Introducing my HP Microserver N36L using WHS2011 + XBMC

i did nothing special to get xbmc running on whs2011.

just downloaded the .exe file and installed it...
there was nothing more to do...

maybe try to install it with rightclick -> run as administrator

(2011-06-27 16:14)QLink Wrote:  power consumption:
under idle my N36L with above mentioned config is using ~36W and under heavy load a maximum of 45-50W.
idle results should als lower down with the whs2011 AddIn "Lights Out" but i haven't measured this yet.
update: idle with spun down drives: 24,3W

The above is a quote from the first post. I have an N40L running WHS2011 and everything else as it comes out of the box (no extra drives or graphics card). Mine uses 16watts when shutdown fully and 46watts when running idle. I haven't even added my storage drives and graphics card yet and the power use is so high.

I have seen other reports of N40L's with 4 green drives and no graphics card idling at 15watts but this seems impossible for mine.Does anyone know why it is using so much power?

What are you using to measure the draw? Can you test something with a given wattage? (lamp?)

(2012-04-24 22:44)_James_ Wrote:  What are you using to measure the draw? Can you test something with a given wattage? (lamp?)

I am using this power meter:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp...rm=KEYWORD
I have used it heaps and has always read as expected. I just tested it on a 40Watt light bulb and it read 39Watts so i am happy with its accuracy

i'm thinking of getting my self a HP Proliant MicroServer N40L or a 36L
i want to use is as media storage (to stream to my main HTPC mainly 1080p material blu-ray's remux)
run sabnzbd+sickbeard on it.
and use it perhaps for a bedroom HTPC with xbmc.
install WHS2011 or 2k8

my questions for owners:

is it capable to stream 1080p 20-40 GB Blu-Ray remux's without a problem (wired on a 1Gbps network+cables) ?
can it handle downloading(100Mbps+) and unrar/par2 repair at the same time ?

Hi folks

I'm having real trouble getting my XFX HD 6450 to work on WHS 2011 on this machine. I plug in the card, boot up the machine and see nothing from a directly connected display. I can, assuming the boot process goes fine, access the desktop via remode desktop and it shows the machine working perfectly and the card installed, but no directly connected monitors work. I was using the latest Win7 drivers for it. I assume you plug the monitor into the card's slot, not the onboard. Neither work for me, though.

Have I done something wrong? Installed the incorrect drivers? Is there a step I've missed? Couldn't see anything obvious in the bios that I needed to change before installing.

An excellent thread - thanks all

I built an HP N36L with WHS, XBMC and XFX Radeon HD6450, and had lots of trouble with tearing/stuttering ripped Bluray M2TS files, although SD or 720p video was fine.

What eventually fixed it was uninstalling the whole Catalyst suite and reverting to Catalyst 11.5 (thanks again QLink!)

To be sure I downloaded from the xfxforce.com. The install package was called 11-5_vista64_win7_64_dd_ocl.exe - about 87Mb.

On reboot, the nag screen about 'catalyst not supported with this display adapter' appears - just uninstall the AMD Vison Engine Control Center.

This leaves the ATI Display Driver v8.850.0.0000 and the HDMI/DP Audio Driver v7.12.0.7701 installed.

In XBMC, make sure to have DXVA2 switched on.

The only other difference in my setup is I run DSPlayer (the alternate DirectShow media player in XBMC), which didn't particularly improve tearing.

If you are too, ensure you choose AMD HDMI output audio renderer and the VMR9 renderer in XBMC/System/Video/DSPlayer. For me that's got rid of ripped Blu-ray tearing for good.

Hope this helps someone!

Since several people in this thread are running WHS2011, just wondering if anyone might have a solution for the question I posted in the Windows Support forum regarding WHS and XBMC official remote app:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=133849

I just got the N40L with WHS2011. Even with just the onboard graphics, everything seems to be running fine for XBMC (of course, no sound!). I've got more memory, an HDMI graphics card and 2TB drives on the way.

(2012-04-24 10:43)turbodude Wrote:  

(2011-06-27 16:14)QLink Wrote:  power consumption:
under idle my N36L with above mentioned config is using ~36W and under heavy load a maximum of 45-50W.
idle results should als lower down with the whs2011 AddIn "Lights Out" but i haven't measured this yet.
update: idle with spun down drives: 24,3W

The above is a quote from the first post. I have an N40L running WHS2011 and everything else as it comes out of the box (no extra drives or graphics card). Mine uses 16watts when shutdown fully and 46watts when running idle. I haven't even added my storage drives and graphics card yet and the power use is so high.

I have seen other reports of N40L's with 4 green drives and no graphics card idling at 15watts but this seems impossible for mine.Does anyone know why it is using so much power?

This sounds about right, but I think the reason it's running so high is that the default drive is a relatively high speed drive (7200rpm) and green drives are lower than this, and spin down when idle.. (higher RPM drives use more power) My power draw is about the same, I have 3 green drives and a 1 TB 7200 system drive.. and it idles around 30W and just under 50W when busy.

People have had a lot of issues with the default drive, I wouldn't use it, but if you want to lower your power consumption, you could try looking into a PICO PSU - have a search in the Overclockers Oz forums (http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showth...8&page=43)
Have a look here too: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showpo...count=2153
You'll need a PICO Psu, a power adapter brick, and several Molex splitters - so it will take several years to 'pay for itself' if you're looking to save money. For me the benefit would be to eliminate the noise from the power supply fan. (If yours has some!)

I just bought HP micro server N40L. I wonder if I can use my old Compaq laptop's ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics card with this machine. If yes can you guide me how? I may stupid asking this?