The Arrival of USB 3.0

When Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity was first introduced in mid 90, it becomes an instant hit in the world of PC where many peripherals introduced later are based on USB design. I have not tried any USB 1.1 before, so I never know how USB 1.1 performs, but I did buy one USB 1.1 hub unintentionally couple years ago from store. The transfer speed was awful, I ended up threw the hub away since it was just ridiculous slow. The first real high speed USB interface is USB 2.0. It has a theoretically speed of 480 megabit/second. Most people are wondering, why they are getting 30mb/s instead of 480mb/s. Where is extra speed gone? As a matter of fact, one is 'megabit' while the other one is megabyte. 1 megabit is equal to 0.125 megabyte. So, USB 2.0 theoretical speed should be 60mb/s. In adidition, due to the fact that USB 2.0 is a half duplex, means it allows communication in both directions but only one direction at a time, so it should max out at 30mb/s. Don't worry if you are getting 30mb/s when you are using USB 2.0.

I was pretty excited when USB 3.0 was first introduced couple years back. A promised speed of 5Gbit/s equal to 640 megabyte/s. I thought this will be an instant solution for big files transfer since 1 TB hard drive is such a common storage nowadays and it can be easily filled up with HD contents. In my previous post where I was writing about building a home theatre PC (HTPC), I mentioned the reasons I choose small form factor over ultra-small form factor is due to its upgrade flexibility. As a matter of fact, the empty PCI-express 1x slot is proven to be useful for USB3.0 upgrade.

In order to have USB 3.0 ports, I bought a USB3.0 PCI-express 1x card off Ebay that costs me AUD10. As soon as the package arrives, I install it to my HTPC. 

USB 3.0 PCI-express 1x with normal bracket and low profile bracket.

After installing the express card, it fits comfortably above my ATI HD 6570.

Now, I have two USB 3.0 ports. I am ready for super speed.

After the driver is installed, I can't wait to do a test run. I recorded a burst speed of 95megabyte/s and a stable transfer speed of 57megabyte/s. Well, that's actually quite disappointed as I was expecting a stable transfer speed over 100megabyte/s.  

Disappointed transfer speed.

Having read some of the online comments. I realize that 650megabyte/s is a theoretical speed but not a realistic speed. The speed is usually bottlenecked by hard drive reading and writing speed. So, a maximum transfer speed should be around 80-100megabyte/s and It is common to have a transfer speed around 60megabyte/s.

Despite an overall improved performance over USB2.0. I feel USB3.0 is more of a hype than actual performance boost. At least at this stage, actual USB3.0 speed is bottlenecked by hardware. USB3.0 is not all about speed, but rather better power management that potentially useful for power-hungry USB peripherals.       

A Handy Tool for HTPC - Mini Keyboard

My obsession with space and wireless devices has always been a weakness. I own a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse, super reliable, sometimes I wish they die on me so that I have excuse to buy a fancier keyboard and mouse.

This full size keyboard has served me pretty well for the past few years. I have used the same keyboard and mouse on three different computers. Anyway, despite of its reliability, I still think it is not a suitable device to control a HTPC. You need something small, something you can hold in your palm and control the HTPC from viewing distance. I have been searching for this type of device for quite a while until I saw this mini keyboard only costs AUD20 in Ebay. Online shopping has been my favourite, goods are cheap and you can get it without leaving the house. The only disadvantage is, it takes time to arrive if you are buying from oversea seller. 

After a week of waiting (surprisingly fast compared to other oversea goods I bought), it reached my mail box. Well, it looks smaller than I expected, it come with a mini bluetooth dongle, build-in battery that can be charged using mini USB port, and backlight that is rather useful in the dark. The device works after I plug in bluetooth dongle, no software installation is required in Window Vista or 7.  

Only trouble I had was, the keyboard seems to be laggy when I was using it 2 meters away from the dongle. This is ridiculous as the seller claims that it has a working distance of 10 meters. After several hours of trial and errors, I realize the keyboard works when the dongle is sitting almost the same level with the keyboard. So, I connect the bluetooth dongle to a USB extension cable and let the dongle sits on a higher position. Now the keyboard works flawlessly. The mouse pad is rather sensitive but small to navigate if you have big finger. This mini keyboard is suitable for casual use (HTPC) and it is not a replacement for full size keyboard and mouse. Overall, I think this is a nice addition to your HTPC.  

You can see a 'Fn' button sitting at the bottom left, so it allows media controls. 

The mouse pad is small but its quite sensitive.

This is how the mini keyboard looks like when it sits beside a GoCard.

My HTPC - DC7800 + HD 6570

I have always enjoyed watching movies. Well, to be honest, movie might be my only hobby lately. I always want a home theatre PC that I can just hid under the cabinet and watch movie from the PC. Here is my recent project of converting a second hand PC to a Home Theatre PC (HTPC). 

1st question is, what are the basic requirements for a full HD playback machine? I read many online posts where most suggest you need at least a 3 GHz CPU to handle those movie files. Some even suggest a dual core processor is preferable since decoding media file is CPU intensive. Having thought the options available. I opted for a core 2 processor.

