Freeview PVR and HTPC [Archive] - Kustom PC's Forums

stevenj

27-05-2005, 11:51

Hi everyone, I'm new to the HTPC game and require some advice please...

I want to build a HTPC running MCE that is almost silent. My 'proper' PC is almost silent so to justify sitting in my living room it has to be pretty quiet if not silent. I want it to have the following specs:

- able to record from a built in PCI freeview card (are there cards enabling you to watch while you record from different channels, ie a Dual Freeview card?) Also record to DVD
- able to play DVD's and manage my music library etc, as well as read compactflash cards for photos etc
- output in at least 5.1 surround sound
- work nicely with my 28"/32" 100hz standard tv
- have a standard MCE remote control
- be linked by wireless over my home network, with the ability to extend the tv etc to other tv's via hardware extenders in the future

I know it seems a lot to ask, but think it could be achievable with the right setup. I like the Travla 137 case (120w) in black, but am undecided on other components. Will a fanless Epia system work, or am I right in assuming I need a P4 with a quiet cooler etc to be able to run the PVR Freeview etc?

Please can somebody help with what sort of hardware I should buy? Thanks in advance...

Steven

brumster

27-05-2005, 12:16

Hi Steven,

- able to record from a built in PCI freeview card (are there cards enabling you to watch while you record from different channels, ie a Dual Freeview card?)

I'm not aware of any dual-tuner DVB-T cards as yet, although Hauppauge did a dual tuner analouge card which isn't quite the same thing. If you've got enough slots, just stick several cards in ;)

- able to play DVD's and manage my music library etc, as well as read compactflash cards for photos etc

No problems there, just choose a card reader of your preference.

- output in at least 5.1 surround sound

A suitable sound card - not sure if the Terratec's are supported under MCE so maybe a Soundblaster Audigy is going to be necessary....

- work nicely with my 28"/32" 100hz standard tv

Any half-decent graphics card with TV-Out. Alternatively use a scan line convertor which I don't have experience of myself but stdRaichu on these forums speaks highly of them, and I'm inclined to take his advice on that one ;)

Will a fanless Epia system work, or am I right in assuming I need a P4 with a quiet cooler etc to be able to run the PVR Freeview etc?

I wouldn't consider an EPIA for an *MCE* box myself - other PVR solutions maybe, but not MCE. So yes, a P4 or equivalent, 2.4GHz upwards as a rough ballpark.

Please can somebody help with what sort of hardware I should buy? Thanks in advance...

There's nothing overly complicated there - pick the motherboard, cpu, memory that you prefer. PSU I can highly recommend the Nexus 3500 for value for money and silence.

Hard drives, I'd recommend Samsung.

Cooler, a Zalman flower with a Nexus 80mm fan blowing over it on a speed controller. Ditch the Zalman-supplied fan, it's a bit noisy :D

Pick a DVD writer you like the look of spec-wise.

I'm going to steer clear of advising on the graphics card and sound card specifically, because I have no experience with MCE in that area. I'd imagine, however, that an X300/6600GT would suffice. If the Terratec Aureon cards are supported in MCE, you're onto a winner with one of their cards.

Cheers,
Dan

stevenj

27-05-2005, 12:25

Thanks for that..

I'm going to put it in a Travla case so space is a premium really. I've been reading the review of the Tranquil T2eMP which has two freeview cards built into the Commell board they use with a Pentium M processor. The PC Pro review speaks highly of them, but obviously they've used up teh two PCI slots and there's no mention of WLAN so that would have to be USB I guess.

I was hoping to find that graphics and sound will be integrated onboard, or am I overestimating the power of it all? I just don't want to build this thing, then realise it stutters like hell on recordings or the menu system in MCE.

And if I were to go down the P4 route, I'd be worried about cooling. as for power, would the PSU that comes with the travla be silent and powerful enough?

Cheers,
Steven

brumster

27-05-2005, 12:31

I'm going to put it in a Travla case so space is a premium really.

Might want to check suitability of a Zalman flower, then.. :(

I've been reading the review of the Tranquil T2eMP which has two freeview cards built into the Commell board they use with a Pentium M processor. The PC Pro review speaks highly of them, but obviously they've used up teh two PCI slots and there's no mention of WLAN so that would have to be USB I guess.

