Any PC freaks?

[Jenn]

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Okay, folks. Thinking my mobo went bad, I went and got a new one: a Gigabyte EP45-UD3P. I also bought a Raidmax RX-630W power supply - not exactly something to be proud of, but it's only $50 w/rebate (if I ever get it!) and comes with removable power cords THANK YOU OH SWEET HOLY JESUS!!!! Well, the same thing is happening that happened w/my Bloodiron: it comes on the first time, freezes about 10 minutes later, then starts a come-on-and-reboot cycle. If the power supply is new and the motherboard is new, does that suggest the processor is the problem? *sighs and goes to pull everything out of the case to make sure it's not a short*

BTW, for processors: 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 or 3.0 GHz Intel Core Duo E8400? Is there even much of a difference? I went w/the Wolfsdale because I hear it's easy to OC to 4.0, but I never even got around to it.

[moor]

My first thought was a short too... did you check all of the MB fasteners?  Maybe one is cross threaded into the case? 

If no, then you might have to just play the trial-and-error game.. starting with just one peripheral at a time, until the problem repeats itself?

As for procs, it seems that 99% of us never really use the full processing power of the quad cores anyway, so practically probably no difference - I'd say go with whatever one your wallet is more comfortable with. 

[Jenn]

The good news is that my old HP (w/the three year warranty) is still under warranty. So I called them and asked them for a new Wolfsdale, and they said "Sure, want a motherboard, too?" And I'm like, "...yeah, why not?" So we'll see if it's the processor or not once I get it. If it's not, then hey - I got two working processors. If so, fine. Since the mobo is a miniATX, I may use it to build a media server. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Jenn]

Hmmm. I'm starting to think it's the RAM. When I move the RAM into different slots, everything works w/no problems, at least for an hour or two. I was even able to get Windows 7 installed on my HTPC without a hitch. After an hour or so, it freezes, then does that whole whine/die loop. When I take the RAM out and put it back in, it works just fine. Obviously, I can't keep doing this, however. But if I was able to get Windows & installed, is it safe to rule out the processor at the very least? HP sent me a mobo but no processor, and insists that they DID send me a processor, I've love to leave them the f*ck alone. I can always buy new RAM if OZ doesn't honor the warranty.

[Goat]

You may be losing the contact point on one of your ram sticks.. try taking the ram out and using an eraser head to clean the strip of contacts on the ram stick.. just rub it back and forth.. errr hold on wait a sec.. (err sorry I lost my train of thought.. ) yeah ok just rub the stick.. errr.. oh hell! LOL.

[Jenn]

You naaaaaaasty!  But I suspect you're right. I haven't had any problems whatsoever, which makes this past week even more bizarre. However, the very same peripherals in my Gigabyte turn out much better numbers than in my Bloodiron. Go figure. I'll probably throw the BI back in there and use the Gigabyte to build a gaming rig; for now, I'm pretty damn proud of myself. Broke as the Ten Commandments, but proud nonetheless.

Windows 7 is actually pretty damn good. Bloated as hell, but here's something interesting: neither my laptop nor my HTPC run nearly as hot as they used to. Remember, there was a time when my tuner was running so hot that I could barely touch it, and I had to buy a laptop stand to cool my laptop because the ventilation in the back was so poor.

Speaking of my tuner, I finally got it configured to the Media Center. Turns out that I don't need that godawful cable box after all - just an antenna. I bought a flat one from Walmart for $30 and used double sided tape (the tool of the gods) to attach it to the back of the monitor (since it's actually not a TV at all). So after hundreds of dollars building an HTPC, I have a 47" TV that has a fairly decent picture. Let's face it - your picture is only going to look so good over air. It just pisses me off. What I want to know is how to jack some of those free cable channels. If I get a better tuner than what I have (HVR-1600), is it possible I could get a better picture, at the very least?

Took the 8800 out of the HTPC and put the 7350 back in, since I won't be using it as a rig anyway. Now my hard drive is the loudest thing I hear, and it's driving me CRAZY. There's only one in there, and I thought I'd muffled it w/enough Styrofoam and whatnot.

[Jenn]

WHOO-HOO!!!! Got this off eBay for cheap, and it's coming w/a wireless Microsoft remote & DVD burner:



Nice enough for the bedroom, though not nearly as nice as my Zalman, which is fine by me. Plus it has a media reader. Even Zalman (with their ridiculously high price tag) didn't throw that in.

I'm finding quite a few compatibility problems w/Windows 7 x64. One BIIIIG one is that it won't sync with iPod; another is that there are no drivers for my wireless card. The front room is running an ethernet cable, but if I can't get this wireless card to work, my bedroom HTPC will have to be running Vista.

[Wise Son]

This seems a good place to ask: my mic simply doesn't work in the PC. Someone suggested it's a driver problem, but I don't even know how to go about confirming and / or fixing this. Any suggestions?

I reiterate - NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS AT PRESENT.

[Goat]

This seems a good place to ask: my mic simply doesn't work in the PC. Someone suggested it's a driver problem, but I don't even know how to go about confirming and / or fixing this. Any suggestions?

I reiterate - NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS AT PRESENT.

Okay well a couple of quick things to check..

