It's time to move my Sonata XP2500 Rig down to the video room to assume the role of HTPC. Have already tested it out and looks pretty good driving my SONY 42" HDTV via component.
So I'm going to build a new system and have a few decisions to make - any opinions or suggestions that can be shared would be appreciated.
Although the old machine will be an HTPC, I'll be doing most video "processing" work on the new PC.
Need help on PSU, GPU and Ram.
Here's my thoughts on the total package:
Case - decided
Antec P180 - just need to decide on Silver or Black
Motherboard - decided
Asus A8N-SLI Premium (the passive NB cinched it)
PSU - HELP! Cabling issues with the above combo I think!
Seasonic S12 430W
or
Antec Truepower 2 430w
or
Enermax 420 NoiseTaker
What do you think?
CPU
AMD X2 Athlon 64 3800+ 939pin
(might end up an X2-4200 we'll see how the $$$ work out)
CPU cooling
Scythe Ninja (probable - maybe even passive)
or
XP120
RAM - need some help here
Looking at 1 Gig of OCZ OCZ4001024ELDCGE-K for now.
Graphics Card - need some suggestions
Preferably a passive 6600GT (Gigabyte or Leadtek)
I game a bit - but really not that much.
HDD
Seagate ST3250823AS (existing)
and/or
Samsung SP2004C
Optical Drives
ASUS DVD-E616P3 Quiet Track
and
Pioneer DVR-109 (existing)
Monitor - existing
Dell FPW 2005
PVR Card (use it with Beyond TV)
Hauppauge PVR 250 (I'll only need one in the old rig)
TIA
Googlie
Getting down to some final decisions - advice desired
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
The Ninja seems like it's becoming the defacto winning cooler for the P180 case. The Ninja works well with the P180's airflow, especially in the amazingly useful and interesting review system:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article255-page12.html
My system: X2 4800+, Ninja with a temp throttled 12cm Nexus, 7800GT, P180 case, Seasonics 500. Sound level is undetectable at 1m distance at stock CPU speed and voltage, CPU is only 49 degrees at load with Prime95 with 27 degree ambient.
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=24898
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article255-page12.html
My system: X2 4800+, Ninja with a temp throttled 12cm Nexus, 7800GT, P180 case, Seasonics 500. Sound level is undetectable at 1m distance at stock CPU speed and voltage, CPU is only 49 degrees at load with Prime95 with 27 degree ambient.
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=24898
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~El~Jefe~
- Friend of SPCR
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get the regular dual core and go 2 gigs is my best recommendation. 1 gig is kinda stifling a video editing setup.
I wouldnt go passive gpu ever personally.
I like ati all-in-wonder cards. i have a 9800 pro one, its very clear tv and such. the x800 XL all-in-wonder uses less power than a 9800. shrugs. I wonder how the haupauge is.
Peronally, for you, on this forum with that setup and desire to use a passive northbridge on a very hot board with a passive speedy graphics card....
I would go reserator with gpu and northbridge setup. suspend the hd, in the 180 I would first see how quiet you can make the hd before buying a new one.
Ram, I would say more ram again, bigger sticks, I use Centon 1 gig dimms, 3 3 3 8 timings, gaming is super fast, it's all video+amd64, what you have or have above that or faster ram doesnt make much of a dent in a game.
vid card rules all for the past year.
oh. if you can add positive pressure to the case, I would go for a bottom fan type like 430 Seasonic. If you can't id go something simple like smartpower 2x fan thing that MikeC reviewed just a couple of weeks ago.
I wouldnt go passive gpu ever personally.
I like ati all-in-wonder cards. i have a 9800 pro one, its very clear tv and such. the x800 XL all-in-wonder uses less power than a 9800. shrugs. I wonder how the haupauge is.
Peronally, for you, on this forum with that setup and desire to use a passive northbridge on a very hot board with a passive speedy graphics card....
I would go reserator with gpu and northbridge setup. suspend the hd, in the 180 I would first see how quiet you can make the hd before buying a new one.
Ram, I would say more ram again, bigger sticks, I use Centon 1 gig dimms, 3 3 3 8 timings, gaming is super fast, it's all video+amd64, what you have or have above that or faster ram doesnt make much of a dent in a game.
vid card rules all for the past year.
oh. if you can add positive pressure to the case, I would go for a bottom fan type like 430 Seasonic. If you can't id go something simple like smartpower 2x fan thing that MikeC reviewed just a couple of weeks ago.
Nooooo....~El~Jefe~ wrote: I like ati all-in-wonder cards. i have a 9800 pro one, its very clear tv and such. the x800 XL all-in-wonder uses less power than a 9800. shrugs. I wonder how the haupauge is.
