HTPC built from scratch!!!

[RickS]

Jon,

Which fan did you disconnect on the rack mount case? The front fan is about 3" in diameter. I was thinking of somehow mounting a IR sensor on the left side of the case. Have you done anything with IR sensors on this case? I'm using the Airboard and it has a very large sensor to fit in the case.

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[KennyG]

Bing, thanks for "read ahead speed" directions, will do it next time I fire up projector (friday)

[JonMarsh]

I disconnected the Fan at the front. The power supply fan pushes enough air for the system that was built into it, which was an overcloced Celeron 300 -> 450, with a Matrox G400.

Now, those fans are brushless DC fans, and if you're inclined you can run them on something other than 12V. What that means is that either you have to put a switching or linear voltage regulator between the PC 12V line and the fan connector, or, easier still, put in a separate power supply. Most of the 12 volt fans will turn over nicely, and more slowy (and quieter) at 5-7V; so a 6V DC supply often will work well. I tried that with my Living room HTPC, when I was concerned about the heat generated by 1 30GB 7200RPM and two 60GB 7200RPM drives, combined with a 900MHz Athlon. It worked, but didn't really need it, particularly since I pulled the 60GB drives. The way I determine the optimum supply voltage, is truly sohpisticated. I hook up one of my variable Lab supplies to the fan, and ajust the output voltage till I like the way the fan runs, then I set the resistors for controlling output voltage in my series pass regulator assembly (just an LM317 adjustable regulator circuit, using TO3 package and small PCB heatsink). (yeah, I have stuff lying around the house that may not be in everyone's kitchen cupboard!).

Regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[RickS]

Jon,

Thanks for the reply! I like the idea of having a adjustable voltage regulator in line with the fan. This way if I need more cooling I could just increase the voltage. Is there a rotary type voltage regulator I could mount on the side or back of the case that you know of?


I did end up with the 1.2 AMD-Athlon TB 266FSB CPU.

TIA
Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[RickS]

Well.......all the parts should finally arrive today! I'm just going to cut a slot in the rack mount cases 5.25 bay cover plate to mount the IR sensor for the Airboard.

One question? Is everyone running there HTPC's on a network or have direct internet connection? I haven't picked up a nic card yet. Just wondering.

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[ThomasW]

Rick

I don't know of anyone running HTPC on a network. They are best as stand alone devices with minimum software and hardware




theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio

[RickS]

Thomas,
Thanks for the reply!

If you are updating drivers/version of DVD player or utilities for DVD play back how to you get them to your HTPC?

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[JonMarsh]

Rick,

My fan regulators are strictly DIY, you can get typical circuits out of National Semiconductor or Linear Technology Apps handbooks. You could even just try rewiring one for the five volt bus; that will be enough juice in some cases. It's a good idea to put a small electrolyic (47-100uF, 16V or better) in parallel so that the 5V bus stays clean.

NIC's on an HTPC? Well, people do do it, but anything that generates extraneous interrupts and extra processing has the potential to interrupt at the wrong time for processing your image. On a "ninja" PC like you're building it may not make any difference, but keep it in mind, in case you have stutters or any other playback glitches.

Regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[RickS]

Jon,
I think that I'll just buy a quieter fan today. The one on the front of the case sounds like a 747 turbine. It just wouldn't work at those sound levels. I think I'll keep it off the network and break down a buy a CD burner to load drivers and updates to the HTPC.

Also, in the setup menu of the ATI player the book makes reference to a "Video Tab" which does not show up in the menu. Any ideas?

Thanks
Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[ThomasW]

Rick

Jon is traveling on business until Saturday. I'm sure he'll get around to posting an answer then




theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio

[RickS]

Thomas,

Thanks for the reply!
I replaced the fan on the front of the case and it made a large difference. Now, I need to try and find a fan that will cool the CPU and be much quieter than the one that came with the 1.2 Athlon chip. Any ideas on a external CD burner?

Did you get that sub done with the new driver? When you do, I'll have a truck pick it up!!!

Just thought I'd post a picture of my hack job on mounting the IR sensor for the Airboard.



Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[Bing Fung]

Hey Rick, that is looking good!

