mikinho

[mikinho]

What video renderer are you using with MPC-HC?  Like swoon mentions I would calibrate for the most commonly used video player and adjust individual programs like MPC-HC as needed.

My personal video renderer preference for MPC-HC is madVR due to the high PQ (eventhough it is 32-bit only at the moment :-X).  When using madVR my levels match TMT3 almost perfectly.

[mikinho]

What video renderer are you using with MPC-HC?  Like swoon mentions I would calibrate for the most commonly used video player and adjust individual programs like MPC-HC as needed.

My personal video renderer preference for MPC-HC is madVR due to the high PQ (eventhough it is 32-bit only at the moment :-X).  When using madVR my levels match TMT3 almost perfectly.

[mikinho]

I don’t believe it will work due to the HDCP requirements.  You can bypass the Digital Cable Advisor via registry keys but Live TV I don’t believe so.

I have some thoughts on getting essentially the same effect, let me test some things out and get back to you after this weekend.

[mikinho]

I don’t believe it will work due to the HDCP requirements.  You can bypass the Digital Cable Advisor via registry keys but Live TV I don’t believe so.

I have some thoughts on getting essentially the same effect, let me test some things out and get back to you after this weekend.

[mikinho]

It is hard to go wrong with the Prolima Megahalems or Prolima Armageddon if you have the room for it but I would only recommend them if you have a good amount of airflow in the case already to ensure VRM and other components on the motherboard get adequate cooling since they aren’t down blowing.

My own recommendation for 1156 is the Noctua NH-C12P SE14.  The 140mm down-blowing fan helps cool the motherboard and is very quiet.  It also uses under board mounting system–I can’t stand push pins and can say with confidence that I will never purchase a heatsink that uses them again.

[mikinho]

It is hard to go wrong with the Prolima Megahalems or Prolima Armageddon if you have the room for it but I would only recommend them if you have a good amount of airflow in the case already to ensure VRM and other components on the motherboard get adequate cooling since they aren’t down blowing.

My own recommendation for 1156 is the Noctua NH-C12P SE14.  The 140mm down-blowing fan helps cool the motherboard and is very quiet.  It also uses under board mounting system–I can’t stand push pins and can say with confidence that I will never purchase a heatsink that uses them again.

[mikinho]

[quote=”babgvant”]
Speaking of 3rd party fans – I just swapped in one of [url=http://www.arctic-cooling.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=3_47_65&mID=341]these[/url] PWM fans for the Nexus I was using on the heatsink.  Been really happy with the results.
[/quote]

Do you have the PWM shared out to the rear fans?  If so, does it work well?  I was really interested in them but have no experience w/ Artic fans so I’ve been a little reluctant to test them.  I’ve been very happy with Noctua, Nexus and Yate Loon.

[mikinho]

[quote=”babgvant”]
Speaking of 3rd party fans – I just swapped in one of [url=http://www.arctic-cooling.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=3_47_65&mID=341]these[/url] PWM fans for the Nexus I was using on the heatsink.  Been really happy with the results.
[/quote]

Do you have the PWM shared out to the rear fans?  If so, does it work well?  I was really interested in them but have no experience w/ Artic fans so I’ve been a little reluctant to test them.  I’ve been very happy with Noctua, Nexus and Yate Loon.

[mikinho]

I forgot to add that when using a Core i5, plan on getting a 3rd party heatsinkfan.  The Core i3 comes with a very quiet fan but the stock fan on the Core i5 is too loud for most HTPC duties.

[mikinho]

I forgot to add that when using a Core i5, plan on getting a 3rd party heatsinkfan.  The Core i3 comes with a very quiet fan but the stock fan on the Core i5 is too loud for most HTPC duties.

[mikinho]

[quote=”xjboonie”]
You tested two different i5 cpu’s – which one would you recommend?
[/quote]

It is tough to say to be honest.  My preference is the i5-670 out of the CPUs I’ve used but I don’t know if I would necessarily recommend it over the i5-660i5-661.

They are all very similar CPUs with the exception of the i5-661 that has a faster IGP at 900MHz compared to 733MHz on the others.  The i5-661 is also rated at 87W Max TDP compared to 73W of the rest.

In terms of cost, I would recommend the i5-680 over the i5-670.  And the i5-661 over the i5-660. 