Hmm, don't like it for the money myself. The twin cards are just that - they're not built into the board. And Pentium-M technology is still far too expensive for what it should be - it's being milked by Intel at the moment for it's trendiness.

I'd steer clear of USB WLAN if you can. One option is to get a motherboard like the MSI Platinum series, which have it "built in" off a small PCI card.

I was hoping to find that graphics and sound will be integrated onboard, or am I overestimating the power of it all? I just don't want to build this thing, then realise it stutters like hell on recordings or the menu system in MCE.

Some higher-end motherboards have decent sound on them; I'd look to getting one with optical output (ABit and MSI do these, as others do I'm sure).

Graphics-wise I'd be a little more cautious as most motherboards don't utilise particularly s****y on-board graphics chipsets. The short story is, I'm not sure, so I'm erring on the side of caution before telling you an onboard S3 Unichrome chipset is going to cut the mustard :D ;)

And if I were to go down the P4 route, I'd be worried about cooling. as for power, would the PSU that comes with the travla be silent and powerful enough?

So why not go AMD Athlon64 cool'n'quiet route? Cheaper to boot....?

six5tring

27-05-2005, 12:34

If your looking at running MCE2005 and want to go ITX then you probably looking at something like a crommell p4 ITX board (i'm just getting one for the same job [cheers Kustom]). However you only get one PCI slot on ITX boards. Now you can get dual risers for these but due to the decrease in bandwidth per slot I am unsure if you could run two seperate PCI DVB tuners. The alternative is to run one PCI and one USB.

Graphics wise i'm going to have a go at running on the integrated. But else that'll be my PCI gone!

I tryed an EPIA m6000 on MCE2005 it was fine on DVD playback and viewing pictures ect. But the lack of power meant that the menuing was very slow and overlaying was slow too.

Now although P4-ITX is very small and dicreet it comes at a price. Your looking at least £130 for a motherboard, £70 for a PSU + all normal bits

If your budget allows is then it's a neat option (possibly) although...

I think your best bet is to go mATX in a HTPC case and use a fanless cooler.. silverstone do one aswell now! This will mean you can run 2 tuner cards and a graphics card.. case size permitting.

Any questions feel free to yell.

six

stevenj

27-05-2005, 12:44

Thanks for that, Six, most helpful. I do have plenty of questions and its probably best I say what I'm thinking..

The commell board in the Tranquil PC, LV-671, does only have one PCI slot and I'm reluctant to put two tuner cards into it via an extender. However, tranquil do it with two black gold cards and that gets good reviews I think. I am worried about the cost of the Pentium M route, and also am unsure about how to PSU side of it works - am I right in thinking the board comes with a DC-DC board which provides a connected to the back IO plate for you to plug in the PSU that comes with the case?

I like the Travla 137 case, and think I have to go down the mini-itx route.

The Commell LV-671 has a PCMCIA slot on board, so I'm wondering how to convert that into a CF slot at the front of the case using the provided cutout on the Travla? Surely there's a cable or something? It also has the option of a TV-Out card - so I assume I need this too as I want it HDTV ready I think.

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree and there's a better board (Commell 672 or otherwise) for th job. I'm not one to scrimp on the money for this sort of thing, but I dont want it to run away with itself otherwise I might as well buy a ready made solution.

Thanks again..
Steven

six5tring

27-05-2005, 12:52

Yup i'd say that you probably want a 120 to 150watt PSU on the set up. Certainly the 670 that i'm getting most people reccomend about 120+watts for it. Right i'm off out now. So will try and answer everything else later :) if no one else does :cool:

six

stevenj

27-05-2005, 12:54

Ok thanks, I'm impressed by the level of help so far on here! So many questions...!

I'm hoping to put together a spec today so if anyone has any help...

Big Adam

27-05-2005, 13:04

You may be interested to hear that Black Gold have plans to release a single PCI slot dual-tuner card this summer.

Apparantly the card is complete, it is just undergoing driver finalisation and testing. It will be released with full BDA MCE compatible drivers.

stevenj

27-05-2005, 13:06

Is that not a USB device though? I thought PCI were smoother and of course dont take up extra living room space!

Big Adam

27-05-2005, 13:43

Is that not a USB device though?

Not as far as I am aware. PCI all the way.

