I would suggest a budget SSD. You don't need a lot of space for an HTPC (30-40 GB for Windows 7, even smaller for something Linux based like XBMC Live), and even a cheap SSD will give you nice bootup speeds and system response compared to an old IDE drive. Then connect the HDD with a USB enclosure o...

I just remembered that I had some more pics but never updated this thread. My last post about the front USB ports was basically the last part that finished the project. I use it as my daily PC now. I am reasonably satisfied with it, but the PSU is not silent. As I mentioned above, something about th...

Seems like the Bulldozer/AM3 report was a miscommunication or something. Here's a thread confirming (?) that Bulldozer will run on AM3+ only (not AM3): http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1589613

I didn't see it mentioned in the review, but one other thing you might want to check for in future plasma TVs is whether there are any problems with image retention/burn-in. This is something inherent with plasma technology and different manufacturers/models have different ways of dealing with it. H...

I recently had some experience with those Sunon Vapo fans when I was doing my Mini-ITX in Shuttle G5 chassis build. I found they had a higher-pitched whine that was especially noticeable when cramped in a tight space. It's great that the Boxee will run fanless, but maybe hot summers could be an issu...

Found out one more: MediaCoder, a popular alternative to Handbrake for transcoding to iPods/PSPs/anything else, can use CUDA acceleration for transcoding. My GT240 can transcode to iPad settings at about 1/3 of realtime, vs. about 85% of realtime on CPU only (Phenom II X3). Don't notice any quality ...

I updated the thread in my previous post with some thoughts on the Scythe Mini Kaze Ultra fan (good) and the Sunon MagLev Vapo fan (bad). I still get significantly amplified noise when putting the fans in the PSU and I am not sure why. I don't think it's from direct vibration (my fans are not touchi...

Probably off topic, but I have to say that buying new pc speaker kits today, when you can often find a decent pair of used bookshelf speakers and a small integrated amp for roughly the same amount of money is wasted, but thats just my opinion. I definitely agree with you, but I think the majority o...

The needs for HTPC would differ from user to user. Video purists like myself prefer to have more or less all video processing options disabled. In many HTPC environments the video will be fed into a dedicated a/v processor/receiver which would in turn handle all upscaling and processing. This is in...

I assume the graphics are using Catalyst drivers and software? I recently found out via Tomshardware that the Catalyst software has a bunch of video processing options , similar to the post-processing that you could when decoding H.264 in software. While all video cards are fast enough to decode H.2...

/quote] In many areas, XP (which still runs on my main PC) feels really crude compared to Win 7, which runs on just about every other PC in the lab... and in my HTPC. Especially for general networking -- it's faster in every way, both transfer speeds and recognition of other devices on the network....

I think in theory, a X2 3800+ should be fast enough to decode 720p without hardware acceleration. I used to run a HTPC with a comparable CPU and no hardware acceleration. But it would require a good codec like CoreAVC or ffdshow-mt with some deblocking options disabled. Netflix bitrates are relative...

With the Flat Flexible Cable Breakout Board , I was able to get the Shuttle's front panel ports working, with a few limitations. 1) The audio ports on my particular Shuttle appear to be AC'97 only. I was able to get microphone input and headphone output to work, but I can't get jack detection to wor...

A quick update about the Sunon MagLev Vapo fan (HA40201V4-0000-C99) vs the Scythe Mini Kaze Ultra (SY124020L). I do *not* recommend the Sunons. The Sunons cost $17 on FrozenCPU, but they are readily available in Taiwan for about $4. I was able to test a few in the store (plenty of "ambient" noise th...

I've been working a lot with the Shuttle PSU lately. See my thread/post here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=60576&p=530328#p530328 I wanted to bump this thread because I got a lot of info from this and similar threads. My Seasonic SS-250SU is quiet, but not that quiet. It...

The 50-pin ZIF to IDE adapter linked in my last post does not work. The pin pitch seems a little off, and I don't think the ZIF side actually has all 50 pins (seems more like 40). In any case, the connector is not compatible with the Shuttle G5 front panel connector. Upon further research and measur...

For a "typical" user (that isn't doing massive number crunching operations), the only practical usage for CUDA that I know of is CoreAVC, an h.264 decoder that can use CUDA to assist in decoding h.264 video and reduce CPU usage. In most cases, DXVA does the same thing. But DXVA is a fixed hardware p...

I switched to positive cooling. Case fan is now an intake. I reversed the PSU fan so that it is also an intake. And I put the Samurai ZZ back to its original down-blowing direction. This decreased my CPU temperature about 3-4 degrees, so I'm going to leave it this way. I got the NoiseMagic fan contr...

The system is up and running. Here are some pictures without the drive bay and video card: http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/8020/img2082b.jpg http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/3733/img2083b.jpg I flipped the Samurai ZZ fan to blow upwards instead of downwards. The Shuttle intake vents are along t...

Here is a pic showing the 120mm fan attached: http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/7995/img2081b.jpg I've cut out the back grill, which was originally designed for a 92mm fan. I also cut a PCI bracket in half and drilled a hole to mount the bottom right fan mount. This is not really necessary but it doe...

Here is a pic of the fitted rear I/O shield. http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/1052/img2080aw.jpg The width is actually more or less perfectly lined up with the inside PCI slot (the one that is not usable) -- you just need to cut the divider. The height needs to be increased. I'm sure this is where...

Here is an updated test fitting. This is going to be my final configuration (or very close to it): MINIX 6150SE-UC3 motherboard (AM3) Scythe Samurai ZZ CPU cooler 120mm Globe Golf Fan as case fan (from Silverstone SG05) Mushkin Silverline DDR3 RAM (has a very low heatsink) Shuttle PC40 PSU (came wit...

I recommend you get a remote. After I got my MCE remote, most days I only use the remote. There are still some times when I need the keyboard, but most of the time, the remote is overwhelmingly more convenient and comfortable to use. I recommend you use Windows 7 and give the Windows Media Center a ...

Removing motherboard standoffs: The two options are to unscrew them or chop them off. Unscrewing them requires finding a wrench that is small enough. I couldn't find one, so I decided to just cut them. I don't have a dremel, so I just used some tin snips to chip away at the sides, then used a metal ...

I use Bluetooth for my HTPC mouse/keyboard, which has a long range and good accuracy. Other wireless keyboards would routinely drop letters, etc. at long range. But I don't use my HTPC for gaming (at least not wirelessly), and I've heard that Bluetooth (at least in Windows) is prone to input lag. Up...

An update with my progress. I've been busy with work so I don't expect to have time to finish this for another month or so. I am thinking about different layouts, and here is one example: http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8563/testfit2.jpg Here I have already attached the motherboard to the case by...

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My experience is that everybody uses their HTPC a little differently. Your HD 2400 Pro has hardware acceleration, so it should play 720p smoothly on any CPU made in the last 5 years. Using MediaPortal is a different matter though. The basic skin does not require much computer power. But a fancier sk...

I had a great experience building a Silverstone SG05 recently. It occurs to me that it is about the same dimensions as my Shuttle SD11G5. Obviously the Silverstone case has much better airflow and is designed for standard-sized components, but I think with some effort, the Shuttle G5 chassis should ...

For anybody that followed this thread, I posted my completed build in the General Gallery here: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=60480