---
date: "2007-11-14T03:33:06Z"
title: HTPC Mayhem!
---

<img src='http://pablotron.org/gallery/misc/antec_fusion-thumb.jpg' 
  width='200' height='105' align='right'/>

<p>I've been planning to build an HTPC for quite a while now, and I'm
finally doing it.  I got an <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129030">Antec Fusion Black</a> case for my
birthday, and I went out and bought the rest of the parts yesterday
evening.  Here's the hardware I'm using:</p>

<ul>
<li>Case: <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129030">Antec Fusion Black</a></li>
<li>CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ </li>
<li>Motherboard: Asus M2A-VM HDMI</li>
</ul>

<p>The other pieces were all spare parts and aren't particularly
interesting.  This post is about the Antec Fusion Black.  Let's start
with the pros:</p>

<ul>
<li>Built-in case fans are extremely quiet.</li>
<li>Enough room for a standard ATX power supply.</li>
<li>Same width and style as standard home theater gear.</li>
<li>Front-mounted USB, Firewire, and HD audio ports.</li>
<li>Built-in IR port.</li>
<li>Built-in programmable LCD.</li>
<li>Several in-case cable ties to keep things properly routed and
organized.</li>
</ul>

<p>And the cons:</p>

<ul>
<li>Three-compartment design makes running anything other than power and
SATA cables a bit of a hassle.  It took a bit of magic to thread a
standard EIDE cable from the motherboard compartment to the DVD/LCD
compartment, for example. </li>
<li>The IR receiver is for MCE-compatible remotes only; it doesn't work
with standard universal remotes, so don't even bother.</li>
<li>Linux support sucks.  I believe you can get everything working, but
doing so requires a bit of effort.  See below for more information.</li>
<li>The included manual is horribly out of date and contains errors and
omissions.  Your best bet is to use the manual as toilet paper and
download the PDF from <a href="http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15739#">Antec's product page</a>, although that
manual is still dated.  Both versions claim that the motherboard has a
3-pin power supply fan signal connector cable, and no such cable
exists in my case.  There is also a mysterious two-pin purple and
black cable labeled "M/B PWR" that is not documented in either manual
(<a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=878407&amp;page=2">this thread on AVS Forums</a> explains what it's for).</li>
<li>Non-standard power connection for the LCD and IR receiver.  This only
matters if you need to replace the power supply; see below.</li>
</ul>

<p>Fortunately I've already decided to buy a Harmony remote, so the MCE
remote requirement is a minor inconvenience and an excuse to go buy a
new gadget.</p>

<p>The most irritating problem so far is that the power supply fan is
extremely loud.  I think my PSU is probably defective, because it
doesn't make any sense to design a sound-isolating case with extremely
quiet case fans and then put a power supply that sounds like an air raid
in there.  Alternatively, the noise might be related to the non-existent
3-pin power supply fan signal connector cable mentioned above.</p>

<p>Anyway, I don't really want to send the case back, so I ran to
Microcenter and picked up a new silent power supply.  That's when I
noticed the non-standard cable that powers the LCD/IR receiver, and the
following blurb tucked away in the manual:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Note: If you choose to swap the included power supply with another
  power supply, please call Antec Customer Service to purchase a special
  24-pin Extender with the 3-pin connector to power the display.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I've already ordered the adaptor from Antec's web site; I figure even if
I figure out how to quiet the existing power supply it's worth having so
I don't end up without the LCD and IR port if the power supply failure
in the future.</p>

<p>Next up, Antec Fusion Linux support.  The LCD is not officially
supported in Linux by Antec.  The good news is that the LCD in the
Fusion V2/Black is better than the VFD display included in the original
V1 Antec Fusion case.  Unfortunately it is much harder to find
documentation on the newer display.  The newer display also requires a
couple of patches and some config file twiddling.</p>

<p>Here's what you need to do, as of today:</p>

<ul>
<li>Install <em>patched</em> versions of <a href="http://lirc.org">LIRC 0.8.2</a> and 
<a href="http://lcdproc.org/">LCDproc 0.5.2</a>.  You can get the patches from 
<a href="http://codeka.com/blogs/index.php?cat=30">here</a>.</li>
<li>Follow the instructions exactly for patching and compiling LIRC
and LCDproc.  </li>
<li>When you recompile LIRC, select <em>"Soundgraph iMON MultiMedian IR/VFD"</em>, 
not "Soundgraph iMON PAD IR/VFD".  </li>
<li><p>After you patch LCDproc, you need to do the following or LCDproc won't
pick up the changes from the patch:</p>

<p><code><pre>
  aclocal &amp;&amp; automake &amp;&amp; autoconf
  ./configure --enable-drivers=imonlcd
</pre></code></p></li>
<li><p>Compile and install both LIRC and LCDproc.</p></li>
<li><p>Find the <code>[server]</code> section in <code>/etc/LCDd.conf</code> and add the following
lines:</p>

<p><code><pre>
  Driver=imonlcd
  DriverPath=/usr/local/lib/lcdproc/
</pre></code></p></li>
<li><p>Add this section to <code>/etc/LCDd.conf</code>:</p>

<p><code><pre>
  [imonlcd]
  Device=/dev/lcd0
  Contrast=300
  # do NOT set the Size, if you do it won't work
  #Size=16x2
</pre></code></p></li>
<li><p>Make sure the LIRC modules are loaded: </p>

<p><code><pre>
  modprobe lirc_dev &amp;&amp; modprobe lirc_imon 
</pre></code></p></li>
<li><p>Start up <code>lircd</code> and <code>LCDd</code>, and things should be working.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>If you're using <code>2.6.23.1</code> or newer the patches above will not work;
you'll need <a href="http://codeka.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&amp;t=14&amp;sid=dfba9b5872d57bbe1602ed1c8b229afb">these updated patches against the CVS version of LIRC</a>.
You'll still need to follow all the steps above, even with the updated
patches.</p>

<p>That's all for tonight.  It looks like configuring the motherboard in
will be a battle too; I'll have more details as events warrant.</p>