REVIEW: Server team downloads/HTPC low power and noise

[kynes]

It's threads like these that brought me to this forum. Welcome to your home, Tassadar.

[Nemo]

Great work Tassadar and given the current circumstances it is sure to be of great use to many.
I agree with Kynes, I landed here because of these articles.

About the hard drive, I assume the case is prepared for 2.5 inch drives, right? At first I thought you would hang it from the tray with clamps, but it's a good fix.

My congratulations and thanks for sharing it with us.

[cobito]

Good guide. As you rightly said, it's not just a download server but a whole NMT and with many more possibilities.

By the way, it seems that the price of hard drives is starting to return to its normal course.

[Tassadar]

Many thanks to everyone for the comments!!

It supports 3 1/2 inch drives, but only low profile ones, because as you can see in the image, the regular ones wouldn't allow the case to close. That's why I had to opt for that solution, although there is a more elegant one, and that is that under the hard drive there is a plate, above the bottom plate of the case, that can be removed, so I could have perfectly removed it, made some holes with the electric drill and screwed the hard drive from the bottom of it.

Anyway, the solution I took works well, even if it is more simplistic.

Regards

[Tecnho]

Tassadar, how do you reproduce mkv at 1080, on what inches have you tested them, since I am very interested in setting up an htpc and so I am guided a bit by your experience.

Greetings.

[Tassadar]

@Tecnho:

Tassadar how do you reproduce mkv files at 1080, on how many inches have you tested them, since I am very interested in building an htpc and so I am guided a bit by your experience.

Regards.

As soon as I can I will do some tests

One thing, I have always used CPU to play videos, I install the k-lite codec pack and use media player classic. Is there something special to do so that Windows 7 uses the GPU to decode mkv files???

I will even be able to do tests of playing videos in 3D with a 3D TV.

Regards

[Tecnho]

Thanks Tassadar, I always use kmplayer and I don't need codecs, the thing is that I haven't had a modern htpc to test, I have a netbook with an e-350 and a 6310m and through hdmi it gives me jumps to 1080 on a 32", my intention is to put together something to put it on a 42 or 50", I had in mind a miniitx with a sandy and an independent graphics card, but let's see how it goes with this one since the price is interesting.

Regards.

[Bm4n]

A pleasure to read you here again Tassadar

[psgonza]

Very good review… Makes you want to build one right now

A note. I see a problem with it as a NAS, and it's that I only see that you can put one hard drive... For a decent NAS, you would need some kind of RAID to not lose data in case of a catastrophe.

As an all-terrain multimedia device, I think it's awesome

Best regards!

P.D.: If anyone is looking for a PC more intended for NAS/download server than to plug it into the TV, these gadgets seem very good to me:
HP ProLiant MicroServer AMD Turion II N40L/2GB/250GB 658553-421 PC Computer

[Yorus]

Great review Tassadar, it is greatly appreciated that you share it with the community.

To accelerate videos by hardware you have several options, the simplest for me is to install a player like the Splash Lite which is free and which the first time warns you of the possibilities of your equipment to accelerate the reproduction of HD video and asks you if you want to activate it. So far it has not failed me on any computer.

Another option is to install XBMC and activate the acceleration by hard. Before it was compatible with Nvidia, but I think the latest versions are also compatible with ATI/AMD.

Another is to configure the Media Player Classic for it, but you would have to touch more configurations.

Finally I saw at the time a guide to accelerate video in the Windows Media Center of Windows 7, but it is the most complex of the options.

Greetings!

[Nemo]

XBMC is the bomb for playing network content as it allows many protocols for sharing multimedia content between PCs on the same local network. Ideal if you want to use it as an HTPC. Plus, it has interfaces that are very interesting and attractive.

Best regards

[Tassadar]

It's a joy for me to return to these hardlimit parts, it brings me many memories

[Sylver]

@Tassadar:

It's a joy for me to return to these hardlimit lands, it brings me many memories

I hope it's to stay

[Tassadar]

Many thanks to everyone for the responses,

I want to update the main post, but I will do it when I make consumption measurements (I have already ordered this little gadget on amazon).

