Starting over - rethinking

[jfm]

After about 2 1/2 years, my system power supply failed and apparently took out the motherboard. Don't yet know about the hard drives. So, having to start over, and for the first time in a long, long time, I have no recorder. Withdrawal is bad. If the drives are damaged, as well, I will probably go into a deep, dark depression, and the next question will not be necessary.

Anyway, hoping that the drives are okay, I'm thinking about maybe doing it a little differently this time - maybe setting up a media server PC with gigabit Ethernet to the living room where I would have some device or other to play videos, etc. Of course, that may require a gigabit switch and router, too, since I would like to be able to control the server from my laptop wirelessly via Remote Desktop.

Anyone have any suggestions or want to point me in the right direction? All my expertise has been the other way.

[steeb]

After about 2 1/2 years, my system power supply failed and apparently took out the motherboard. Don't yet know about the hard drives. So, having to start over, and for the first time in a long, long time, I have no recorder. Withdrawal is bad. If the drives are damaged, as well, I will probably go into a deep, dark depression, and the next question will not be necessary.

Anyway, hoping that the drives are okay, I'm thinking about maybe doing it a little differently this time - maybe setting up a media server PC with gigabit Ethernet to the living room where I would have some device or other to play videos, etc. Of course, that may require a gigabit switch and router, too, since I would like to be able to control the server from my laptop wirelessly via Remote Desktop.

Anyone have any suggestions or want to point me in the right direction? All my expertise has been the other way.

Hiya jfm,

I would say this is a very good post with some good thinking here, that I am sure some others may be watching, but nothing has quite been made clear enough?

By the fact that you do not want to replace possible dead HDD's that would indicate your budget is limited?

You have not suggested what you mean to do exactly other than replace a machine to drive your NextPVR system possibly as a server?

Are you able to hardwire a Gigabit connection from where a potential server may be to your living room? By that I mean cabling? Why do you need Gigabit? What is the wireless RDP for?

see what I mean! Loads of questions......

Everything can be done on a budget but you need a plan first and a reason for it

cheers

steeb

[jfm]

Thanks, steeb. Let me see if I can do a little better job:

Yes, the budget is important.

I'm assuming (hoping) hard drives are okay. Power supply and MB are gone, so what I have are the case; drives; 2GB DDR2 memory; Intel P4 2.5ghz dual core processor, heat sink, and fan; DVD; 2-Hauppauge PVR 500 tuner cards; and nVidia 8600 GT video card. I also have a replacement power supply that my son gave me when he upgraded. Main thing I need is mobo.

As I see it, choices are 1. Server in living room connected directly to TV as before, and 2. Server in next room connected via hard-wired Ethernet to some device in living room to play to TV, or is there another alternative?

I said gigabit Ethernet because I figured the bandwidth would be necessary to stream the videos and other chores. If 100mb okay, then that would simplify things considerably.

I want to be able to control the server wirelessly via my laptop in the living room where the TV is - Could use RDP, Logmein, or, if I can see the display on the TV, Synergy, which shares the laptop KB and mouse to the server.

Hope that clarifies somewhat.

[johnsonx42]

100mbit should be just fine.

The only two reasonably full function clients for NPVR are the NMT devices (popcorn hour A-110, EGreat M34a) and a windows PC running NPVR in client/server mode. As I understand it the MVP also still works pretty well for Analog/SD, but if you are at all planning the move to HD then an MVP wouldn't make much sense.

[jfm]

I've been looking for a motherboard with the following specifications and would appreciate any recommendations:

* ATX form factor

* DDR2 memory

* 1 PCI Express slot for the nVidia 8600 GT video card - this slot needs to be far enough removed that the width of the video card does not interfere with another slot. That was a problem with the board that I am replacing.

* Socket 775 for the Intel processor that I have

* 2 PCI slots for the tuner cards

* At least 1 more slot of some kind in case onboard audio or ethernet goes bad - this is the first mobo I have ever had to go bad, but I've many times had to replace 1 or more of the onboard things that went bad - video, audio, ethernet, so, if I hadn't had slots, those would have been junk, too.

Also, I may take this opportunity to go digital. I'm going to look around on the board for recommendations for tuner cards, but, if anyone wants to make one here, please feel free.

Thanks for the input.

[steeb]

Hiya jfm,

to start would say that Mr Johnson gave really good heads up here (as usual )

This is a complicated issue. And I do not think I would be too dis-honoured by saying that you are in one of those dilemma's where you are re-building a whole system, again. By this I mean that you are having to replace a Mobo, and then things can often spiral.... This will NEVER be easy.....

As a self builder starting with a new motherboard things will probably never work out the way you planned. :eek:

What is stopping you getting a working v of your dead mobo on say ebay? And simply transferring the parts over?

Otherwise there, IMHO, will have to be some grounds up replaying and thinking here... Depends on how much you like to geekily party!

steeb

[jcjefferies]

A few Socket 775 motherboards are still available but there is not much choice so that will have to be your starting point. The site I looked at allowed you to select motherboards for Intel processors then by socket, but only 1 from Gigabyte was ATX size.

I have seen some dramatic PSU failures which rarely damage the motherboard or anything else. However if it has somehow seriously damaged the motherboard it could have also have damaged the processor and other things. Before you commit yourself to buying an out of date motherboard it may be a good idea to try and confirm the old processor is ok

[johnsonx42]

how about: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813138157

or, if you don't mind getting a refurb intel: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813121543

[Jaggy]

To me those two links seem to be to the same product??

[johnsonx42]

fixed