. (Getting off soapbox now.)
I would say that, if you're familiar with Linux and like a challenge, then pick your favorite flavor and go for it. Otherwise, buy Windows.
There is also one other driving factor and that is the driver software for the hardware, such as the TV Tuner cards. If there isn't software support for your hardware in the operating system of your choice, then you're shiny new hardware is useless to you. This is also true of the software that you are planning to use to record programs. Look at the operating systems that it supports, and let that drive your decision. In my case, the TV Tuner card that I chose is supported on Windows Vista but not Linux, so Vista it is.
The next question is which version of Windows? And I don't mean XP vs Vista vs Windows 7. I mean Home vs Business vs Ultimate. I suspect that Home is sufficient for an HTPC, but see which version that your recording software supports. In most cases the recording software won't care which version of Windows, but you should check anyway. Wait, what's this? It's a message from the future! It says, "Vista Business doesn't have have a DVD Decoder for playing DVDs and getting a cheap or free one is hard on 64-bit Vista. Get Home or Ultimate instead."
Then there comes the age old question: Retail vs OEM. OEM is significantly cheaper, but officially you should get that version if you are building this machine for resale and only if you are planning to support it yourself. So, if you already know something about Windows, and can are up to a challenge, buy the OEM version, otherwise buy Retail.
For my HTPC, I went with Windows Vista Business, because I am fond of the remote desktop feature. I also got the OEM version because, if there's a problem that I can't solve, Microsoft customer support won't be able answer it either. (I have also found that Microsoft's knowledge base articles have many, many answers in them. Go to msdn.microsoft.com to search them.) Finally, I got the 64-bit version, since the CPU is a 64-bit microprocessor. I've been warned that there may not be 64-bit driver software for all of my hardware, but I'm going to plow ahead.
You may have noticed that I have not touched much on the recording software. This is because I haven't done the research on them. I'm planning of starting with the trail version of Sage TV and seeing how that works. Once I have some opinions on this subject, I'll blog about it.
So, next up, the final shopping list.
To Capture and Record
Capture cards, also known as TV Tuner cards, allow you to watch live and record TV on your computer. There are quite a few manufacturers of the cards, but the best known (and perhaps market leader) is Hauppauge.
One obvious thing about the TV-Tuner cards, but I'll point it out anyway, is that they are usually expansion cards, although some plug into a USB port. The expansion card variety plug in to your motherboard at a 90 degree angle. The nice thing about this is, as they make better ones, it will be possible to upgrade yours. The other thing to consider is that your motherboard has a limited number of expansion slots. If you want to be able to record lots of programs at once, you're going to need lots of expansion slots, and perhaps you should consider an ATX, rather than microATX motherboard.
On the motherboard that I picked there are 4 expansion slots. One is a PCI Express x16 slot. This is a high speed expansion port which is intended for a HD video graphics card. Another is a PCI Express x1 slot. This use to be the standard video graphics slot until HD came along. Finally, the motherboard has two standard PCI slots. You can get tuner cards for PCI Express x1, standard PCI and USB. So, when buying a TV Tuner card, you need to consider which slot you're going to plug it into, and you need to consider its height. The Lian Li case is a low profile case, so we should consider only low profile cards.
We also need to consider what types of inputs that the card can process and how many it can process at once. The latter is, of course, as many as possible, so let's worry about the signals. There are two potential sources for TV signals, cable and over the air. Until recently, it was impossible to record the cable HD signals, but that is changing. There is a new standard called ClearQAM, for broadcasting unencrypted (that is, free) digital channel over the cable system, and there are new cards for capturing that signal.
Let's take a moment to consider the different standards for television signals: NTSC, ATSC, and QAM. NTSC stands for "National Television System Committee" and it is the standard analog television signal that has been broadcast for years. (See the article at Wikipedia for more information.) ATSC stands for "Advanced Television Systems Committee" and it is the standard for Digital Television (DTV) that was defined by the FCC. (See the article at HDTV Primer for more information.) Finally, QAM stands for Quadrature Amplitude Modulation. This is a sophisticated method for transmitting digital signals. (See the article at tech-faq.com for details. There is another article at Wikipedia too.) While NTSC and ATSC describe programs broadcast over the air, QAM is the standard used by the cable systems. The term ClearQAM describes programs that are broadcast over the cable "in the clear", that is, not encrypted. Typically, a digital program is that available over the air is usually broadcast over the cable in ClearQAM.
