3 Builds: HTPC, Editing/Gaming & Media Server

[leftheaded]

second attempt.. 3 machines now lol

my current P4 is way too noisy to be the HTPC. and it chokes on HD playback


photo/video editing & gaming:
Vista Ultimate 64bit
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6
Xeon X3210
Crucial Ballistix - BL2KIT12864AA804 4x1GB PC6400 at 4-4-4-12 (2 kits)
4x250GB Matrix RAID 0 Seagate 7200.10 ST3250410AS (bels 2.7/2.
eVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 640P2N821AR
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
Pioneer DVR-212D
Corsair HX520W
P180
TOTAL $1600


htpc:
Vista Ultimate 64bit
GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R
C2D E4400
Crucial Ballistix - BL2KIT12864AA804 4x1GB PC6400 at 4-4-4-12 (1 kit)
500GB Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ (bels 2.7/2.9)
Sapphire RADEON HD 2600XT Video Card GDDR4
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
Pioneer DVR-212D
Antec NSK2400 (w/SU380 power supply)
TOTAL $900


media server (my existing machine):
P4T-E
P4 1.7GHz 478
1GB RAMBUS
1TB of random IDE 7200
128MB GeForce4 Ti4600
some upgrades:
P180
hotswap bays
1TB SATA/II for total backup
SATA controller
TOTAL $350


below is my original post with 2 builds...

Alright, what do you guys think? The main reason I'm trying 2 machines is because I want performance, but I want it quiet since the HTPC will be in the living room. Seemed like too many HDDs, and I want to work in a 2 generation hot swap somehow. Plus, I definitely want to OC both of these to ~ 3-3.6GHz depending on how noisy it gets. I'm not as worried about noise on the media server since it will be in another room.

Which brings up the question - which one should I put double duty on for gaming and photo/video editing? the HTPC or the media server? Since I want WHS on the storage box, I opted for the HTPC on this first attempt:


Maybe something like this:
HTPC - 33% htpc, 33%media editing, 33% gaming
Server - 75% server, 25%media editing or gaming if the other pc is in use


The components I'm MOST undecided about are the RAM and the motherboards. Not just how well they will OC together, but with the RAM, 4x1 or 2x2 with the idea of getting another 2x2 down the road.



The HTPC:
Vista Ultimate 64bit
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6
Intel C2D Q6600 B3/G0
Crucial Ballistix - BL2KIT12864AA804 4x1GB PC6400 at 4-4-4-12 (2 kits)
4x250GB Matrix RAID 0+5 Seagate 7200.10 ST3250410AS (bels 2.7/2.
Sapphire RADEON HD 2600XT Video Card GDDR4
Corsair HX520W
Water Cooling (no details yet)
Pioneer DVR-212D
P180
TOTAL $1870

The Media & backup Server:
Window Home Server
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R
Xeon X3210 (alt E2140)
Crucial Ballistix - BL2KIT12864AA804 2x1GB PC6400 at 4-4-4-12 (1 kit)
OS = 250GB Seagate 7200.10 ST3250410AS (bels 2.7/2.
Storage RAID 1 or 5? = 3x500GB Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ (bels 2.7/2.9)
Hot swap bay for 2-gen weekly, duplicate backups (not sure which yet)
*waiting to see the 500GB Seagate 7200.11 ST3500320AS (bels 2.5/2.
GIGABYTE GeForce 8500 GT GV-NX85T256HP 512MB
Corsair HX520W
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
Lite-On LH-20A1S
P180
TOTAL $1250

A note on the backup strategy. I don't have the specifics down yet, but what I want to do is have a drive (or drives) in hotswap that backs up all pertinent data. I'll keep duplicates of those in my office and rotate the hotswap once a week. Something like that

[Max Slowik]

Those HTPC components are WAY overpowered for the work a home theater PC has to do. Hell, you don't even need a dual-core processor for an HTPC, since the encoding, decoding, and transcoding are all done by the expansion cards (capture and video). I certainly would never use a quad-core processor strictly because of the heat output; too hard to quiet in a small case. Forget overclocking. You also really don't need 4GB of RAM.

I'd also go with Western Digital 500GB drives on the HTPC. RAID 5 isn't even necessary; striped is plenty safe.

Unfortunately, WHS probably won't include Media Center, but it's also not available yet; setting up a double-duty PC isn't really an option.

And gaming on an HTPC is never as fun as gaming on a gaming PC just because of the display restrictions.