First go into control panel/sound and Audio devices/Voice and make sure the Voice recording device is listing your primary sound card as the device. Next open up AllPrograms/Accessories/Entertainment/VolumeControl click on advanced settings and then change from playback to recording and make sure your mic input is active and not muted and the volume level is up.
Use sound recorder under AllPrograms/Accessories/Entertainment/SoundRecorder to check the mic is working now. You can use Sound Recorder’s Edit/AudioProperties to quickly switch back to the voice recording device and check things like volume, when you click on Volume for the voice recording device make sure your mic input is selected as primary and the volume is up enough. Default is line in so you want to switch to mic unless you have it plugged into the line in input.

Let me know after you check these and then we can go from there.

[Jenn]

For those of you w/HTPCs, what are you using for keyboards/mice?

[moor]

For those of you w/HTPCs, what are you using for keyboards/mice?

MS wireless 3000 combo... uncluttered and unobtrusive, and the usb reciever stores away under the mouse when not in use. Rechargeables last about 3 months w. everyday use.

Last I checked, was 40.00 at Best Buy.

[Jenn]

Mine's a 1044 (ZV1-00004) . It has its pros and cons - the first pro being that it was free. I like it well enough, but it should've come w/a track ball like yours - the pointer is fine, but I fear it's going to break any second. The worst thing is that stupid IR receiver (which doesn't even come w/the keyboard! uses a WIRED plugin USB port, instead of a USB dongle. I've seen wireless IR receivers, but I don't know if it will work w/this computer. I *will* say that for those of us using Windows Media Center, it's a damn good layout. Since the front room PC is more or less for TV watching, I'll probably just keep it in there.

[Jenn]

Question I asked in the Blu-ray thread:

Looking at the Sony BDP-S360, I come across this review:

This player does not support any NetFlix, Pandora, Amazon, or any other streaming video features. Also, the Player does not have an internal wifi for updates or bd live.

Is this crucial? Or does my HTPC cover all of that already?

[moor]

Question I asked in the Blu-ray thread:

Looking at the Sony BDP-S360, I come across this review:

This player does not support any NetFlix, Pandora, Amazon, or any other streaming video features. Also, the Player does not have an internal wifi for updates or bd live.

Is this crucial? Or does my HTPC cover all of that already?

If you're paying anywhere near 150 - I'd suggest waiting for a killer holiday deal... The streaming Blu-Rays will be 150 by years end...  If you simply want the streaming features of Netflix, than your HTPC is more than capable with an active Netflix membership.   If you want the BD-Live and Pandora streaming.. I'd wait it out for a few weeks

[Jenn]

That's what I figured. And since my cable/wifi speed is average at best, it would probably benefit me more to get one of the new Samsung Blu-Ray players at Blockbuster (going out of business down here!) for $90. I'll have to check the make/model, but the guy on the phone said it's a Samsung BD-P1500, which I'm 85% sure is wrong. The catch is that it's "all sales final", so I'm still thinking it over. Would it be better (and more cost efficient) for me to just keep holding my breath and throwing temper tantrums to (eventually) get the Blu-Ray DVD-ROM for free? (Is that the dumbest question I've ever asked?) I did happen to "purchase" (read: going back to the store) a Sony BD-S350, and I will say the difference is breathtaking.

Sad news: my whisper-quiet Praise Jesus NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 does NOT fit inside my Zalman case (too tall!), so it's back to my loud-ass GeForce 9800GT. Le sigh. But it DOES fit inside my yet-to-be-finished Origen AE X11 - which, for the record, I absolutely do NOT recommend under any given circumstances whatsoever. Beautiful case, but LOUSY customer service. And why, in 2009, am I buying a 20-to-24 pin converter? Should've gone w/a Silverstone.

BTW, and I can't believe I'm just now asking this: do HTPCs tend to *require* sound cards? I always have to export sound through my iPod dock, when I used to be able to just plug a headphone speaker into the monitor (or better yet, use a splitter so the sound would come out of both). Now I have to use an iPod dock, which is very goofy looking. What are you all using for sound/sound speakers? Last thing I want are those stupid computer speakers all around the place, but I get the impression I'm going to need some home speakers.

*edit* Since everybody tends to post pictures of the inside of their PCs, here's my Zalman, only w/the GTS 250.



I took out all the hard drives and put in a laptop drive (it's under the DVD-ROM) in order to use as few cables as possible. I'll probably never get my $40 rebate, but I'm glad I bought a modular PSU. The pink fan is just for extra air circulation. The PSU *and* the fan both have color LEDs (arrrrrrgh!!!), but it's whisper quiet and has great airflow (for a Zalman). Windows 7 (and Vista) has home sharing, so I think I'll load all the hard drives I have into the Origen AE (I believe it can fit five) and just link up from there. That way, I have access to all my non-BR media w/o anything having to go into the Zalman.

I think I'm finally done w/it; I can't see it getting much better, barring a sound card, and possibly a heatsink for that processor if I ever start to overclock. Here are the final specs:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
Monitor: Westinghouse LVM-47W1
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
Video card: GeForce 9800 GT
Case: Zalman PC HD135
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (5-5-5-15)
PSU: Raidmax Volcano 630W Modular
Tuner: WinTV-HVR-1100
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate Edition x64