Windows Media Center 2005 - a few questions

[Audio Flynn]

For this app, I'd go back to 98SE in it's compact mode of 100mb if so much of the code were not too obsolete to work anymore. All one needs here is a disc operating system, graphics, sound, and perhaps network drivers. What we need the other 900mb of gewgaws and garbage for eludes me.

Been there done that....98 totally sucks as a music server.

As far as memory....it's dirt cheap - certainly not something an engineer would ever complain about.

Like audio, many of us were working on PC DOS with 8088 chips when you were in diapers.

What engineers complain about with MS is obvious.

1. OS Software gets more inefficient and inept as each revision comes out.

2. Consumers must buy PCs with the newest operating system installed which is absurd.

3. Corporate accounts have the clout to mandate using Windows 2000 or NT which finally became stable platforms.

4. ME was a travesty if it was a car you could have sued under the Lemon Law in Michigan it was so poor many of us went back to 98 SE.

I use 2 different fire walls and 4 different freeware programs to free my system from the trash that XP sucks in on a weekly basis.

I will continue to defer building a music server until I can do it in LINUX with at least 24/ 88 resolution.

[seti]

Of course, it seems like everyone's milage varies, but I am using onboard video with an 800mhz processor and performance is fine. I can play 24/96 audio from my remote server without a hitch.

I certainly would try to play video or do anything processor intensive...but it IS a music server. I am at a loss as to why video would impact audio. I've built a lot of audio workstations, recorders, and music servers and I've needed more processor power/RAM at times for editing, but video refresh has never been an issue.

I certainly agree about separate drives. I keep ANYTHING I care about as far from Microsoft as possible.

Dave

It does happen. If the resolution for the monitor is too high for the video card and if the windows media server graphical interface requires a card of a certain specification than I would give to the computer. I am unfamilar with windows media server but I would give it what it wants and it appears to be a video card.

Back in the day you coudl actually make your computer faster by using a better video card. These days it rarely makes a difference other than better graphics.

Have you used any of the Linux music server software available? Since Mac OS X was released my use of linux has slowly dwindled down to not using it at all. I just inherited a 800GB NAS that I am considering using for a music server.

[Guest " "]

Big time delay using a PC and media center....even an OEM package with state of the art hardware can't keep up to a DVR running Linux like the Dishplayer 722, or anyone of the 600 series models. Heck, even and old DVR 510 will run mega circles around a media center PC.

Been there, tried it a few different ways...best bet is get a DVR package from your sat or cable provider.

[Mallette]

>Have you used any of the Linux music server software available? Since Mac OS X was released my use of linux has slowly dwindled down to not using it at all. I just inherited a 800GB NAS that I am considering using for a music server.

Next gen. I will use embedded Linux on CF memory with another Via Epia board. Since the music will come via wireless this will will have no moving parts at all. Should be fun...

Dave

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Big time delay using a PC and media center....even an OEM package with state of the art hardware can't keep up to a DVR running Linux like the Dishplayer 722, or anyone of the 600 series models. Heck, even and old DVR 510 will run mega circles around a media center PC.

Been there, tried it a few different ways...best bet is get a DVR package from your sat or cable provider.

Did you have a problem just playing music and using the Media Center overlay and graphics? I like the remote and interface. I just need it to keep up.

Can anyone tell me if I need to avoid a fan on the Video card to keep it quiet? If so, I am stuck using a 5200 with 256 memory if I follow the approved comonents for Media Center 2005. Will a Nvidia 5200 be enough?

[Guest " "]

" Did you have a problem just playing music and using the Media Center
overlay and graphics? I like the remote and interface. I just need it
to keep up. "

audio works fine. the slugishness comes when recording videos...the recording was delayed big time after the actual.

[Rich_Guy]

Yes you want to use your AGP slot, as I said I'd recommend an Nvidia 7600 card... minimum I would go would be a 6200 it will work with MCE 2005 as I used one before without any problems. 256 memory should work fine since you really are not going for video or games. I prefer cards with fans myself, I have used both and can't hear any difference between the cards I have used, all were very quiet. I have been using MCE since it's begining, I currently use Vista MC and was a beta tester with Vista. Vista is much more demanding of a video card and I have used an Nvidia 7600GS card with Vista and it worked very well.

I think the Nvidia7600 is one of the best AGP cards you can get without spending a few hundred on a video card.

The 6600GT card you linked to will work fine... I don't think the 5200 you linked to is good enough.

Also you should have at least a 300w power supply to power these cards, however the 6200 can get by with less.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Yes you want to use your AGP slot, as I said I'd recommend an Nvidia 7600 card... minimum I would go would be a 6200 it will work with MCE 2005 as I used one before without any problems. 256 memory should work fine since you really are not going for video or games. I prefer cards with fans myself, I have used both and can't hear any difference between the cards I have used, all were very quiet. I have been using MCE since it's begining, I currently use Vista MC and was a beta tester with Vista. Vista is much more demanding of a video card and I have used an Nvidia 7600GS card with Vista and it worked very well.

I think the Nvidia7600 is one of the best AGP cards you can get without spending a few hundred on a video card.

The 6600GT card you linked to will work fine... I don't think the 5200 you linked to is good enough.

Also you should have at least a 300w power supply to power these cards, however the 6200 can get by with less.

Rich,

Did you have any problems with the 6200? Windows only lists the 6600 and 6800. Is there a reason for this?

I also built a really quiet PC. I am trying to decide if I want a card with a fan or not. If cooling is an issue I will go with a 6600 with a fan. Is teh fan quiet or do your other fans drown them out?

I am down to between this 6600:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1642902&CatId=935

and this 6200 (if a 6200 will not have any problems):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150107

The 6200 will be silent and everyone says that it runs cool if not used for gaming.