So, what does that mean for us? Since the over the air stations are all switching to digital, it would seem like we don't need a TV-Tuner that supports NTSC, but the cable system is still using that standard for its non-digital channels. ClearQAM support is a definite necessity if we expect to record from digital cable. ATSC is only needed if we also want to record over the air digital programs. Thus when picking a card, you need to focus on one that has the recording capabilities that we need. It would be nice to have a card that does it all.
But, there is one other thing that the card can do to truly do it all, and that is to be able to record s-video and composite video so that we can record video from a camcorder (to archive those family vacations videos) or cable boxes (to record pay cable channels).
If what we wanted to do is simply capture the digital broadcasts, we could get away with a card that fit in the standard PCI slot, but, if we want it all, then we're going to need to get a card that uses the PCI Express x1, and fortunately, we have one of them available in the motherboard.
Is there a card that does all of this? Fortunately, there are many to choose from. I picked the Hauppauge 2250. It can record two programs at once, from both analog and digital sources. This is also a low profile card. This card seems to have everything, but let's take a closer look. Because it is a low profile card, it is hard to get all of its inputs, TV, FM, and two sets of A/V (composite video and audio), on the mounting bracket of the card. Instead the second A/V set are on an auxiliary mounting bracket. Thus, while the 2250 takes only one PCI slot, it can take take two mounting brackets, if you want to record a second set of sources. Plus, the description of the card promises to be able to record two programs at once: "record two TV programs at the same time: two analog cable TV channels, two digital TV channels or one analog cable and one clear QAM digital cable TV channel". What this is trying to say is that there is only one TV connector on the card. Thus you can't record a ATSC and a cable channel at the same time. It is either "over the air" or "cable". (I don't know about you, but I could live without the FM input in order to be able to record both ATSC and ClearQAM at the same time.) I would be unhappy about having to give up a PCI slot for the second AV input, but I'm not planning on using the PCI Express x16 slot any time soon. And I sincerely doubt that I'll ever use the second A/V input, so if I ever want use the PCI Express x16, removing the second mounting bracket won't be that big of a loss.
Another question about the 2250 is whether you get it with a remote or not. The remote control is necessary for controlling the recording software that uses the card. Most are MCE remotes, which stands for Microsoft Media Center Edition. You'll probably just need one of these, so any other TV-Tuner cards that you buy can merely be the card itself.
One other thing about the 2250 is that it has a "blaster" capability. What this means is that, not only can it receive remote control signals, it can also broadcast them, enabling it to control other devices like your cable box. No more setting up a pay cable program twice, once on the VCR and once on the cable box, in order to record it. This card can truly do it all.
Had enough yet with this complicated topic? Well, there's one other thing to touch on: If you decide that you would like to record over the air digital programs, you'll need a digital antenna. Getting an outside antenna works best, but an indoor one may be possible. Go to Antenna Web to find out for sure.
So now, I think, we've covered all the hardware pieces that go into an HTPC. Let's briefly talk about the operating system next before we get the complete shopping list.
One obvious thing about the TV-Tuner cards, but I'll point it out anyway, is that they are usually expansion cards, although some plug into a USB port. The expansion card variety plug in to your motherboard at a 90 degree angle. The nice thing about this is, as they make better ones, it will be possible to upgrade yours. The other thing to consider is that your motherboard has a limited number of expansion slots. If you want to be able to record lots of programs at once, you're going to need lots of expansion slots, and perhaps you should consider an ATX, rather than microATX motherboard.
On the motherboard that I picked there are 4 expansion slots. One is a PCI Express x16 slot. This is a high speed expansion port which is intended for a HD video graphics card. Another is a PCI Express x1 slot. This use to be the standard video graphics slot until HD came along. Finally, the motherboard has two standard PCI slots. You can get tuner cards for PCI Express x1, standard PCI and USB. So, when buying a TV Tuner card, you need to consider which slot you're going to plug it into, and you need to consider its height. The Lian Li case is a low profile case, so we should consider only low profile cards.
We also need to consider what types of inputs that the card can process and how many it can process at once. The latter is, of course, as many as possible, so let's worry about the signals. There are two potential sources for TV signals, cable and over the air. Until recently, it was impossible to record the cable HD signals, but that is changing. There is a new standard called ClearQAM, for broadcasting unencrypted (that is, free) digital channel over the cable system, and there are new cards for capturing that signal.
