Finally an HTPC :)

[Hdale85]

As for the software vs hardware thing, I think there are many factors that can make both good and bad options. There is plenty of hardware that can effect how good a software raid setup will work. There are a lot of hardware raid cards out there that have compatibility issues with some hard drives and then some cards that just have issues in general. I've even seen and heard of some hardware raid cards that have compatibility issues with certain motherboards. So there are many things that can make any raid setup unstable. Also both options have their advantages and disadvantages.

[aud19]

Damn nice looking case Dougie :T Man I want one too! :P

[PewterTA]

Okay I was going to say I have Win2008 on my server and Vista ultimate on my PC (with only 2GB) everything works flawlessly. I can even install codecs on either machine and it will copy them between the two machines. My PS3 and 360 also love 2008 server, never had a single problem with either of them.

If you can play around with server 2008 I would recommend it. And don't worry about vista ultimate with your HTPC...it'll run it fine, I have it on a very similiar PC setup for my parents and it works like a charm.

The Linux server side definitely takes more time to set up (and set up correctly) then once done, it runs great until you tend to reboot... still seems reboots can cause issues...why I dunno. Win2008 is the opposite, easy to setup, but requires more time and updates and maintenance after the initial setup. Plus it likes monthly reboots (or at least once every 3 or 4 months, especially if you are updating much.

[Hdale85]

I just don't know that I would benefit anything by putting Vista on my HTPC lol.

[impala454]

You not going to run VMC?

[audioqueso]

Are you being sarcastic impala? I'm asking because most people are when they mention Vista. Is VMC any good? I've been using Meedio for years. The only reason I would switch is because I have too many Japanese CD's that I have to spell out in roman letters. It would be so much easier if I could use Japanese alphabet instead... but Meedio won't display Asian fonts.

[Hdale85]

I don't really use VMC never really cared to much for XP MCE either. They don't support FLAC amongst other things. I love Media Portal and been interested in trying out MythTV in linux.

[Kevin P]

You probably would be better off with a hardware RAID card under Windows. I wouldn't trust software RAID under windows, but linux is a different story.

If rebooting a linux box causes issues, it's probably because something isn't set up right in the startup scripts. But, Linux rarely needs to be rebooted. I generally only reboot my Linux boxes when there is a kernel update. No other updates require a reboot, unlike Windows where just about everything needs a reboot, even if it's something that isn't even running during the update. :huh:

That said, give Linux a try when you build your file server. If nothing else, you won't be making Microshaft any richer that way.

[impala454]

naw queso wasn't being sarcastic, just asking dougie if he was going to use VMC. I don't currently have one set up (just moved) but used it quite a bit before and it's awesome IMHO. Though if you're not going to use it as a DVR I can see doing something else. One setup I've found to be pretty nice is using XP and WMP media sharing + Xbox360. I got a second 360 just for this purpose and it works out great. Anywhere you want all of your media just slap down a 360 and you're good to go. You can even run VMC through it (provided you have a PC on your network running VMC).

One more tidbit, I read yesterday that full auto-commercial skip will be available in the Windows 7 version of MC. :T

[impala454]

unlike Windows where just about everything needs a reboot, even if it's something that isn't even running during the update. :huh:

Perhaps in XP but not in Vista

[Hdale85]

There are lots of options out there that can do DVR as well My only issue with the windows media center application is its somewhat limited when it comes to file formats it supports. I've heard there are ways to make VMC play FLAC files but Media Portal and MythTV and there is another new one that's coming out I've been looking into can't remember the name right now it's something weird. They all support everything I need them to out of the box. I have known of people doing a great bit with VMC though.

Now Windows 7 media center should be quite nice with native support for blu-ray. But I'm hoping other software gets this soon as well. Currently everything uses external programs for blu-ray which kind of sucks. There have been some pretty neat implementation in Media Portal to where it works almost as if it is supported natively.

[impala454]

what other file formats are you having issue w/VMC with?

