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Spyderturbo007 · 2011-06-24, 21:54

This build was based on eskro's Zacate build you can find here.

Here are the components I purchased:

Total cost shipped to my door was $306.90.

The build went smoothly but I thought I would post up some pictures and a couple tips I found along the way. Keep in mind, this build does not have an optical drive of any kind, so if you're going to install Windows, you'll need another computer and at least a 4GB flash drive.

Here are all the components laid out on the table ready to be assembled.

Make sure you install the RAM prior to installing the Motherboard in the case. I also recommend that you also connect the front USB header along with the audio header, power switch and LED before installing the board.

Here is the board + RAM

When installing the motherboard, keep in mind that there are no "traditional" standoffs with this setup. The small risers on the case function as the standoffs. Additionally, there is no indication of what screws to use where, so you'll want the smaller ones with the flat ring for the motherboard.

The HDD took me a couple minutes to figure out because of using two brackets. Attach the OCZ 2.5" to 3.5" adapter to the bottom of the SSD using the flat screws. Then install the case rail system to the sides of the OCZ adapter plate. You'll want the connectors on the SSD to overhang the back of both plates.

You'll also need to really push on the plastic rails because the nipple that holds it in place is larger than the holes in the OCZ adapter plate. Then secure it with one screw on each side.

Now it's time to install the drive in the case. If you look in the bag, you'll find two (2) very small wood screws. Those are the ones you need to use to attach the assembly to the case. They go in from the top and actually cut threads in the plastic rails you attached to the SSD earlier.

It's really not as hard as it sounds. Just take your time or you'll put the bracket on the wrong way and not be able to get at the connectors at the back of the SSD.

Here is what it looks like with the SSD installed.

Now, on to the fan. This is where things got a little weird. There is only one place to mount the fan and no way to attach it to the case. You basically just have to jam it in there, but oddly enough, it fits snugly and doesn't more around. The issue is that there isn't much of the fan that actually lines up with the holes in the case as you can see in the second picture.

It will be a little snug to fit the cover on the case because the fan is there, but it does work. Keep an eye out for the cables, since there isn't much room and one of them can get stuck in the case fan.

Here is where to install the fan in the case.

Here you can see that there isn't much of the fan aligned with the holes in the case.

When installing Windows, make sure you enter the BIOS first, as IDE mode is the default for the HDD operation. You'll want to change that to ACHI before you install the OS. Once you have the OS installed, you'll want to install all the drivers on AMD's website for the E350 motherboard. I just copied them to a flash drive and transferred them that way. I wouldn't recommend using the included disk, since they probably are old drivers anyway.

After install you'll want to follow all the normal SSD tweaks to optimize performance and drive life. If you need help with them, please ask and I'll be more than happy to help.

As for the performance, it's pretty darn quick. A lot faster than I thought a dual core 1.6GHz would be, that's for sure. The SSD does help immensely from what I can see. I don't know if I would run this thing using a traditional HDD.

The only complaint I have concerns the video card and my 720p Panasonic Plasma. There are some very nice members helping me with that problem right now, so stay tuned for the resolution.

You can follow along here if you want. It starts at the very bottom of page 3.

Hope that helps out someone considering this particular build. I'll try and get up some videos of it's performance here shortly.

eskro · (This post was last modified: 2011-06-24, 22:44 by eskro.)

thats very nice!!
thanks for showing it!

oh yeah and,
didnt you had a chance to place that SSD in the External Drive Bay
or even the internal 3.5" Drive Bay --> http://i.imgur.com/Q0Ge6.jpg

because where you placed it, next to the ram sticks
it was supposed to be the case FAN --> http://i.imgur.com/iKtW6.png
its to help with the fact that CPU is right under the PSU!!

poofyhairguy · 2011-06-24, 22:27

I love threads with pictures. Thanks!

Spyderturbo007 · 2011-06-24, 23:21

Holy cow! I had no idea there was even a drive bay there! I just glanced at the manual for the case and they had to sliding the SSD like i have it in the pictures. I might have to pull it apart and move some stuff around. Big Grin

Thanks for pointing that out eskro.

I'm running into some issues where 1:1 BD rips are stuttering and buffering right now. I'm hoping it isn't hardware related, or I'll have to adjust my review. Any thoughts on what might be causing the stuttering?

Spyderturbo007 · 2011-06-24, 23:35

Well, it's a hardware problem. At this point in time, I can't recommend this build as being about to support 1080p content.

I took my desktop from upstairs (Core i5 3.3GHz, 16GB RAM, OCZ SSD, etc.) and hooked it up downstairs. With this machine 1080p content plays flawlessly.

eskro, had you ever used this build for 1:1 1080p? Can you tell me if there is a way to get it to play without stuttering and buffering? I know it's not the network or the NAS. It has to be hardware related since my desktop runs it like a champ.

eskro · 2011-06-25, 00:10

yes, your ZACATE platform is meant to play 1080P!!

whats your movie file format? MKV?

your using windows7??

in XBMC, have you enabled 'DXVA2' ??