Black Gold have recently slashed the price of their single tuner PCI cards to encourage MCE users to buy two for a dual tuner setup.

I imagine that a single dual-tuner card will cost less than two single-tuner cards so they obviously want to shift some of the older stock!

Black Golds major rival (in terms of quality) is Nebula's DigiTV. Nebula's latest USB unit is supposed to be the class leader but unfortunately they are crippling themselves by holding back on MCE drivers.

Personally, I am holding back on the completion of my HTPC until either Nebula pull their finger out or Black Gold release their dual-tuner card.

six5tring

27-05-2005, 14:42

You may be interested to hear that Black Gold have plans to release a single PCI slot dual-tuner card this summer.

Fantastic :) That will bring major improvements to HTPC.

The onboard sound is fine on the ITX boards, they all feature SPDIF outputs for using on surround. Which I had no problems with. I have my m6000 just sitting in my hifi stack playing "my music" randomly. hardly ever turn it off. nearly completely silent and it sounds nice enough to me through my denon rig.

On my commell board I'm going to try using a 2ghz 478 mobile celeron i'm hoping that this should give me enough power. It should do really! If these dual black golds are being released quite so soon I think I'd hold out a short while on tuners. Or just get one single tuner for the moment and change it for a dual when they are released.

six

stevenj

27-05-2005, 15:41

I wonder if Black Gold are going to produce the dual tuner soon then, and what sort of spec it will be? I hope its not a situation where they say they will release it, then put it back a few months!

So what makes the Commell 670 a good choice? Why not the 671 or 672? I'm wondering if there are differences in graphics quality, as well as the fact the 672 is PCI-X?

If I were to use a P4 or Celeron (or even P4-M) what sort of cooler should I get, because if its to be silent then I wonder if I may not get everything into the Travla 137 case!?

Big Adam

27-05-2005, 16:03

Hi,

Yes we are getting quite a few enquiries.

We have cards in development and are currently working on drivers. We anticipate release in a couple of months. Our developers say sooner, but we have to get through all the QA testing and WHQL certification. That always takes longer than planned.

We recognise that with a lot of the low profile cases and mini ATX, there aren’t enough PCI slots once got a WLAN card to go around. So it is a high priority for us.

Kind regards…

Above quote from GDI Sales Department r.e. dual tuner single card.

stevenj

27-05-2005, 16:07

Seems like August could be a month to aim for then.. if enough people keep enquiring then even MS might make it a priority to WHQL their drivers! (I say, as a flying pig goes past)

Does anyone else have any ideas on the cooler situation for using the Commell board and a P4/P4M/Celeron? In a Travla 137 bear in mind!

conan

27-05-2005, 16:37

Not really any help for your planned setup at the moment but have you considered other cases/motherboards? My HTPC (in sig) is quite small (check the dimensions for that case) but lets me use a full size ATX mobo with a nice big Zalman cooler. I just think you might be restricting your options a little by sticking with the Travla case. Whilst neat and compact I think you're almost certainly going to have to compromise on either heat or noise.

six5tring

27-05-2005, 16:50

So what makes the Commell 670 a good choice? Why not the 671 or 672? I'm wondering if there are differences in graphics quality, as well as the fact the 672 is PCI-X?

Mainly it's the cheapest of the boards.. and I had a socket478 processor to use in it. Thats why I choose it simple as that. I'm going to get a low profile cooler and hopefully my socket 478 celeron will run fairly cool. if you go pentium-m with a 671 then i shouldn't think heat should be a major issue.. if you want PCI-x i think that the 673 is a p4m with PCI-x. for all models see... http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/SBC.htm#Industrial%20Embedded%20MB

I think for such a small case p4m is your best bet.

six

stevenj

27-05-2005, 17:28

But I suppose going down the PCI-X route restricts the Tuner cards I cen get since most of them fit the PCI slots.

I'm torn between a P4M/PCI-X board (672/3) and the 671 partnered with a Celeron or P4. I do worry about the cooling though - can anyone recommend any products to cool either a P4M or P4/Celeron together with the C137 case?

