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+--- Thread: Post your setup pictures (/showthread.php?tid=68514)
- Superorb - 2011-03-31
^^ That's awesome! What did you do with the old HTPC case?
- djuniah - 2011-04-01
Haha, it's sitting in the corner collecting dust at the moment. It was a little cramped and had horrible airflow.
- Superorb - 2011-04-01
djuniah Wrote:It was a little cramped and had horrible airflow.
Nevermind
BTW, did that one guy really donate his two SSD drives?
- aptalca - 2011-04-01
Coolest liquid cooled pc ever :-) Kudos.
can a usb stick be submerged in mineral oil?? or ssd??
- Superorb - 2011-04-01
aptalca Wrote:Coolest liquid cooled pc ever :-) Kudos.No moving parts, so I don't see why not.
can a usb stick be submerged in mineral oil?? or ssd??
- djuniah - 2011-04-01
well, the hard drive that i had used initially was a "donor" from a previous build that i had done, and it was already getting a tad old. So, about a month after completing this, it died on me. I ended up getting a 40GB SSD online and was able to submerge that. The kind person who offered me a couple free ones on reddit hadn't responded yet, and i needed the drive, so i ended up just finding a cheap one (didn't exactly need a ton of performance). He did contact me later and asked if i still wanted them, but since i didnt really need them anymore, i declined.
Also, i don't really mention it in this video, but I hooked up a 7-way external USB splitter, and i have my storage drives(3 at the moment, one for HD Movies, one for SD Movies and TV shows, and one for general file backup) connected to that. I realize how bad that is for performance, but since it's just mass storage and archival backup(over the network), there really isnt too much of a need for anything faster. I leave the thing running almost 24/7 since i use it for remote file access/streaming as well.
I have another XBMC Live build in the living room as well, but that's far less exciting. Standard HTPC case from newegg with enough horsepower to run the UI and a VDPAU capable GPU. It gets all of its media from my main one over the network. It actually boots from an 8GB thumb drive that i mounted inside the case.
- Superorb - 2011-04-01
^^ Is that XBMC setup slow running off an 8gb USB drive? I always thought about doing that, but I just figured that the Flash drive would be too slow.
- djuniah - 2011-04-01
The cold-boot time isnt really the best, but it functions just fine. Once it loads the OS into memory however, it's just as fast as any other install i've done. (again, keep in mind that this is XBMC Live)
EDIT: Also, there's no reason that it needs to be 8GB either. You could PROBABLY get away with less. Depends on the size of your collection and if you plan on downloading a lot of covers/metadata. I havent made the jump to using one centralized DB yet (i do plan to at some point). I like the idea of it, and i'm not stranger to working with DBs (programmer by trade) but last i checked i wasnt really sure how stable that was.
- Superorb - 2011-04-01
I'm using a VERY old IDE drive for my XBMC Live install, but I wouldn't be against using a flash drive if it works well. I always Sleep, so Waking is always quick.
- djuniah - 2011-04-02
Yeah, if you're concerned about that, you could always pick up a fast thumb drive. Almost all of them have speed ratings (nothing that can even come close to an SSD, but they're not too bad). Also, just be sure that your mobo supports booting from a USB device. MOST do, but some older models won't support it.
- Superorb - 2011-04-02
djuniah Wrote:Yeah, if you're concerned about that, you could always pick up a fast thumb drive. Almost all of them have speed ratings (nothing that can even come close to an SSD, but they're not too bad). Also, just be sure that your mobo supports booting from a USB device. MOST do, but some older models won't support it.Even my older P4 board boots form USP, and I think that thing is 17+ years old. It's what I use for my XBMC box.
- Juanflaco - 2011-04-04
Definitely not the most extensive, but for a DIY remodel I'm really happy with my current setup. It's a small basement bonus room (13x9) and took about 2 months to re-do. Some before/after pictures...
Quick-n-dirty screen v1.0
The couch, 1970's wood paneling, the hand-me-down rockers and creepy cross-eyed deer gotta go!
and the new look...
Speakers are now wall mounted behind an acoustically transparent screen and although they're nothing crazy they work for me in this small space, and it really sounds like the audio is punching right through the picture.
I installed a row of 4 theater-style rockers and mini-recliners for our small ones. I have the lights on a 4 zone IR dimmer and when I dim them just before kicking off the cinema experience script the kids go bonkers! I'm thrilled to see home automation control making it's way into the script, would love to set the lights at various levels for pre-movie, trailers, and then blacked out for the feature presentation.
And a parting shot; XBMC on the new screen!
- boykster - 2011-04-04
Juanflaco Wrote:
Love what you were able to do with such a small space! My theaters a touch bigger than yours, but it's always neat to see what others are able to do with these spaces. Very clean and professional with the fabric wall paneling too - I really like the 2 tone look.
- Superorb - 2011-04-04
^^ Wow, that's really, really nice work you've done
Everything looks great! I'm hoping for a basement when we move to Denver this summer.
- Juanflaco - 2011-04-05
Thanks guys. Good luck with the house-hunt, Orb. Finding a basement in Denver shouldn't be too tricky. I moved from CA to MT and I know they're a LOT more prevalent out here.
One more shot of the room, I installed spotlights behind the screen and blue rope light around the ceiling, but I think I'll switch that for non-colored.
The spotlights are fun for music listening, now I just need to tinker a bit and see how XBMC's music visualization looks projected over the top of the backlights. Might make for a neat effect!