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Offlinenismo2491
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Advice on building a media system.
    #12450327 - 04/24/10 04:52 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

So I've got a spare case, power supply, sound card, etc.  I've decided to consider changing my original plans around.

Originally I planned on running a 1TB time capsule external HDD to wirelessly host my media as well as plug into speakers and printer for wireless speakers and printers from my laptop.

now I'm thinking of building a desktop system to host my media and also be able to use my TV as a monitor for movies, etc. Of course this computer will also be able to support my printer and speakers and drive my surround sound.

The sound card IS a 5.1 card and I have a nice 5.1 surround sound setup.
I want to design a system that will be for media only. Basically I want to have this system hooked into my tv (either component, hdmi, etc).  I will most likely get a 1TB internal HDD but haven't ruled out still running the time capsule either. that isn't really important as I have two 60gb HDD's in good shape that I can run the OS on if need be.

All I have now is the sound card, HDD, cd/dvd rom, cd-rw, and cords, wires, etc.  I'm pretty sure my MoBo is fried.  I do have a power supply so I'm good there.  I have all the related components obviously too (i'm not a retard, I know computers need keyboard, mouse, screen, power cord, etc to function properly)

I have the knowledge and experience to handle assembling a computer as well as setting up the OS and network.

I will not be doing any video or sound editing. This will simply be a system to host my media display it on my tv or through audio.

I will most likely run a Linux based OS OR windows XP pro.

My question for the shroomerites:
what would you recommend for basic system requirements.  from what I can gather I would need a MoBo, processor, ram, and a video card. I've been out of the tech loop for a while (especially pc machines and not mac's) .  What specific components would you reccomend for a budget system. there will be no gaming or major 3d graphics, etc.  I just need to know what are my bare minimums for an ok system will be.
How much ram should I get? I'm thinking only like 4gb since I won't be doing much.
Any reccomendations on specific video cards, I would prefer HDMI AND component output but will settle for one or the other (I haven't bought my TV yet so don't know how many HDMI inputs I will have)
what speed processor?
any specific MOBO I should get?


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Offlinebigboi86
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: nismo2491]
    #12450465 - 04/24/10 05:21 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

I'm a fan of AMD since you can generally build cheaper systems that are on par with Intel's offerings for much cheaper.

Your case, what formfactor is it? Is it a full sized ATX case, microATX, or miniITX?

If it is a smaller media center case, or small desktop case, chances are it is a microATX case. If so, grab something like this. It has D-sub(analog) DVI(digital), and HDMI video outputs. If you need more, you can add a video card with whatever kind of outputs you want, or get an adapter. Some video cards have s-video and component video out, but it's not something generally found on every device. Personally I would just use DVI or HDMI.

It also has an onboard 5.1 and 7.1(8 channel) high quality sound card.

It supports all the latest AMD processors, including the new 6 core CPUs they are about to unroll.

4gb of ram is more than enough for media center purposes. That's about what I would recommend. The operating system itself only uses about 1gig of ram.

You are "pretty sure" your mobo is fried? I would test your PSU and RAM before you just spontaneously buy a new piece of hardware. You can test your PSU with a multimeter(you can find guides online), or you can get a PSU tester at BestBuy(or online), OR take your PSU to bestbuy and they should hook it up and test it for free(I used to work there).

If you need any help picking out any other hardware for this setup, let me know. I would go with that motherboard and whatever AM3 CPU you can afford, and of course, DDR3 memory which is the only kind the motherboard supports.


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Offlinenismo2491
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: bigboi86]
    #12450613 - 04/24/10 05:51 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

bigboi86 said:
I'm a fan of AMD since you can generally build cheaper systems that are on par with Intel's offerings for much cheaper.

Your case, what formfactor is it? Is it a full sized ATX case, microATX, or miniITX?




I am not 100% sure. anywhere on the case to look? if it helps, its the "standard" size that was used throughout the 90s and early 2ks before the slimmer cases became popular. If it matters, it was originally a gateway "tower" circa 2k2.
Quote:


If it is a smaller media center case, or small desktop case, chances are it is a microATX case. If so, grab something like this. It has D-sub(analog) DVI(digital), and HDMI video outputs. If you need more, you can add a video card with whatever kind of outputs you want, or get an adapter. Some video cards have s-video and component video out, but it's not something generally found on every device. Personally I would just use DVI or HDMI.




aahhhhh I forgot about DVI!!
I guess I need one with dvi and/or hdmi output. I plan on getting a ps3 as well and switching to HiDef for cable so I'm sure that most likely the HDMI inputs on my tv will be taken up. that looks like a very nice MoBo. 
Quote:



It also has an onboard 5.1 and 7.1(8 channel) high quality sound card.

