Are GPUs In New Intels Any Good For Basic Htpc / Server Use
Sep 20, 2011
I have recently purchased all the parts for a computer from Newegg (still waiting for it), with the understanding that the HD graphics capabilities of the Sandy bridge Pentiums will be more than capable of playing back most formats flawlessly (and being able to convert some odd formats to WMC-friendly versions ahead of time), alongside beng used as a sort of download server for the house.
I'm looking for a 2 TB at least to 4TB NAS but I don't know which one choose, which brand works better, etc. My budget is from $200 dlls to $400 dlls. I'm posting this thread because I need help choosing it so please help me. I'm looking for one that has HDD protection (RAID1, etc). I like iomega, seagate, western digital, hp, etc. whatever brand it's ok but I need them to work with Win 7 and Win XP.
i recently installed PES(pro evolution soocer) 2012 on my system but it it justs hangs and teell me that my video card is not sufficient for the game my laptop is Dell N4050
Unfortunately i have recently (2 months ago?) bought a laptop with switchable graphics without knowing what it was and it has an Intel HD + HD 6470M which is an entry level card (should be able to play any game smoothly on low) but when it comes to games like witcher 2 and saints row 3, it gives up and run at 10 FPS. Now i have checked using GPU-Z and i saw the ati graphics using 80% of usage which means it was active but why not 100%? and the intel card was giving 9% of usage. Does that mean they both work together somehow?I was wondering if there's a software which could choose default GPU (ati one)...since i don't have the bios for my laptop which sets GPU to either discrete or power saving thing
I am building a new computer and I want to go with a dual screen setup. I was wondering if I should go with a GTX 670 2GB GPU or two Sapphire Radeon 7870s. If not specifically these cards, let me know what you think. Is it better to have a single GPU with dual DVI output or two slightly cheaper GPUs using crossfire?
First let me say, I have purchased a copy of Win 7 Ultimate upgrade from my university. I am NOT, repeat NOT, asking about pirated software. I am asking about a copy of Windows Ultimate 7 Upgrade.I have had issues recently with my system. After a whole lot of BSODs and reinstallations, I have isolated the problem and subsequently relegated that computer to being a home theater PC. During the setup, I was installing Windows. When I put in the key, it rejected it. I input it about 10 times, each time verifying it, and it kept rejecting it. I have installed this copy several times before, and had no problems previously. This is a fresh install, and the installation went smoothly up until that point. I did let it sit for about an hour during the installation. It sat at the point where you put in the username/password and then the windows key.
I built a HTPC with a video card that does DVI and hdmi. The motherboard has a VGA.
But I also need either: s-video or composite What should I do? I don't want to like "downgrade" the video card and just use an old one for everything. Can I run them both? Like switch back and forth? "Simultaneous" is not required.
Also, I would already be using the PCIE 2.0x16 for the video card. I have PCIEx1 and PCI slots open. EDIT: I found this... [URL]
Would this work in letting me switch between the onboard video and the video card?
Basically I know virtually NOTHING about video cards. Last time I got one it refused to work in my computer (an Old Dell).Basically I want to be able to decode 1080p (and do re-encoding, not necessarily 1080p) without my computer bogging down. And I want to stream to my Xbox with subtitles, which my G620 simply CANNOT do (as it requires burning in subtitles on the fly before streaming it to the xbox).I don't want a super expensive GPU, but it needs to be low-profile to fit my case (info in hardware description)
I *think* I've managed to figure out that an AMD Radeon HD 6850/70 will work for playing 3D Blu-Rays with TotalMedia Theatre 5, onto a Samsung 6000 series 3D TV with Active Shutter glasses over HDMI 1.4a.
I am currently building an htpc that will be used solely for watching movies from my hard drive, blu ray discs, and online streaming. I am trying to find an hd media player that is very light and simple. I have tried KMPlayer but it seemed to open fairly slow on my current computer, which isn't slow. I have also tried splash lite which I really like, but on some of the movie files it does not play sound, so no go there. Any other suggestions about what software would be the best? It doesn't need to be powerful because I will just be watching movies, I mostly want it to open fast and and have a small footprint.
got myself a little pc that im using as a HTPC... I initially purchased a DisplayPort to HDMI cable to connect the htpc to the pioneer amp and then to the tv the video signal works perfectly, but i couldn't get any sound coming through, so then i tried adding a audio jack from the htpc to the amp, still no luck...i have test the sound from the htpc and the sound come out from there, but when connect to either the amp or tv, via the audio jack it doesnt work HP Compaq 8200 Elite Ultra-slim PC specifications - HP Small & Medium Business products?