Let's take a moment to consider the different standards for television signals: NTSC, ATSC, and QAM. NTSC stands for "National Television System Committee" and it is the standard analog television signal that has been broadcast for years. (See the article at Wikipedia for more information.) ATSC stands for "Advanced Television Systems Committee" and it is the standard for Digital Television (DTV) that was defined by the FCC. (See the article at HDTV Primer for more information.) Finally, QAM stands for Quadrature Amplitude Modulation. This is a sophisticated method for transmitting digital signals. (See the article at tech-faq.com for details. There is another article at Wikipedia too.) While NTSC and ATSC describe programs broadcast over the air, QAM is the standard used by the cable systems. The term ClearQAM describes programs that are broadcast over the cable "in the clear", that is, not encrypted. Typically, a digital program is that available over the air is usually broadcast over the cable in ClearQAM.
So, what does that mean for us? Since the over the air stations are all switching to digital, it would seem like we don't need a TV-Tuner that supports NTSC, but the cable system is still using that standard for its non-digital channels. ClearQAM support is a definite necessity if we expect to record from digital cable. ATSC is only needed if we also want to record over the air digital programs. Thus when picking a card, you need to focus on one that has the recording capabilities that we need. It would be nice to have a card that does it all.
But, there is one other thing that the card can do to truly do it all, and that is to be able to record s-video and composite video so that we can record video from a camcorder (to archive those family vacations videos) or cable boxes (to record pay cable channels).
If what we wanted to do is simply capture the digital broadcasts, we could get away with a card that fit in the standard PCI slot, but, if we want it all, then we're going to need to get a card that uses the PCI Express x1, and fortunately, we have one of them available in the motherboard.
Is there a card that does all of this? Fortunately, there are many to choose from. I picked the Hauppauge 2250. It can record two programs at once, from both analog and digital sources. This is also a low profile card. This card seems to have everything, but let's take a closer look. Because it is a low profile card, it is hard to get all of its inputs, TV, FM, and two sets of A/V (composite video and audio), on the mounting bracket of the card. Instead the second A/V set are on an auxiliary mounting bracket. Thus, while the 2250 takes only one PCI slot, it can take take two mounting brackets, if you want to record a second set of sources. Plus, the description of the card promises to be able to record two programs at once: "record two TV programs at the same time: two analog cable TV channels, two digital TV channels or one analog cable and one clear QAM digital cable TV channel". What this is trying to say is that there is only one TV connector on the card. Thus you can't record a ATSC and a cable channel at the same time. It is either "over the air" or "cable". (I don't know about you, but I could live without the FM input in order to be able to record both ATSC and ClearQAM at the same time.) I would be unhappy about having to give up a PCI slot for the second AV input, but I'm not planning on using the PCI Express x16 slot any time soon. And I sincerely doubt that I'll ever use the second A/V input, so if I ever want use the PCI Express x16, removing the second mounting bracket won't be that big of a loss.
Another question about the 2250 is whether you get it with a remote or not. The remote control is necessary for controlling the recording software that uses the card. Most are MCE remotes, which stands for Microsoft Media Center Edition. You'll probably just need one of these, so any other TV-Tuner cards that you buy can merely be the card itself.
One other thing about the 2250 is that it has a "blaster" capability. What this means is that, not only can it receive remote control signals, it can also broadcast them, enabling it to control other devices like your cable box. No more setting up a pay cable program twice, once on the VCR and once on the cable box, in order to record it. This card can truly do it all.
Had enough yet with this complicated topic? Well, there's one other thing to touch on: If you decide that you would like to record over the air digital programs, you'll need a digital antenna. Getting an outside antenna works best, but an indoor one may be possible. Go to Antenna Web to find out for sure.
So now, I think, we've covered all the hardware pieces that go into an HTPC. Let's briefly talk about the operating system next before we get the complete shopping list.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thanks for the memory
There's not much to say about computer memory, other that you need to get the right type and speed for your motherboard. There are two prevailing memory standards these days: DDR2 and DDR3. These are both "Dynamic Memory" because they have to be refreshed every few milliseconds or else their contents will be lost. On the other hand "Static Memory" keeps its contents as long there is power. Static memory would seem like the memory of choice, except that it takes 6 transistors on the integrated circuit to implement a single bit, where as dynamic memory takes merely one transistor and a capacitor. So you see, with dynamic memory, you can get 3 times more memory in the same space.