It supports all the latest AMD processors, including the new 6 core CPUs they are about to unroll.

4gb of ram is more than enough for media center purposes. That's about what I would recommend. The operating system itself only uses about 1gig of ram.

You are "pretty sure" your mobo is fried? I would test your PSU and RAM before you just spontaneously buy a new piece of hardware. You can test your PSU with a multimeter(you can find guides online), or you can get a PSU tester at BestBuy(or online), OR take your PSU to bestbuy and they should hook it up and test it for free(I used to work there).




I have swapped the PSU with a known good PSU and get the same results.  Everything seems to power on, fans turn on, etc, but all that happens on the board is a flashing red LED light towards the bottom of the board.
Quote:



If you need any help picking out any other hardware for this setup, let me know. I would go with that motherboard and whatever AM3 CPU you can afford, and of course, DDR3 memory which is the only kind the motherboard supports.



is there any particular reason to splurge and get a good processor. couldn't I just get a cheapo 1yr or so old model? purely for the reason that I don't plan on doing too much processor intensive stuff. I doubt I'll even DL anything on there, probably DL on my laptop and transfer to desktop.


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Offlinebigboi86
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: nismo2491]
    #12451924 - 04/24/10 11:57 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

is there any particular reason to splurge and get a good processor.




You can get a cheaper processor and be happy for what you're doing. I would get a socket AM3 Dual core Athlon II.

Quote:

I have swapped the PSU with a known good PSU and get the same results.  Everything seems to power on, fans turn on, etc, but all that happens on the board is a flashing red LED light towards the bottom of the board.




That's not the only thing that causes this behavior. Try different ram, and also reset the cmos. A misconfigured CMOS will cause the symptoms you describe.

Reseat the ram, try them independently if you have more than 1 stick, and if you have any other ram laying around that's a known good stick, put it in and see if it has the same results.

If you do all this then you will know for sure if it's the motherboard or not.


Quote:

I am not 100% sure. anywhere on the case to look? if it helps, its the "standard" size that was used throughout the 90s and early 2ks before the slimmer cases became popular. If it matters, it was originally a gateway "tower" circa 2k2.




You could google the ATX formfactor and measure if you want. A rule of thumb is, if there is more than 3 or 4 PCI brackets in the back then it is a full-sized ATX case.

MicroATX boards will fit in both ATX and MicroATX cases though, so just go with the board I linked and you will be alright. ASUS is one of the best motherboard manufacturers.

Beware though when trying to build a computer around an OEM case, a lot of those cases are proprietary and some will not accept aftermarket boards. You can take pictures though and I would be able to identify these things for you however.


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Invisiblefrith
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: bigboi86]
    #12452046 - 04/25/10 12:46 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

something a lot of people dont understand is that playing back HD video is not a very difficult or system taxing process. as long as you use the right software with supported hardware youll be fine.

example:
i have a 7 year old dell machine. it has a 2.8GHz P4 (non-HT) with 1GB of RAM. standard 7200rpm hdd. the video card is a $40 nvidia 8500gt.

using this machine i can play HD video with only about 8% cpu usage.

heres the trick.. you need a video card that supports gpu offloading. this will force the gpu to do all video decoding. this is not the same as video acceleration. nvidia ion series is what youre looking for.

now to take advantage of the gpu offloading you need software that has been compiled to offload video processing to the GPU. unless something changed recently im not aware of (and thats unlikely) VLC will not work like this. my preferred software package is XBMC.


the biggest thing to keep in mind is that you are not building a computer.. you are building an appliance. its sole function is to display your media. THATS IT. keep that in mind when youre putting ideas together and youll come out with a much different idea than when you started.

if you want a full blown computer then you will need to spend more money on hardware and clutter the experience with keyboards and mice instead of just a simple remote.. personally, i think having to pull out a keyboard when youre sitting on the couch is clunky and inefficient. a remote is all you should need. :shrug:



if i were in the market for a HTPC right now i would buy an Acer Revo. it is a $200 mini desktop based on Intel Atom and Nvidia Ion architectures. it handles HD video very well and is 100% silent (huge factor for a HTPC).

ive read on here in the past that some people doubt the Revo can comfortably push HD video.. i bought a Popcorn Hour A100 about 2 years ago for $180 and that had an old ass VIA processor. it can handle HD video very well.. the Revo is a hell of a lot more powerful than that thing is..


