About to buy the Mega 180

Hi Everyone... I am looking to build a SFF/HTPC system for our bedroom. We want to be able to watch movies on it, use it as our Stereo system, Internet, and some Video conferencing stuff (cause in my new position it include travel). Before I go out and purchase everything I would like to run things by you guys and get some comments, feedback, suggestions, etc... Also note the system will only be connected to a TV no monitor (might use one for set up is about it).
Purposed System:
Mega 180
Dual DDR 400 (2x256 - I already have this ram sitting around right now)
AMD XP2500+ (Does any one know if I can use the Mobile CPU in this yet?)
Seagate 200GB HDD (Bought it already... CompUSA had a good sale)
Lite-On 16X DVD Dual Drive, Model SOHW-1633S
MS Wireless KB & Mouse (Already bought)
Logitech Z640 5.1 Speakers
Logitech QuickCam
Windows XP Media Center 2004
I'm considering add the ATi 9600 AIW as well.
Any and all constructive comments are welcome. Thanks guys/gals!

for starters, if you are not using a seperate video card, then i wouldn't have bothered getting DDR400 memory, as it will only run at 333 anyways
the Mobile XP2500+ SHOULD (in theory) work, but note elsewhere that people have had problems with it
if you are looking to overclock this system then i seriously wouldn't bother, as the cooling system is poorly designed and temperatures run higher than normal - even at stock speeds
otherwise everything else should be ok
oh, and Windows XP Media Center edition is not available to buy, only if supplied with an official Media Center PC... unless you've got a copy from elsewhere of course

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Where can i buy the Mega 180 ??

I have read alllll about the new Mega 180 PC as well as the 400. I am really interested in purchasing the 180. All news/reviews I read say it was supposed to debut late September. Its now mid October and I can't find it anywhere!! What's the deal!?
I need a new PC ASAP and I wanted a Mega, I dont want to settle for the outdated chipset in the 651.
If anyone knows where I can buy a 180, please please let me know!
mobile email: [email protected]
AIM: Fbones808
Thanks!
-Mac

Hi,
Please be patient.

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I am about to buy the iMac, possibly today. I was wondering a couple of things.
-Should I wait for 10.5 to come pre-installed on them?
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*Hi CA..., Welcome* to Apple's Users Help Users Forums.
*Francine Schweider* a |||| bar poster in these forums has what I think is an excellent thought.
"I plan to buy my next computer before Leopard comes out. Why? Because generally new Mac computers will not run any system older than the one they ship with, I want to be able to use the fully mature Tiger system, rather than having to rely entirely on Leopard. Who knows whether the software I own will be fully compatible with Leopard? Or how long it will take for developers (think Adobe) to update if there are incompatibilities with Leopard. Or even just how stable and reliable and all like that Leopard will be.
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http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/
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We can't discuss what Apple is going to do or new products, but it does make a lot of sense if your gut feelings tell you to buy now.
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I am about to buy the new iMac, but do I have to buy all the software I have in my old one, like Aperture, pages, etc.?

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Unfortunatly the Mega 180 has to go :(

Unfortunatly I have had to get rid of my Mega 180 after only 1 day of ownership.
The PSU blew and dabs who I bought it off wont send out a new one and no one at MSI uk seems to care :(
Normally a psu going would not put me off a system I would just get a new one. But with the events that have happend it has show me how awfull the MSI UK support is.
I also have a lot of worries about this system once it is out of warranty as no one seems to sell any parts and it is nigh on impossible to get a response from MSI.
I dont want this to appear as one of those "I am leaving" threads as I am truly sad that I have had to get rid of it, it was a great machine when it worked. If MSI actually sold the parts to repair the system and their support was better I would DEFINATLY be keeping it.
I have opted for the AOpen XC EZ18 cube which is of a similar spec but without the nice screen/radio etc.
This board provided me with a lot of help while I had my system and I am truley greatful. Thanks all!!!
I am truely sad to see this system go :(
James

