Finally built my Budget Bluray HTPC

[spirovious]

Hi friends,

Glad to tell you that after a long pause I could finally built my Bluray budget HTPC.I thank to HFV menbers who helped me directly OR indirectly.
Yes I was having HTPC,but without BD-rom.It was DVD HTPC.But it wasnt that easy.

Getting a BD-rom-
I was in search of a BD-rom with better performance.
LG was 1st on my list.I tried ebay.com & won an auction with preused LG BDrom for $65 around.I tried to get it ,but seller refused the payment as I didnt have US paypal option.:sad: I waited for few days & again started the hunt.This time I went for Amazon & found Asus BR-04B2t BD-rom(new)for $60.I payed & got it delivered to US(by brother).Same time newegg has a price of $50,but same paypal issue.

A Graphiccard--
Same time I found Sapphire HD5570 for $85 & ordered from Amazon.Its DDR3 & has same processers as 5670 family.Its low profile & can fit in small case.

Monoprice 24awg siler HDMI cable- --
I saw good price on monoprice.com & ordered it to replace MX HDMI 1.3b.

Finally some refference BR discs---
Again I ordered from amazon, Avatar,The Matrix & Pans Labyrinth to check my HTPC.

All stuffs got deliverd to my Brother's place before he leaves with free 2 day Amazon shipping offer.
So finally I received all on 19/11/2010.

Task of Installation----
I thought its just replacing existing parts & replace with new.But not so.I installed GC 5570 & PC wont boot.I disconnected all the components & only PC with GC,still no Display.Display was coming from onboard graphics even Bios setting was set as PCI-E.I was worried & thought GC is DOA.:sad:
After 2 days I went to my cousin who has 2 desktops incluiding i7.
Finally it worked. Mine PCI slot was 1.0 & this card 2.0.
Now new trouble,to get a MB.Then I realised that my Sis in Law has new PC with G31 MB with PCI-E2.0 which I built only.So with her permission I replaced my 945GC MSI MB ,C2D E4500 with her Asus G31,C2D E7500 CPU.
Now I could use the GC on so called my PC.

So I installed drivers which came on CD & tried playing some 720ps.Yes,PQ has lot improvement over 7600.But some problem with drivers.I couldnt do changes in Video section in ATI CP.I had read reviews of this card & was knowing that option of smooth video playback,Edge enhancement available on 5570.So I googled & found that,my ATI CP was showing only Video section & not as Aviovo-video.So updated recommended drivers & I could use all options.
Then I checked my LCD info & found I was getting 720p signal & my driver couldnt go above that.Then I searched for very lattest driver & oh all started working as 5570 has to.:yahoo:

Finally replaced some sata cables & now machine started as I wanted.I played Avatar & it worked without hitch on Asus BD-rom.I have old AVR & routed sound through Xonar D2X to 5.1 analoge in of AVR.:clapping:

Thanks friends for reading a long post which may be useful to some building heir HTPC.I will thank specially Hemantwaghe,Kapvin,Venkat sir,Srini,Gobble,corElement for helping me out directly & indirectly.Even others who keep on posting HTPC updates.

MX vs Monoprice----

I found monoprice has good Brightness than MX,but MX has better contrast & blacktint.In short MX PQ looks darkish than Monp.Otherwise OK.

I will post some pictures later as I dont have Camera Today.
Cheers...

 

[partymonger]

Nice guide, but, hdmi carries digital signals, no way can it affect wuality attributes like brightness, contrast etc!

 

[spirovious]

Nice guide, but, hdmi carries digital signals, no way can it affect wuality attributes like brightness, contrast etc!

Yes,but a fast cable may carry bits perfectly & LCD can perhaps process/Display better.May be thats why some HDMI cables get better rattings than others.

 

[hemantwaghe]

Nice guide, but, hdmi carries digital signals, no way can it affect wuality attributes like brightness, contrast etc!

so you say RS 200 chinese cable and rs 10000 mid end cable is same?
any scintific experements done by tou? methodology? equipment?

 

[saurabh459]

I recently got hdmi cables from amazon for less than $2 and looks fantastic on my lcd, if there was a difference between $2 cable and $100 cable most people don't have the eyes and ears to figure out the difference.

 

[vasishta.sushant]

so you say RS 200 chinese cable and rs 10000 mid end cable is same?
any scintific experements done by tou? methodology? equipment?

From the reply its pretty obvious that you don't know what you are saying.

The other guy is definitely right.

Had it been analog signal, equation would have varied but with digital signals, a 2$ and 2000$ cable wouldn't really make any difference, provided the 2$ cable is able to pass the signal from one end to the other.

Digital signals do not suffer from loss as the analog signals do.