Also, the case comes with a PSU but so does the board - I assume you remove the case one?

six5tring

27-05-2005, 17:54

Don't think the board comes with a PSU!.. unless it's a bundle your looking at. hang on a minute i'm going mad.. think the 670M would be your best bet http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/SBC/LV-670M.HTM

http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/SBC/image/LV-670M-3D.jpg

gives you p4m motherboard with all the needed connectors, uses a 479 mobile chip set. think it may well be your best bet!

six

stevenj

27-05-2005, 19:15

Can you use P4/Celeron S478 chips in these boards?

I'm sure I read that one of them comes with onboard PSU...

six5tring

27-05-2005, 19:21

nope the 670m uses a socket479 chip set.. like these --> http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Socket_479_Mobile.html

the 670 uses a socket478 chip set.. like these --> http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel.html

pretty sure you can't use 478's in a 479 slot!

you can get 478 celeron mobile chips though.. which is what i'm going to see if I can get to work.

six

six5tring

27-05-2005, 19:39

After a bit of googling.. you might be interested in this by the way.. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=1527123

I'm personally going to be try to use one of these http://processorfinder.intel.com/scripts/details.asp?sspec=sl6vj

six

stevenj

27-05-2005, 20:23

I've got a P4 2.8 sitting here (S478) so maybe the 670 is the way to go. Rather have it running at FSB500 than FSB400. I can't see the TV out or SPDIF on the rear panel though...

Besides, the desktop versions are cheaper. Perhaps its a big trade off with heat though, I'm not sure. I'm still yet to find a low profile fanless heatsink for the S478 though...

six5tring

28-05-2005, 00:09

http://www.commell.com.tw/Product/SBC/image/LV-670-3D.jpg

TV out (svideo) is to the bottom right of the PS2 ports and RCA style tv out to the right of that. SPDIF is via digi coax on the far right of the board.

I don't think that you will be able to fit a passive cooler into the travla case you best bet is going for a low profile and changing the fan/slowing it down to something whisper quiet. Don't know quite how much space there is in them once everything else is in!

(this is silverstone passive CPU coolerhttp://www2.multithread.co.uk/images/silverstone_heatpipe_cooler_small.jpg .. big pic here (http://www2.multithread.co.uk/images/silverstone_heatpipe_cooler_large.jpg))

p4's can run pretty hot safety.. at worst you could probably underclock that CPU a fair bit and find a good trade of between heat and speed.

six

six5tring

28-05-2005, 00:28

Bingo... the Akasa AK370 for p4 only quoted for up to 2.53ghz though.. might work!

http://www.akasa.co.uk/spec/coolers/spec_ak_370.htm

http://www.akasa.co.uk/spec/coolers/water_mark_ak_370.jpg

six

stevenj

28-05-2005, 02:28

The Silverstone looks way too tall, but the AK370 looks like it could do the job perfectly. If I underclock the P4 2.8 a bit it should be fine, or even if I leave it as it is it should still be ok if a little on the warm side. Incidentally, I have the same Sonata case as you so you can appreciate the level of silence I am looking for from this HTPC - in my opinion it should be even quieter than my Sonata!

My trouble is that I haven't yet put together a HTPC yet so am unsure of how it will all fit together. Don't get me wrong, I've put together PC's for quite some time, but I always like to be in the know before I purchase a load of kit. For example, today I learned that I have to use a 2.5" hdd if I want use of both PCI slots in the Travla case because a 3.5" would block one of them!?

The next area for me to brush up on is PSU's - I'm sure the Travla comes with one, but do I need to purchase extra components to make it work with the Commell silently?

six5tring

28-05-2005, 08:04

for the PSU I still think you may have to upgrade. Although the distrib board is 120watt the actually PSU is 60watt, this is fine for the low power EPIA boards but I think that you'll need to up the external to 120watt at least. LEX do a silent 120watt PSU, or there are 150watt very quiet fan controlled ones.

if you use a dual tuner PCI i think I would stick with a 3.5" drive although a 2.5" would mean even with 1xPCI that there was a bit more room for the air to move.

six

stevenj

28-05-2005, 12:01

I shall have a look at the LEX power supply.

In terms of noise, maybe the 2.5" hard drive is a better bet anyway? Plus, I can't see me wanting to lose that extra PCI slot, that's surely a silly design fault of the case!

So far, here's my spec - comments and thoughts please!