For the fan, I purchased a 90mm Sanyo Denko that turns at 3000 RPM, yet moves 55CFM of air. This is much quieter than the 60mm Delta Black label 7000RPM, 38 CFM and slightly quieter than the 60mm Y&S Tech 4500 RPM 26 CFM fan. The ultimate was the Delta Black label for OC'ing if you can stand the howel, however the 90mm Sanyo Denko has enabled me to clock higher than the Y&S Tech but not quite as high as the Delta (almost). Once those funnel adapters are more common it will cool better most definitely.

Here is a picture of the difference.. To truely appreciate the size difference, the small fan is 60mm which is about the size of the heat sink. The 90mm Sanyo Denko really dwarfs the heat sink







I guess the real questions are, How loud is the fan you have now and who makes it? What is it's rated RPM and CFM? Once you know that you could compare specifications and dB ratings to find a quieter fan that would still give the same CPU temperature. I found the Sanyo Denko solution to be steathly quiet, in relative terms to the Y&S Tech, which I thought was very quiet compared to the Delta Black Label. The point is, what I consider quiet may be noisy and unacceptable to you.

Go here to spec or to purchase fans and coolers...

AMK Computers They rate most of their fans dB levels

For the external CDR-W, I'm not sure how much you would like to spend, however TDK has a a new VeloCD 16x10x40 CDR that does Digital extraction at 40x sppeds, this is one fast CDR-W. It's so new I can't yet find it on their site, but did see it in a magazine, it's sweet looking!

TDK VeloCD




Bing

[RickS]

Bing,

Thanks! Does the 92mm X 55 Cfm require you to purchase the heat sync as well? I have the OE heat sink and fan that came with the chip! Since your using the T-bird is this the kit I should order?

"Globalwin FOP32 refitted with a 55 CFM
35 db 92 MM Sanyo Denko fan"

That burner looks cool but I didn't see the external version listed. Probably would have to be SCSI or firewire to get those kinds of numbers?

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[Bing Fung]

It is IEEE 1394 (firewire) compliant. I'm not sure if it would come with the firewire card.

You do not have to purchase the Heatsink with the fan, as AMK first offered it as a kit. They now also sell it as a complete FHS combo. It works very slick with the GolbalWin FOP 38 FHS as it uses the stock retaining clips.

Yes that is the correct kit. Mine was a Globalwin FOP38 (38CFM) to begin with. I then made it into a FOP32 with the Y&S Tech fan, and finally what would be considered a FOP55 If you have a cooler other than the Globalwin, it's no biggie either. Here is how it is done The Techzone

However, I'm scared to just recommend that to you in case it is louder than what you are referenced to.

If you can, measure the dB level of your current fan @ say 2-3 inches away with a Radio Shack SPL meter. then compare it to the purported 35 dB of the Sanyo Denko. I could then also unplug all my fans except for the Sanyo and give you my results to confirm.

Note. Cut out as 90mm x 90mm card board square and test fit this inside your case to insure it will fit




Bing

[RickS]

Wow! You have some big fans in that case. I have one in the front that flow air nicely through the back. I think I'll order the the kit tommorow.
I see that Future Shop has the Yamaha CD Burner with the firewire for $599.00 without cards.

Here is a picture of the fan in the case now! It has a AMD sticker on it??? Hmmmmm.



Thanks a lot for the help!

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[Bing Fung]

Rick, judging by the fan on your CPU, I would hold off on the kit until you have measured the the noise level. I wouldn't want you to get a louder or same level of dB fan.

Another trick you could apply is the sound deadening material to the inside of the case (ie Dynamat...etc). If you look at the inside of my case (the black stuff) you will see I have a simular product applied. It's called V-block and it is a vinyl self sticking material that dampens and quiets a case. I have applied it to 5 sides of the case. Top, Bottom, front and 2 sides. It worked in my particular application and made an auditable difference. It can also be purchased from AMK.

The Yamaha is a nice burner, but the TDK has what is called Burn-proof. It is a technology by Sanyo that prevents buffer underuns and eliminates coasters. What it does is scan the memory buffer and if it senses that it is getting low, it will remember the point of burn, suspend burning and then re-start once the buffer has maintained a safe level.