AIW cards are generally fairly good, but the software is absolutely horrible. I would HIGHLY recommend getting a standard video card, and a Hauppauge PVR-150 or 250. It will save you a lot of headaches later on.
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Bob_the_lost
- Posts: 136
- Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:52 pm
Hold it, you're recomending a hauppauge card for the software? I've got a DVB Nova-T, the software is badly desined, buggy, a nightmare to install and use, slow, it's just horrific in general.Mar. wrote: Nooooo....
AIW cards are generally fairly good, but the software is absolutely horrible. I would HIGHLY recommend getting a standard video card, and a Hauppauge PVR-150 or 250. It will save you a lot of headaches later on.
If you can use anything other than haupague, i got a DVB USB one for my girlfriend, the software is imesurably better and the image is just as good. (Can't remember the brand, PM if you care and i'll hunt it down)
Sorry 'bout that - we've gotten into a discussion about TV cards and associated software.
I'll clear this up - my Hauppauge card(s) are existing - and my software of choice is BeyondTV. I am extremely happy and see no reason to change anything.
I have 2 cards, an older 250 and a newer 150. Since the HTPC will be at the TV with a Motorola 6408 STB, Having a second PVR card in it would be a waste, and I do watch some TV at times on my computer upstairs, so I'll keep the 250 in the new machine. I use firewire and CAPDVHS to archive shows from the STB HD.
Back to the machine I'm GOING to build, I see one suggestion for the Seasonic Power supply, go with 2 GB of Ram, and an ATI AIW GPU.
Also suggested is don't go passive GPU - go with reserator. Thanks - but no thanks. I'd like quiet - I don't need silent.
Perhaps when I said passive you were thinking no cooling at all - I've been running a 9800 with a Zalman ZM80C for 2 years and am happy. Still might do the same again, but I ws under the impression that the 180 offers some advantages for airflow around a "fanless" vid card.
Thanks to all that have replied so far - keep your opinions and better yet - experiences, coming.
Regards,
Googlie
I'll clear this up - my Hauppauge card(s) are existing - and my software of choice is BeyondTV. I am extremely happy and see no reason to change anything.
I have 2 cards, an older 250 and a newer 150. Since the HTPC will be at the TV with a Motorola 6408 STB, Having a second PVR card in it would be a waste, and I do watch some TV at times on my computer upstairs, so I'll keep the 250 in the new machine. I use firewire and CAPDVHS to archive shows from the STB HD.
Back to the machine I'm GOING to build, I see one suggestion for the Seasonic Power supply, go with 2 GB of Ram, and an ATI AIW GPU.
Also suggested is don't go passive GPU - go with reserator. Thanks - but no thanks. I'd like quiet - I don't need silent.
Perhaps when I said passive you were thinking no cooling at all - I've been running a 9800 with a Zalman ZM80C for 2 years and am happy. Still might do the same again, but I ws under the impression that the 180 offers some advantages for airflow around a "fanless" vid card.
Thanks to all that have replied so far - keep your opinions and better yet - experiences, coming.
Regards,
Googlie
Ordered the parts - they'll be here in the next few days
XP-120
or
SI-120 - thermally they appear to be the same, but does the SI have other worthwhile advantages with this setup?
Ninja - maybe go passive after all?
Zalman 9500 - interesting, but a touch pricey - it's 1.5 times the price of the other 3...
I can get an XP-120 locally here in Calgary, for anything else, it appears I have to order. Bigfoot in Toronto, carries all but the Ninja, Frontier in Vancouver carries the Ninja.
Any final suggestions or just stick to the simplicty of a local supplier and the known product (XP-120)?
As always, any opinions or feedback would be welcomed.
Googlie
- Case - Antec P180
Motherboard - Asus A8N-SLI Premium
PSU - Antec SmartPower II 500
(Cableing discussions helped me make that decision)
CPU - AMD X2 Athlon 64 3800+ 939pin
Optical Drives - ASUS DVD-E616P3 Quiet Track
Pioneer DVR-109 (existing)
RAM - 2 GB OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K (was on sale)
Graphics Card - BFG 6600GT OC (was on sale)
(I'll be adding an AC NV 6 rev 2)
HDD - Samsung Sata II 160GB SpinPoint P80SD
plus a few other existing pieces...
XP-120
or
SI-120 - thermally they appear to be the same, but does the SI have other worthwhile advantages with this setup?
Ninja - maybe go passive after all?
Zalman 9500 - interesting, but a touch pricey - it's 1.5 times the price of the other 3...
I can get an XP-120 locally here in Calgary, for anything else, it appears I have to order. Bigfoot in Toronto, carries all but the Ninja, Frontier in Vancouver carries the Ninja.
Any final suggestions or just stick to the simplicty of a local supplier and the known product (XP-120)?
As always, any opinions or feedback would be welcomed.
Googlie