Travla 137 (Black) Case with 120w DC-DC board
Commell LV-670 board (not sure if there are optional extras to buy?)
P4 2.8 S478 CPU (800FSB, but obviously running at the 500FSB of the board)
Akasa AK370 Heatsink (rated at 2.53Ghz, but what the heck!)
1GB DDR 333 RAM
2.5" Western Digital 4200RPM 80Gb HDD (not sure on noise, but cheap at £63)
Travla USB-CompactFlash adapter (to make use of the front slot on the 137)
Slim Slot Load CD/DVDRW Drive (Black)
Black Gold DVB-T PCI Tuner Card
Dual Riser card + 1 extra extension card (1 comes with case?)
LEX 120W PSU (not sure whether to replace the Travla DC board)

Any suggestions or recommendations on accessories or cables/adapters are welcome! I could use a 3.5" drive if it was 0.75" high, but not sure which ones are...

I also spotted this silent PSU, maybe it's suitable: http://linitx.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_54&products_id=427

Almost forgot - I also need a remote - can anyone recommend one? perhaps Microsoft?

six5tring

28-05-2005, 20:58

thats the PSU i'm probably getting :) although...

The AC Adapter included with this set does have an internal fan that is controlled by temperature and load. It is, however, extremely quiet.

i'd get kustom to sort out as much as possible that they can. They're getting the motherboard for me.. and I'm sure that they could for you too. Although it's costing a little more than LinITX the delivery is cheaper so works out about the same.. and I can help support the lovely guys.

The 4200rpm drive should be fine for running video off. The kustom sell windows media centre PC remotes.. at a very good price!.. cheaper than some very large e-tailors. the media centre remotes also work for basic functions on number MCE pc's -- link here --> http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5498.html

six

edit: ps. do the PCI in the travla go away from the main board? If so and you get a dual riser get an active one as bandwidth problems are supposed to be better with them!

stevenj

28-05-2005, 21:42

The remote looks pretty standard, although I do hate the idea of having a big lump of an IR receiver sat on top of it all. I wonder if you can use the IrDA port thats built into the board - it supports SIR but not CIR unfortunately but there must be a way?

I've no doubts about the hard drive I don't think. But the two areas I'm now concerned about are the heatsink (its gona get pretty hot in there!) and the PSU:

The 120w LEX is silent right? ie NO FAN anywhere. Wheras the Commell board's DC-DC has a fan underneath I think, so therefore do I have to replace the DC-DC with the Lex one i wonder?

I will get an active riser anyway...

six5tring

29-05-2005, 00:18

Whatever IR device you use you will have to put a reciever somewhere and on a case so small there is no obvious internal mounting. The reciever is fairly dicreet though and I'm sure you'll find somewhere to place it.

I agree that it's goin gto get hot. Fortunatly you have cooling vents at the sides and on top which should help dissipate heat. You could always using one 80mm fan running very slowly to just keep some circulation. I am able to make a 80mm just slighty quieter than my seagate harddrive. Although I run my system totally passive 24/7 without any problems.

The lex certainly is silent from what I understand. However depending on how good your ears are.. I can hear a small electrical buzz from the board in pure silence :rolleyes:

Hopefully G and the guys should be getting me my 670 board within the week sometime so I'll be able to tell/show you exactly what comes with it.

six

stevenj

29-05-2005, 00:32

Yeah, the IR device is a pain but I suppose I have to live with it. I was hoping I could get some sort of receiver and mount it instead of the hard drive activity LED, I wonder if it's possible...

So what's the spec gona be of your new HTPC? What are all the little extra ingredients you need, in case I've missed something? And are you gona use the LEX DC board?

Steven

six5tring

29-05-2005, 00:48

Well i'm still developing this.. http://forums.kustompcs.co.uk/showthread.php?t=23259&page=2&pp=15 I current have

EPIA m6000 512mb RAM, 120gb HD, DVD drive 60-80watt PSU (can't remember)

going to

Commell 670, 2ghz s478 cele mobile and 150watt PSU

also still to add..

VFD display on the front. Wiring in of the buttons and CD mounting. All fairly easy but unfortunatly havn't had much time to work on it recently but will soon :)

on the IR.. you may be able to mod it somehow though I think it may well reduce its performance!

six

stevenj

29-05-2005, 01:05

So have you got plans to use the IR from your Denon case into the Commell board? I guess you could find out the components in a Microsoft receiver and build your own - just need a schematic thats all!!