You have commented on the option of the famous HP server that has an Athlon II, the truth is that it seems to me a very tempting little gadget, but I don't know how much consumption that Athlon II processor will be; does it reach the level of this E350??? Obviously for NAS it is better than the box that I have assembled, because at most we could put 2 disks of 3 1/2, and not in an "official" way, but adapting it on top of the one that I have put. Anyway, nothing prevents us from assembling this little gadget in a box with more possibilities in terms of the number of hard drives.

Regarding screwing the disk upside down, I already commented that no, I tried but the screw holes didn't match. I could put it obviously, but rotated 90 degrees, which would get in the way of the memory and even more so the ATX connector. The only way would be by making new holes using an electric drill and a metal drill bit.

This afternoon I have dedicated a lot of time to assemble "Zacatito" in the living room and do many tests. I advance first of all that the need to have a more bulky HTPC (like the one I have, a Phenom II x3) + dedicated ATI 6570 VGA is very much in question with this Zacate platform, although there are things that it doesn't do, or rather, at least I have been able to do.

**
-Audio through HDMI:**
It outputs audio through HDMI without problems, and the TV hears it both in AC3 and DTS (I had no doubts about this, the radeon 6xxx are estupendas in these senses, which can't be said of.. ahem… what envy).
_
-Refresh rate:
It works perfectly with 23,978 fps, 24 fps, 25, 50…. just like with the audio, I was convinced of this, and I believe that "other" graphics on the market are still incapable of outputting 23,978 fps.

1080p using processor:
With the MPClassic, without GPU acceleration, as expected, videos at 1080 have audio cuts and don't play smoothly, making it unfeasible to watch them, however, 720p seems to work without any problem.

-1080p using GPU acceleration
I have installed Splash Lite, a player that uses acceleration, and the situation is totally different, 1080p videos work perfectly and without any kind of cut or delay, maintaining CPU usage between 30 and 60% at maximum (much more 30 than 60).

That said, as a negative point, I have found two MKV movies that couldn't be seen (as if they were playing but with a black screen). These movies were Ice Age 3 and another animated one (I can't remember which). I suppose they don't meet the "necessary standards" to be decoded by GPU. Of course, these movies with Media Player Classic work perfectly (but using CPU, of course, so the E350 can't).
_

-To summarize, when the GPU comes into play, 1080p is not a problem, and 3D MKVs are not either, but I haven't been able to get 3D to work with PowerDVD, and in 2D there are some movies that I haven't been able to get to work (both MKVs and DVDs).

I appreciate any comments on this

Regards

[Tassadar]

@Sylver:

I hope it's to stay

I promise to come by more often.

I must admit that I thought hardlimit was more dead (sorry to say it like that, but it's the truth), so I've been VERY PLEASANTLY surprised by the amount of responses.

Hugs!!

[Sylver]

@Tassadar:

I promise to come by more often.

I must admit that I thought hardlimit was more dead (sorry to say it like that, but it's the truth), so I have been VERY PLEASED with the amount of responses.

Hugs!!

Hardlimit never dies, there are old titans still alive willing to keep it active
and many others who will try to do the same as time goes by

Cheers!

[pestanin]

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@Tassadar:

Es una alegria para mi volver por éstos lares de hardlimit, me trae muchos recuerdos

El hombre de los enlaces ;D

Bienvenido de vuelta.

[Tassadar]

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@pestanin:

El hombre de los enlaces ;D

Bienvenido de vuelta.

Creo que me confundes con SpaceRay, eh? xD

[Mystique]

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@Tassadar:

Creo que me confundes con SpaceRay, eh? xD

es que la edad no perdona y se lia… :ugly:

[pestanin]

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Creo que me confundes con SpaceRay, eh? xD

es que la edad no perdona y se lia… :ugly:

Joeeeeeer qué patinazo, es verdad :wall:

La edad no perdona no… :eoh:

Lo importante es el detalle de entrar a saludar y eso..., bienvenido de vuelta ;D