# Mussels Media PC/HTPC setup



## Mussels (Sep 8, 2009)

took me a while to decide where to put this. do i make a thread on GN and have it filled with cardboard box PC's? Do i do a worklog? what about the case mod gallery and omit the pictures of the lounge setup?

In the end i decided a worklog to be best - i did work hard for this, so here it is!

Edit: system specs updated.
With the new hardware, the power usage is as follows:

Idle: 48W
350MB H264 movie: 59W
Linpack x64 Load: 81W  (23C load in ~18C ambient)

Using my snazzy power meter, i learned that the PC uses 1.25 KW/h over a 24 hour period.
Judge the cost from your own electricity bill, but that means for me, that PC costs something like 20 cents (au) for every 24 hours i leave it running. (say, $1 a week, or $50 a year) (thats based on my peak electricity rate, since i cant be stuffed mathing it out )

System specs:
Athlon 64 x2 4000+ stock @ 1.1v Athlon II x2 240 ( 2.8Ghz 1.08v)
4x1GB 1110MHz samsung ram @ 800MHz 6GB DDR2 1066Mhz ram (@ 800Mhz 1.8v)
320GB Seagate IDE HDD (7200.11)
Radeon 3200 IGP  Radeon 4200 IGP  (dx10.1!)
Gigabyte mATX 780G board (HDMI + TOSLINK) GA-MA785GPM-UD2H Motherboard - Dolby encoding, 128MB sideport ram, HDMI 1.3
Samsung 40" HDTV (1360x768)
Nexus 'silent' Caterpillar case
Antec Basiq 500W (fan modded)
Nintendo Wii? (what, its there)
Logitech Z-5500 (was on warranty, therefore not in pics)
Windows 7 professional x64

The system (not including screen or peripherals) uses about 45W at idle/low use, and 60-90W when watching 1080P videos (higher in software mode than DXVA)

i use a mix of windows 7's built in codecs in DXVA mode, and coreAVC in software mode for the few incompatible movies i run into.

Pics don't show it, but the system is completely inaudible. all fans are replaced with "silent" models which i then ran at 7v or 5V for even less noise. the lone seagate HDD sits loose on a foam pad that came with the case. even at the quietest hours of the night (4-5am) you can lie on the ground in front of it and not hear a thing despite 2x120mm fans, an 80mm PSU fan, and a 320GB HDD.

As for the TV, some people seem to think "a low resolution! ahahaha it sucks lol" and so on.
Well i hate to break it to you, but this screen has an awesome VA panel in it that makes TN film LCD's look like garbage. its got 178 degree viewing angles horizontally and vertically - you know why its not 180? cause that means you're side on to the TV. ZERO color distortion or brightness changes *no matter the angle you look at it from*.


And now, the images!






TV (with an amusing default windows 7 background), PC, Wii, "spank" the monkey, printer and UPS.

Screen aside, the system can keep running for about 30 minutes with no power thanks to the UPS, and low wattage design







DVD collection, wiimote location, etc. Its handy to see what you want BEFORE getting off the couch  
(no idea what that white spot is. my camera is 'snowing' in some images)






the couch. the control center - where it all happens. Also, the dinovo edge that i control everything from. that keyboard is more awesome than the PC itself. Stupidly long range, battery life of months, and so on.

Also, you can see the empty speaker stands where the Z5500 rears usually go.







Internal shot - not the tidiest, but its certainly does the job. having lots of clear space around the components is what helps keep it all cooled in our 45C summer heat. 
A few random cables (USB headers) are unplugged in the shot, but due to my camera screwing up i cant retake it with them plugged in.


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## EnergyFX (Sep 8, 2009)

DiNovo rocks! I love mine... coupled with my Freespace mouse makes for a perfect HTPC setup.

Nice work on the low power draw. My HTPC draws much much more.


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## skylamer (Sep 8, 2009)

gj


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## rampage (Sep 8, 2009)

i like to see the most important feature of any good HTPC ...  a UPS  

just to stop those anoying power flickers restarting your pc


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## Reventon (Sep 10, 2009)

Wish I had $120 to spend on a diNovo Edge >.>


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## Cold Storm (Sep 10, 2009)

hey, hey... didn't you tell me the battery life was about 2 weeks if you heavily play games? Or, was it something else? I was so thinking of getting that keyboard! Grrr..

I think we need to do this as TPU'ers... Fund Raiser... So Mussles can get rid of that god forsaken couch!    I don't even want to re read what you put as the caption for it.... Thoughts went threw my head! 

Now, after the question, and joking is done... Very good man. Nice little system.


