Pics of the new HTPC

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JohnnyNapalm

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 13, 2007
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Just some shameless bragging for my ~$350 HTPC :p 2.1Ghz X2, 4GB RAM, 640GB HDD, Bluray/HD-DVD, Razer 7.1 Optical card...a great tiny build.

The barebones:
513173913_hMxsK-L.jpg


RAM:
513179360_KczqJ-L.jpg


The hard drive (when it was in the bad slot of the cage):
513182041_RvuB9-L.jpg


Filled to the brim...that audio card had just millimeters of clearance:
513184060_jLCGD-L.jpg


Rear panel:
513185596_DvX9w-L.jpg


Finished box before shoving it into the TV stand:
513187645_ponmR-L.jpg
 
Now I can't wrap my head around why that Razer card is in there. I'm aware that the mobo you are using doesn't appear to have S/PDIF out, but any $30 soundcard with a S/PDIF out would give you the exact same output. I sure hope you didn't buy that card specifically for using its digital out... That would result in one major facepalm. ;)
 
I paid just around $30 bucks for that card (specifically for the TOSLINK), and it's awesome. Does that help answer your question?
 
Can you list out the parts you used for the HTPC build? I would like to build one too for watching ripped movies on my TV..

Thanks!
 
shebalord said:
Can you list out the parts you used for the HTPC build? I would like to build one too for watching ripped movies on my TV..

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Case - Shuttle SN68SG2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101038
RAM - G.SKILL 4GB DDR2 800 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
CPU - AMD X2 4050e 45w - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672
Video - MSI Nvidia 9400 512mb - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127412

Used a WD 640 Black SATA HDD, LG Bluray/HD-DVD SATA Optical, and Razer AC-1 for audio. All running on the stock PSU, and it's barely taxing the system.
 
JohnnyNapalm said:
Case - Shuttle SN68SG2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101038
RAM - G.SKILL 4GB DDR2 800 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
CPU - AMD X2 4050e 45w - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103672
Video - MSI Nvidia 9400 512mb - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127412

Used a WD 640 Black SATA HDD, LG Bluray/HD-DVD SATA Optical, and Razer AC-1 for audio. All running on the stock PSU, and it's barely taxing the system.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply!

How's the build handling 1080p movies? and how's playback on the Bluray/HD-DVD? Also, are you using any media organizers like XBMC or Media Portal?

Thanks again!
 
JohnnyNapalm said:
The Tammy was dirt cheap ($275) when I got it. I didn't like it on a crop sensor body, wasn't nearly wide enough, but now on a full-frame, it's on my camera 95% of the time.
Click to expand...

I chose the Tammy 17-50 f/2.8 for my 40D. Great lens compared to the $700 17-40 canon, although the focusing motor is noisy.

How bright are the LED's on the face? I have a Silverstone Sugo and they are super bright, but since mine are behind a flap, I just taped some white paper over them to lower the output a bit.
I still need to do something with my LG Player as that one is really bright as well and flashes while playing a Disc.
 
shebalord said:
Also, can this build support IDE devices?
Click to expand...

the shuttle comes with an IDE/PATA cable so I guess if must have 1 IDE port on it.

Ya, looks like the port is on the front of the board, it's yellow.
 
I'll answer in order.

1) Handles 1080p and Bluray playback like a champ, haven't noticed any stutters. Not using any media frontends (we're on the internet too much in the living room to do that).
2) I almost traded my 28-75 for the 17-50, but I ended up getting my 5D (which it is incompatible with). I'm stuck getting the 17-40 I guess...
3) The LEDs are terribly bright. I can tolerate the hard drive light, but put electrical tape over the HDD light. It was burning my soul.
4) Yup, 1 IDE slot, two devices, comes prewired for it.
 
Btw, does the cpu need extra cooling? or the OEM cpu without cooling will be fine?

Thanks again for the replies!
 
The shuttles don't support any other cooling than their "ICE" heatpipe system, from what I can tell. I wouldn't be overclocking in a box like this anyways, so you should be fine.
 
so if i use any 45w cpu then i should be fine without any cooling? what about 65w cpus?
 
Their cooling system is designed for chips up to 125w, but if you are just trying to put a media box together, i'd stay at 65w or under, just for the sake of the PSU. The gfx card could use it more than the cpu in this case.
 
Looks good! That chip is a lot stronger than the one I put in my box, I think you'll like it. I have the 6000 (albeit 125w version) in my main box, and love it.
 
Both times I've put a hard drive against the bottom of a cage like that, it's made much more noise than while in the upper slot.
 
Not to derail the thread.. but

.. uhm ..

Why does the sound card look like it has a DVI port on it?
 
lt_shiro said:
its a break out connector for the audio cables.
Click to expand...

that's razer for you. It's a properitary thing. They give a dongle that breaks that up into the needed ports, or I think the Razer barracuda headsets and such have that same plug.

It only looks like DVI :)

edit: I see I was beaten to the punch
 
i got some parts today in the mail...still waiting for the cpu to arrive..

how did you connect the video card's sound cable to the motherboard?

also, did you have to use an usb keyboard? can i use a ps/2 -> usb adapter for the keyboard?

thanks again!
 
Last edited:
What do you mean the video card's sound cable? If you are talking about getting audio out of your HDMI slot, I don't think it's possible.

And yeah, I use a wireless keyboard/mouse with a single USB receiver, ps/2 adapter should work fine.
 
JohnnyNapalm said:
What do you mean the video card's sound cable? If you are talking about getting audio out of your HDMI slot, I don't think it's possible.

And yeah, I use a wireless keyboard/mouse with a single USB receiver, ps/2 adapter should work fine.
Click to expand...
Some video cards (like that one) will mix SPDIF audio into the HDMI stream, you just need to connect a cable from the header on your mobo/soundcard to the header on the board. Also i believe that card has an onboard audio codec as well.
 
Looks like you're right. I went back and looked at the specs, and the Shuttle has an SPDIF out, and it appears that the MSI has a SPIDF in. Should work just fine. I didn't do it that way, since I installed the Razer (and am not interested in using HDMI out for video).
 
Yeah!

I installed everything and got WinXP running. Also, I installed MediaPortal as frontend and set it to automatically load when boot up....

I connected my old SnapStream Firefly remote and it works like a charm!

Now I need to connect it to my old tv that only has DVI-D connection....haha

I also need to figure out how to make it go to sleep mode instead of booting and shut down everytime...how do you do it?
 
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i mean...i dont want it to be on 24/7...just on when i watch movies and stuff...

if i let it go to sleep when i hit power button, can i wake it using remote? or i have to press power button again?
 
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