Diagnosis

[sherpagirl]

my rig:

hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC Steel 7KJ9 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811121068

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Definition_Multimedia_Interface Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128090

WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820161030

Western Digital http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Digital Caviar GP WD5000AACS 500GB 5400 to 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136149

AMD Athlon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103211

i put Vista Ultimate for the OS and play the movies with VLC. i got a logitech wireless keyboard for control.

i have one problem though.. playing last samurai in 1080p res doesn't go as smooth as it should be. i noticed the video freezes over the scenes where there are reflective video/image (reflection of water, bright sun, etc). did i miss anything here? i use VLC.

also, after sometime in using the HTPC, it just turns off by itself. then i have to push the power button again.

is there a doctor in the house?

please help. really need some inputs here. am lost..

 

[WR2]

What do you have for a power supply?
Have you thought about monitoring the temps?
A heat problem might throttle the CPU causing a playback problem and it might also cause an unexpected shutdown.

 

[sorce7200]

video card?

 

[hesskia]

sorce7200: He's using a 780G board.

how much RAM are you dedicating to the graphics?

 

[sherpagirl]

right now it's in auto in the bios setting for the graphics memory. also i am using the power supply that came with the case.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

First of all for shutdowns, I would look at a different PSU. For the graphics, try dedicating more memory to the graphics, though a dedicated graphics solution may not be out of the question. Fortunately for something like your doing, a decent card can be found pretty cheap.

 

[sherpagirl]

thanks ohiou_grad _06. the main use of this rig is for viewing HD movies. do you think the built in graphics is not enough for the HD movies? if i were to add an extra fan, which fan should i get? of course the quiet one would fit the job.

 

[WR2]

i have one problem though.. playing last samurai in 1080p res doesn't go as smooth as it should be. i noticed the video freezes over the scenes where there are reflective video/image (reflection of water, bright sun, etc). did i miss anything here? i use VLC.

I think that CPU and graphics chip should be plenty for smooth HD playback.
Try another DVD player software package besides VLC. You can get PowerDVD8 trial edition for free and check to see if you still get freezes during playback.
The freezes could also be related to the problem causing the unwanted shutdowns.

It does not appear you can add a fan to that 7KJ9 case.
Do you get shutdowns only when running the computer fairly hard? Or also get shutdowns even when in an idle state?
Test for heat buildup related shutdowns by leaving the case cover off and the case in a fairly open area.
If you still have shutdowns it's right to start thinking about the power supply.

 

[sherpagirl]

i tried opening the case and use a big electric fan for blowing air. the system didnt shutdown. though the 1080p res movie still freezes in the scenes mentioned. i still have to try othe dvd player.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Hmm, well if it's to do with ventilation as well, maybe a pci slot cooler fan.

 

[sherpagirl]

finally figured it out. shutdowns were caused by the heat build up of the sytem. 780G really gets so hot. the playback problems were solved by using the windows media player with fddshow. i have nice smooth 1080p res playback now. but VLC still freezes from time to time. i guess i will stick with wmp from now on.