Looking for MB recommendation

[GoatMonkey]

I'm thinking about upgrading the computer I currently use as a Beyond TV server. Currently it's running 6 tv tuners (2 x hauppauge 500, 1 x hauppauge 1600), with 4 hard drives (36gb boot, 2 x 250gb, 1 x 320gb). The current CPU is an Athlon XP 2100+, with a DFI LanParty board, I don't remember the model number. And it has an old nVidia FX5600 Ultra video card. In a Thermaltake Tsunami case, with a Thermaltake power supply (around 700W I think). All running Windows XP Pro.

What I want is:

- It should support an Intel Quad core Q6600. Beyond TV does DivX compression after recording a TV show and the XP2100 can't keep up. There is a huge backlog of files that could be compressed.

- It should have at least 3 PCI slots. My tuners are all PCI

- As many SATA connectors as possible. I'd like to add more disk space.

- Integrated graphics are fine, but it should have a full speed PCI express slot also.

- integrated sound, and 1000 Mb network

- I'd prefer a good name brand, but I'd also like to keep the price under $200 or so, but if there's something great and it's $250 then that could work also.

Thanks

 

[piasabird]

Good luck finding a lot of usable PCI Slots.

I have an ABIT IP35-Pro at home and that might be an option also.

Take a look at this website:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813127031

Abit puts the PCI slots on the end of the board away from the video card slot. I think this one runs about $90.00 and has an SPDIF out jack. The Pro version costs a bit more. There may be a difference in the optical sound or the availability of different outputs like fire wire.

What might go really nice with a setup like this is a 4X Video Card. That might be a bit of an expense you dont want. Visiontek makes some card like 3870 X2 with 4 DVI outputs. If you have to have HDMI just shop around for the right video card.

 

[heyheybooboo]

I want to make sure I understand where we are going ...

You want to build a new htpc.

You want to install all your tuners/HDDs in the new rig.

You want to transcode all your video in the new rig.


I ask this because your current rig should function as your media server/transcoder. Granted, you are way behind with all your transcoding but the great thing about ShowSqueeze is you can que it up and forget it. Come back a week later and you are done.

Running a month 24 hours a day - at 2gb an hour with your current rig - you should transcode 1.5TB no problem (which is roughly twice the storage you currenyly have). End result: 200gb of compressed media

I bring this up because 'multi-purpose' HTPCs kinda piss me off

An HTPC should run cool and quiet. Occasional gaming is okay. You can only watch John McCane blow up so many bad guys - lol

But when you use it for everything under the sun, media storage, transcoding, gaming, etc., at what point does it cease to become an HTPC and just another computer with a bunch of hard drives and tuners in it ?

You could buy 1TB of storage for $200 for the DFI, keep the 2x250s in there and use your other 2 HDDs for a nice, new, cool & quiet HTPC hooked up over your gigaLAN ....

/rant

I'll shut up now ...

 

[GoatMonkey]

You're right really. I have 3 other computers beside the BeyondTV server. One for gaming/web surfing/whatever general purpose stuff, one laptop for work, and one in the living room connected to the TV. Just getting more storage would probably work for me for a while.

I do record a ton of shows though. There's a lot of stuff on there that I'm probably never going to watch, but I keep recording it anyway. It just irritates me knowing that it will never finish compressing all of these files as long as I keep recording more stuff. The backlog has gotten so big that I let the computer churn away on it 24/7 now. So usually when I try to do something on it, it's unresponsive for about 30 seconds before it wakes up from whatever it's processing. So, it's pretty much pegged at 100% CPU usage at all times.

I do watch some shows directly on it though, since it's right next to my gaming PC, so it would be nice if it were more responsive at times. For example, at peak hours it's recording 4 channels and I'm watching a 5th different channel on the OTA HD tuner, and it's probably still trying to compress other files at the same time. So it's not exclusively a server, but most of the time it is.

 

[renethx]

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R

3 PCI slots, 8 SATA

 

[GoatMonkey]

That Gigabyte board sounds good. Lots of SATA connectors.

I'm going to have to think about this more. I'll be getting some new hard drives either way. Maybe I'll just get those for a while. Prices always go down over time.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey
You're right really. I have 3 other computers beside the BeyondTV server. One for gaming/web surfing/whatever general purpose stuff, one laptop for work, and one in the living room connected to the TV. Just getting more storage would probably work for me for a while.

I do record a ton of shows though. There's a lot of stuff on there that I'm probably never going to watch, but I keep recording it anyway. It just irritates me knowing that it will never finish compressing all of these files as long as I keep recording more stuff. The backlog has gotten so big that I let the computer churn away on it 24/7 now. So usually when I try to do something on it, it's unresponsive for about 30 seconds before it wakes up from whatever it's processing. So, it's pretty much pegged at 100% CPU usage at all times.

I do watch some shows directly on it though, since it's right next to my gaming PC, so it would be nice if it were more responsive at times. For example, at peak hours it's recording 4 channels and I'm watching a 5th different channel on the OTA HD tuner, and it's probably still trying to compress other files at the same time. So it's not exclusively a server, but most of the time it is.

When I started my recording it 'snowballed' too. Still does. I got 'The Godfather' last night and have no idea why It's headed for the delete pile ...

I admit it. I'm an adict. I need more terabytes! I look at it as an omen when hard drives keep getting cheaper. My life got alot easier when I went to 3 simple HTPCs and a storage/transcode box. If the little woman lets me I'm going to cycle one of the htpcs into another media server and buy a 780g for the 'old folks' media room.

I don't discriminate either. I've got an open IDE slot waiting. 500gb for $.20/gb. It's kharma-lol