lilraver018

wow not much comments on the great build. SFF with gaming capability pretty awesome. Can you tell me how do you enjoy the 4550 video card? Have you do any gaming at 1080p?

C-bro

Can you describe the HD recording process? That's what I really want an HTPC for. Could you explain
- source ie. satellite/cable/HD or SD
- how you're connecting it
- what kind of quality you get

I dabbled a bit with the PVR-150 for analog TV broadcast and it was very poor quality. Ideally I would want a "transparent" capture device between a set-top box that decodes the signal, along the HDCP signal path that captures and outputs to the display. As far as I know, no such thing exists except in a professional setting for thousands of dollars. There doesn't seem to be a consumer product that allows you to stay in the digital domain in all parts of the video path.

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Automatically backup files - Why computers have clocks

EvilGenius007

I enjoy that it's silent, cool, and has a great mix of outputs. I haven't tried any 1080 (or 1920x1200) gaming with it, but I may bench the system soon on some of the Source-engine games.

I'm afraid for your sake that I'm not doing anything fancy. I'm recording OTA digital HD broadcasts. It works great for what it is, though. I installed the tuner card, booted up, ran the included software, started Windows Media Center & pointed it at my tuner. A few simple questions later, remembering to connect my HD antenna, and I was able to use the guide in WMC to schedule recordings, jump between live programs on various channels, etc.

The hoops one has to go through for maintaining digital signal while recording HDCP streams from satellite or cable ARE still ridiculous, as far as I know. Personally I think if there were some sort of peer to peer filesharing programs that made those same shows available (sometimes even before they air) without the hassles, well... the premium networks like HBO & Showtime would probably drive paying customers away in torrents.

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lilraver018

Hmm i appreciate the quick response. keep up updated on the build. I plan to build something similar in the future and might use your build a s a reference.

XAnarchy

The z5500 speakers, do they play HD audio? Im not too crash hot with the whole audio side of HD. But from my understanding if i wanted HD audio i would need a HD sound card (like your xonar) and a HD amplifier/speaker system.

Also if they dont play HD, do you get better sound with just the xonar, as opposed to the on board sound?

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The Official MSI 790FX-GD70 Owners Thread

Currently modifying my Mozart TX - Enjoy!
XFX 5770 Tri-Fire Coming soon.

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EvilGenius007

I went with the Xonar because it was relatively low cost (~$55 after MIR), had a great reputation, and allowed me to connect my speakers by optical digital rather than analog or coaxial digital. It's also been alot easier to set up driver-side in Win7 than the onboard Realtek was. And, while it may just be a figment of my imagination (or a subconscious effort to justify spending $55), they do sound better now.

As it turns out, they also do Dolby Digital onboard, which ... means something. All I know is movies & TV sounds come out of all 5 speakers, plus the subwoofer, and they sound great.

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EvilGenius007

Episode Four: Finished?!

The "Final" Upgrades
The siren's song of new hardware has been especially fierce over the last few months, and the HTPC has benefited more than any of my other systems. I was able to locate a pair of reasonably priced components for what I figure to be the "optimal" dual hard drive setup, consisting of an adequately large & fast "OS drive" SSD and a high capacity & low power "storage" drive. I relocated my components to what I consider one of the most attractive low-profile cases. I purchased, installed, and configured a retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium, and loaded it with a number of commercial & freeware applications/plugins/extensions to enhance its out-of-the-box functionality. (I do intend to discuss the software end of things in the next episode, so please check back for that--sooner rather than later!)

Oh, yeah--I also finally got a real TV, a Samsung 46"!


(more) Component-by-component reviews
SOLID STATE DISK: OCZ Summit 60GB Sata II 2.5" SSD {manu} {NewEgg}
Overall: 10/10
Pros:
* silent
* fast
* soooo small
Cons:
* pricey, more so now then when I ordered
Summary: I'd been wanting to try an SSD for some time, but I felt like 30GB was insufficient for use with an OS and the number of software programs I tend to install. I have found that I've been installing fewer programs or, at least programs with smaller hard drive footprints, than I had expected. While I could be getting by on a 30GB drive, I'm happy to have the space if I do ever decide to go nuts installing games. The product itself has been more than adequate, providing fast boots & installs as expected. After 1 month of day-to-day use there has been absolutely no apparent slow-down.

