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Zebu Fellenz
Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567
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Link Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:11 am Post subject: Best (Value) upgrade for HTPC |
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Hi,
Right now I'm running a HTPC with:
PCCHIPS P25G http://www.pcchips.com.tw/PCCWebSite/Products/ProductsDetail.aspx?detailid=371&DetailName=Driver&MenuID=1&LanID=0
2.8Ghz. P4 Prescott
WAS: 512mb. PC3200 RAM NOW IS: 1GB.
WAS: Nvida Geforce FX 5500 PCI video card NOW IS: Nvidia Geforce 6800
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Seagate 300gb. SATA
Seagate 250gb. ATA
I know that this is no state of the art HTPC but I'm on a budget and would not like to spend more than needed. I have another 512mb. or ram on order and should be getting that next week. So other than more RAM what would you guys reccommed as an upgrade, I'm thinking of a better video card but am not sure what to look for. I don't have a PCI-E slot but do have an AGP 8x slot.
I run the CPU O/C'D at 3.54Ghz and can get smooth playback of 720p WMV and MOV files.
However I'm having an issue with my 300gb. media drive not booting if the CPU is OC'D, does anyone have a guess as to what may be causing this.
BTW. this is all running on a 250w PSU.
Thanks,
Erik
BTW- Does anyone have a suggestion for (cheap) external hard drive enclousures that support both ATA and SATA
Last edited by Zebu Fellenz on Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
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AnalogRocks Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 26690 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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Link Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:28 am Post subject: |
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Well I'd up the power supply to about 400 watts, a good quality power supply will make your system more stable sometimes. I get mine from PC Power and Cooling. Pricey but rock solid. For video you are kind of limited because of the AGP port. Good nes is they made some nice Gforce 7900 series cards for AGP. Along with your 512megs of ram you have on order I'd say that would be a good bang for the buck.
This machine * is 'maxed out' with an AGP Geforce 7800 OC card w 256mb on it. It was a HUGE step up from the Gforce 6800 that blew up on me.
I've found some of the SATA controllers are flakey, have you tried updating the driver?
I've never seen an external enclosure that supports both ATA and Sata, I have a nice external that does eSATA and comes with all the cables to hook it up. Was about $40 plus the hard drive. I'll have to tell you who makes it later as I don't have it handy right now.
*AMD XP3200, 512mb ram, DFI Lanparty board, 350 watt PC Power and cooling PS, Win98Se and all my older games.
_________________ Tech support for nothing
CRT.
HD done right!
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oliverg
Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 800 Location: Melbourne, Australia
TV/Projector: Sony G90 X2 - Vidikron Vision 1
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Link Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like your PSU is strained.
When you O/C - are you adjusting the bus timings seperate to your CPU?
PSUs are dirt cheap these days. 550W should easily be enough.
Avoid using external USB/Firewire drives for anything other than backing up. eSata is fine though - IIRC Netgear make a good one with two SATA ports for drives and a gigabit network interface in it. May have an eSata port too. LaCie make eSata enclosures too - but they are all pretty much the same and cost the same.
The next thing after a PSU would be to update your video card. There's a 7 series nVidiia GS card that's AGP or you could go something like a cheap Radeon ATI 9800 Pro - they can be picked up for $20 and they work well.
All the best
_________________ ( R ) G ( G ) 9 ( B ) 0 ( R ) G ( G ) 9 ( B ) 0
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Zebu Fellenz
Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567
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Link Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks,
I'll be upgrading the PSU shortly, I tried to update the SATA driver and it made no difference.
Can either of you reccommend a good (cheap) graphics card. Is the 9800 a good step up from the Nvidia I'm using now, I'm also looking at the Nvidia 6 series. How does something like a Nvidia 6800 compare to the ATi.
Analog- The 7900 looks good but it is out of my price range. I would like to keep it under $70.00
Thanks for your help,
Erik
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AnalogRocks Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 26690 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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Link Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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The 6800 cards are nice, that would be a step up for sure.
_________________ Tech support for nothing
CRT.
HD done right!
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aspec2
Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 549
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AnalogRocks Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 26690 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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Link Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Hey, now that's a great device. I think I'll pick one of those up. Thanks for the link.