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Offlineiateshaggy
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: bigboi86]
    #12452051 - 04/25/10 12:47 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

yeah, most oem cases have custom jacks for the power switch etc.  u can get a new case for $50 though, so no big deal.


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Offlinenismo2491
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: bigboi86]
    #12452091 - 04/25/10 01:06 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

bigboi86 said:
Quote:

is there any particular reason to splurge and get a good processor.




You can get a cheaper processor and be happy for what you're doing. I would get a socket AM3 Dual core Athlon II.



I meant to mention this in the last reply, but, I'm aware of AMD's reputation and fully intended on going with them for my processor. Thank you for the recommendation.
Quote:


Quote:

I have swapped the PSU with a known good PSU and get the same results.  Everything seems to power on, fans turn on, etc, but all that happens on the board is a flashing red LED light towards the bottom of the board.




That's not the only thing that causes this behavior. Try different ram, and also reset the cmos. A misconfigured CMOS will cause the symptoms you describe.

Reseat the ram, try them independently if you have more than 1 stick, and if you have any other ram laying around that's a known good stick, put it in and see if it has the same results.

If you do all this then you will know for sure if it's the motherboard or not.




as far as resetting the CMOS, I don't know the current processor or anything like that. Is that going to be a problem. Also to reset, do I just remove the button battery in there.
BTW: tried pulling the processor to see what it is, it's glued to the heat sink is what it is. LOL

I do not have extra RAM lying around. I have tried switching the two sticks around. I have not tried using 1 but not the other.

If it matters, as far as the CMOS or RAM is concerned, this problem started out of nowhere. I did not inherit this machine like this. It was working one day, and not the next.

Quote:



Quote:

I am not 100% sure. anywhere on the case to look? if it helps, its the "standard" size that was used throughout the 90s and early 2ks before the slimmer cases became popular. If it matters, it was originally a gateway "tower" circa 2k2.




You could google the ATX formfactor and measure if you want. A rule of thumb is, if there is more than 3 or 4 PCI brackets in the back then it is a full-sized ATX case.

MicroATX boards will fit in both ATX and MicroATX cases though, so just go with the board I linked and you will be alright. ASUS is one of the best motherboard manufacturers.

Beware though when trying to build a computer around an OEM case, a lot of those cases are proprietary and some will not accept aftermarket boards. You can take pictures though and I would be able to identify these things for you however.



it is 8x9 so, miniATX.  it appeared my case would also fit a fullsize ATX but either way, looks like I'm gonna go with your board so....

I honestly have a pretty good feeling this case will accept aftermarket boards.  either way, I'll make it fit if it doesn't. LOL. well not really, but I'll figure something out.

You seem to know your shit so a couple quick questions.
Do I need any connection between my sound card and my cd-rom? I mean other than the ribbon cable to the MoBo?


--------------------
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Ythan said: nismo2491 won the ban lotto for the week of May 09, 2010
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Offlinebigboi86
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: nismo2491]
    #12452213 - 04/25/10 02:05 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

The "glue" you are talking about is thermal paste. After it's cured for a long time it can be like glue :smile:. The trick is to twist the heatsink back and forth slightly.

The type of processor does not matter when you are simply resetting the CMOS.

Take the battery out of the mobo, and unplug the PSU from the wall. Wait like 3 minutes, then replace the battery, and plug the PSU back in.

Some motherboards even have a little jumper to do this but it's just as easy removing the battery and easier to explain to someone.

Quote:


frith said:
something a lot of people dont understand is that playing back HD video is not a very difficult or system taxing process.




I agree, I recommended a cheap processor and motherboard with onboard Radeon 4200 graphics and HDMI output.

I can even go a little cheaper

Motherboard 89
Ram 28
CPU 32
= 149 + shipping.

