Search found 222 matches
- Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:42 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: Silverstone Sugo SG05 and SG06: Gaming mini-ITX cases?
- Replies: 41
- Views: 55958
I tried running it with a J&W Minix, and the front fan disconnected. I was running it off of a pico, with a single nexus 120 blowing down on the CPU and NB. It had a 2.5 and a 3.5 HDDs. This was the problem. Without the front fan, the front of the case gets absolutely no ventilation. In particular, ...
- Sat May 02, 2009 7:01 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: HTPC style case for many-drive system
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3616
From the pics of the LC10, the HDD arrangement looks just like the LC17. What I did was remove one cage and mount the drives in the other. From there, turn the cage sideways and place it on a piece of foam. Then lash it to the chassis with stretch magic or whatever you want to use. You'll be limited...
- Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:16 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: Seven - and now Eight Years of SPCR!
- Replies: 78
- Views: 93132
Give it time - and probably less than you think. You can now build a mini ITX that will play Blu-Ray off of a Pico PSU. On one hand, whoop dee do. On the other, had you predicted that 3 years ago, you would have been classified as stark raving mad. There are trends toward efficiency in both power re...
- Sat Mar 28, 2009 6:14 pm
- Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
- Topic: Mini-ITX Recommendation (needs hd playback)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 7765
- Sat Mar 28, 2009 6:00 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
After 2 RMA's and a fire, all I can say is that I wouldn't wish this board on Osama bin Laden - let alone my worst enemy. It's a great notion that in implementation is garbage from front to back. If it was designed by a primate, it was by one no higher in social development than a chimpanzee - and a...
- Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:56 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
- Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:33 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
This is the issue that kills the whole deal. As far as I could determine, the board does pass a 'protected signal' to any of these outputs, but only one. It would seem that the movers and shakers of the entertainment industry are terrified people will start lifting audio tracks from Dancing with the...
- Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:06 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
Croddie? You're missing the point. Self powered speakers are a great concept until you have to run 25' of decently shielded cable, or more, to reach them. I've been a very harsh critic of this platform. For music? You are way better off putting your cash into a system dedicated to that. This is not ...
- Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:50 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
(Where double-blind testing is useful is in telling us how good those measurements have to be to be audibly identical to a perfect amplifier.) It's been a while since I've followed DBT as applied to audio - Has there been one that has concluded there is an audible difference between any 2 pieces of...
- Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:10 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
- Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:41 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
It did. I have no idea why. It was one of the tiny ICs between the CPU and the rear I/O panel. The machine went black, then crashed at the Windows desktop for a couple tries. Then I noticed a peculiar odor. A few seconds later, I saw flashes behind the case. I turned it off and opened the side panel...
- Tue Mar 03, 2009 11:58 pm
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
Actually, I think MSI made claims to audiophile with this platform. Their stake to these claims are worth about $100. So, if you think you get audiophile for $100, you are the idiot MSI is looking for. Even disregarding the relative uselessness of DBT for audio applications (it's like testing a vacu...
- Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:31 pm
- Forum: Off Topic
- Topic: 10 Ways Microsoft's Retail Stores Will Differ From Apple
- Replies: 23
- Views: 7696
- Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:11 pm
- Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
- Topic: MSI Live Diva (780M chipset)
- Replies: 3
- Views: 4038
Wow. That's a much larger heatsink on the NB than the one on my deceased board. My board was riddled with annoyances before it finally burst into flames. The amp card's bracket was mis-manufactured and did not sit right. For more annoying, were the capacitors that blocked the lower PCIe slot from us...
- Tue Feb 10, 2009 3:05 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Media PC build - feedback appreciated
- Replies: 8
- Views: 4244
- Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:56 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Media PC build - feedback appreciated
- Replies: 8
- Views: 4244
Two more questions: - Will the Pico PSU essentially leave a big hole in the back of the case where the power supply would be? Yes, unless you keep the case's unused PSU in place. You'll also need to drill a hole for the socket that receives the power brick's input. The Pico's lead for this is fairl...
- Mon Feb 09, 2009 4:59 pm
- Forum: Off Topic
- Topic: Not work safe langauge, but very funny.
- Replies: 6
- Views: 7008
- Sun Feb 08, 2009 8:03 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Media PC build - feedback appreciated
- Replies: 8
- Views: 4244
Re: Media PC build - feedback appreciated
You could probably get away with a Mini Ninja and still keep it passive. I played around with the WD 320 Black, and found it to feel no faster in everyday use than the 5400rpm WD 500 Blue. The 500 Blue is slower on spec and $20 more. But, if you're going to run this as a server off of a 120w Pico, I...
- Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:07 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Please help! New build won't boot/post - nothing!! Argh!
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4509
Try removing RAM. If you have 2 sticks, try running with one. If 4, try one or 2. If this solves it, you might have to use different RAM, or you might have a bad stick. This is an area of a build that can be more voodoo than science. I've had systems refuse to boot that were identical in every way t...
- Sat Jan 24, 2009 2:02 pm
- Forum: Silent Storage
- Topic: HDD suspension: best elastic material?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 7754
How about shock cord, aka bungee cord or elastic cord? A lot of systems on the pics thread show bungee or elastic cords. I see that 1/8" diameter shock cord (used for tent poles) is at REI for about 15¢ per foot. And what about the longevity of clothing elastic? If it holds a knot, sure, why not? ...
- Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:41 pm
- Forum: Off Topic
- Topic: Just the opinion of one Englishman.
- Replies: 25
- Views: 7642
Well, at least we have those brave bible thumpers who will fight to the bitter end to stop gays from having abortions once and for all! They're a pretty insightful bunch. There would have been no GWB without them. And without GWB, we never would have known that black is white, up is down and torture...
- Sat Jan 24, 2009 5:03 am
- Forum: Silent Storage
- Topic: HDD suspension: best elastic material?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 7754
Stretch Magic doesn't always hold a knot, so I don't trust it for an actual suspension. (For lashing something down over a block of foam, it's OK) Clothing elastic will not only hold a knot forever, the width and texture of it 'grabs' the HDD pretty effectively if you can get it looped around the dr...
- Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:28 am
- Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
- Topic: AMD's Maui HTPC Platform
- Replies: 163
- Views: 172830
The 'improvement' in going from 2 channels to 5.1 (or more) has everything to do with the sound designer and his finished product. If it's merely a matter of gee whiz effects scattered throughout the room, then the advantage is dubious. If the sound design is well crafted, the effect makes a film mo...
- Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:01 am
- Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
- Topic: Change NB/SB heatsink on MINIX 780G?
- Replies: 2
- Views: 2334
Re: Change NB/SB heatsink on MINIX 780G?
Will the base cover both chips? It looks a little on the small side to me. At the same time, I'm not sure if there's room on the MB for the base in the other direction. A top down CPU fan will help the stock heatsink. This is a great MB, but finding a case to handle silent cooling options is a bit o...
- Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:34 am
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: Please review this HTPC system
- Replies: 10
- Views: 4799
You should check out the AVS HTPC forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26 There are several ways you could go, depending on how much you want to spend, and how hard you plan to push the machine. For simple DVR work and Blu-Ray playback, a combination of an AMD 4580e CPU and 780g o...
- Sun Nov 30, 2008 2:30 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: GA-MA78GM-S2H 4850e HD problems
- Replies: 12
- Views: 6380
- Sun Nov 30, 2008 12:37 pm
- Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
- Topic: GA-MA78GM-S2H 4850e HD problems
- Replies: 12
- Views: 6380
I would comb through what you have running at start up. I doubt it's your drives, CPU or GPU. I run a nearly identical setup without your issues. From what you describe, it seems like you have something running in background that's hogging resources. I don't know what you have installed on your mach...
- Sun Nov 30, 2008 12:05 pm
- Forum: Networking
- Topic: News on Windows Home Server
- Replies: 94
- Views: 157034
Maybe it's a bit beyond the scope of the article, but it would be really nice to know how well the power saving features work. Since it is supposed to be on 24/7 you would hope they worked very well. Especially when you consider that most of the time it's not doing anything. It runs it's backups at...
- Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:49 am
- Forum: Silent Storage
- Topic: WD6400AAKS whining - normal or not?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 7392
my other issue is that i get this weird vibrating noise through out my case every once in a while. it too, is just sporadic. once it starts, it makes my case vibrate like hell. its quite annoying. i have to slap the front panel part to temporarily allieviate the vibration. though, that issue could ...
- Tue Nov 18, 2008 1:28 pm
- Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
- Topic: 1080P, RAID, PCI-E, low power: What mobo/cpu combo?
- Replies: 21
- Views: 9986
Since I can play Blu-Ray from disc, I'm guessing HDCP is working, too. Doesn't have to...if HDCP isn't working the video-stream is downgraded to 720P. But probably it works. Not necessarily. I've just had a couple 780g boards 'lose' their HDCP. Blu-Ray playback was blocked, not down-ressed by both ...