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## LittleLizard (Sep 10, 2009)

doesnt look pretty with that case but if you are watching a movie, WHO CARES


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## Mussels (Sep 10, 2009)

Cold Storm said:


> hey, hey... didn't you tell me the battery life was about 2 weeks if you heavily play games? Or, was it something else? I was so thinking of getting that keyboard! Grrr..
> 
> I think we need to do this as TPU'ers... Fund Raiser... So Mussles can get rid of that god forsaken couch!    I don't even want to re read what you put as the caption for it.... Thoughts went threw my head!
> 
> Now, after the question, and joking is done... Very good man. Nice little system.



yeah but then i stopped playing games on it 

couch was free lol.



LittleLizard said:


> doesnt look pretty with that case but if you are watching a movie, WHO CARES



cant see it, cant hear it - what more do you need from a HTPC? (its ugly inside, but not that bad outside)


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## Cold Storm (Sep 10, 2009)

Mussels said:


> yeah but then i stopped playing games on it
> 
> couch was free lol.



 best things in life are free! I still feel we need to set up a fund raiser..  

good stuff man!


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## Mussels (Sep 10, 2009)

we went to buy a 2nd hand couch, and the guys said "if you carry it out, its yours" so we got it free. it also had $5 of coins and a bottle opener inside.


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## Cold Storm (Sep 10, 2009)

Mussels said:


> we went to buy a 2nd hand couch, and the guys said "if you carry it out, its yours" so we got it free. it also had $5 of coins and a bottle opener inside.




Treasure!!!!

Nice man.


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## Bundy (Sep 10, 2009)

Mussels said:


> we went to buy a 2nd hand couch, and the guys said "if you carry it out, its yours" so we got it free. it also had $5 of coins and a bottle opener inside.



I recognise that couch.






Image obtained from http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/


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## Mussels (Sep 10, 2009)

Bundy said:


> I recognise that couch.
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/090909/SimpsonsCouch1.gif
> 
> Image obtained from http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/



homers arse indentation is still present


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## EnergyFX (Sep 10, 2009)

I can vouch for the DiNovo battery lasting months with normal usage.

Even when I was playing Dead Space and Fallout 3 on my HTPC it lasted weeks.  

Charges fast too.


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## Mussels (Sep 10, 2009)

EnergyFX said:


> I can vouch for the DiNovo battery lasting months with normal usage.
> 
> Even when I was playing Dead Space and Fallout 3 on my HTPC it lasted weeks.
> 
> Charges fast too.



that is a good point i tend to forget - 5 minutes on the charger can give you an hour of gaming, and maybe 4 hours gives you that month of usage.


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## Cold Storm (Sep 10, 2009)

Hmmm, almost makes me want to buy one... Even though I just  got Logitech's Luminated keyboard and love it!


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## BroBQ (Sep 10, 2009)

Any plans to include a TV tuner card? What about your movies... Are you going to be storing them on the PC or just watch off the DVD themselves?


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## mudkip (Sep 10, 2009)

nice setup.


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## Mussels (Sep 11, 2009)

Morrison5891 said:


> Any plans to include a TV tuner card? What about your movies... Are you going to be storing them on the PC or just watch off the DVD themselves?



its a TV, no need for a card. i can just watch it on the one built in.


I watch the stuff mostly over the network from the PC in my room - housemates do similar. They share the files under their user accounts or use hidden system shares, and just login to their drives remotely and watch their stuff.


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## SkyKast (Sep 11, 2009)

im jeleous...of you TV holy balls I want that as my monitor!

nice media center too, thats my next project


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## DrunkenMafia (Sep 11, 2009)

Hey Mussels, nice setup man.  I might have to put some pix of mine up as well. 

I bought that same cooler you have from pccg when it was on sale a while back.  I found it noisey as hell.    yours is obviously quiet, I musta got a dud.  I ended up swapping it out for a zalman 7700cu.


ditto on the TV as well.  i have a full HD 32in NEC but I have also plugged it into a 42in HD lcd and  unless you are really close (why??) then you can't really tell the diff, even when on the desk top.  

I had a play with win 7 the other day and the media centre on it looks pretty sweet, a big step up from the vista version.

Nice job


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## Mussels (Sep 11, 2009)

DrunkenMafia said:


> Hey Mussels, nice setup man.  I might have to put some pix of mine up as well.
> 
> I bought that same cooler you have from pccg when it was on sale a while back.  I found it noisey as hell.    yours is obviously quiet, I musta got a dud.  I ended up swapping it out for a zalman 7700cu.
> 
> ...



really? mines completely inaudible even at 100%


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## DrunkenMafia (Sep 11, 2009)

yeah, I could hear mine from another room @ 100% so I gave it the ass.  I actually chopped it up to make the mounts so my zalman would fit AM2.


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## HammerON (Sep 11, 2009)

Nice job


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## BroBQ (Sep 11, 2009)

Mussels said:


> its a TV, no need for a card. i can just watch it on the one built in.
> 
> 
> I watch the stuff mostly over the network from the PC in my room - housemates do similar. They share the files under their user accounts or use hidden system shares, and just login to their drives remotely and watch their stuff.