There are many differences between DDR2 and DDR3, and you can read an interesting article over at neoseeker to find out about them. The most important thing to know is, what type of memory does your motherboard take and what is the speed? The speed is the second number after the DDR specification. The higher the number, the faster the memory. Thus DDR2-1600 is twice as fast as DDR2-800. You can put faster memory in the motherboard than is recommended, but it is a waste of your money. The CPU will only pull data from the memory at the speed that it was designed.
For my HTPC, I picked 4 GB of Corsair memory. I'm not sure why I picked the Corsair, perhaps because the memory had a built in heat sink. (I know, not a very scientific method.)
One final note, DDR memory is always installed in pairs and one should not mix DDR memory sticks from different manufacturers. So, don't expect to cut costs by buying only one. Buy them in pairs, and mate them for life.
There's only one more piece of hardware left to discuss in an HTPC, and that is the video capture card, the thing that turns a HTPC into a DVR, so we'll tackle that next.
There are many differences between DDR2 and DDR3, and you can read an interesting article over at neoseeker to find out about them. The most important thing to know is, what type of memory does your motherboard take and what is the speed? The speed is the second number after the DDR specification. The higher the number, the faster the memory. Thus DDR2-1600 is twice as fast as DDR2-800. You can put faster memory in the motherboard than is recommended, but it is a waste of your money. The CPU will only pull data from the memory at the speed that it was designed.
For my HTPC, I picked 4 GB of Corsair memory. I'm not sure why I picked the Corsair, perhaps because the memory had a built in heat sink. (I know, not a very scientific method.)
One final note, DDR memory is always installed in pairs and one should not mix DDR memory sticks from different manufacturers. So, don't expect to cut costs by buying only one. Buy them in pairs, and mate them for life.
There's only one more piece of hardware left to discuss in an HTPC, and that is the video capture card, the thing that turns a HTPC into a DVR, so we'll tackle that next.
Blu Ray of my dreams
My original choice for an optical drive was a $160 Blu-Ray Read Write drive. That was going to be the jewel of the system, the apple of my eye, the motivating factor behind the entire project ... and then I got the total for the rest of the HTPC. That fancy Blu Ray drive turned into a budget buster. I finally took Judy's suggestion and got an inexpensive ($25) DVD burner.
Oh well, some day. That's the nice thing about building your own machine, upgrades are easy!
Oh well, some day. That's the nice thing about building your own machine, upgrades are easy!
On a clear disk, you can seek forever
My initial choice for a hard drive was a 1 Terabyte Western Digital. That is a mind boggling amount of storage and since the high def programs were going to be so large, I figured that I'd need every byte of it. However, as I was getting ready to make my actual order, I saw a customer review at Newegg where someone had bought 5 of them and had already returned 3. Not good odds, so I decided to go with something not quite so bleeding edge.
Instead I picked a Western Digital Caviar Green 640 GB disk drive. Assuming that the OS takes 200 GB and broadcast HD is about 6 GB per hour, that gives me about 73 hours of record time.
(Judy tells me that Sage TV recommends that I create a separate partition for the HD files with a large block size, like 64K, which is good to know before you install the operating system.)
One other point about hard drives to touch on: most hard drives these days communicate with the motherboard via a serial cable. They use what is known as the SATA (Serial AT Attachment) standard. Back in the day of the AT (Advance Technology) computer, the motherboard communicated with the hard drive via a ribbon cable with a lot of wires in parallel. This standard was called IDE, but it has now been renamed PATA (Parallel AT Attachment). However, now all hard drives use a serial connection with just a pair of wires. This simplifies the hardware, is faster, allows for full duplex (reading and writing simultaneously) and hot swapping of drives while in operation. See the Wikipedia Serial ATA article for more information.
Having said that, CD drives and DVD drives still tend to be PATA, although the Blu-Ray drive that I was going to buy was SATA.
And, speaking of that Blu-Ray drive, let's cover that next.
Instead I picked a Western Digital Caviar Green 640 GB disk drive. Assuming that the OS takes 200 GB and broadcast HD is about 6 GB per hour, that gives me about 73 hours of record time.
(Judy tells me that Sage TV recommends that I create a separate partition for the HD files with a large block size, like 64K, which is good to know before you install the operating system.)