STORAGE HARD DISK: Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green WD20EADS {manu} {NewEgg}
Overall: 9/10
Pros:
* quiet
* fast enough
Cons:
* large cost premium compared to 1.5TB models
Summary: Not much to say. I now own the 1TB (desktop) and 2TB (HTPC) Caviar Green and absolutely love them. Sure, they're not as snappy as a 10K RPM Raptor or SSD, but they stack up favorably against any of the older 7200RPM drives I have used in the past. (I don't have much experience with the newer WD Caviar Black / Samsung F3 / Seagate 7200.12 drives to compare to, though).

CASE & PSU: Antec MicroFusion Remote 350 (and integrated LCD) {manu} {NewEgg}
Overall: 7/10
Pros:
* attractive outer appearance
* good build quality
* trustworthy & seemingly efficient PSU
Cons:
* insanely cramped, even for a case this size
* questionable layout of internal chambers & cables
* adjusting fan speeds requires opening case
* software for LCD control easy to... not love
Summary: While I don't regret buying this case, there are certainly some mitigating factors in my experience. First, there is no abundance of space in the interior. Installing the motherboard was a challenge because the the 2mm of colored plastic projecting from the audio ports made the motherboard exactly as wide as the available space--no small amount of frustration was experienced before the necessary angle was achieved and the board finally slid into place. Next, it quickly became apparent that there was just barely enough space for the optical drive to fit over the RAM... and in front of the CPU cooler. Speaking of which, there was just barely enough space for the CPU cooler to fit under the top, the cross-piece litterally nudges the fan shroud down, but just misses the fan blades. And the location of the LCD panel, with it's removal required to replace the HDD... the fact that I had to wedge my 2.5" SSD into a tiny smidge of space below the optical drive. With no space to spare, it seems Antec still felt the need to ensure that every cable would reach at least twice as far as it would ever possibly need to, leading to a great challenge in wire management.

On the other hand, the LCD is bright and sharp. The outside appearance is striking and very high-quality. The clever rubber feet help keep it quiet. Once I replaced the stock Tri-Cools with fans that dynamically adjust their speed (3x Arctic Cooling PWM Sharing 80mmx25mm fans), it's essentially silent at ~6 feet away.

Long story longer, it's a good case but it certainly offers its challenges.

HD TV: Samsung 46" 1080p 120Hz LCD LN46B630 {manu} {NewEgg}
Overall: 9/10
Pros:
* large, clear image
* good color (to my untrained eye)
* great value for this size & feature set
* addt'l features (DLNA) unlockable by manipulating Service Menu
Cons:
* limited PIP functionality: one input for PIP must be the coaxial/antenna, meaning only ClearQAM cable channels or OTA signals can be used for 1/2 the image
* only supports 60Hz (or below) inputs, despite boasting 120Hz panel response--no 3-D monitor functionality for me!
* limited color adjustment options for some inputs
Summary: Very good TV. It's large, bright & clear, and a joy to watch. The controls are simple & relatively intuitive. A good variety of color adjustment is available for most inputs, however the DVI/HDMI-1 input lacks some options available to HDMI-2 & -3 inputs (and probably 4). Nice integrated USB playback interface. Main gripe is not being able to choose any 2 inputs for PIP and instead being locked in to using the "antenna" as one. There are a huge variety of features for the PIP otherwise, but for whatever reason Samsung didn't seem to think it was important to be able to select which 2 inputs you will be using! If this was fixed by a firmware update, I'd be perfectly content to lose the "hacked" DLNA functionality to be able to side-by-side my HTPC & cable box.

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EvilGenius007

The cord-crowded interior, once fans had been replaced.


Trying to show how little space the CPU cooler leaves for the ram & video cards.


Fortunately, there was this convenient patch of space for "mounting" my 2.5" SSD. Which reminds me, I need to remember to pick up some removable 3M double-sided tape before I move this around too much.


Beginning to tame the cord mess...


If you look at the back corner of the optical drive, you'll see why I think it would be a bad idea to use RAM with tall heat-spreaders in this case. There just isn't much room to spare.


My best efforts at cord management. I really need some shorter SATA cables, and a better selection of left/right-angled cords at that.


With the Samsung T260 25.5" LCD...


... and after it's hit with the grow ray. (But before I cleared up the slight cable mess in the background).

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EvilGenius007

TV review posted (2 posts up), finally. Working on a software write-up now, but I still need to tweak some things, and take some screenshots when I get back home. Also intend to write about the ever increasing variety of input peripherals, when time permits.

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Philbar71

Nice job. Can you tell me a little more about that case's LCD screen and exactly what it displays.

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Virginia Overclockers Club

545MHz FSB http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=549789