You seem pretty OK with dropping the benjamins, so why not just set up three PCs? Put together a cool, budget-centric HTPC, build a nice gaming machine, and when Home Server becomes available, make one then.

[leftheaded]

why not just set up three PCs? Put together a cool, budget-centric HTPC, build a nice gaming machine, and when Home Server becomes available, make one then.

Hmmm I wonder if I can pull that off for the same budget?? you got me thinking! I do have an old rig that I could retire to the media server (1TB of IDE though) hmmm

The third machine would actually be more of a photo/video/audio editing machine than a gaming box. Photoshop loves RAM, and Vegas utilizes all 4 cores. necessary, no. fun, yes!

[JoeWPgh]

Those HTPC components are WAY overpowered for the work a home theater PC has to do. Hell, you don't even need a dual-core processor for an HTPC, since the encoding, decoding, and transcoding are all done by the expansion cards (capture and video). I certainly would never use a quad-core processor strictly because of the heat output; too hard to quiet in a small case. Forget overclocking. You also really don't need 4GB of RAM.

I'd also go with Western Digital 500GB drives on the HTPC. RAID 5 isn't even necessary; striped is plenty safe.

Unfortunately, WHS probably won't include Media Center, but it's also not available yet; setting up a double-duty PC isn't really an option.

And gaming on an HTPC is never as fun as gaming on a gaming PC just because of the display restrictions.

You seem pretty OK with dropping the benjamins, so why not just set up three PCs? Put together a cool, budget-centric HTPC, build a nice gaming machine, and when Home Server becomes available, make one then.

Well said. HTPC is still not quite ready for primetime. I use it exclusively for recording standard cable and it's tremendous. But, you're correct. It doesn't require much computer to perform at today's limits.
The first problem is the boot sequence. As an everyday entertainment device, imagine if you had to 'boot' a radio?
Then there's the fact that it doesn't do anything a readily available consumer box can't accomplish.
It's the most expensive media solution available

UNLESS

You build it from idle parts that have been upgraded. Then it's as good as anything. And the old parts are enough, if they can still connect to the mobo.

If the technology gets to instant boot, record 4 shows at once, I 'll toss some cash. Until then? It's a really cool way to use your junkbox.

[Max Slowik]

If the technology gets to instant boot, record 4 shows at once, I 'll toss some cash.

I record four things at once...

I dunno, I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's not ready for "prime time" (assumed no pun intended ) because my HTPC does a lot more than a TiVo. I use it as a home file server, I have it set up to play (simple) games, it also plays DVDs and HD-DVDs, houses all my music, rips and burns media...

I don't worry about boot times because it's a 24/7 PC.

[pputer]

Can I add to the thread? It's just that my system and intended purpose sounded similar so I wasn't sure whether to create another thread (when the systems are so similar).

Please comment on my current and future machines. There are three:

1)Asus A7N8X-Deluxe – HTPC (needs new case, old one is cheap – please suggest a better cheapie case. The computer is quite loud in this case)
- CPU: Athlon XP Barton 2500+
- Video Card: Nvidia 5200 AGP

2)Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe – this will be my 'Linux' machine.
- 2 HDDs, one 120GB Seagate and 1 500 GB Samsung HD501LJ.
- Athlon XP X2 4200+ cpu (socket 939)
- Video Card: ATI X300SE (got this for free when I upgraded)
- PSU: Seasonic 400w (older style version)
Feel free to comment on this machine or not. If you're a user or fan of Linux OS's, feel free to comment.

3)New system:
Main tasks - video encoding/decoding. Editing videos etc. Programs used: Nero, Avi2dvd, Avidemux and other similar programs.
OS - Windows XP (sorry, Vista fans. I have to cut costs somewhere and before I knew all the info about Vista, I bought XP. 'Not saying where. Shhhh...).
Hardware components so far:
Antec Solo (on order - note: was looking at P180B but had to cut costs somewhere).
HDD: 1) Hitachi T7K500 500GB 2) ??? Suggest/recommend?
RAM: Crucial DDR2 1066 Ballistix
CPU: Leaning towards E6750 (would like the Quad but will only accept G0 and all the Quads consume a lot of power and produce a lot of heat. The price is at least $100 or more than the E6750 so... ????).
Video Card: ????? Nvidia-something?
PSU: Either Corsair or Enermax modular (but which one?)

I also need to buy a new LCD TV if I want TV programming. The CRT tube died a while ago. Therefore, more reason to cut costs.