One other point about hard drives to touch on: most hard drives these days communicate with the motherboard via a serial cable. They use what is known as the SATA (Serial AT Attachment) standard. Back in the day of the AT (Advance Technology) computer, the motherboard communicated with the hard drive via a ribbon cable with a lot of wires in parallel. This standard was called IDE, but it has now been renamed PATA (Parallel AT Attachment). However, now all hard drives use a serial connection with just a pair of wires. This simplifies the hardware, is faster, allows for full duplex (reading and writing simultaneously) and hot swapping of drives while in operation. See the Wikipedia Serial ATA article for more information.
Having said that, CD drives and DVD drives still tend to be PATA, although the Blu-Ray drive that I was going to buy was SATA.
And, speaking of that Blu-Ray drive, let's cover that next.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Power to the people
When it came to power supplies, my first thought was to total the wattage of the various components and get the power supply that was the best fit. However, this turned out to be hard as very few of the components had their wattage listed by Newegg . I then just picked a quiet power supply made by Lian Li, however Judy had a better suggestion: get a "modular" power supply. Modular power supplies have fixed cables for the motherboard, and then sockets in the power supply for plugging in cables to power the components that you have. This reduces the number of loose cables that are laying around in the case taking up room and blocking air flow.
She is partial to Seasonic and Corsair, but recommended that I look at an article at Silent PC Review for really quiet ones.
Finally, she recommended using Newegg's wattage calculator.
One thing to be careful about is to ensure that your power supply will work with your motherboard. There is an issue about 24-pin vs 20-pin power supplies. Apparently, 20-pins were the previous standard for motherboards, with 24 pins being the new standard.
I ended up getting SeaSonic M12II-SS430GM 430 watt modular power supply. This power supply also had CrossFire support, so if I ever did add a graphics card that was capable of interfacing with the graphics chip on the motherboard, the power supply would be ready.
The Gigabyte motherboard is described by Newegg as being a 24-pin motherboard, while the Seasonic power supply is described as a 20+4 pin power supply. (In reality, the Gigabyte has 4 pins of power supply separated from the other 20, so it may itself be a 20+4 pins motherboard. I'll find out soon.)
Judy assured me that 430 watts was more than enough for the system that I was building, so I didn't use the wattage calculator.
She is partial to Seasonic and Corsair, but recommended that I look at an article at Silent PC Review for really quiet ones.
Finally, she recommended using Newegg's wattage calculator.
One thing to be careful about is to ensure that your power supply will work with your motherboard. There is an issue about 24-pin vs 20-pin power supplies. Apparently, 20-pins were the previous standard for motherboards, with 24 pins being the new standard.
I ended up getting SeaSonic M12II-SS430GM 430 watt modular power supply. This power supply also had CrossFire support, so if I ever did add a graphics card that was capable of interfacing with the graphics chip on the motherboard, the power supply would be ready.
The Gigabyte motherboard is described by Newegg as being a 24-pin motherboard, while the Seasonic power supply is described as a 20+4 pin power supply. (In reality, the Gigabyte has 4 pins of power supply separated from the other 20, so it may itself be a 20+4 pins motherboard. I'll find out soon.)
Judy assured me that 430 watts was more than enough for the system that I was building, so I didn't use the wattage calculator.
On the case
So far I've said very little about the case, a Lian LI Black Case PC-C37B. I would have been happy to replace it with something better, but neither Steve and Judy had a problem with it.
It was always my intention to get a Micro ATX case, as I didn't think that a full size case was necessary. I looked for a bit at ITX motherboards, but they didn't have the expandability that I wanted, so a Micro ATX case was the call. I wish that I could say that I selected the Lian Li case after extensive market research, but in truth I just looked at Micro ATX cases at Newegg and found only one with a short enough profile to fit into the space for the HTPC. I also would have liked a case that had a status display built into it, but all of those cases were just too tall.
Later, I found a link to an article over at TechSpot where the case was favorably reviewed, so my decision wasn't too bad.
The only bad thing that I have to say about the case is that the instructions that came with it leave a lot to be desired. (For example, there isn't any information about where to install the power supply.)
As I have said, this case does not come with a power supply. A plus, I suppose (if you recognize that in advance), because you can pick a power supply with the size and features that you want. So, let's talk about power supplies next!
