My HTPC with 771 to 775 mod

RedJamaX

Junior Member
Jul 20, 2014
3
0
0
I'm almost done with my HTPC with the 771 to 775 Xeon mod! Anybody else doing this to save a little cash and get good performance?

It's really more of a living room Game PC than a Theatre PC... but here's the specs:

Motherboard - HP Irvine-GL6E 775 mini-ITX
Processor - Xeon X5450 3.00GHz
- Using an Intel Celeron cooler with copper core
RAM - 4GB Kingston DDR2 PC-6400
SSD - Mushkin Enhanced SATA III 120GB
Case - Silverstone ML07B
PSU - Silverstone 450W SFX
OS - Windows 8.1 Pro
Video - NVidia GT640 1GB DDR3

Still don't have a Blu Ray drive yet, but it's not a big thing for me, I will most likely only use this for gaming and Internet access, I really like my Sony Blu Ray player. Next on the list is extra cooling. The ML07B does not come with any cooling fans and this thing gets HOT!!! Plus, the SSD mounts right between the really hot case cover and the really hot video card and I fear that will reduce the life of the SSD substantially.

I had my old GTX 560Ti in it originally but it just gets too hot. Doesn't lock up or anything, but we all know that too much heat kills components faster. I say "old" 560Ti because I have a separate Game Rig which now has a Radeon R9 280X. The GT640 works great for the living room PC though. We play NES and SNES Emulators, and Steam games that work well with controllers (Batman, Castlevania, Need for Speed, etc.)
 

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
62
91
If you have a stand-alone BD player, that's probably for the better... I'm still using my old crappy LG. The nice thing is, if the HTPC is down for maintenance, I can use the BD player to stream Netflix, too. No fighting with playback software, either.

I thought of putting my old 560Ti 448 in the HTPC, but just don't need the heat and noise... I put it in my backup computer upstairs, instead, and just left the little passive HD6450 in the HTPC.
 

country2

Senior member
May 1, 2001
598
4
81
771 to 775 mod? Is this the adapter sticker mod? I have a htpc that is running a Pentium E5200 thinking about a cheap upgrade and just found out about it.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,699
1,448
126
Wow! I LIKE this thread!

I spent most of my time this year updating old 775 hardware. I have TOO MUCH OF IT!! I get ideas . . . JUST READING THROUGH THIS!

When I built my SB-K, I was bent on running HTPC functions -- totally stable -- and continuously from it. It's "still tip-top."

But I'm thinking of re-deploying some hardware. I might spend a very little on a new graphics card -- like an eVGA [NVidia] Maxwell 750 (? . . ?) card I found at the Egg for about $130. But I have a pile of spare graphics cards I can use -- a 9600 GT, a GTX 570, or a GT 430.

Then again, maybe I won't -- redeploy. . .

But -- Question.

Was the SATA controller on your ITX board an SATA-II or SATA-III? I'm sure you got good service from the Mushkin if it was an SATA-II onboard controller.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,699
1,448
126
Nice collection.

It's still . . . old stuff. I said elsewhere we all get the daily Newegg feed, and I get a lot more from Directron and other resellers. One doesn't have to be a spendthrift to buy "too much stuff" these days. I think the GT 430 cards cost me $35 each.

But with a lot of computers, three users, an HDTV in each of five rooms in the house, I'm puttering perpetually with so much time on my retiree-hands. I have extra computers, extra UPS boxes. I can even watch CNN on my cell-phone in the warm and quiet place of my morning routine . . .

Even the fictional Spock or Data didn't have it so good.
 

hoorah

Senior member
Dec 8, 2005
755
18
81
I thought of putting my old 560Ti 448 in the HTPC, but just don't need the heat and noise... I put it in my backup computer upstairs, instead, and just left the little passive HD6450 in the HTPC.