Interested to know how you are gona wire in the serial/buttons and how your gona write a program. Also, how do you get a display to work at the front?!

six5tring

29-05-2005, 09:44

the display is being replaced for a serial controlled one. I'm not going to try and use the current one. got one at my fathers work I plan to use.

The controls are fairy easy (well the idea is).. may use parrellel who knows! I just plan to write a background process to check for singal changes. By wiring each button from the +'ve rail to a data rail and then make the program scan for changes. Well thats the idea. It will be a summer projet though!

When I get it working I'll be sure to write a guide and publish the program.

The IR.. now I probably will try and get rou round to trying to use this.. however it is only a reciever.. so I don't know hoe it might behave. I might just dismantle the MS transmitter and put it in the same place... but thats still a long time away judging by the current project pace!

Anyway back to the real topic..

If you were to want to add a LCD space permitting, I'm sure that you could cut or get cut a space in the front for one, kustom sell some very nice USB displays.

six

stevenj

29-05-2005, 09:57

I think I will leave the LCD for now, maybe if I do another project I will go down that route. The IR receiver is going to be one area to investigate, and I basically need to know how to 'build' a microsoft IR receiver that I can simply add to the front of the system using the HDD LED hole. I'm just not sure how it's made, surely it can't be that complicated! Failing that, I wonder if you could use an ATI one that works using wireless, and put the receiver inside the case :confused:

I'm still bothered by the cooling of all this. If I use the heatsink with no fan, and use the silent DC board from the LEX, then remove the side fan from the Travla, there will be absolutely no airflow in the case! Perhaps I should keep the fan at the side of the case, but replace it with a SilenX one?

stevenj

29-05-2005, 10:04

I'm even reconsidering the choice of case - the Travla looks nice and plain and I am being swayed from black to silver, but there are some other nice cases out there - I just want something to fit in with normal hifi sized equipment and that has a plain front with space for CD and power button.

six5tring

29-05-2005, 10:27

Well the obvious change in case would probably be to a Silverstone SST-LC02 http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1235.html in black or silver. You could then use a mATX board, the supplied PSU is supposed to be fairy quiet (though i couldn't really comment) else I think you could probably change it to a shuttle silienx PSU. Kustom could probably confirm that. I've always though that they look wonderfully simple and are I think the same size as a seperates system.

http://www.pcunleash.com/user/han/silverstone/001_2.jpg

Check out a review here with lots of pics.. http://www.pcunleash.com/bbs/view.php?id=MyItemReview&no=14

six

conan

29-05-2005, 11:28

I have the LC02 and can vouch for the PSU being quiet. Its a great case and looks just like part of a hi fi setup or DVD player. I just have the PSU and a Zalman CPU fan at its lowest speed and the thing is "almost" silent. The most noise comes from the HDD, both PSU and CPU fans are quieter than the drive.

/edit, after reading the review I see that some motherboards can struggle with the layout of the AGP and PCI slots. Mine was difficult but I got around it by using a flexible PCI riser. Just a ribbon cable with the PCI connectors on each end.

stevenj

29-05-2005, 11:56

I'd consider the LC02, but it's a case of what board to stick in it. I really want it to be silent, so could I swap the PSU for a DC-DC board of some sort? And if I do that, would there be room for a fanless heatsink?

I read the review and cant understand why they didn't use a flexible riser card too!

There's probably no problem in finding a cheap board with tv-out and spdif etc, as well as LAN and normal audio connectors. I'm more confused than ever now - so many choices!!

conan

29-05-2005, 13:46

There are no case fans in the LC02 as standard so if you use a passive heatsink I thnk you may need to add case fans. I have the zalman on the lowest setting which lets the CPU get pretty hot but its stable so I can live with that. I can get away with no case fans...just:)

stevenj

29-05-2005, 13:56

But you have an AMD, which surely runs pretty hot anyway? And I thought the PSU had a fan in it, thus making noise?

I was hoping to get a silent PSU and a silent heatsink. Do you think it's possible for a P4 2.8? Maybe if I used a Celeron it would be better temperature wise, but dont want to struggle with PVR and DVD recording etc.