It was always my intention to get a Micro ATX case, as I didn't think that a full size case was necessary. I looked for a bit at ITX motherboards, but they didn't have the expandability that I wanted, so a Micro ATX case was the call. I wish that I could say that I selected the Lian Li case after extensive market research, but in truth I just looked at Micro ATX cases at Newegg and found only one with a short enough profile to fit into the space for the HTPC. I also would have liked a case that had a status display built into it, but all of those cases were just too tall.
Later, I found a link to an article over at TechSpot where the case was favorably reviewed, so my decision wasn't too bad.
The only bad thing that I have to say about the case is that the instructions that came with it leave a lot to be desired. (For example, there isn't any information about where to install the power supply.)
As I have said, this case does not come with a power supply. A plus, I suppose (if you recognize that in advance), because you can pick a power supply with the size and features that you want. So, let's talk about power supplies next!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The mother of all boards
Steve was still trying to get me to give up on the idea of having a separate graphics card to drive the HD output. He finally sold me when he told me that, if I wanted to add a graphics card later and it used the same chip manufacturer as the integrated graphics processor on the motherboard, the two GPU's could work together to render the graphics. Now, having graphics support on the motherboard didn't seem like such a waste.
A Micro ATX still seemed like a good form factor for the motherboard, even though it has a limited number of expansion slots. Still, with most of the I/O devices already on the motherboard, the need for expansion slots became significantly less.
I started by going to the Gigabyte website and selecting their motherboard product list. Then I chose the AM2 socket motherboards. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake, as the best graphics chips that the AM2 motherboards support is the AMD 740G. I eventually chose the Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2.
When I told Steve about my choice, he said "We can get you a better motherboard than that". With a little searching, he found the Gigabyte MA78GM-US2H, which uses the AMD 780G Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP). When I asked why this one over the other, he showed me a review comparing the 740's performance with the 780's and the same CPU chip. Both were able to play an HD sample nicely, but with the 740G, the CPU was running at 95% and with the 780G it was running at 5%. Thus, if I wanted to watch an HD program while the CPU was doing something in the background, like say recording another program, a motherboard that uses the 780G IGP is definitely the way to go.
I was not able to find the article that Steve showed me, but I did find an interesting one at TweakTown proposing the 4850e and 780g combination.
A Micro ATX still seemed like a good form factor for the motherboard, even though it has a limited number of expansion slots. Still, with most of the I/O devices already on the motherboard, the need for expansion slots became significantly less.
I started by going to the Gigabyte website and selecting their motherboard product list. Then I chose the AM2 socket motherboards. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake, as the best graphics chips that the AM2 motherboards support is the AMD 740G. I eventually chose the Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2.
When I told Steve about my choice, he said "We can get you a better motherboard than that". With a little searching, he found the Gigabyte MA78GM-US2H, which uses the AMD 780G Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP). When I asked why this one over the other, he showed me a review comparing the 740's performance with the 780's and the same CPU chip. Both were able to play an HD sample nicely, but with the 740G, the CPU was running at 95% and with the 780G it was running at 5%. Thus, if I wanted to watch an HD program while the CPU was doing something in the background, like say recording another program, a motherboard that uses the 780G IGP is definitely the way to go.
I was not able to find the article that Steve showed me, but I did find an interesting one at TweakTown proposing the 4850e and 780g combination.
Enter the CPU
Of course, the thing that I not carefully considered for my HTPC was the CPU to run it. Oh, I had a vague idea that I wanted it to be a 64-bit machine AMD machine, but that was about it. So, let's consider for a moment, those two requirements:
First, I wanted a 64-bit CPU because I just felt that when it came to crunching large video files, the more bits the better. In other words, instead of doubling the clock rate of the machine, just double the number of bits that are processed simultaneously. I don't have a source that I can site or empirical data, but when it comes to handling gigabytes of data, a 64-bit CPU just seemed prudent. In retrospect, this requirement might be a problem for some people because older video capture cards may not have 64-bit drivers available from the manufacturer. However, I was buying new hardware, so I decided to keep this requirement.
Second, I wanted an AMD chip. This is mostly because I'm not a fan of Intel's near monopoly on the chip market. I think some competition is a good thing. Also, AMD was first to market with a 64-bit PC chip, so in this case, they were the actual innovators. This may not be the best reasoning, but it looks like both chip makers 64-bit offerings are capable of driving a HTPC, so an emotional decision is not totally out of line.