I did the same. I had a 4850 thats fun for a few older games on the big TV, but it just sucks so much power and generates heat that I swapped it for the passive 6450. Shame on the performance but noise is king in an HTPC.
 

hoorah

Senior member
Dec 8, 2005
755
18
81
I spent most of my time this year updating old 775 hardware. I have TOO MUCH OF IT!! I get ideas . . . JUST READING THROUGH THIS!

I picked up a discarded ASUS P5K-SE with a Q6600 and an ATI 4850 in it this morning. No PSU, memory, or disk drive, and I don't know if it works. I guess I will test it and see where it might fit in the 'fleet'.

775 systems are great for HTPCs. I had briefly heard of the 771 mod but never really looked into it. Might have to take a peek again.
 
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BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,699
1,448
126
I picked up a discarded ASUS P5K-SE with a Q6600 and an ATI 4850 in it this morning. No PSU, memory, or disk drive, and I don't know if it works. I guess I will test it and see where it might fit in the 'fleet'.

775 systems are great for HTPCs. I had briefly heard of the 771 mod but never really looked into it. Might have to take a peek again.
I have to pinch myself every time I remember that LGA 775 was the "last best thing" five or six years ago, or that it was the latest and greatest with the advent of a certain single-core Prescott CPU more than 8 years ago.

It would seem that Intel has caught up and passed the "human being speed:" people only need so much speed to do mainstream "user stuff" without an hourglass annoyance. The fam-damn-ily never tells me anything like "My computer isn't fast enough!" or "Shouldn't I have a new computer?" I have an Ivy Bridge dual-core system with Z77 motherboard with pre-OS-install testing completed, just sitting here, waiting for Mom to give up a day or two in computing time to make the swap.

She's not very interested; thinks everything is wonderful. And. . . for that socket or her CPU -- it is.
 

hoorah

Senior member
Dec 8, 2005
755
18
81
I have an Ivy Bridge dual-core system with Z77 motherboard with pre-OS-install testing completed, just sitting here, waiting for Mom to give up a day or two in computing time to make the swap.

The time commitment to migrate the family user data and set someone up with a new system far outweighs the actual hardware expense.

I now give the best (well, best of the hand-me-downs) and most reliable hardware to the people that are on the longest upgrade cycle. Saves me work.

And oh, users that can fit all of their documents, photos, everything in the free version of their preferred cloud service? So much easier to support!
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,699
1,448
126
The time commitment to migrate the family user data and set someone up with a new system far outweighs the actual hardware expense.

I now give the best (well, best of the hand-me-downs) and most reliable hardware to the people that are on the longest upgrade cycle. Saves me work.

And oh, users that can fit all of their documents, photos, everything in the free version of their preferred cloud service? So much easier to support!

That is truly a wise strategy! Very good!

I don't know what's happened to me. I was at the top of my game when I was working and teaching. After that, it was all about having fun. I once had an edge, and now, retired -- it's gone! So I fell back further after wiring my house for gigabit, and I wasn't impressed in early part of last decade with wireless devices. I avoided them. I'd set up wireless for my cousin's business in 2003, but wasn't convinced even then about the value of WEP encryption (which we all know now -- is weak). So suddenly, I've opened up that part of our LAN, configured my refurb-souped-up laptop and I-phone. I can watch TV in the crapper every morning, or read the Times without piling papers up in the small and quiet place.

Then there was this news about "The Cloud." I'd already been reticent about joining Facebook or using Twitter: the security problems hit the news, and I was already getting paranoid. Then I heard that I could put all my files on the Cloud, as well as with various online services for a subscription fee. Carbonite? I think is one. Right away, I'm thinking: "My tax documents?! My Quicken files?! All my unpublished works?! My underwear selfies that I never sent to Congressman Wiener's girlfriend? No way!!"

I guess -- except for the celebrity nude selfies and weak passwords, it's OK.

I'm just wondering now if I'd avoided using my credit card at Home Depot during the period they announced today. I was lucky for the omission during the time Target was compromised! I shop at both of those outlets!