It will support major upgrades too, like a dedicated PCI-E graphics card, Six core CPUs, more DDR3 memory, etc.


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Offlinenismo2491
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: bigboi86]
    #12463849 - 04/27/10 06:58 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Ok UPDATE:
so I took the battery out of the cmos. let it sit for a while. and replaced it (as was instructed)
still won't boot up BUT the little red LED on the MoBo is solid now.
Also, and this has applied since this issue started, the monitor is not getting a signal. Having said that, the monitor does not display the "no signal" screen, EVER  (when plugged into the computer). It does display that screen if the vga cord is disconnected. And yes, just to make sure, I have plugged it into another computer and verifies that it does in fact work properly.
I'm talking to  compsci buddy today and seeing if I can get an extra ram strip off him.


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Ythan said: nismo2491 won the ban lotto for the week of May 09, 2010
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Invisiblefrith
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: nismo2491]
    #12464483 - 04/27/10 10:24 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

if it wont power on at all its not your ram. you have a power issue.

a power supply tester is like $4 at any bestbuy or whatever..

if your monitor wont work either then maybe your surge protector is dead.

if you added any hardware lately then it might be trying to pull too much power and your psu cant supply enough.


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Offlinenismo2491
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: frith]
    #12464533 - 04/27/10 10:34 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

frith said:
if it wont power on at all its not your ram. you have a power issue.

a power supply tester is like $4 at any bestbuy or whatever..




I have a known-good PSU that has been swapped in. as well as the PSU from this comp being put into a known-good machine.  Known-good machine still powered on and ran fine.  Known-good PSU gave exact same results.
Quote:


if your monitor wont work either then maybe your surge protector is dead.




monitor works, monitor turns on, monitor plugged into laptop displays stuff, monitor with VGA not plugged into anything displays a no-signal type screen, monitor plugged into PC in question displays absolutely nothing.
Quote:


if you added any hardware lately then it might be trying to pull too much power and your psu cant supply enough.



none. in fact, right now the only hard ware that is connected to the machine is the sound card, modem, and HDD.  (as well as periphials such as USB, etc) but no cd-rom or anything, just to rule out possibilities.


--------------------
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Ythan said: nismo2491 won the ban lotto for the week of May 09, 2010
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InvisibletrendalM
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: nismo2491]
    #12464625 - 04/27/10 10:47 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

If it isn't powering on at all, I would think it's a problem with your motherboard! It's probably dead.

I have never had a problem like that without it being a dead mb.


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Offlinenismo2491
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: trendal]
    #12464644 - 04/27/10 10:50 AM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

trendal said:
If it isn't powering on at all, I would think it's a problem with your motherboard! It's probably dead.

I have never had a problem like that without it being a dead mb.



yeah, that seemed like the most logical guess to me too, and unfortunately with the limitted amount of diagnostic tools I have.....

I thought originally PSU, cause that was of course the obvious, but like I said, I've rulled that out :frown:

Oh well. from the looks of it this case WILL support an aftermarket board :thumbup:

thanks for the advice folks!


--------------------
Semi-Official Shroomery Fantasy Hockey 2010 League
"I just solved world peace! Everybody just needs to take a piss!"
Ythan said: nismo2491 won the ban lotto for the week of May 09, 2010
Shroomery - #1 Distraction from Studying


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Offlinebigboi86
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: trendal]
    #12468250 - 04/27/10 08:24 PM (13 years, 8 months ago)

Quote:

trendal said:
If it isn't powering on at all, I would think it's a problem with your motherboard! It's probably dead.

I have never had a problem like that without it being a dead mb.




Yep, we were simply doing some last minute trouble shooting to make sure it was the motherboard and not something else that was messed up.

:thumbup:

Goodluck with your new build nismo.


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Offlinenismo2491
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Re: Advice on building a media system. [Re: bigboi86]
    #12468356 - 04/27/10 08:42 PM (13 years, 8 months ago)

haha so I decided to check the ram and stuff on this machine, see if it was worth saving or just getting new ram.. yeahhhh I forgot how far technology has advanced since dual core first came out.

oh and just cause I'm a good sport and ya know ya all love me:


--------------------
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"I just solved world peace! Everybody just needs to take a piss!"
Ythan said: nismo2491 won the ban lotto for the week of May 09, 2010
Shroomery - #1 Distraction from Studying


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