I realize using the E6750 will result in the tasks taking a bit more time. I have an extra computer to split the duties up a bit so that might help ease the multitasking. I've lived with what I got so far. My thinking was to save a couple hundred dollars here and there and put it towards the TV. But, I could be convinced to go for a Quad but how can I justify it?

However, I don't mind so much watching videos/dvds on my LCD monitor so I am undecided of what to invest in.

Comments? Recommendations? Advice?

I appreciate all replies and advice. In particular, I'd like to say I appreciate all posters' time and investment in reading and replying to my posts. Thanks.

[leftheaded]

well, i still haven't decided on what i'm going to do haha ! the only thing i'm sure of is that i will have 4x1GB crucial ballistix pc6400. the rest is still a toss up. i can't decide if i'm going to build one machine or two. primary focus is for audio/video/photo editing and gaming. secondary is now HTPC. the heat/noise factors of those two things are basically opposite in nature. the media server will be a phase 2 thing for later on.

in your case, i'd recommend:
HDD: go for the WD (WD5000AAKS) or the Samsungs (HD501LJ). personally, i'm waiting for the next seagate reviews (ST3500320AS)
RAM: nice!
CPU: the xeon X3210 is another option, but you still have the G0 supply issues. if you're going to multitask i say quad. if not, then the E6750 is plenty.
Video Card: pick a price range. there are too many options
PSU: i'm going with a corsair 520W or 620W, never heard of enermax

[bonestonne]

i'd say that in all honesty, no matter what you do, a Xeon is mad overkill. i have P3 Xeons [slot 2] and they still kick butt today [784mhz with over 1gig RAM]. E6750 will be just as good with photoshop as anything else. faster fsb will be better than more cores.

[merlin]

n/m

[mttcrlsn]

Last I knew Adobe Premerie does not work with x64. What video softtware are you using - planning to use?

[leftheaded]

Last I knew Adobe Premerie does not work with x64. What video softtware are you using - planning to use?

sony vegas... it has some issues, but it works for me so far. it also uses 4 cores

[pputer]

I have everything now but the mb, PSU and video card. I'll probably choose a heatsink soon (probably Thermalright 120).

PSU: Corsair 520 or Enermax Liberty ELT500AWT. Which one would you pick?

MB: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R or Abit IP35 Pro

Video Card: Nvidia 8600 GT or ATI (brand?) 2600 XT/Pro (cheapest one)

I will try to get a passive video card but I don't know whether to go with Nvidia or ATI's new HD 2000 series. The new system will be XP so I probably don't have to choose Nvidia (the other computer will be Linux and Windows 2000 partition but will be on Linux most of the time).

I'm satisfied with my current Windows 2K OS and the software being run: Avi2dvd, Cyberlink PowerDVD, InterVideo WinDVD, Nero... and will try to dublicate on XP.

But, I am not sure which video card to use with XP. I thought Nvidia would be better but there is no drivers yet for the hardware/PureVideo acceleration.

Does anyone know how much cpu utilization or usage there is if you use XP and an Nvidia 8600 GT card? I am just curious. Also, I am comparing to the HD 2000 series and I think some people (on here) are satisfied with the card but do you any of you use XP? I read on another site of people discussing problems with their HD 2000-series cards and I think a lot of it were Vista users but also XP.

Comments?

[Longbow]

second attempt.. 3 machines now lol

my current P4 is way too noisy to be the HTPC. and it chokes on HD playback

why not just 2 pc. HTPC and media server sounds same to me. all you need on your P4 system is probably a new video card - ya 8500GT will do.

[Longbow]

MB: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R or Abit IP35 Pro

you might want to hold on for a while, or get latest 965 boards instead, unless you are sure you can get a version 2.0 on GA-P35-DS3R, not sure if they hit the market yet.

Gigabyte omited usual 1.1 and jumped to a version 2.0 tells me there are some major changes on the P35 board. besides it doesn't really get you any advantage over the 965 boards.

[Wedge]

[snip]... besides it doesn't really get you any advantage over the 965 boards.

Except out-of-the-box 1333MHz fsb support, no?

[pputer]

On the Gigabyte page, for the GA-965P-DS3 revision 2.0, it states the revision is for improvement of Quad Core support so I assume that this would apply to the P35 boards, too. But, you're right, now you have to concern yourself whether you get a 2.0 board. It doesn't list the rev. on any retailer site that sells it. So, you have to ask them in advance? Slightly inconvenient (to say the least)???