I have a 350 watt supply so I can use either. Which one to use?

[Rich_Guy]

Out of those two go with the 6600GT, the 6600GT is a much better card than the 6200. Dont worry about the fan I don't think you will even be able to hear the fan your other fans should be louder. The 6200 should work without any problems, but I think you will be a lot happier with the 6600GT.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Out of those two go with the 6600GT, the 6600GT is a much better card than the 6200. Dont worry about the fan I don't think you will even be able to hear the fan your other fans should be louder. The 6200 should work without any problems, but I think you will be a lot happier with the 6600GT.

The fan is teh question. I used an Antec "Silent Case" and then replaced the fans with ones that were even a few DB quieter. When the CPU is not running at 100% all of the time, I can turn the CPU fan down and you cannot hear the fans at all.

The problem is that the 6200 not listed as compatible with Media Center 2005 and the 6600 is. They also list lower cards such as the 5200. I did some searching and there are other problems that can arise. Many who tried the 6200 have had to reboot to record shows and other problems.

So if I want this to be compatable I can choose between the 5200 and the 6600. The 5200 will be silent an dthe 6600 will perform better. Will a 5200 work for music server purposes and not be slow?

How loud is teh fan on a 6600?

[Mallette]

Why do you want ANY fans in a music server? It simply isn't necessary and certainly not desireable.

Dave

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Why do you want ANY fans in a music server? It simply isn't necessary and certainly not desireable.

Dave

I thought that it may be a necessary and desirable to cool my power supply and CPU.

[seti]

The fewer the fans the better. The quieter the better.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

The fewer the fans the better. The quieter the better.

I agree. I bought an Antec 2400 case and then changed out the fans (which were already very quiet) with even quieter fans. When the fan on the CPU is turned down the computer is not audible at all.

So what to do about the card? Do I go for the 6600 card with a fan or use a 5200 without a fan? I just want a music server with a remote, life shouldn't be this hard.

[Rich_Guy]

I cannot hear the fan on my video card at all, I have run a fanless card before and could not tell the difference in sound between the fan or fanless for noise, however the fan video cards have run much cooler. My system is very quiet I cannot hear the fans unless I am right next to the computer, I have had a DVR I could hear from across the room when nothing else was on.

The 6600GT is a very good card, I would definitely use it over a 6200 and I would not even bother with the 5200. I would not run anything less than a 6200 (a 5200 is a lesser card). The 6600GT is a good AGP card and the 7600 is even better. I really would not worry about the fan noise on any of these cards.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

I cannot hear the fan on my video card at all, I have run a fanless card before and could not tell the difference in sound between the fan or fanless for noise, however the fan video cards have run much cooler. My system is very quiet I cannot hear the fans unless I am right next to the computer, I have had a DVR I could hear from across the room when nothing else was on.

The 6600GT is a very good card, I would definitely use it over a 6200 and I would not even bother with the 5200. I would not run anything less than a 6200 (a 5200 is a lesser card). The 6600GT is a good AGP card and the 7600 is even better. I really would not worry about the fan noise on any of these cards.

I ordered it this morning. Thanks.

[Mallette]

Why do you want ANY fans in a music server? It simply isn't necessary and certainly not desireable.

Dave

I thought that it may be a necessary and desirable to cool my power supply and CPU.

It probably is if you are using an office type computer. As I mentioned before, my I designed my present music server in 2003 and the only moving part in it is the HDD...and that was chosen for it's near silence and cannot be heard unless you put your ear on the case. The power supply and CPU are both designed to be fanless. This technology has improved considerably since I built this unit such that fanless CPU's are considerably faster and can even support video playback now. I did not care about video in a music server so mine still serves just fine.

[seti]

Why do you want ANY fans in a music server? It simply isn't necessary and certainly not desireable.

Dave

I thought that it may be a necessary and desirable to cool my power supply and CPU.

It probably is if you are using an office type computer. As I mentioned before, my I designed my present music server in 2003 and the only moving part in it is the HDD...and that was chosen for it's near silence and cannot be heard unless you put your ear on the case. The power supply and CPU are both designed to be fanless. This technology has improved considerably since I built this unit such that fanless CPU's are considerably faster and can even support video playback now. I did not care about video in a music server so mine still serves just fine.

I can't wait for solid state drives to come down in price. No moving parts and completely silent. I am interested in building a music server this year but for now my powerbook works well with Front Row using my apple remote. What do you consider a good sound card? Or would you use a DAC?

[Mallette]

There are a number of cards I think are adequate except for the most critical ears and cheap enough to replace if you don't like them. However, if I were going to a single recommendation based on experience, it would still be Card Deluxe. I've never heard any card or DAC that could outperform it.

As to SS drives, they are alreay cheap enough for a system drive and that is the direction I will go in my next server. For storage, I will do what I do now and use my remote NAS which handles all my media storage needs and keeps it safe with RAID 5 and is dead silent since it isn't in the room at all.

Dave

[seti]

There are a number of cards I think are adequate except for the most critical ears and cheap enough to replace if you don't like them. However, if I were going to a single recommendation based on experience, it would still be Card Deluxe. I've never heard any card or DAC that could outperform it.

As to SS drives, they are alreay cheap enough for a system drive and that is the direction I will go in my next server. For storage, I will do what I do now and use my remote NAS which handles all my media storage needs and keeps it safe with RAID 5 and is dead silent since it isn't in the room at all.

Dave

http://www.compumusic.com/p456.htm

Wow $400 for a CardDeluxe. Is there Linux or Mac OS X support? If it was a custom built linux kernal it could be kept very small. I have an inherited Raid5 NAS 800Gig but it is so large. 10U and the size of large rack mount server. I suppose I could stick in a closet or under the house LOL....

Nice case on your server.