Some time ago i put together a HTPC with a Asrock A75M-HVS mtherboard (VIA VT1705 Audio Codec) hooked up to my tv with HDMI(sound+video), installed windows and installed on the drivers from Asrocks website.Today i was thinking that I had probably installed the audio drivers over the windows drivers and i wanted to make sure i had the latests drivers from VIA, i was looking around how i could stop windows from installing audio drivers, i found a method using gpedit.msc wich seemed to work, it blocked windows from installing its own driver.So I downloaded the latest driver from VIA website (this was a newer version then from asrock's website). I think it installed correctly but the only thing that showed under playback devices was "Speakers", the digital hdmi output had dissapeared.I tought this was a problem with the driver so i download the one from Asrock thinking this one has to work, but the same problem.This had taken several hours of messing around so i tought screw it, ill take the windows drivers, so I let windows install and it seems to work and i got my sound back, under playback devices there are now 2 options again "speakers" and "digital audio hdmi". I get sound using the digital audio output, but only stereo, when i click the configure option it doesnt let me pick 5.1.I dont really care anymore what driver I have, I would just like to have my 5.1 back,
I built a tiny yet powerful HTPC with the new sandybridge Intel i3 CPU. is there some kind of software that will turn off the spinning HD when it is not needed and only turn on if say a tv recording is scheduled for a certain time, record the show, and then turn the hd off again. it runs windows 7 64 bit, 8 gigs of ram, 2tb hd, blu ray burner.
I tried searching first but I seem to have trouble finding the proper terms to narrow the search enough... So I just post this.I put together a HTPC for 24/7 usage (windows media center and iMON remote control, spotify, PowerDVD for Blu-Ray movies). Minimal amount of additional software installed. The problem is it locks up often. The whole Windows 7 goes fully unresponsive (all you can do is power off -> on). It rarely stays responsive for 48 hours. No crash dump is generated. The event log shows nothing special, mainly two error items, one related with errors on Microsoft Security Essentials and the other is Circular Kernel Context Logger session failing to start.The main question is: what is there to do, is there a program that could monitor which other program seems to halt the system? I'd hate to go through eliminating each and every software/hardware component... The second question is: just in case, does anything below ring any bells what might cause the problem?
Currently I'm using the Logitech K400 wireless keyboard with a built in trackpad, but for my next system build I won't be using it because of finicky reception. I'm currently looking for alternatives, and I want your advice. Currently I'm considering one of these: IOGEAR GKM561R Black 2.4GHz Wireless HTPC Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel IOGEAR GKM561R Black 2.4GHz Wireless HTPC Multimedia Keyboard with Laser Trackball and Scroll Wheel. (They seem to be identical but Newegg lists them separately).
I am using a very cheap receiver from Amazon with the PC Remote Control drivers provided by Eventghost. From my other readings the best way to identify the remote is the presence of [URL] in the GUID. My problem is this. When I put the computer to sleep and begin watching another source, the commands from the television remote are detected by the IR receiver and wake the PC. Is there any way to select which signals would wake the computer?I currently have the power management settings configured to not allow the IR receiver to wake the computer and use the power button to wake it?
I'm thinking about building a new main PC and hooking my current one up to my receiver and plasma tv (50" Pioneer Kuro 720p). If I put a BluRay player in the new PC, will I be able to display it on the tv over the network or does the BluRay player need to be in the HTPC? My current machine's mobo is IDE, not SATA, so I assume that would limit my options on a BD drive.
ECS H67H2-M black Intel i3-2100 4GB (2x2GB)DDR3 1333MHz Twinmos 9-9-9-24 2TB Samsung HD204UI HDD - OS, media and files Thermaltake Toughpower 600W PSU Lite-on DVD+/-RW Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
I'm having a whole store of BSOD's but the really bugger is the part where i can't shutdpwn the rig completely. If i press shutdown via start in win7 the rig shuts down fine and dandy...but give it 3 secs and it powerback up again..