Core 2 processor is an Intel X86 64 bits microprocessor that was first introduce in 2006 (I know this is a pretty obsolete technology). This processor comprises of solo, duo and quad cores subfamilies, CPU clock speed range from 1.06 GHz to 3.5 GHz. It has two types of feature sizes where early CPU introduced is 65 nm, later has gone down to 45nm. Core 2 processor socket is LGA775, so if you are still a Pentium D processor user, you might be able to upgrade for cheap with significant performance boosts. This processor has been famous among the over-clock enthusiasts where some manage to push it safely to 4.0 GHz with additional cooling elements.

2nd question is, where do you want to put your HTPC? I am pretty obsess with the case size, so I will go for a small form factor where it can fit comfortably under my TV cabinet.

Alternatively, if size is not your concern, you can go for a tower computer that has better upgrade options in the future. 

As mentioned early, this project is meant to convert an old computer to a HTPC. If you have an old PC, you can just use it and do some minor upgrade to become a decent HTPC. If you don't have any old PC, like me, go for a second hand PC. I manage to get my hand on a HP DC7800 small form factor unit for AUD100 (E6750, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HDD). The reason why I choose the small form factor over its sibling ultra small form factor is, small form factor usually comes with empty slots while ultra form factor is not upgradable. 

From the left: tower, small form factor and ultra small form factor

DC7800 small form factor has one empty SATA slot with extra hard drive space, two PCI-E 1x slots, one PCI-E 16x, and one PCI slots. In addition, it comes with four DDR2 memory slots that can support up to 2GB per slot. The beauty of having a PCI-E 16x slot is, you can add a graphic card for better graphic performance in the future. Integrated graphic card is GMA3100, some claim this graphic card is sufficient for a full HD playback. I have not tried it myself. But I will tell you the reason for having extra graphic card.    

As mentioned early, movie file decoding usually is very CPU intensive. However, recent advance in graphic card technology helps to move this tedious job to Graphic Processing Unit (GPU). I am not a gamer, this obsolete machine is not meant to be anyway, but I just want a smooth HD playback, so I decided to spend extra to get a graphic card that has DVI and HDMI outputs with video decoding capability. This however proven to be a headache for a small form factor computer. I have limited choices of graphic cards since small form factor PC only supports low profile graphic card (half size) with low power drawing. Bear in mind that a small form factor power unit is between 230-300w where most graphic card recommendation for power is 400w.

I did some searches online and read many posts and come to a conclusion, a 400w recommendation video cards should work fine in a low-powered small form factor. The reason is, most graphic cards I recommended below have maximum drawing power of 60w. Under normal circumstances where you just watch HD movie, internet or documentation, it will not even consume half of this number.  

Here are some choices you can consider:
Ge force: GT440, GT430, GT240, GT220, GT520, GT210, 9500GT, 9600GT
ATI: HD 6570, HD 5570, HD 6450, HD 5450
These are the few I have seen people install in a weak PSU (230w-300w) with stable performance. Anyway, please install it on your own risk.

Top of the line should be GT440 and HD6570 that are priced between AUD60-70
Basic one like GT210, GT520, HD5450 and HD 6450 are priced between AUD30-40
If you just want a HTPC, a basic graphic card will be alright. If you are a light gamer, GT440 and HD6570 will give you more flexibility. I bought a fanless HD6570 1GB DDR3 for AUD60. The graphic card comes with a low profile bracket. Make sure the graphic you buy is bundle with a low profile bracket otherwise you need to spend extra dollars. 

Its fairly easy to install this card. First, you need to replace the normal length bracket with a low profile bracket. Second, open the DC7800 cover by pressing two release buttons sitting on both sides of the box. Slide the cover backward and lift it to unveil the motherboard. Remove the low profile cover on the back of the DC7800. Plug in the graphic card and lock it. Close the cover and it is ready to go.

One of the frustrating things about this video card is, it automatically disables the audio jack once you install it. To fix this, you just need to enable the AUX in bios setting.

Install the ATI driver and the PC is ready to go. Worth to mention is, ATI graphic card is supporting Eyefinity, so HD6570 theoretically can support 3 displays. I will test after buying a new DVI splitter cable.

Software
Since this is a new set up. I have not tested with any new HTPC software yet. Briefly tested with Window Vista Media Center, was disgusted, so not going use it at all. Instead of using VLC player that is highly recommended by many, I recommend two media playback programs: The KM player and Baidu Player.  These two are the most stable and reliable media players I have tried. Just give you an idea how many programs I have been through: VLC, GOM, Real Player, Baidu player, The KM player, Window Media Player, Window classic Media Player, PPS player and etc.

Movie Database
I have used Movie Monkey and Eric's Movie Database before. I quite like the Movie Monkey simple yet beautiful interface, so most probably will get it set up when I have more free time.

Hope you enjoy your new HTPC.