Hello! Hope you guys are well; I’m looking for some advice. What began as a small project has seemed to become the general way of living. I built myself a HTPC around something like 8 months ago. I’ve tried all sorts of software on it in this time to find something I like. Here is the specs: Cpu: AMD athlon x2 4600+ 2.4 RAM: 2gb corsair xms2 6400 Mobo: gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2H HDD: Samsung 1TB F3 OS: Windows 7 32bit ultimate Using windows media centre Compro TV card I love the idea of everything under one roof. My problem is I still don’t like the setup and other people using it don’t like it and its time we did. Lol. The problem is it’s to slow. At the time of building it I believed the hardware would do the job. But it’s to sluggish, response time is poor and load up is also slow. What’s worse is that windows 7 and sleep mode just don’t seem to work neither! No sound upon wake up causes problems and you have to restart but should it wake up to record, it records sound. I’ve tried all sorts and updated driver’s blah blah anyway problem aside I cant be bothered trying to find out anymore. So I’ve come to you guys for a solution… We use the HTPC for watching/recording/pausing etc live TV. Storing films, music and pictures. Watching DVDs and soon to playback Blu-ray’s. And when we get moved out again it’ll be hooked up to the web, so something that has 4od and bbc iplayer plug-in would be ideal. 1) Do I upgrade hardware? Faster cpu and extra 2gb of ram? 2) Use an alternate operating system? This would solve the sound issue, but sleep mode would be important. Perhaps Linux? I’m unfamiliar with this but willing to try if it’ll do what I want. Or perhaps XP? 3) Change media program, perhaps go back to media portal? Or something else? What would you recommend? Id be happy to listen to any experiences you may have had or recommendations you wish to give. thanks in advance
the case is a Antec Micro Fusion. so everthing is low profile. ALSO i forgot to mention what a numpty i am. ive got a 8400GS low profile gpu in there. sorry about that.
Simple fix for slowness is use a 40gb ssd as your OS drive and ur 1tb hdd for storage. The thing will turn on and turn off in no time. I've mine set up this way and once it gets out of the bios checks it boots straight to windows media centre in about 20 seconds and shuts down in 5 -10 seconds. Biggest single speed boost you can give it. Also media browser for windows media centre is a nice interface for ur movies
My htpc is an E7200 on an asus GA7VA-XP motherboard (9300 chipset integrated), 4Gb ram & lots of disk. I don't tend to have any actual performance problems (though it does get it's knickers in a twist about some things), though the sound dropping out has become a regular feature - sometimes it sorts itself out & sometimes not. It's also not entirely happy with 1080p but 1080i seems fine. TBH I'd concur with Saspro's advice, from others experiences ATI HD rendering seems to be better & more stable, and the extra RAM is definitely used.
In that case update the imon software or if you can disconnect the vfd from the power connections. The imon vfd plays havoc with the wake on demand features (that's why I asked what case it was)
thanks for the replies guys, @saspro, i think ill look to upgrade to 4gb in this case, in terms of new GPU how would upgrading this improve general system speed? i guess itl take more strain off the cpu? i take it the vfd is the front display? i quite like this fornt display so ill try upgrading the software first, my sound issues were fine in vista but it started since i moved to win 7. @Nikols, i agree an SSD would be ideal, put one in my main machine and it loads very quick, how ever in this case it only allows for one HDD, so i chose to have a big 1TB 7200rpm one. maybe when i get a NAS box i could change it to a SSD. @Land_ed, thanks for your comment, ill go with the more RAM. do you think a 8400GS wont be able to handle blu-ray?
Is it the case or mobo that allows one hdd? My case only fits one hdd so I have the ssd velcro'd to the inside of the case!
Speed Talking directly from experience, my Samsung F3 1TB is perfect for startup speed and speed of running, and have no issues. I am (as in the signature) running 4GB on 64bit Win7, it runs silky smooth in everything, my current GPU is the in-built i5's core Intel HD chip, which plays Blu Ray 1080P MKV files and any other file I chuck at it. I use it online every day, its sat downloading everything I watch from the states, and runs iPlayer and the ilk perfectly as well. So, other than your dreadfull processor, and lack of RAM I can see no real concerns with the hard drive. I am unfamiliar with the 8400's abilities for HD, I'm suspecting that its unable to run it, and as such would need to be changed for an ATI HD 4xxx / 5xxx, what ever that runs HD video in low profile. So to summize: Add 2GB of RAM, Add a HD capable GPU, Add your BluRay if you so wish, however I would buy a PS3 and just chuck it under the telebox. Power Save / Sleep Mode Loosing picture, sound and anything like that is just bad drivers or conflicting drivers. As above the known issue with the Antec stuff, I found remotes to be a nightmare so I added a Logitech DiNovo Edge to control the machine, much better and bling! The VFD, well if you use it keep it, but I like my PC to be sat hidden away and a big ol' VFD glareing out is so last year... Alex.
in terms of media centre software, does anyone suggest an alternative? or do you think win7 MC will be ok once ive looked at hardware. i was hoping to try a different OS to remove the problem with the sound if the above method doesnt work. finding a solution to this problem is one of the important bits.
I think you will be fine with win7MC once you have upgraded your HTPC. It is very easy to use and looks great too. Plus there are some neat plugins you may find handy on http://www.hack7mc.com/ that makes MC even better.
