Media Director Newbie Pack Current Components
From LinuxMCE wiki
Also see Category:Media Directors.
Contents |
Intro
A PC to be used as a Media Director has specific requirements:
- a slim (small form factor), stylish case
- low motherboard and CPU power requirements/heat emissions
- netbooting (PXE) capability in the BIOS
- quiet operation (quiet fans or fanless heat sink)
- good (nVidia) graphic and sound output cards, with good output connectors (e.g. S-video and surround sound outputs)
- interfaces for input devices/remote controls (USB, wireless, Bluetooth, or USB-UIRT).
- DVD (optical) drive
- ethernet connectivity -- wired and/or wireless
It does not need:
- extensive processing power or RAM.
- a large hard drive, since storage can be provided over the network from the Core or a NAS (network attached storage) device.
- an operating system (OS), if you plan to netboot
Barebones Integrated Systems (no CPU/RAM)
MSI MS-6421-030 (aka Media Live)
- Everything but the CPU/RAM
- Optimised for low-noise, low power (300 W) operation
- Made specifically as a Media PC, with S-video, HDMI-video, SCART, RCA, 7.1 surround sound, digital video and audio and other outputs already integrated.
- Includes an nVidia integrated video card
- Includes integrated WiFi, IR, Bluetooth, RF remote control, multiple USB ports.
- Includes a DVD optical drive.
- Has only 1 PCI card expansion slot
- About US$349 (May 2008).
or
- Comes with MSI motherboard.
- Everything but the CPU/RAM
- Optimised for low-noise, low power (200 W) operation
- Made specifically as a Media PC, with S-video, 7.1 surround sound, and multiple other outputs already integrated.
- Includes an nVidia integrated video card
- Has Firewire, integrated IR, RF Remote control, multiple USB ports. Built-in WiFi.
- Does not include a DVD optical drive -- Pioneer (Bulk) DVR-K06 Slim Slot-In or SonyNEC AD7630A or Panasonic CW-8124-B recommended.
- A3 model comes with HDMI output port and ATI graphics card.
- Approx. US$300 (April 2008).
or
- Shuttle Shuttle FN68PT motherboard 533/667/800 SDRAM unbuffered memory
- Integrated nVidia GeForce 7050 / nForce 630a with PureVideo for HDMI
- 7.1 Surround sound output (Realtek), HDMI video output, D-sub (VGA) port
- Firewire, WiFi, USB, Bluetooth, fingerprint-recognition ports (no Infrared)
- 1 PCI and 1 PCI-e16 slot
- Some users have recommended using 667 MHz memory instead of 800 MHz memory for this system
- Approx. US$340
Individual Components
Case
- VFD front display
- Includes IR receiver, USB, firewire, and audio front ports
- 2 internal 3.5" drive bays for HDDs
- 1 external 5.25" bay for DVD-optical drive (not included, such as Liteon CD/DVD for $18)
- 4 expansion slots
- Includes quiet 430W power supply, 2 cooling fans
- Approx. $170 (June 2008)
or
- The SilverStone LaCasa LC19 has largely been superseded by the Silverstone LC20.
- No display
- USB, Fireware, Audio front ports -- no IR receiver
- Two 5.25" drive bays (for DVD optical drives, not included)
- Six 3.5" internal bays for hard drives
- 7 expansion slots
- Two case cooling fans
- Does not come with a power supply
- Approx. $140 (June 2008).
or
- The Silverstone LC20M includes a VFD display and an IR remote port.
