Building a Home Theatre PC
Thursday, June 21 2007 @ 10:10 PDT
Contributed by: kingboyk
I've been forced into a new machine build, as the troublesome Jeedzilla finally packed in with a failed motherboard. As it happens, now isn't a bad time to build, with the by-all-accounts stupendous Core2Duo E6600 at the target sub £150 mark, 2GB of value RAM available for 50 quid (I went for a brand, though), and 500GB drives almost being given away. Since my hi-fi has also packed in (it won't play CDs, and I can't get a radio signal) I figured that now would be the time to build a Home Theatre PC and run it through an amp. I settled on the Zalman HD160XT, a stunning looking case that I should last me at least 5 years and hopefully 10!
As always, when I build a new system, I use the old components (if they have little value) to build a Linux machine (detailed here), and then sell the oldest batch of bits. At this time, Athlon 64 processors and secondhand RAM aren't fetching any money at all, so that's what I'll be doing. I'll probably also sell the laptop, if it's worth anything, to help pay for my build and new amp.
I decided to resurrect the name "Kalika", from my first build over 10 years ago. From the little I remember, that was a successful build and a reliable machine, so let's hope for the same this time!
It seems that all PC hardware reviews on the internet start with a detailed description of the box. Well, they have to fill multiple pages, right?! So, here's a picture of mine: the Zalman HD160XT. Isn't it flash (pun intended; sorry about the nasty quality of this picture).
26 May, 15:20: All the parts lined up ready for the pre-build photo-call. This lot should come together to make a really nice main PC, doubling as an HTPC. Note the newly-assembled Linux box on the right hand side of the table looking nice and shiny.
26 May, 17:15: The Corsair power supply is fitted. This is the first time I've laid out the cash for a high-quality PSU. If it's internals are as high quality as it's finish it'll provide a lifetime of good service!
The inside of the Zalman case is rather disappointing. It's built of much thinner metal than the Antec, there's no internal compartmentalisation, and little in the way of innovative design features. I can tell already that this will be noiser and hotter than the Antec despite being designed for home theatre use, where low-noise is at a premium.
26 May, 18:00: 4*1GB of ATI-certified OCZ RAM is fitted into the motherboard. The board is an Asus Commando, which is based around an Intel I965 chipset. Note the LCD screen on the rear for displaying POST messages. Even more of a lifesaver is the on-board illuminated power and reset buttons.
26 May, 20:25: The motherboard, CPU, RAM, and some peripheral cards are fitted into the case.
...and it boots, first time. Alas, the build would get rather more complicated hereon in and it ended up being a bit of a nightmare...
27 May, 18:30: The hard drives are going into the rack. It's all 4 drives into one rack, and there's cables all over the place. This is gonna be a tight squeeze.
27 May, 20:30: The front bezel has to be snapped off the DVD drive tray, and an aluminium cover stuck onto the drive's tray instead. It's cosmetically pleasing. However, the eject button on the drive is hidden inside the case, and instead the eject button on the case must be pressed. I waste another hour or two trying to get the optical drive cage fitted so that it's tight and snug but with the eject button actually working. Eventually I master it, and I confess it's kinda smart.
27 May, 22:45: With all the bits in, the bloody thing won't boot. Damn. The POST LCD on the rear of the motherboard gets no further than "CPU INIT".
...whoever invented the CPU/heatsink fitting for the Core2Duo will be first against the wall come the revolution! It's a nightmare to fit, and still now as I type nearly a month after starting I only have 2 of the prongs properly seated through the motherboard. Still, the CPU is running cool now.
Back then, I had to eliminate the CPU from the enquiries... is it kaput? (shouldn't be, as it booted yesterday). Is it overheating? Has a wire come loose? Nope, all seems to be OK...
28 May, 20:15: After a full day of troubleshooting and research, I'm reduced to running the PC from the Linux box's power supply. It still won't boot.
Later on, I start taking out the peripheral cards so I can rebuild it one item at a time and, lo and behold, it's the old PCI modem card which is causing the problem! Maybe it's an incompatability, or maybe it's an IRQ problem (something I thought I'd left behind in the 90s; thinking about it now, though, don't modems have to go into "PCI communication slots"? hmm...) but I'm not too bothered either way. Out it comes; it was only there as a precaution in case I ever lose broadband.
Part 2 coming soon.
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I've been forced into a new machine build, as the troublesome Jeedzilla finally packed in with a failed motherboard. As it happens, now isn't a bad time to build, with the by-all-accounts stupendous Core2Duo E6600 at the target sub £150 mark, 2GB of value RAM available for 50 quid (I went for a brand, though), and 500GB drives almost being given away. Since my hi-fi has also packed in (it won't play CDs, and I can't get a radio signal) I figured that now would be the time to build a Home Theatre PC and run it through an amp. I settled on the Zalman HD160XT, a stunning looking case that I should last me at least 5 years and hopefully 10!
