Low end(ish) linux based HTPC

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blkbx

12 posts

Geek

#254619 10-Sep-2009 01:04

hi smac,
I've just finished putting together a dual boot htpc. I knew in advance that mythtv/mythbuntu wouldn't play bluray or HD disc. Also I had a major life lesson when I found out that everything had to be HDCP compatible. Everything! insert Buy new tv here. even though the sales guy said this one is HD ready. Either he didn't know his product or I was a gullible idiot that really should have asked him to play a bluray or HD disc to prove it would do what I wanted it to do 16 months later saving me a 3k upgrade though I do have a really big monitor now. Anyway off track a little..
The HDCP thing, everything from the where the disc is played to where the audio and video end up has to be hdcp compliant. I chose the XFX geforce 9300 motherboard from playtech. I had read good things about it and that it was HDCP compliant. I never managed to play a bluray movie though and in the end returned the board. No amount of up to date drivers, bios, clean installs or differant software players made any differance. My exact problem was that the signal going to the tv was digital but not HDCP compliant.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blury-tests/ for a screen shot.
I'm now looking at the P5N7A-VM board to replace the xfx one. Apparently a good test is will it play sony bluray disc as sony tends to be anal about the whole you must be with us or against us thing. I'll still be looking at using mythtv for my recordings and power ultra to play bluray movies.

smac

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#254723 10-Sep-2009 12:37

I got the Asus board in the end. Although at the moment I don't have a BD player, I want one operating system to do it all, and because I'm not going to teach wifie one system now, then another in a few weeks time I am using Win 7 rather than my preference which would be linux based. The nvidia control panel is telling me I am all HDCP compliant - so should be all good. TV is a Pana plasma, about 2 years old maybe. Can't really test the compliance though until I have a player.
The board is all good except the fancy pants asus heatsink on the northbridge is not good enough without a fan....which kinda defeats the purpose. So have dropped a TK HF-05 on it, and a mini ninja on the cpu. Temps are solid will just 2 X 5v 120mm case fans. Only thing to be heard is my rattley old HDD.
The 9300 can be overclocked in the BIOS but I haven't really seen the need as yet. However haven't really done much in the way of watching and recording at the same time, or recording 2 channels. That will be the test of the system.

tanivula

689 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#255481 13-Sep-2009 23:22

smac, two things that will help with the chipset temps:
1) Take the ASUS logo off the heatsink - this dropped my temps by a couple of degrees
2) Remove the heatsink and reapply some proper thermal paste sparingly.

I've read lots of forum posts about heat issues with this board on various sites and these have helped many people out.

I'm keeping an eye on this thread - I'm further from HDCP testing (don't have a HD display or BluRay drive) but it is on the list of things to do. Hoping the P5N7A will pull through ok!

[edit] Just re-read your previous post and realised you've replaced the chipset heatsink already - ah well! [/edit]

smac

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#255497 14-Sep-2009 07:33

Yep, been there done that on both points. The asus logo thing dropped the idle temp by a full 5 degrees. However no difference under load which tells me the sinks ability to offload heat is simply being exceeded by the chip it's sitting on, plain and simple. It's just a chunk of anodised aluminium as far as I can tell, surface area not great. The people who think it has a heat pipe don't know a piece of round bar when they see one! Even if it WAS a heat pipe it's position would mean it was set up to transfer heat between the two sides which will already be at equal temperature.....ie no transfer. No real difference between the stock pad/paste and my replacement, whereas something like 15 degrees difference with the HF-05 (and no fan, compared to the stock one with a fan over it).

blkbx

12 posts

Geek

#258791 27-Sep-2009 22:05

Ok I got the asus board from computer lounge. I gotta say I'm really pleased with them, had the board the following day. Where as I normally have to wait up to three to four working days before my gear arrives from another well publicized shop. Anyway As I bought this board to play bluray and HD movies I was holding my breath as I loaded the Hd movie and waited for the software to play the disc. After having to reinstall the test software because it had expired I finally got my HD even if it was only for ten or fifteen minutes. Haven't had the time to get a bluray so can't comment on that yet but looking forward to it.
I'm worried about the working temp though. I'm using a passive cooler and pne fan on the back of the box. It's a desktop so there is plenty of space for air movement but what temp should I consider safe. High end and low. I'm want to keep the fan of as much as possible and when it does come on not to go to max rpm straight away.
One thing though I can only use three of the internal sata. Anyone know whats up with that.
cheers

smac

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#259606 30-Sep-2009 08:34

Max temp varies by chip, so check manufacturers guides. It's also something everybody under the sun has an opinion on. Plenty of reading out there. For mine, I'm planning in keeping the GPU under 60 under load. If I do that the CPU is much lower so no problem. What temps are you seeing?
Not sure on the sata - got the latest BIOS?

smac

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#262250 7-Oct-2009 21:28

One thing though I can only use three of the internal sata. Anyone know whats up with that.
cheers

Got it - check page 1-33 of the manual.

hads

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#262646 9-Oct-2009 10:03

Although it's from a few months ago there's some out of date or incorrect information earlier in this thread.

VDPAU is now pretty stable and mythtv 0.22 with support for it and many more new things will be out in the next month.

Mythtv has been working well and looking pretty for many people for a long time. Non-technically inclined wifes/husbands included.

Linux doesn't have poor media support, it actually works very well and can be easier than Windows in some respects from what I hear. I'm sure Windows works well too for those that want to use it.

nicegear.co.nz - VoIP, DVB and other Linux compatible hardware

smac

273 posts

Ultimate Geek

#262660 9-Oct-2009 10:55

I was initially put off a linux solution when I found out the blu-ray support is not there yet (I don't have player yet but will soon). However just to make sure I was making an informed decision I have tried both mythbuntu and also myth + ubuntu.

What I would call major work was required to get the hauppage 2200 working, and no amount of fiddling would get the digital sound working on the P5N7A.

So linux is a no-go for me for the forseeable future. A shame, as my other machine (laptop) is 100% linux and has been for some time.

hads

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#262667 9-Oct-2009 11:04

That's fair, blu-ray support isn't something I've considered.

Hardware support though, is not that difficult - choose hardware that is known to be supported under Linux and you won't have an issue.

nicegear.co.nz - VoIP, DVB and other Linux compatible hardware

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