[Hdale85]

I don't believe it handles the MKV container. Granted I could just back up in a different container so it's not the biggest deal. I just like how customizable Media Portal is. Plus Media Portal has an excellent sound driver that sounds extremely good.

[impala454]

Oh no worries, wasn't making you justify not using it, just curious if there are other formats people have issues with.

[PewterTA]

WMC as of 2005 version supports FLAC and I have it working with MKV the only thing you need to do is drop in a .jpg file for the thumbnail as it doesn't seem to pull it from the file itself. As long as the .jpg file is in the directory it'll use that as the thumbnail for the MKV file.

[Hdale85]

Hmm well that's interesting thanks for the info

One thing I realized about installing Vista is I won't have to deal with the hack for the blu-ray file system support. I forget what it's called at the moment.

[audioqueso]

Yeah, no support for FLAC, APE, or MKV files would definitely turn me off as all of my music is in FLAC/APE, and a lot of MKV files. But Pewter said it does work now, so I think I'll give it a show on my Vista laptop. If I like it, then I may mess around with it on my HTPC. I don't do DVR. It's just music, some movies, pictures, and old Nintendo games.

Does MediaPortal support Asian files? I don't card about the sound driver. I use ASIO everything via optical to my Marantz receiver.

[Hdale85]

It's not so much a driver. It even helps optical trust me. The stock one it uses doesn't sound very good. I'm pretty sure media portal supports just about any language format. It's open source so there is quite a lot of stuff out there for it.

[audioqueso]

Hmmm, I'll have to take a look at that as well then. Thanks Dougie.

[Hdale85]

Ok well I am finally posting some pictures. I installed Vista 32bit and have been tweaking the setup here and there. I still have quite a bit to work on though I just have been messing with my new server lately and focusing on that. I have some more pics though and I'll narrate them the best I can.


All the parts laid out


Just a quick shot of the board. One note is I bough this opened box as it was a good bit cheaper and this is like one of the only times I haven't gotten all the parts with an open box unit. So I have to try and get rear IO shield sometime. I bought my server board open box too and it came with everything. It's just luck of the draw sometimes.


Nearly everything mounted. I was also testing placement of the heatsink. Seems that this board has the processor socket in a strange place and it doesn't quite fit in with where the slim dvd drive caddy/duct sits. More on this in the next pic.


Ok so here you can see I've modded the edge of the duct a bit so that it would allow the heatsink to sit without hitting it. This was quite easy and looks good to me. Also fits perfectly now.


Here you can see where I took out the 2 80mm fans and stuck in the 120mm. I used a couple zip ties and it fit perfectly in there right behind the heatsink. So now it draws a good amount of air through the heatsink as well. It's pretty quiet I can't really hear it from my couch.


Closeup of fan.


Now everything is mounted, hard drive and everything. One thing I think before to long I'll get a solid state drive or some other drive because the one in here now is very noisy.


Shroud installed as you can see fits neatly around the heatsink.

And here are a couple pics of it powered on.




Can also see my new toy from APC in this one

[Hdale85]

By the way I got DXVA working with Blu-ray and my backed up movies and I must say I'm very impressed. Previously I was an avid CoreAVC user and loved it but I see now how much better hardware acceleration can be.

[alexcd]

I'm curious what your CPU usage is with the 9400GT. I was persuaded to go all the way with a Sapphire Radeon HD4850 512MB GDDR3. I haven't hooked it up yet but bought a passive heatsink, the large radiator looking type, to replace the fans. I dont plan to be a gamer but this card certainly kicks butt on the benchmark charts. How did you know which to pick is my question?

[Hdale85]

I am using a 9500gt and CPU usage is good with HD content I think I stay around 30-40% but I also have other stuff running in the background and this is with Vista. The ATI stuff doesn't seem to have as good of hardware decoding support as the Nvidia stuff at least this is what I was told and the reason I stayed with Nvidia. Also Nvidia cards have been lower cost lately. The 9500gt I got is fanless and works wonderfully for 1080p content playback.

If all you are doing is playing movies and stuff that 4850 is probably way overkill and just creating more heat then you need to deal with.