No Need? I was just asking only because most Media Center PCs have one. It's nice to be able to record TV series, a useful guide, etc ...


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## Mussels (Sep 11, 2009)

Morrison5891 said:


> No Need? I was just asking only because most Media Center PCs have one. It's nice to be able to record TV series, a useful guide, etc ...



australian TV is months behind american TV.

besides, we have 15TB of files shared in our house... not like i'm short on anime to watch


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## Cold Storm (Sep 11, 2009)

To tell the truth... There really isn't a need to have a TV tuner for htpc's anymore.. Or at lease my thoughts... Most anything that is aired on tv can be viewed via internet. If not, then you can use the "gray" word and get it yourself an hour or so after it's been shown on tv..


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## MomentoMoir (Sep 11, 2009)

Mussels said:


> took me a while to decide where to put this. do i make a thread on GN and have it filled with cardboard box PC's? Do i do a worklog? what about the case mod gallery and omit the pictures of the lounge setup?
> 
> In the end i decided a worklog to be best - i did work hard for this, so here it is!
> 
> ...



nice control center lol and thats a creepy bg btw


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## Mussels (Sep 12, 2009)

MomentoMoir said:


> nice control center lol and thats a creepy bg btw



the strangest part about the background, is that its a default one that comes with windows 7.

i was quite surprised at the range of tastes covered in the RTM


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## EnergyFX (Sep 12, 2009)

Mussels said:


> the strangest part about the background, is that its a default one that comes with windows 7.
> 
> i was quite surprised at the range of tastes covered in the RTM



Eh... most of them are freakish skitzo stuff that I guess is supposed to be art.

I mean...  WTF!!!!


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## Mussels (Sep 25, 2009)

bump.

updated, new specs.


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## Inioch (Sep 25, 2009)

Nice looking setup and good to see some power consumption numbers for once. Do you have a Kill-a-watt or how do you measure?

I'm also interested in experiences from the Gigabyte board, since I'm looking at that or an Asus 785G board for my own media center. I've got a Phenom II x3 705e to put in it.

All in all, a nice setup and cool to see some people still interested in power consumption numbers.


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## Mussels (Sep 26, 2009)

Inioch said:


> Nice looking setup and good to see some power consumption numbers for once. Do you have a Kill-a-watt or how do you measure?
> 
> I'm also interested in experiences from the Gigabyte board, since I'm looking at that or an Asus 785G board for my own media center. I've got a Phenom II x3 705e to put in it.
> 
> All in all, a nice setup and cool to see some people still interested in power consumption numbers.



its not a killawatt, but it is a wall meter.

it can even test power factor efficiency 


the 780 and 785G boards from gigabyte are smooth sailing for HTPC use. i dont have any flaws, and the dolby/DTS encoding on the high end models is awesome (as is their underclocking abilities)


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## Cold Storm (Sep 26, 2009)

Nice on the wattage! Looks like I'm going to have to copy yours somewhat to go and build my parents something for them.



It's looking good man!


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## Mussels (Sep 26, 2009)

did another little update, left it running on my power meter for 24 hours, and got a KW/h reading.


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## Cold Storm (Sep 26, 2009)

Mussels said:


> did another little update, left it running on my power meter for 24 hours, and got a KW/h reading.



that's not bad at all! I wish my computer took up that much power aday/month/year... I think I'll be going with the AMD route to see what I can do on power! lol.. No more benching and whatnots in my future!


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## Boyfriend (Sep 26, 2009)

Nice setup. I really like your HTPC and its low power usage + low nice. What's VA your UPS is? I love to have such a quite PC in my bedroom. Thinking about building a new one...


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## Mussels (Sep 26, 2009)

it was advertised as an 1100VA unit, but was clearly false advertising. I know it wont power on with approx 400W load on it, but dont know how 350W translates to VA


AMDs main advantage over intel is the onboard video - the low wattage i achieve through getting good dual core chips (known good clockers) and undervolting them instead


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## wolf (Oct 8, 2009)

First up I love the setup man you've done well, It's pretty much how I've wanted to be set up for a while, bigscreen LCD, media PC, consoles, Logitech Z5500 (want so bad) couch etc

Intersting PC setup, very reminiscent of how i'd build, in fact I have a machine with an Athlon II X2 240 and its hard drive is similarly placed lol, hows that for coincidence. (and they are good clockers )

I'm hearing you on the Dinovo keyboard, I have the mini version and yeah First charge lasted me at least a month, and now 2-3 easy (also inbuilt li-ion battery with charger) , I use it when I'm watching episodes as I go to sleep, volulme, skip epps, you know, it's perfect.

Good gob overall and thanks for sharing your home with us 



Mussels said:


> we went to buy a 2nd hand couch, and the guys said "if you carry it out, its yours" so we got it free. it also had $5 of coins and a bottle opener inside.



the best.


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