Maybe the LEX DC board wont fit the LC02, I'm not sure.

conan

29-05-2005, 14:29

The CPU is a mobile athlon which runs on a lower voltage, 1.4, so so is normally fairly cool. In my HTPC it runs around 50 to 55 degrees, which is up from the 45 it used to run at in the shuttlke and before that it ran at 40 in a tower. The fan in the PSU is only for cooling the PSU, it doesn't do anyting as an exhaust for the case. I don't know much about Pentiums so I can't really help you there.

stevenj

29-05-2005, 14:49

Fair enough, sounds like a good system then. I did wonder about the PSU fan though - is it really that quiet or is the ambient noise annoying? Like I've said, the two concerns are CPU heatsink (will it fit, will it be cool enough etc) and the PSU (could I fit a DC board or is the fan quiet enough etc)

six5tring

29-05-2005, 23:56

must say that we're going away from my terretiory here on things i've played with... if you remain confused over what the best thing to do is though I can always reccomending dropping an e-mail to sales@kustompcs.co.uk (if you have not already) and I'm sure they'll help advise you on what will best suit your needs.

six

conan

30-05-2005, 09:25

The PSU fan is very quiet, I doubt you'll be troubled by ambient noise. The CPU HSF is right next to the PSU though so you need to plan carefully which cooler you're going to use. I had to modify my Zalman to get it to fit.

six5tring

08-06-2005, 13:01

Just recieved a commell 670 board. Tis very nice, however I could not use my akasa passive low profile coller as it's retension braket is slightly larger than standard and there are some capasitors in the way!

Will write more on it when I've had a chance to play, at the moment it's running a 2ghz celeron mobile happily though!

six

stevenj

08-06-2005, 13:03

Keep us posted - it could be the deciding factor! :)

six5tring

08-06-2005, 13:34

Right well seeing if I can use a standard intel cooler with the fan unplugged and keep things below 70'C! Running the CPU fan with a speedmate controller makes it pretty quiet so I should think that a quiet heatsink fan should do the trick nicely! - six

six5tring

08-06-2005, 13:45

Without any airflow the CPU fairly quickly hit 75'C (idle) and I stopped seeing where it would stop heating up! The whole board is now warm to the touch so CPU fan is on full whack to get everything cooled down again! I will try installing media center tonight to see how it goes. I also have a radeon7000 PCI card that i'll put into to find you if there's an improvement at all! The PSU is running pretty cool and the fan has not kicked in once yet. With CPU fan on minimum there is very little difference in fan and HD noise.

six

stevenj

08-06-2005, 14:09

I reckon the interesting point will be at which speed does the fan make any difference. So, having it on really slow might be a good option unless it doesnt do anything to the temperature!

six5tring

08-06-2005, 16:27

well running the fan as slow as my controller lets me keeps it at a happy 44'C it's quiet enough to forget it's on so that's good enough for me!

six

stevenj

08-06-2005, 16:30

i wonder what my p4 2.8 will be like!

six5tring

08-06-2005, 22:00

well i'm now writing this message from my new media centre PC :) the onboard graphics seem ok.. though I'm getting a tiny tracking issues with my screen which I'm just about. 2ghz seems plenty to use media centre.. certainly watching videos, listen to music, dvd's, pictures. i don't have a MCE tuner card at the moment, but I can't see that should be a problem!

The media centre remote is fantastic, especially as it lights up when you press it, genius for dark rooms! You also get two little extra tiny IR sensor's (i'm assuming havn't tried them yet) that you can place anywhere.

i'm most impressed so far with the 670 board and my new PSU. just gotta find something to do with my m6000 board & PSU now!

six

stevenj

08-06-2005, 23:56

Tell me more about the IR sensors - any pics of them? Also, is the overall noise ok?

six5tring

09-06-2005, 09:06

hey,

well.. just found a weakness in my system, running dvd's through media centre. it's fine running in media player so think i may just have to tweak a couple of settings so the onboard gfx can cope!

the IR sensors, well my cam is brolen at the moment (still being fixed) so i'll try and descripe. the 2nd and 3rd sersors are very small about 5mm x 7mm x 1cm would be my guess; and they have little sticky pads so you can place them anywhere. i guess like one next to the tv, one next to the hifi! they have pretty lengthy cords, probably getting on for 3m.

overall system noise.. well i slept through it with really noticing it being there. in standby only the CPU fan remains on and it's whisper quiet. i'm quite happy with the sound. not obtrusive at all.

six