I am experiencing a unique issue with my WMC HTPC box. Anytime I watch content from either WMC7 or WMP7 I get audio and video stuttering every minute. Sometimes, the stuttering will cause the box to freeze up, forcing a restart. At no time do I receive memory warnings prior to or after each event. I've tried restarting the computer in the hopes of clearing the RAM, clearing the Temp Files, and running ChkDsk (at the time of this posting, the process has taken over 1 hour to complete - not sure if this is normal). I also installed Process Explorer to see if the issue was memory related. While it appears that WMC is hogging up to 3/4 of my RAM at some points, usage is mostly confined between 1.3-1.7 GB.
The spikes occur regardless of the RAM usage but not when WMC is running idle (meaning ON but not displaying content other than the main menu). Process Explorer appears to show that the issue is possibly related to SVCHOST - when I place my mouse over each spike, it displays SVCHOST but not the programs which that particular version of HOST is running. I am running WMC7 64-bit, with two 500GB drives (one mirrored), a third drive (2TB internal) for video and music, 4GB of RAM, an Intel i3, a Hauppauge 1850 Dual Tuner, and a ASUS P7H55-M PRO motherboard. I will update with ChkDsk info when it finishes.
I've recently started to experience a BSOD problem I cannot quite put my finger on. It does not save a log, even though I have it set to save in /Minidump. I have not changed or added any hardware, or software. I completely wiped Windows and started over from scratch, using the most up to date drivers. However they're still occurring, I've restored my BIOS settings to all default settings. I am thinking it was a Hard drive issues, I've ran CHKDSK all both drives - I know my Windows drive was clean, I was not around to see the completion of of my slave drive - I was running CHKDSK via Safemode and came back to a BSOD. I've attached a administrator Eventlog, but am unable to make much sense of it.
NTFS.SYS - Address FFFFF88001338890 base at FFFFF880012450000, Datestamp 4ce792f9 I've ran Memory test already, no errors where found. The next step I am going to try is too unplug my Slave drive and see what happens without it. I've already re-seated both drives and memory sticks.
I have just set up an HTPC and would like to partition the drive so that I have a small drive of, say 32gb for OS and the rest for storage. According to the system (after fist shrink) the c drive is 204gb free of 295gb, but I can't shrink it further. I've done a disc clean up and emptied the recycle bin. What can I do to shrink this to a minimum?
My home built HTPC is based on Asus M2n-SLI mobo and ATI Radeon HD 5450 video card with HDMI out to Onkyo 7.1 receiver which passes video and audio via HDMI to Olevia 36 inch LCD TV. PC (ATI card)-- HDMI out --> stereo receiver -- HDMI out --> TV The HTPC is never turned off. When I turn on the receiver and TV components to watch TV, Win 7 (Home Premium, 64 bit) will mute the system. I cannot just unmute. I have to go into Control Panel > Sound. There I find only one option (expected): AMD HDMI output.When I right click and choose Test option, it works just fine. I make no changes to the configuration and the sound/speaker icon in the system tray is normal. Then I open Media Center and everything works fine. When I'm done watching TV, I turn off the receiver and TV. When I start another session, the problem is back.I did not have this problem with an older receiver but using completely different component connections. PC -- HDMI out --> TV -- audio out --> old stereo receiver.
I am copying files from a WHS 2003 to a back-up drive on a HTPC. The WHS and the HTPC are connected physically to a router. The back-up drive is USB 3.0 and plugged into a 3.0 USB input on the HTPC.
The transfer rate is only 40MB/second. Why is this? The data is being transferred via CAT6 cables from the WHS/Router/HTPC and then USB 3.0 to the external drive
I am trying to set up a home server with filezilla server. I am following this site's tutorial to help secure the data flow: [URL]. After doing all of this, I get an error saying "Invalid IP address/range/mask".
Have been a LONG LONG user of Linux as a server (hosting VM's XP / Windows 7 mix) and file / print sharing.
I used to avoid MS like the plague as far as SERVER environments are concerned - probably because my first experince was Windows NT (Windows NeanderThal or Windows No Thanks) which was SO HORRIBLE that it put me off Windows servers for ages.