OK, so let's say that you are more open minded than myself and you want to pick the manufacturer impartially, then I suggest going to www.avsforum.com. There is a sticky thread at the top of the forum entitled "Guide to Building an HTPC". In this guide, you'll find a lot more information than I'm going to throw at you, plus a discussion of the two microprocessor families. It's a good read, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty details.
However, to get to the heart of the matter, I also recommend looking at www.cyberlink.com for the article "What are the recommended CPU requirements to play Blu-ray Disc titles on my computer?" And let's face it, trying to play Blu-Ray is a better requirement than "Sticking it to Intel."
So, there a lot AMD 64-bit CPUs to choose from, which one is the best? Judy's recommendation was to look for a low power one. The lower the power, the less heat and the less that the fans in the case have to work. For this, her suggestion was the Athlon 4850e. It is the lowest wattage CPU of the bunch, and only .2 GHz slower than the 65 watt CPU that I had chosen at random the first time.
Another nice thing about this CPU is that it uses a AM2 type socket and DDR2 memory. These are established standards, and many motherboards will support them.
So, with the CPU in virtual hand, it was time to pick the mother of all boards. Knowing the CPU let me narrow the requirements for the board quite a bit, but I still needed help from my friend Steve picking one.
First, I wanted a 64-bit CPU because I just felt that when it came to crunching large video files, the more bits the better. In other words, instead of doubling the clock rate of the machine, just double the number of bits that are processed simultaneously. I don't have a source that I can site or empirical data, but when it comes to handling gigabytes of data, a 64-bit CPU just seemed prudent. In retrospect, this requirement might be a problem for some people because older video capture cards may not have 64-bit drivers available from the manufacturer. However, I was buying new hardware, so I decided to keep this requirement.
Second, I wanted an AMD chip. This is mostly because I'm not a fan of Intel's near monopoly on the chip market. I think some competition is a good thing. Also, AMD was first to market with a 64-bit PC chip, so in this case, they were the actual innovators. This may not be the best reasoning, but it looks like both chip makers 64-bit offerings are capable of driving a HTPC, so an emotional decision is not totally out of line.
OK, so let's say that you are more open minded than myself and you want to pick the manufacturer impartially, then I suggest going to www.avsforum.com. There is a sticky thread at the top of the forum entitled "Guide to Building an HTPC". In this guide, you'll find a lot more information than I'm going to throw at you, plus a discussion of the two microprocessor families. It's a good read, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty details.
However, to get to the heart of the matter, I also recommend looking at www.cyberlink.com for the article "What are the recommended CPU requirements to play Blu-ray Disc titles on my computer?" And let's face it, trying to play Blu-Ray is a better requirement than "Sticking it to Intel."
So, there a lot AMD 64-bit CPUs to choose from, which one is the best? Judy's recommendation was to look for a low power one. The lower the power, the less heat and the less that the fans in the case have to work. For this, her suggestion was the Athlon 4850e. It is the lowest wattage CPU of the bunch, and only .2 GHz slower than the 65 watt CPU that I had chosen at random the first time.
Another nice thing about this CPU is that it uses a AM2 type socket and DDR2 memory. These are established standards, and many motherboards will support them.
So, with the CPU in virtual hand, it was time to pick the mother of all boards. Knowing the CPU let me narrow the requirements for the board quite a bit, but I still needed help from my friend Steve picking one.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Misconceptions from the start
My original thought about building a HTPC was that I wanted a motherboard that was as free of graphics support as I could get it. It seemed to me that this was an area of rapid change, and getting a motherboard with integrated graphics was a just locking myself into outdated technology. I didn't mind the motherboard having keyboard, mouse or network support. Those things were fairly stable, but each year brings newer, faster graphics processors. Why lock into today's GPU when next year's will be better? If I choose a motherboard without built-in graphics from the start, then I would merely have to replace the graphics card, not the whole motherboard.
Largely, I still believe this, but the reality is that finding a vanilla motherboard is just darn near impossible.
Below is my first attempt to design an HTPC:
The first problem with this list of components is that the tuner is not a low profile card, while the case is. Fortunately Judy, my hardware Sensei, pointed this out. She also pointed out that the memory that I chosen was twice as fast as what the proposed CPU would support. However, even she missed that an important thing was missing from this list of components: the case had no power supply! Fortunately, I wasn't ready to plunk down my money yet, so I mediated on this list for a few weeks before I created my second list.
