2 pc questions

[gooner#14]

hi ive got my pc downstairs now, using the dlp as a moniter and was thinking about htpc systems i think my rig is a pretty good 1
amd 64 bit 2800
gig ram 3200
radeon 9800 pro
x blade case
liteon dvdrw sohw-832s recorder
how good could i get this running dvds??
also how easy is it to overclock my mobo and gfx card? also i have the x blade deluxe case but its a little noisy whats the cheapest off the shelf case i could get instead?
TIA ta

[gooner#14]

anyone

[Paul11]

i would have thought that it would be fine to play dvds

as for overclocking, it would depend alot on what motherboard you have and what type of ram, but certainly do-able.

noise from a pc tends to come from the PSU/Case fans/Grahpics card fans/and CPU fans, so you would need to isolate where the main noise is coming from. ie maybe just replacing your psu instead of the whole case would do the trick

[gooner#14]

is wmp10 the best player for dvd films? cos thats what i have how would i know what fans to replace mine with? this is my case

http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/...cat=121&page=1

[lisag]

Well WMP is ok, but not considered the best. Theatertek is very popular, as is VLC and Media Player classic.

For fan noise, open up the case and stick a pencil on each fan in turn (very quickly) when it stops spinning you will know whether it is the noisy one or not. If it is the PSU fan, then you need to replace the whole PSU. If it is the CPU fan you can get a new, quiet CPU cooler, and case fans you just measure it and order a new quiet one of the same size.

[deksawyer]

As for affordable, quiet cases, the Silverstone LC17 can be made near silent by slowing the fans down a bit. Costs around £65 and looks much better than a std PC case if it's on display in the livingroom.

D.

[gooner#14]

hi ive dloaded a demo of ffdshow to see what quality is like as theatretek hasnt got a demo!!!!!! i tried my pirates of the carribean in the pc and it runs on interactual dvd player but it says that i havent got a decoder so i cant run it any ideas what is wrong?

[BenW]

I don't think you need a spec anything like that to play a DVD, almost anything should do it.

You might want to look at the HDA Mystique sound card if you're using a 5.1 amp

[dannyg81]

Originally Posted by gooner#14

hi ive dloaded a demo of ffdshow to see what quality is like as theatretek hasnt got a demo!!!!!! i tried my pirates of the carribean in the pc and it runs on interactual dvd player but it says that i havent got a decoder so i cant run it any ideas what is wrong?

First off, FFDShow is a utility thats used to post process video files, there is no 'demo' available for it, what you download from the net is what you get. The confusing part is finding a build that's suitable/stable for your needs. It's a can of worms trying to get FFDShow working with apps like Media Player Classic and Theatertek, so if you're going down that route I'd suggest doing ALOT of reading up beforehand. And if you go to theaterteks website (www.theatertek.com) you can download a trial version of TheaterTek 2.2, which expires after 7 days.

P.S. Don't use Interactual DVD player, in fact uninstall it completely.... this is a crappy app thats installed from the actual film DVD. There are much better free programmes out there to use. I'd even suggets getting PowerDVD 6 and using that (which provides you with an excellent DVD decoder as well), as trying to get FFDShow to work with Media Player Classic or TheaterTek may just be a bit much for you.

[gooner#14]

k got a version of power dvd 6 next question ive got a msi k8t neo mobo
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1470 WILL THIS GIVE ME 5.1 in movies i have it into my amp via optical but all i can get is stereo even when i select pro logic 2 on my amp i get stereo ??

[gooner#14]

also in a view to over clocking the board card and processer is it easy to do wheres the best place to start looking?

Originally Posted by gooner#14

k got a version of power dvd 6 next question ive got a msi k8t neo mobo
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1470 WILL THIS GIVE ME 5.1 in movies i have it into my amp via optical but all i can get is stereo even when i select pro logic 2 on my amp i get stereo ??

You cannot get 5.1 out of this digital output. It is stereo only I'm afraid, it is like most soundcards, they have a digital output but can only give stereo. Two reasons for this, firstly the onboard card has no idea waht Dolby Digital/DTS is (you need a card with the company logos on it to do this). Secondly your DVD drive audio cable is most likely to be analogue to your sound card, very rare that you get given the digital cable required (why they don't use the IDE/SATA bus I have no idea but hey).
If you want 5.1 I suggest getting a decent descrete sound card, even a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 will do the job and they are only about £20-25.

As for overclocking I really can't see the point on this machine, it can get quite expensive as you need adequate cooling etc. Not only that but it is risky, you would be better advised to upgrade your gfx card if you want better 3d performance. The rest of the machine is more than capable of MP3's DVD DivX etc. If you do want to do it, look on the net for hints about your board, the best place to start is in the BIOS by increasing the voltages and FSB on the CPU. However it is pretty tricky to explain on a forum and I would not reccomend trying due to the damage you can cause. If you can try and find someone who has done it who can show you with you watching.

[avanzato]

Originally Posted by gooner#14

k got a version of power dvd 6 next question ive got a msi k8t neo mobo
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1470 WILL THIS GIVE ME 5.1 in movies i have it into my amp via optical but all i can get is stereo even when i select pro logic 2 on my amp i get stereo ??

Have you told PowerDVD to use the SPDIF output, it's in the PowerDVD Audio tab. If you don't tell it to use SPDIF passthrough you will only get 2 channel PCM. BTW for feeding DTS/AC3 digital to a external amp you need nothing more than the built in soundcard.

99Flake, where do you get your information from?

[deksawyer]

Yeah, SPDIF passthrough to an external decoder works from either optical or coax digital connection, with build in sound. You just need to set it up properly.

However, it might be a problem if you use the digital outputs to carry a 5.1 signal decoded by the PC to a set of speakers, for example......unless you have a Soundstorm board or even a software decoder onboard.

D.

Just never ever managed to get it to work on anything but a product branded for DTS or Dolby digital. Been using computers for years (I am an IT tech). To be honest I can't say I have tried that hard as I don't use my PC for any surround sound stuff and my sound blaster Live will not give out a 5.1 signal whatever I do. However I stand corrected if this is the case. Don't ever use on board sound as it sucks to much CPU resources.