Hi
Firstly the system was running fine, then I noticed that the 3.3v line was going up to 3.9+ then as it was getting hotter it just cut out and blew the fuse in the plug!!
A new power lead later it did the same thing after a couple of hours.
I personaly think it was a dodgy PSU and it seemed that as the case got hotter it just died.
The second time round it killed the PSU well almost, it was strange, the radio function worked but as soon as you tried to boot the pc the fan went round once then stoped and it didnt boot.
I tried a different PSU and it booted fine its also worth noting the the other psu (just a standard ATX one) did let the radio function normally I thought I would mention this as people have been asking and some have been saying that it needs special connectors etc.
I am sad that the box has gone back but now I have an Aopen XC Cube EZ18 and it works a treet. The PSU in it is only 220W but it is half the size so there is loads more space inside. and it runs idle at about 45'c even when I push it, it only seems to go up to about 50'c I miss the radio and nice LCD tho :( apparently this new box has some kind of juke box mode where you can boot while pressing a key on the keyboard and enter a mode much like the one on the mega for playing CD's + MP3 Cd's allthough as with the mega the documentation is awfull and I cant seem to work out how to do it.
James

Which combodrive works best with the mega 180?

hi..
i think i will buy a new optical drive for my mega 180. now i wonder which combo drive that works best with it?

have a look in this post Mega 865 Optical Drive Compatibility List. Will apply to all Megas

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About to buy the EA4500 dont want to upgrade to cloud firmware

Hi , im about to buy a Linksys EA4500 router. Ive been reading that there is a forced update.And i would have to use the cloud. If i brought the EA4500 and connected it to my pc but did not connect it to my modem for internet access. And then went to the web interface.Is there an option to disable automatic updates Ie manual upgrade and untick upgrade automatically on the firmware option that comes out of the boxed EA4500?
Thx in advance
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi! If you want to disable the automatic update, all you have to do is to access the advanced settings page by typing 192.168.1.1 in the address bar of a browser. It will try to guide you with the setup process, but you can skip it (you will see a link to skip the setup). If it asks for for the local access login, use 'admin'. Click the connectivity tab on the left. Once the window will open, you will see a checked box for 'Automatic' under firmware update. Uncheck the box and click Apply. BTW, even if the router has the cloud firmware, you can always choose to access it locally and not via cloud.

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1. has anyone heard if a new card will be coming out for the mac pro? i would hate to buy this and next week apple/ati comes out with a new one.

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Until yesterday, I had Premier and a basic Creative Cloud account with only Photoshop and Lightroom. In an effort to combine these into one Creative Cloud service and get access to the rest of the suite, I upgraded the Premiere product to Creative Cloud at the $49.99 price level. Now, it appears I have two Creative Cloud accounts and will be charged $49.99 or one and $9.99 for the other.
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The Photoshop Photography Program has been cancelled today , you have only one active complete CC named as Creative Cloud membership (one-year).
You will be charged only for Creative Cloud membership (one-year).
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Rajshree

Audio problems on the MEGA 180!

Hi.
sometimes when i play music. suddenly the music starts to lagg. the player plays it like it is supposed to but the music starts to lagg. then i only pause and play the song again and it works.
anyone know what can be wrong?

is there a lot of HDD access going on in the background? my computer at work (Pentium III 500mhz ) apart from testing printers also plays some MP3s as background music; when i was installing some software off CD the other day, the music started to sound as if it was "dragging" (can't really explain how it sounded) but it was a slow hard drive and there was a lot of disc access going on, as well as the machine only having 128mb RAM.

