kianwee,
solid for most

nice review : http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboa...rboard-review/1

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/953
got me hooked.

twtang, cheapest h55 itx board i've scouted so far.

This post has been edited by temppei: Jul 14 2010, 05:18 PM

Too poison...but I have had my HTPC built up recently and worried about M-ITX PSU for special made SFF casing, very hard to find spare parts.

PC Spec :
CPU - AM3 Phenom II X3 720BE
MB - Asus M4A785TD-V EVO
RAM - Kingston KVR1333 DDR3 2GB
HDD - WD Green 1TB
VGA - Internal ATI Radeon HD 4200
Casing - XQBox 800
Speakers - Using my Yamaha RX v457 Home Theater
Monitor -Samsung 40" LED TV
Remote - Packet Bell Remote Control
Keyboard Mouse - Logitech Wireless Keyboard + Mouse
Wifi - Dlink Dongle.

This post has been edited by twtang: Jul 15 2010, 10:00 PM

twtang,

nice stuff
i too hav htpc already, itchy wanna try itx to test, can carry around when travelling, another one for my friend's rig..

u can get those slightly bigger itx casing with normal psu.

example please. i can't find any mini-itx casing using normal psu.

This post has been edited by Skylinestar: Jul 14 2010, 09:28 PM

Use only 1 optical drive, so far still using dvd drive.

My only concern is it lack 3.5 external bay for any future upgrade like memory card reader or any nice equalizer module.

---

Added on July 14, 2010, 8:51 pmBTW, ECS H55H-I is an ITX mobo right? For RM300, really can poison a lot of people. But anyone find Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 mobo here?

This post has been edited by qwerty79: Jul 14 2010, 08:51 PM

got lar bro..
i just did a simple search on the net and found this : http://www.slashgear.com/lian-li-unveils-p...tx-psu-1234014/

it looks ugly imo,

i think it's available in lyn as well. if better looking ones and those exotic kind, then have to be resourceful and find from elsewhere
i bought my current htpc (matx not itx) casing frm SG and at one point was thinking of importing from China or US myself.

---

Added on July 15, 2010, 11:45 amQwerty,

those popular brands are well above rm500 bucks. expensive


This post has been edited by temppei: Jul 15 2010, 11:45 AM

Hi, I just notice you have ALMOST the same same setup as mine....

CPU (720 BE) /mobo/memory/casing.. even the Home Theater & keyboard/mouse also SAME brand!!!!

Don't you have heat issues with yr casing.. mine put inside the TV cabinet, very bad air circulation I have to put a 4" fan blowing cool air into the tv cabinet and change my CPU cooler to Zalman CNPS 8700 LED or else the stock cpu cooler runs at full speed 6000rpms...

Stan,

I was referring to your blog as reference. But, going to change my CPU back to 555BE.

I put my HTPC in the TV cabinet too, but my cabinet door the glass broken last time, so air ventilation still Ok. I feel strange about your CPU fan spinning at 6k all the time? Mine is weird, normally about 4k rpm, but sometime it will be 5500rpm non-stop don't know why and I have to reboot only solve the problem.

I plan to install a fan behind the cabinet, do you think it is more logical to blow cool air in or suck hot air out?

By the way, my XBMC still lagging on play certain mkv, some time got jerky and square square box. Don't know why.

blow hot air out. should be better this way..

nice thread here
my htpc rig is as belows at my signature

bt i sometimes encounter a problem
i normally use cyberlink power dvd 9 to watch my movies
sometimes my picture will stutter for awhile
sometimes only

do anyone knows wat is the problem tat is causin tis

maybe the OS is trying to access a turned off drive. happens sometime to my setup. and as i have lots of HDD, it happens quite frequently especially if there's something running in the background.
you could turn off power saving for the drive and this should go away (if indeed the stutter is because the OS powering up unused drive)

icic
thanks
i will look into it

could it also b because of me usin power dvd 9
wit all truetheater settings to the max
cuz my processor quite old compared to the rest of my setup

bro,
u sold ur Dell SX2210T? why? replaced by?

friends have been asking about HTPC and Network Media Tank (NMT) like Dune, BD1, etc etc.
and though NMT is good, they're still an embedded system with a processor and an OS (in the form of firmware). some of the better ones (NMT concerned) runs of general purpose CPU (ARM or RISC compatible) with a form of general purpose OS (linux, windows CE etc).

and since the price is just a bit more from a full fledged system, why not consider a HTPC?
the same general purpose OS, with better components (system components).
the same general purpose CPU, with better speed.
the same general purpose hardware, with better upgrade path.

i'm running Silverstone LC17 HTPC case. RM400 and fits 6 HDD in standard form.


drill 8 holes and you'll be able to fit 8HDD if your mainboard has the clearance. mine does.

don't use the 5.25" optical drive bay?

buy a HDD cage and put the 2 extra bay to use. able to fit 3 HDD here. i ripped mine from an old computer case.

still require more storage? there's space for 2 more HDD beside the cage.

so that makes 13 HDD in a single RM400 case.

still require a BDROM drive with all of that? easy, can always use an external USB-SATA converter. or eSATA converter and run in externally. when all of your movie collections are stored in the HTPC, browsing and selecting and watching are easy peasy. don't need to search the list and swap the hdd manually. everything are done with a remote from the couch. no need for an extra NAS or another PC acting as a file server. no bandwith problem handling high bitrate file or bluray playback. no lag from the network.

and then there's support for internet browsing, subtitles searching, subtitle syncing, music playback (with support for external DAC/soundcard), remote desktop, bittorent, download, etc and everything else you can think of.

the cost?

so many HDD....
what is the PSU requirement to put all this HDD?
300W sufficient for how many?

My HTPC project is like s*** now. Keep getting BSOD on Win7, fresh install summore on a virgin HDD. Sometime HDD not detected. Feeling like just want to throw my htpc in longkang right now. Dunno what's wrong. Is it the mobo, HDD..no idea at all.

This post has been edited by xsi: Jul 26 2010, 12:03 PM

-Wrong Post-

This post has been edited by azbro: Jul 26 2010, 12:08 PM

300W should be enough for 3-4 HDD if it's rated as truepower. but if you're running the cheap RM50 PSU, then by all means don't attach more than 2.
BSOD is usually caused by RAM not sitting properly. HDD not detected caused by faulty mainboard, or by the cheap PSU if you're using one.

try reattach back all the connections and modules to the mainboard and make sure they're all firmly attach. also helps to clean the attachment and make sure there's no dust.

thank for the tips...
my PSU is a cheapo one...maybe will upgrade later coz i have 2 HDDs 1 DVD drive. And possibly buying another HDD.

btw, also getting BSOD when trying to re-install the win7 again. Bugger!

try and check your ram. test it with memtest86+. sometimes it may be caused by a PSU not supplying enough voltage also. but do check the RAM first

Try googling the BSOD code to c wat's the problem.... It will be easier to c wat's the problem since u hav narrowed down the possibilities.....