- Approx $200 (June 2008)
Motherboard
- ABIT AN-M2HD (LE) AM2+/AM2 GeForce7050PV/ nForce630a HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
- DDR2 800
- Includes 2 PCI, 1 PCI-e and 1 PCI-16 slots
- 6 audio ports (for 7.1 surround sound), HDMI port, D-sub video port, S/PDIF optical and coax ports, Firewire, USB
- GeForce 7050PV/ nForce630a integrated graphics
- 8 Gb max memory (4 x 240 pin memory slots)
- About $85 (July 2008)
or
- MSI K9N2GM-FD AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
- DDR2 240 pin 8 Gb Max memory
- 2 PCI, 1 PCI-e, i PCI-e(16) slots
- D-sub and DVI video outputs (FIH model has HDMI connector)
- 5.1 surround sound audio output from Realtek ALC888 card
- About $75
or (for non-HDMI uses)
- MSI K9N6SGM-V V2 Motherboard (aka MS-7309-070)
- VGA video output only (will need an external VGA to S-video adapter).
About US$48
CPU
- AMD Athlon X2 BE-2400 Brisbane 2.3GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor
- Most reviewers recommend getting a quieter fan than the stock fan that comes with it.
- About $99 (June 2008).
or
- AMD Athlon X2 4050e 2.1GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W 65nm Dual-Core Processor
- About $68
or
- AMD Athlon 64 LE-1600 2.2GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W Single-Core Processor
- Most reviewers recommend getting a quieter fan than the stock fan that comes with it.
- About $35 (June 2008).
See MSI website for details about other processors compatible with MSI motherboards.
See MSI website for CPUs compatible with K9N6SGM-V motherboard listed above.
Cooling Fan or Heat Sink
- Silverstone NT07-AM2 Fan (website)
- For AMD CPU sockets up to 65W power
- Low profile
- Approx. $20 (April 2008).
- (Available in Europe only):
- NORTHQ NQ 3393 Heat sink with fan (website)
- or
- Hiper HFC10820C1(German website)
- Also see this review of the quietest, best cooling fans for your CPU. The best are about $50.
RAM
- DDR2 800Mhz 240-pin (PC2-6400) nonECC 1.8 V -- 1 Gb (used by MSI motherboard above)
- about $27 (May 2008)
Optical (DVD) drive
Pioneer (Bulk) DVR-K06 Slim Slot-In
- Make sure your case does not have an integrated DVD optical drive first!
- About $80 (April 2008).
Remote
Also see the Input Category
- About $150
or
- About US$37
or
- Gyration Go 2.4 air mouse 100 ft. range Pro version
- About US$140
Sound Card
Also see Category:Audio.
- supported by ALSA Linux drivers
- about $30
or
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
- Has Linux drivers
- Also available in a PCI-Express card
- About $50 or here (May 2008).
or
- Integrated Realtek soundcards
- Realtek drivers are incorporated in the Linux kernel
- Realtek AC'97 audio codecs are also available (2.4 or 2.6) here
- Linux high definition audio codecs for Realtek are available here.
Other soundcards may work. Check this list of sound cards for a complete list of Linux/ALSA compatibility.
Barebones systems (as above) may already have integrated sound.
Troubleshooting Sound
For Kubuntu 7.10, see this tutorial for getting surround sound to work.
TV Tuner Card
- pcHDTV 5500 PCI card
- Analog (ATSC) and digital (DVB) dual TV tuner, designed for Linux
- For US and Canada
- about $129
or
- Hauppauge (see here for the complete list):
- WinTV-HVR-950Q (USB) (ATSC/NTSC/Clear QAM) -- about $99
- WinTV-1800 (PCI) (ATSC/QAM -- analog doesn't work)
- WinTV-HVR-1100 (PCI) (DVB-T)
- WinTV-HVR-1110 (PCI) (DVB-T)
- WinTV-Nova-T-500 (PCI) (Dual DVB-T tuners)
- DEC2000T-USB (USB1.1) (DVB-T)
- DEC3000S-USB (USB1.1) (DVB-S)
- or a list of analog tuners of the
- WinTV-PVR-150 class (PCI) (NTSC/PAL)
or
- DviCO FusionHDTV5 RT GOLD (PCI card) or FusionHDTV5 Express (PCIe card)
- there are some analog tuner sound issues with this card
- (about $100)
