Aaron Ledger
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swoon
Velcro works great for SSDs. I’ve had mine mounted that way on the side of the case for months.
Did you follow our guide for installing WHS on Intel Media Series boards?
No problem. I am glad they were helpful. We are always open to ideas for guides to write and topics or questions you might want to hear discussed on our monthly podcast.
And just to throw another option out there for you, have you considered Windows Home Server 2011? Yes, it would mean paying MS, but the price is now only $50-$60 and it can offer a lot more functionality such as taking care of your backup strategy, housing an InfiniTV (which I know you’re looking to get) to share amongst multiple HTPCs, file server duties, remote access to all your PCs, audio and video serving and transcoding on the fly when you are away from home, etc.
It seems as though the LG HTIB system would be able to do what you are asking.
Maybe you will find this guide helpful.
Considering your budget for audio, I can understand why HTIB is an attractive option. Another possible alternative would be to find a fairly recent AVR and speakers used through Craigslist or eBay. You could even start out with just two speakers or three speakers (Left, Right Center) and add them as your budget allows.
BTW, you might want to give our podcasts a listen. In Episode 6, we discuss AVRs and what to look for. In Episode 7, we discuss lossless audio. Hopefully we did an okay job of explaining. I realize we have a tendency to just jump head first into topics sometimes without covering the basics so I apologize for that. Feel free to ask any questions here though.
I recommend against HTIB systems unless your budget is very strict. The quality of the speakers and system is generally quite poor. With audio, you get what you pay for to an extent, at least.
What you want to look for most likely is an audio video receiver (AVR) that can accept two or more HDMI inputs and output one HDMI to your display (assuming your display accepts HDMI, if not, let us know). I’m also assuming your Xbox is a newer model that has an HDMI output (again, if not, let us know).
It would be hard to go wrong with a new Intel Sandy Bridge-based system. With your requirements, a new Pentium CPU such as the G620 should be perfectly capable of the tasks you specified and will also be able to send audio, including HD audio from Blu-ray disc (BD) to the AVR via HDMI. You could pair that Pentium with an Intel DH67BL or DH67GD and have a solid system.
You could go with other systems and/or add discrete cards, etc. I’m not sure the cost/benefit is there for you based on the requirements you’ve set forth.
Don’t worry about it, you still got good pricing. To get anything much better, you likely would have had to buy pieces when on special sales over time. We keep an eye on special deals and post them here in our Hot Deals forum. The nice thing about that is that the deals are curated so you only see items related to Home Theater and HTPC-related stuff. If you find anything, feel free to post it. Others will appreciate it.
Also, if you ever want to help out Missing Remote, you can use any of the Newegg, Amazon or other links and the site gets a small percentage of the sale. The money is used to help pay for the expenses of running the site.
It looks like the original 4GB G.Skill sticks are back in stock.
Deal is back. Use promo code EMCKCHB47.
Why don’t you try the OEM software that comes with the drive and then you can also try out both TMT5 and PDVD 11 trials? I think each trial is 30 days or so. You can then decide from there.
[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]
I may still go with the bigger case for roominess/airflow, but it’s good to know this slimmer case might still work. However, with the 03, I thought it ALL had to be low profile, plus I don’t get how this extension would figure in. I read this case has a “utility” slot that implies non-low-profile, but I can’t see that from the case pics. Also, I haven’t been able to find specific card dimensions from Hauppauge. What am I missing?
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Check out our Hauppauge review I linked before. Dimensions are listed.
[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]
This was the key question that stopped me today. Is there knowledge out there regarding:
- what is the real energy cost savings between these two?
- what can a 2100 do in an HTPC that a 2100T would not be able to do?
Also, was just thinking, what if may I, occasionally, want to play CIV5 on the big screen. This wasn’t an original intention, but would this CPU/GPU do it?
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You’re most likely looking at about 5 watts or so additional consumption from a 2100 vs. 2100T, but you also gain additional clock speed.
2100T will still be very capable. If you’re planning gaming, commercial skip analysis or other tasks that could be CPU intensive, a faster CPU may be useful.
CIV5 will require a better GPU than the i3 IPG. If you think you’ll be doing 3D gaming like this, keep your options open with your chassis and get the GD05 so you can place a full-height GPU in later on.
[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]
Thanks! I’ll have to look into these then … or perhaps another drive with a better software offer?[/quote]
Drives that have software are all OEM versions, at least those that I have seen.
[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]
Oops, this is the link from TMT5 so I don’t know what you mean. I’m also puzzled b/c my spec looked like an authentic MC remote to me.
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Sorry, meant to link to this remote.
[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]
Why esp. b/c it’s Green? That matters b/c my other available drive is the exact same kind … so I can do 2 of the same WD green drive right now. Will think about the SSD expense also … but how can it be ideal and unnecessary? What would I have to put up with without one?
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Sharing OS and recording on the same drive, esp. a slower Green drive can be troublesome and cause recording glitches in some cases depending on how much activity there is on the drive.
An SSD is a luxury because it makes the OS, loading the guide, movie library databases, etc. load much faster. Overall, the system will seem more responsive. There are also no mechanical platters to fail and SSDs are quiet. It’s not a requirement, however.
[quote=SpacemanSpiff2000]
And I think “case fans” was the only other question. Never had to do aftermarket ones (or really even manage the fans I run now).
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With the system you’re looking at in a GD05, there should be plenty of cooling already.
Deal is back for 24hours. Use promo code EMCYTZT629.
Sounds like you definitely need more memory
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