The motherboard that I chose did not have an HDMI output on it, and that was what I wanted. However, I was apparently the only one who liked this motherboard. In reviews of it, most people were unhappy at the outdated chip set that was being used on the board. One reviewer complained that Gigabyte was selling cost-reduced board at full cost.
The biggest problem with my first HTPC design was that I proceeded from a false assumption. I started with the case. Everything else had to fit within it. In my next post, I'll start with something more basic and much more important.
Largely, I still believe this, but the reality is that finding a vanilla motherboard is just darn near impossible.
Below is my first attempt to design an HTPC:
| Item | Size | Cost | Comments |
| Lian LI Black Case PC-C37B | 3.7" | $159.99 | 1 CD/DVD Drivebay + 2 Internal Drive Bays 4 Expansion Slots |
| Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P | Micro ATX | $52.99 | 1 PATA (2 Dev Max) + 2 SATA + 1 PCI Express X16 + 1 PCI Express + 2 PCI Slots |
| AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200 | 2.7 GHz | $56 | |
| Kingston HyperX T1 Series Memory | 4GB | $54.99 | 240 pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) |
| Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit | $99.99 | ||
| Blu-Ray DVD Burner | $159.99 | CD-R Burn Speed 40X | |
| Western Digital Hard Drive | 1 TB | $94.99 | |
| Gigabyte GV-R435OC-512I Low Profile | $39.99 | Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 20 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile | |
| Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1800 | $89.99 | Media Center Kit Dual TV Tuner 1299 PCI-Express x1 Interface | |
| ----------------- | |||
| Total | 831.92 |
The first problem with this list of components is that the tuner is not a low profile card, while the case is. Fortunately Judy, my hardware Sensei, pointed this out. She also pointed out that the memory that I chosen was twice as fast as what the proposed CPU would support. However, even she missed that an important thing was missing from this list of components: the case had no power supply! Fortunately, I wasn't ready to plunk down my money yet, so I mediated on this list for a few weeks before I created my second list.
The motherboard that I chose did not have an HDMI output on it, and that was what I wanted. However, I was apparently the only one who liked this motherboard. In reviews of it, most people were unhappy at the outdated chip set that was being used on the board. One reviewer complained that Gigabyte was selling cost-reduced board at full cost.
The biggest problem with my first HTPC design was that I proceeded from a false assumption. I started with the case. Everything else had to fit within it. In my next post, I'll start with something more basic and much more important.
In the beginning...
Just to be clear about this, I'm not a hardware guy at all. The last electronic thing that I can remember is trying to construct a photo timer in high school using LED displays and flip-flop ICs. (This was quite a while ago.) I managed to short the high voltage from the power supply into my hard work and, poof, it all went up in smoke. So, I decided to stick with software where my mistakes did not cost so much.
However, I have a good friend, Judy, who is a hardware type of gal and she convinced me that building my own HTPC was possible, even for me, so I decided to give it a try. I also have my friend Steve at work giving me sage advice. He has mostly worked on upgrading production computers to be HTPC's, but his help and encouragement is greatly appreciated.
I am having a lot of fun doing this and I'm learning a lot along the way. I discovered that there is a lot to learn before even starting and it is a pity that its not collected in one place. www.avsforum.com is a good place to start, but it is rather like trying to drink for a fire hose. As I discussed my weekend's efforts at work, a friend said "You really should write a blog about your experiences." And he is absolutely correct. I'm fairly good at expressing myself, so I could write up my experiences in order to amuse my friends and inform others at the same time.
And so, where to begin? I'm fairly far along in the process, but I think that I'd like to take a moment and begin at the start.
However, I have a good friend, Judy, who is a hardware type of gal and she convinced me that building my own HTPC was possible, even for me, so I decided to give it a try. I also have my friend Steve at work giving me sage advice. He has mostly worked on upgrading production computers to be HTPC's, but his help and encouragement is greatly appreciated.
I am having a lot of fun doing this and I'm learning a lot along the way. I discovered that there is a lot to learn before even starting and it is a pity that its not collected in one place. www.avsforum.com is a good place to start, but it is rather like trying to drink for a fire hose. As I discussed my weekend's efforts at work, a friend said "You really should write a blog about your experiences." And he is absolutely correct. I'm fairly good at expressing myself, so I could write up my experiences in order to amuse my friends and inform others at the same time.
And so, where to begin? I'm fairly far along in the process, but I think that I'd like to take a moment and begin at the start.
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