It may be a moot point as you will not be surfing the net or running any other apps that may cause buffer under-runs, still it's a great feature to have.

I read a report where they tested the 16x10x40 Plextor with a 2Mb buffer and burn proof against the Yamaha 16x10x40 with out Burn proof, but a 8Mb buffer. They purposely tried to make coasters with both burners. They could not make a coaster with the Plextor, but made a few with the Yamaha, even though it had a 8Mb buffer. as well, the Yamaha is not a true 16x burn edge to edge and only attains this at the outer edge, food for thought, that's all

Maybe that is more burner than you need, I seem to recall Future shop or Compusmart had an external somewhere around $370. If I find it I'll pass it by

Heheh... 11 fans in total, you could say that I'm a FANatic :W




Bing

[RickS]

Bing,
That little fan on the cpu really turns a high RPM and it is very loud. The fan in front of the case is a 4 1/2 " fan. Now that it has been replaced with a quieter one, all I can hear is the CPU fan. I'll take my SPL meter to work in the morning and see what kind of level it is producing.
Boy......these HT guys are picky about noise!!

The CD burner speed may not be that important but in the rapidly changing world of computer products ,you might as well get the fastest you can!

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[RickS]

Bing,
The CPU fan is 64db and the smaller fan beside it on the VIA system controller chip is 66db! :E I guess some quieter fans are in order!

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[Andrew Pratt]

11 fans Damn Bing you're even crazier then me I've only got 6

[RickS]

Well...after much thinking about changing every fan in the HTPC, I think its time to make a spot in the rack and start tweaking! I also purchased a Linksys wireless access/Cable/Dsl Router so that I can just go to the net instead of burning disks. This may prove to be a problem but, it will be nice to have the wireless network for the laptop on the deck this summer. I have to go to remote central to see what kind of ccf. files I can find for ATI's 4.1 SW DVD player tonight. I removed the Denon AVR 5800 from the rack and will be installing a custom Middle Atlantic shelf for the Tag McLaren AV32R-EX Processor. I can see another late one tonight. I will let you know what I think of the new HTPC after I log a few hours of movies.

My thanks to all the great people here on the forum that helped me with this project!!

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[Andrew Pratt]

Rick I just wanted to say if we are reincarnated I want to come back just like you...LOL

[RickS]

Well, I have the new HTPC in the rack now! I am using the ATI 4.1 player and after about 6 hrs have not been able to pass DD through my sound cards digital out line. I can get DPL down mix but thats it. Any help would be appreciated. :?

I have loaded DVD Genie and gone through almost everything possible there.

Also, it seems like everytime you start a new movie you have to reset your video controls because they reset back to default. How can I get around this?

TIA
Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[Bing Fung]

Sorry Rick, no suggestions at this time other than what I have already coverd on the TTP.

On a different note, I did measure the dB of the Sanyo Denko, it measured at 72dB, though this is with the power supply fans running as well, I can't shut those off, so I feel this measurement is meaningless




Bing

[RickS]

Bing,, thanks for measuring the db's of the fan for me, It does seem high compared to the spec?

Well,another late night trying to pass DD to my processor. I reinstalled the ATI 4.1 player and made few adjustments in DVD Genie and WAMMMO! DD lights up on the processor.....don't know how or why since I've been down the same path to try and get DD pass through....hmmm. :? But it is working now.

Also, downloaded Rage3D Tweak v2.4, with this program I was able to get the PQ that I was looking for. Also, I downloaded DVD Genie which is good program for setting up your preferences and tweaks. I think for now I'll just set the video controls before each movie and quit trying to stabalize the drifting controls.

Anyway, again thanks for the help!

Where is Jon?

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection

[RickS]

Thanks to all the members here for there suggestions to make this project possible!

I was able to get DD from the ATI 4.1 DVD player through the M-Audio AP24/96 sound card. I would suggest to any one with this problem to un-install the player and download DirectX 8.0a install and the re-install the ATI 4.1 player. The two programs listed Rage3D Tweak v2.4, and DVD Genie make the tweaking easier and has provided the best picture that I've seen to date on my projector.

Here is a link to my HTPC

Thanks again!

Rick




The Home Theater
DVD Collection