Hi Guys,
I have just finished getting Vista Home Premium running as a Media Center and I must say, I am _really_ impressed
. The WAF is significantly greater than MythTV too
.
I thought I would write up a quick post to let you all know how it went (especially for owners of the Gigabyte GA-8I915P based boards)
My setup is:
Gigabyte GA-8I915P Pro (Rev 1.x)
Pentium 4 3.00GHz
1.5GB RAM (2 x 256MB, 2 x 512MB)
nVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 256MB - Forceware 158.24 Drivers
Samsung HD080HJ SATA 80GB HDD
LITE-ON DVD SOHD-167T
LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-1635S
Windows Vista Home Premium OEM
Microsoft MCE Remote
Philips 23PF9946 23" Widescreen LCD TV (has DVI but using VGA)
Yamaha HTR-5930 Receiver
This results in a Windows Experience Index of 4.2 broken up as follows:
Processor : Calculations per second = 4.2
Memory (RAM) : Memory operations per second = 4.5
Graphics: Desktop performance for Windows Aero = 5.9
Gaming Graphics: 3D business and gaming graphics performance = 5.5
Primary Hard Disk: Disk data transfer rate = 5.3
Overall this seems to be plenty enough for a Media Center (maybe I could ditch Aero and use my old 6600GT 128MB if I can convince my better half to let me buy another computer)
Vista installs fine sans video drivers. The Forceware 158.24 drivers install perfectly. This is the first time I have seen Vista and I must say the Aero UI is just amazing - Well worth the $129 for the OEM version.
The only problem Vista has is the C-Media 9880 High Definition CODEC
.
After a few hours of searching around, I finally found drivers that worked - The 09.59.73 Flexbass drivers. These can by found on the c-media website. Goto
www.c-media.com and follow the links User Forums->Onboard Audio->Sticky: New drivers for CMI9880, 9761, 9739, 9738 and click on the link Latest CMI9880 driver with Flexbass- version 09.59.73. (the direct link for those without trust issues is
http://www.cmediadrivers.info/driver...3-flexbass.zip).
** Warning - Close everything before you start (create a restore point as well to be sure to be sure
- The installer will reboot youre computer ***
Now this is NOT a certified driver, and MUST be run in Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode. After unzipping the file, right click on Setup program, select Properties, click on the Compatibility tab, tick 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' and select 'Windows XP (Service Pack 2) from the dropdown list before running Setup.
When you run the Setup program, Vista will complain about the driver not being certified, click on Install Anyway.
After the installer finishes, you will have no option but to reboot.
OK - You should now have sound... If you want to use the rear panel S/PDIFyou need to do one more thing. Click on the Xear 3D icon in the notification area of the task bar. It might ask you to 'Run a Legacy CPL Elevated' - Click continue.
On the Main Settings tab, goto Digital I/O (its at the bottom, in the middle) and set the output to 'Digital Audio 48KHz. You should no get digital audio output to you stereo
** I just found out that if you open then close the Xear 3D control panel about half a dozen times it stop working
- Sound still works OK though **
OK, well my short post just became a long one, but I hope it helps someone.
So now to find a HTPC Case (looking at the SilverStone LC16M) and a Hybrid Analogue + DVB-T tuner card (all opinions considered) and a 1080p Plasma
Cheers,
Calris