MEGA 180 Advice

hey folks....
Im looking to buy a MEGA 180 and am after some quick info and advice....Basically what I am looking to do is use this machine as a movie player, you know DivX, XviD, blah blah and for the occasional websurf and game nothing too intense. I want to link it directly to my TV so no VGA screen will ever be pluged into it, this eliminated the pentium series because I wanted to spend a little as possible.
Anyway...I wanted to know if the TV Tuner card that can be bundled with the system will allow for you to record multiple stations at a time. You know Channel 7 and 9 both at 8:30 til 10:30 or whateva.
The other thing is that I wanted it link it to my main system whiich is located downstairs. This is where the wireless connection would be handy. However I am under the impression that 802.11b will give me with very slow transfer rates, can a 802.11g mini lan card be installed instead, (do they even exist?). Also how well will a wireless lan function when it will be operating for a vertical layout?
sorry bout the huge post..........any advice or suggestions would be great!?!!?
thanks
oh yeah........nearly forgot......the remote control, can I use that with Windows XP Media Centre? I have heard that the MSI center is kinda crapola in comparison...but I didnt want to loose the remote functions

Good to come to this place before buying the MEGA 180.
The first question: No! With the TV-card from MSI that contain only one tuner it's not possible to record more than one channel at a time. I don't know whether PCI-cards exist that have more than one tuner. Another possibility is to go for a PCI TV-card AND a AGP All-in-one graphics card. Make sure that both cards are equipped with hardware MPEG encoders otherwise your proc won't keep up and you'll end up watching stuttering movies. Also note that the MSI cards don't support automatic power-up/shutting down of the PC. There are other cards that can.
Concerning the wifi connection: you can indeed replace the 802.11b mini-pci card with a 802.11g version. They are readily available on the Internet. Whether you have the full 54Mbps transfer speed will depend on the distance and type of floor/ceiling between both PC's.
JaDi.

Mega 180 using the LCD with Linux

Hi all,
is it possible to use the LCD of my MEGA 180 with Linux? I am using 2.6.9-rc2, would be cool to the see LCD working under Linux, too.
Best regards,
Everlast²

There are several forum members working on customising the LED display for the MEGA 180, including myself. The biggest problem at the moment is the lack of information about the hardware specifications of the display. The blueprints of the exact module are definately NOT released by MSI , but perhaps that specifications of very similar displays are also usable. Another problem that's next in line, is going to be that we will need someone who is into hardware programming. First lets wait for a definitive answer about the blueprints. I'll let you know when more info becomes available.
JaDi.

Mega 180 TV Card---the straight scoop...

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what TV card and what TV card drivers work well in the Mega 180.
After a whole bunch of trial and error----here's what seems to be the scoop. the dope, the real deal----to the best of my knowledge.....
---there is a mixup with TV Tuner Cards----two versions of the 8606 card
8606-10---Regular card----with an FM tuner---not really made for the MEGA----and....
8606-40 MEGA TV card----without the tuner (cuz your Mega already has one) and made especially for the MEGA
Further confusion:
If you have a Mega 180------ONLY use the TV Tuner drivers on the Mega 180 Install disk----NOT the regular drivers that are included with the MEGA TV card as this card will also work on the older Mega 651's and those drivers are basically for it.
In other words---DON'T use the Win Cinema Install disk that comes with the Mega TV Card if you have the Mega 180...
AND---guess what----those TV card drivers on the Mega 180 install disk only become visible in the main install menu when you have the card installed----they don't automatically appear so you know you need to use THOSE drivers vice the ones included with the card.
AND---the drivers only seem to work in conjunction with Media Center III!
It would be nice if MSI put out a little help sheet with some of this info....
Help----and a good manual-----what a concept......
John

Quote
Originally posted by Blmcg
Make sure nothing else is running in the background while you do this, and ensure you have ALL the updates for your mega machine eg: Chipset etc. and try again.
I terminated everything I could via task manager and Media Center III still crashed. I'm pretty sure I have all available updates.
Quote
Originally posted by Stu Online
what drive is your system installed to?
if windows has been installed to the F: drive (with card readers taking C: and D:) then intervideo software will not work correctly
It's installed to C: with the card readers on E: and F: Also, not only is the intervideo software not working but also Media Center III. If I can get Media Center III stable I'd be satisfied.
I've also tried removing the Radeon 9200SE but that didn't resolve the problem. Next I suppose I'll try some other capture/viewing software to see if it runs stable. Thanks for the help so far.

About to buy the Mega 180

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