(Note I'm using a server in a HOME environment where we have around 8 machines (most of which are actually mine for testing -- not a corporate environment which has other considerations).
The problem now with the latest Linux distros that they are trying to be "A Better Windows than Windows". You can of course customize them but I haven't got the time or patience to do this any more. To select what packages to install / leave out now is a 100% pain and if you do it wrong the chances are the system will give errors.
I've looked at the new SUSE 11.2 -- slick and polished - bit I don't NEED "an alternative Windows".
I've just been looking at Windows Server 2008 R2 (got it from Technet) and I'm REALLY IMPRESSED with it so far. I've installed the STANDARD version - you don't need datacenter or Enterprise version for a home server.
It runs vmware server on it just fine (although I might go the whole hog and use the Hyper-V virtualisation -- need to do a bit more research).
I'm quite happy letting MS do the updates than having to mess around with Kernel compiles etc.
Incidentally as a HOME server there are some considerations that you might want to do to make it more like a Desktop OS than a pure server for example add multi-media to it.
This guy does a great job at this .
Convert your Windows Server 2008 R2 to a Workstation! - Multiboot Installation
Windows 7 VM's run just fine on W2008 server (they should as there is a lot of common code).
I'm hoping someone can help me with a problem I have with a laptop not booting into Windows 7. The booting process hangs at the point where the mouse pointer appears, just before the welcome and logon screen. I am able to get the machine to boot by using the Last Known Good boot option, but on the next boot, it reverts back to its bad behaviour.
I can boot into safe mode. But disabling all services and startup items in msconfig does not make the problem go away. I've run a Malwarebytes scan, which detected a pup called iLivid which I removed and uninstalled. I also did a Dr. Web scan, which found and removed 1 additional problem file.
I exported the same registry control set before and after rebooting like this: I looked at HKLM/Select to find the "current" set and exported it to current.reg. Then restarted, let the boot fail, restarted using Last Known Good, then exported the "failed" set to current2.reg, which was the same set (002) as the previous "current". These files are about 15k each, so I have not pasted or attached them. I'm using Windiff to compare them, but can't find a way to export a "change" file to post here. What is interesting to me is that the failed file is smaller by 4%, so stuff has been deleted.
Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.2 OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic, Service Pack 1, 64 bit Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU B800 @ 1.50GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 42 Stepping 7 Processor Count: 2 RAM: 1991 Mb Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family, 771 Mb Hard Drives: C: Total - 431937 MB, Free - 179031 MB; D: Total - 29690 MB, Free - 27465 MB; Motherboard: LENOVO, Base Board Product Name Antivirus: ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5.0, Disabled
I am getting ready to get a new cpu for my computer and I would like a recommendation for a decent cheap gaming cpu I could get around $150. Right now I'm looking at this one Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
My windows 7 computer is 2 years old. Everything works fine.But USB ports in its tower are almost saturated. So I need a reliable multiport USB hub.I have a 10-year old Targus 4-port hub. It works for most applications but it does not work with Seagate portable drives (both V2 and v3). For use with portable drives, USB must be connect to a USB port on the tower,This means that the Targu usb hub is weak. Could someone advise me reliable usb hubs which can use Seagate portable drives?
Im wondering whats a good way to get data from a hard drive? My current computer doesnt work and i have a 2nd HDD that ive had for a year and want to get the data from, ive booted from it and it just lagged so bad i think because of all the drivers needing to be installed into the pc for it. Should i just wait for my new computer and attach it as a secondary drive? or is there some way i can do like a data transfer without it being in a computer?
I'm on my third new router in 3 weeks. I'm using the Netgear wndr3400 right now, it seems to be pretty good but I've noticed my laptop disconnects randomly and reconnects quickly. Its not a major problem but when I'm reviewing my cameras motion recordings for the day through my network it starts to drop as low as 2mbps when I look at my Network device. I cannot find one that fully fits my needs. I've tried expensive routers and mid range but it seems like my old $50 router is all that continues to work. I keep getting routers that have the wireless drop out completely until I go reset it, or the NAT settings for the 360's will be moderate. I cannot fix the NAT for all 360's, just one (or havent found a way to fix it for all) If anyone knows of a good router that can handle this type of use please suggest one, I'm willing to spend some money if its going to work.