Spyderturbo007 · 2011-06-25, 00:58

Windows 7 Ultimate. I have enabled DXVA2 in the settings menu. I've removed every program other than what is bundled with the OS, the Catalyst Control Center and XBMC.

Here are the specs on the movie (Windows says it's AVCHD):

Code:

General

ID                               : 1

Complete name                    : Z:\Media\iTunes\Movies\Couples Retreat\Couples Retreat.m2ts

Format                           : BDAV

Format/Info                      : Blu-ray Video

File size                        : 31.5 GiB

Duration                         : 1h 53mn

Overall bit rate                 : 39.7 Mbps

Maximum Overall bit rate         : 35.5 Mbps



Video

ID                               : 4113 (0x1011)

Menu ID                          : 1 (0x1)

Format                           : AVC

Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile                   : [email protected]

Format settings, CABAC           : Yes

Format settings, ReFrames        : 4 frames

Duration                         : 1h 53mn

Width                            : 1 920 pixels

Height                           : 1 080 pixels

Display aspect ratio             : 16:9

Frame rate                       : 23.976 fps

Resolution                       : 8 bits

Colorimetry                      : 4:2:0

Scan type                        : Progressive

Color primaries                  : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177

Transfer characteristics         : BT.709-5, BT.1361

Matrix coefficients              : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177



Audio

ID                               : 4352 (0x1100)

Menu ID                          : 1 (0x1)

Format                           : DTS

Format/Info                      : Digital Theater Systems

Format profile                   : MA

Muxing mode                      : Stream extension

Duration                         : 1h 53mn

Bit rate mode                    : Variable

Channel(s)                       : 6 channels

Channel positions                : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz

Resolution                       : 24 bits

Language                         : English

poofyhairguy · 2011-06-25, 01:15

Hmm.. that is quite a file, but should be within the realm of that board.

So the i5 played the same file in Windows XBMC?

Spyderturbo007 · 2011-06-25, 01:20

Yep the i5 It played it perfectly. I even tried changing Aeon to compact mode on the HTPC which didn't make a difference. Still stutter city. Sad

poofyhairguy · 2011-06-25, 01:30

Did you get the newest driver from AMD's website? Have you tried a less heavy file (like say a 720p file) to make sure acceleration overall isn't broken?

Spyderturbo007 · 2011-06-25, 01:36

I did use the newest driver. Provided there hasn't been a new one released since last night.

Everything else seems to work fine. I have another HD-DVD rip that was compressed, along with some 720p episodes of Two and a Half Men. No problems with any of them.

claypigeon · 2011-06-25, 02:03

Perhaps this might help you to work from something known. Wont solve your issue, but provides a common starting point for testing against a known working set.

Here is the "killa" bird demo files that is 42 mbit/sec and are used as a tester to stress systems, I guess the next best thing to a formal benchmark. I have played this file multiple times, on a foxconn 330 atom ion nettop, and every time I have 1 drop, which happens at the start of play, so basically perfect playback.

I also just ran the same file on a windows 7 ati system and it to had 1 drop at the start of play. so it is likely something with the start of the file.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1D4BX1U9 Bird_42_MBit_ABR_(+-1.5 MBit).mkv 109.6 MB

Here is a whole list of them in increasing bitrate (these were copied from a post on the plex forum)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FIAGH1UV Bird_20_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 52.33 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2PWGGE7M Bird_22_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 57.54 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0JLIL6BI Bird_24_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 62.76 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=14DW8GB6 Bird_26_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 67.95 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DB9SSWHP Bird_28_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 73.06 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=45IQNPL1 Bird_30_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 78.34 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R73B5YQ7 Bird_32_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 83.55 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0M68HG2I Bird_34_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 88.76 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AKUXHRBD Bird_36_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 93.98 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EQG11O22 Bird_38_MBit_ABR___-1.5_MBit_.mkv 99.17 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P4L7FLG1 Bird_40_MBit_ABR_(+-1.5 MBit).mkv 104.4 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1D4BX1U9 Bird_42_MBit_ABR_(+-1.5 MBit).mkv 109.6 MB

Spyderturbo007 · (This post was last modified: 2011-06-25, 03:27 by Spyderturbo007.)

I think I may have figured it out, only further testing will tell for sure.

Your file played just fine, as does the video I was having trouble with at the start. I ended up turning off Indexing and disabling the Windows Search service. I also disabled SuperFetch at the same time. I'm not sure which one fixed the problem, but it seems to be working properly now.

I'm in the process of ripping another BluRay 1:1 right now and see how that works. I'll definitely keep this thread updated. Thanks everyone for their help.

Now I'm going to keep working on the aspect ratio and DTS-MA bit streaming problems.

By the way claypigeon, are you a trap, skeet or sporting clays fan?

poofyhairguy · 2011-06-25, 04:56

Awesome!

eskro · (This post was last modified: 2011-06-25, 06:15 by eskro.)

thats great to hear!!
You never stumbled on my How to Optimize your SSD Boot Drive thread? :/
I think i should put the link in my signature too...
in there you'll see 9 ways to optimize your SSD....

** EDIT: Link added in my signature!