For the way I use my HTPC the faster CPU has come in handy and the extra ~$90 has been worth it but I use a lot of background add-ins, ShowAnaylzer and some Home Automation tasks.  I’ve helped build a few HTPCs for friends and I typically get them the i5-661.

[mikinho]

[quote=”xjboonie”]
You tested two different i5 cpu’s – which one would you recommend?
[/quote]

It is tough to say to be honest.  My preference is the i5-670 out of the CPUs I’ve used but I don’t know if I would necessarily recommend it over the i5-660i5-661.

They are all very similar CPUs with the exception of the i5-661 that has a faster IGP at 900MHz compared to 733MHz on the others.  The i5-661 is also rated at 87W Max TDP compared to 73W of the rest.

In terms of cost, I would recommend the i5-680 over the i5-670.  And the i5-661 over the i5-660. 

For the way I use my HTPC the faster CPU has come in handy and the extra ~$90 has been worth it but I use a lot of background add-ins, ShowAnaylzer and some Home Automation tasks.  I’ve helped build a few HTPCs for friends and I typically get them the i5-661.

[mikinho]

@jdoe247 Point taken.  For the next week I’m 100% dedicated to working on something new (and exciting) so I won’t be able to get anything published in that time frame.  But I’ll look to remove what I can’t discuss and start November fresh.

If you do have any questions I’ll be happy to answer them though.  I’ve tested the InfiniTV4 in a very wide range of systems. 

In terms of CPUs I’ve had it in an Atom D510, C2D, C2Q, i3-530, i3-540. i5-660, i5-670, i7-860 and a dual Xeon.  I can tell you that CPU makes no difference with the InfiniTV4 and Live TVRecorded TV.  The CPU % even on the Atom was below 10% while utilizing all four tuners.

Where the CPU really comes into play is if you are using Show Analyzer, which is very CPU bound (some IO as well).  Transcoding tasks will also benefit from a faster CPU.

Personally, my preferred CPU for a [b][i]primary[/i][/b] HTPC is the i5.  It offers my ideal mix of performance, low power consumption and integrated HD Graphics.  I would prefer a quad-core but if I ever feel the system needs a boost I’ll upgrade to a discrete NVIDIA (for CUDA) video card.

I currently do not have an any AMD CPUs to test against, trying to rectify that but it will have to wait until tax refund time  🙁

Honestly, one of the most important features I look for when building a system is the onboard network card.  You can’t go wrong with Intel network cards, even their low-end.  It is a shame that Intel uses Realtek network cards on some of their lower end motherboards.  >:(

[mikinho]

@jdoe247 Point taken.  For the next week I’m 100% dedicated to working on something new (and exciting) so I won’t be able to get anything published in that time frame.  But I’ll look to remove what I can’t discuss and start November fresh.

If you do have any questions I’ll be happy to answer them though.  I’ve tested the InfiniTV4 in a very wide range of systems. 

In terms of CPUs I’ve had it in an Atom D510, C2D, C2Q, i3-530, i3-540. i5-660, i5-670, i7-860 and a dual Xeon.  I can tell you that CPU makes no difference with the InfiniTV4 and Live TVRecorded TV.  The CPU % even on the Atom was below 10% while utilizing all four tuners.

Where the CPU really comes into play is if you are using Show Analyzer, which is very CPU bound (some IO as well).  Transcoding tasks will also benefit from a faster CPU.

Personally, my preferred CPU for a [b][i]primary[/i][/b] HTPC is the i5.  It offers my ideal mix of performance, low power consumption and integrated HD Graphics.  I would prefer a quad-core but if I ever feel the system needs a boost I’ll upgrade to a discrete NVIDIA (for CUDA) video card.

I currently do not have an any AMD CPUs to test against, trying to rectify that but it will have to wait until tax refund time  🙁

Honestly, one of the most important features I look for when building a system is the onboard network card.  You can’t go wrong with Intel network cards, even their low-end.  It is a shame that Intel uses Realtek network cards on some of their lower end motherboards.  >:(

[mikinho]

I’ll see what I can put together for a write up.

I currently have 4 HTPCs “sharing” one InfiniTV4 for Live TV duties and another (borrowed) InfiniTV4 dedicated to Recorded TV.  It really is a nice setup, I’ll need to return the borrowed InfiniTV4 soon though =/ Maybe come tax time I’ll be able to justify a second.

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