I like this:
Quote wrote: |
You can even connect both an IDE drive and a SATA drive at the same time and copy between them. Perfect for technicians or anyone needing to copy or offload files from one hard drive to another. |
_________________ Tech support for nothing
CRT.
HD done right!
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emdawgz1
Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 7949
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Link Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 2:48 am Post subject: |
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Dude it sounds to me like you're throwing good money after bad....
Build a new one, Start a vision quest!
set a low budget.....450.00, then start bargain shopping. Your reward will be a smokin new htpc, and the road you took to get there
_________________ Follow my blog
www.thesinglebrother.com
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AnalogRocks Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 26690 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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Link Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 2:51 am Post subject: |
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He could but he's working with a small budget so why not give the old boy one last upgrade. He may get another couple of years outta the current PC.
_________________ Tech support for nothing
CRT.
HD done right!
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emdawgz1
Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 7949
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Link Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:04 am Post subject: |
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AnalogRocks wrote: | He could but he's working with a small budget so why not give the old boy one last upgrade. He may get another couple of years outta the current PC. |
I just hate to see a guy struggle needlessly.
if budget is an issue, he could do what i've done.
Cut out cable, cut out my daily soda(a big sacrifice).
Walk to work, save 30c out of every dollar spent.
This will get you cash you never knew you had
_________________ Follow my blog
www.thesinglebrother.com
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AnalogRocks Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 26690 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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Link Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:39 am Post subject: |
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Ohhh I agree on that one. A guy I used to know quit smoking, took the money he use to spend on smokes and stuffed it into a ceramic dog for one year. Yep he had almost $3000 at the end of that year. That was back when smokes were cheaper too.
_________________ Tech support for nothing
CRT.
HD done right!
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aspec2
Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 549
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Link Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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AnalogRocks wrote: | Hey, now that's a great device. I think I'll pick one of those up. Thanks for the link.
I like this:
Quote wrote: |
You can even connect both an IDE drive and a SATA drive at the same time and copy between them. Perfect for technicians or anyone needing to copy or offload files from one hard drive to another. |
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I have never done this. It would require a second PS or a "Y" connector to power both drives. Maybe I will try it tonight if the wife gives me time.
Walt
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racerxnet
Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 362 Location: Illinois
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Link Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 7:03 pm Post subject: |
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If I were in your shoes I would upgrade the Mother Board to the Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA
1. LGA 775 for Intel® Core™ 2 Quad / Core™ 2 Extreme / Core™ 2 Duo / Pentium® XE / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D, supporting Quad Core Kentsfield processors
2. VIA® PT880 Ultra Chipset
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=4CoreDual-VSTA&s
This board allows you to upgrade in steps while retaining your current hardware where applicable. In my case I did not want to purchase 3 new PCI e quadro FX series cards again. At 68.00 dollars for the board, it is cheap enough to get you to the next level of performance without breaking the bank. The Kentsfield procesor is only 275.00 dollars for a quadcore. Next is to install all the other hardware you presently have and enjoy the horsepower. With this processor, HD decoding can be done by the processor only. HW acceleration would be an added bonus.