Think of it as this way. Assume you analog signal consists of values 0, 40, 80. When the signal moves through an inferior cable, due to resistance and other factors, there is signal loss. At the other end, the signal might be 0, 34, 72. No way you can know that what the initial signal was. With better cables, the losses are minimal and thus signal loss is less and thats what makes them better.

In case of digital signals, the signals either exist or they don't. 0 or 1.

So if a signal is received at the other end, even if there is drop in the signal, it can be safely assumed that the signal sent was 1. The reproduction at the other end is thus nearly perfect.

So if a cable is capable of passing signal, be it a 1000$ or 1$, it won't matter.

You might want to google. Major stores like Fry's, Circuit City earn more revenue by selling these hyped cables.

 

[ukjeyaraj]

Congrats on your upgraded baby

 

[Kittu]

Congrats !!!! :clapping:

 

[spirovious]

Thanks friends.Its good to see a system working after a lot efferts.

 

[kapvin]

Thanks friends.Its good to see a system working after a lot efferts.

congrats! it's been a long wait for you!!!

 

[digitalv]

Congrats on the upgrade.

I'm still sitting on the fence between 5570 and 5670 and may be your decision making tips could help. There are too many reports on the web still debating on which one is a better HTPC card. In terms of power consumption, noise and form factor, 5570 seems to be the best bet but I'm not able to conclude on the picture quality front. Especially the jagged edges (as discussed at Anandtech) which my eyes track way too well.:lol:

On the HDMI cable front, I'm forced to think that placebo effect is causing the difference . For a fixed length, let's say 1-3 meter, a $3 HDMI and $1000 HDMI cable should behave the same as far as Audio and Video quality is concerned. This has been repeatedly discussed by many technical experts. See one of the links below.

YouTube - HDMI v1.4 explained

Though the discussion is mainly on HDMI V1.4, it discusses the myth of different quality HDMI cables affecting the A/V quality. The only benefit an expensive cable may give is it may last longer (because of supposedly better quality connectors, wires, shields..).

I don't have (and wont buy) any expensive HDMI cable to test it myself, but I do have a Rs.125 HDMI cable (in that Rs.35 was shipping and I'd imagine some 30% would be dealer profit making it an ~Rs.65 HDMI cable hyeah: ) and a HIFX Evolution ValuePack HDMI cable (it says Euro 29/Rs.1500 worth, bundled with POHD) and I see/hear absolutely NO difference.

 

[gsathishg]

Congrats buddy

 

[spirovious]

Thaks friends...
Here are some Photos-

1.Sapphire HD5570 installed below D2X-


2.5570 with D2X -


3.HTPC inside view-


4.MX & Monoprice HDMI cables connected to LCD-


5.Specifications of Monoprice HDMI cable-

 

[spirovious]

Congrats on the upgrade.

I'm still sitting on the fence between 5570 and 5670 and may be your decision making tips could help. There are too many reports on the web still debating on which one is a better HTPC card. In terms of power consumption, noise and form factor, 5570 seems to be the best bet but I'm not able to conclude on the picture quality front. Especially the jagged edges (as discussed at Anandtech) which my eyes track way too well.:lol:

.

Yes I was in same situation when I read anandtech rev.
AMDs Radeon HD 5570: Low Profile, Higher Performance - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

But soon the corrected & with new drivers Jaggies disappeared-
The Final Word on the Best Radeon HTPC Card - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

Then I went with 5570 which is similar to 5670 with DDR3 memory(which is lower).
5670 has higher clock speed & 5570 can be overdrived to that.

 

[vasishta.sushant]

Nice to see the pics but man, you really need to do some cable management in your PC.

 

[spirovious]

Yes,I have not fixed all as I was testing it yesterday.

 

[buxx]

i am really surprised that you faced issues with the graphics card & your old motherboard. AFAIK PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible with v1.0 ?! nop reason ,why the card wouldnt have worked..

 

[spirovious]

i am really surprised that you faced issues with the graphics card & your old motherboard. AFAIK PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible with v1.0 ?! nop reason ,why the card wouldnt have worked..

I thought same before I got that card,but MB couldnt boot after installing new 2.0card in old 1.0slot.But G31 MB accepted old 1.0 8400card in its 2.0slot.Sapphire also doubted that 5570 didnt boot due to 1.0slot.(got email)
Googling I found,certain new cards are tuned for only 2.0 & not backward compatible.May this 5570 also.

 

[spirovious]

new ATI CP with Drivers launched,the look is totally different-



Desktop & display-


Video options-




Gaming options-


I need to check the performance.Try yourself & let us know...

Update-
Edge enhansement works better than before.

 

[reju]

Congrats Spiro! Enjoy your setup!