General
CPU - LGA 775 for Intel® Core™ 2 Quad* / Core™ 2 Extreme* / Core™ 2 Duo / Pentium® XE / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D, supporting Quad Core Kentsfield processors
- FSB 1066/800/533 MHz
- Supports Hyper-Threading Technology
- Supports Untied Overclocking Technology
- Supports EM64T CPU
*When you adopt Quad Core CPU, FSB may be reduced 5%
Chipset - Northbridge: VIA® PT880 Ultra
- Southbridge: VIA® VT8237A
Memory - Dual Channel DDR/DDRII memory technology*
- 2 x DDRII DIMM slots
- Supports DDRII667/533
- Max. capacity: 2GB
- 2 x DDR DIMM slots
- Supports DDR400/333/266
- Max. capacity: 2GB
*DDRII and DDR are supported separately
BIOS - 4Mb AMI BIOS
- AMI Legal BIOS
- Supports "Plug and Play"
- ACPI 1.1 Compliance Wake Up Events
- Supports jumperfree
- SMBIOS 2.3.1 Support
Audio, Video and Networking
Graphics - n/a
Audio - 7.1 CH Windows® Vista™ Premium Level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec)
LAN - VIA® PHY VT6103
- Speed: 10/100 Ethernet
- Supports Wake-On-LAN
Expansion / Connectivity
Slots - 4 x PCI slots
- 1 x PCI Express Graphics slot
- 1 x AGP 8X slot
Connector - 2 x Serial ATA 1.5 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD) and Hot Plug functions
- 2 x ATA133 IDE connectors (support 4 x IDE devices)
- 1 x Floppy connector
- 1 x IR header
- 1 x Game header
- 1 x HDMI_SPDIF header
- CPU/Chassis FAN connector
- 20 pin ATX power connector
- 4 pin 12V power connector
- CD in header
- Front panel audio connector
- 2 x USB 2.0 headers (support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
Rear Panel I/O HD 8CH I/O
- 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port
- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port
- 1 x Serial Port: COM1
- 1 x Parallel Port (ECP/EPP Support)
- 4 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports
- 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
- HD Audio Jack: Side Speaker / Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
Other Features / Miscellaneous
Hybrid Booster - CPU Frequency Stepless Control
- ASRock U-COP
- Boot Failure Guard (B.F.G.)
Support CD - Drivers, Utilities, AntiVirus Software (Trial Version)
Accessories - Quick Installation Guide, Support CD, I/O Shield
- Floppy/ATA 133 cables
- 1 x SATA data cable (optional)
- 1 x SATA 1 to 1 power cable (optional)
- 1 x HDMI_SPDIF cable (optional)
Hardware Monitor - CPU Temperature Sensing
- Chassis Temperature Sensing
- CPU Fan Tachometer
- Chassis Fan Tachometer
- CPU Quiet Fan
- Voltage Monitoring: +12V, +5V, +3.3V, Vcore
Form Factor - ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm
OS - Microsoft® Windows® 2000 / XP / XP 64-bit / Vista™ / Vista™ 64-bit compliant
Certifications - FCC, CE, WHQL
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Zebu Fellenz
Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567
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Link Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Guys,
I've got a quick update, I had bought an Nvidia Geforce 6800 on Ebay this past weekend and it arrived today. The preformance over my prevous 5500 is impressive (I can now playback 1080p wmv and quicktime files without any stuttering) however on a not so happy note my 300gb. drive decided to take a dump right as I was installing the card. so winblows and all my (limited) HD media is still safe but my collection of DVD's is MIA.
I also have a Gig of memory coming later this week so I'll see what kind of difference this makes.
Quote: | Cut out cable, cut out my daily soda(a big sacrifice).
Walk to work, save 30c out of every dollar spent.
This will get you cash you never knew you had |
Emdawgz1 thats great advice except for the fact that I have cut out cable, never had daily soda, work at home so no walking to do. And as far as saving 30 cents on the dollar that may be a little hard to do as I'm already bargining with the little old ladies at the garage sales as much as possible
Although if you know of a source for (cheaper) Ramon Noodles let me know; Buying by the 24-pack still isn't cheap enough
Racerxnet:
Thanks for the advice a $60 or so dollar mobo isn't too far out of budget but there is no way I'd be able to stretch for an almost $300 CPU. However I'll keep those in mind for my next HTPC (when I have money to spend)
Thanks,
Erik
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aspec2
Joined: 10 Apr 2006 Posts: 549
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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You might be able to save that drive's data.
Walt
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emdawgz1
Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 7949
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Zebu Fellenz
Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567
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Link Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Emdawgz1,
No offense taken, I know that in the end I would be better off starting new, but just as you "hate to see a guy struggle needlessly" I hate to drop that much money on a piece of equiptment that will be just as outdated as what I have now in less than two years.
In other news my new ram arrived today so I'm now running 1GB and am loving the preformance boost.
Thanks for the advice on the noodles
Walt,
I know I may be able to save the data on the drive but all it is is backups of some of my DVD's so it would be easy enough to recreate. Also I figure it was time for it to go away and make room for more HD so I formatted the drive and now plan on using it for HD storage and a drive for recorded TV
Erik
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