Media Director Newbie Pack Current Components

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Silverstone LC20 Case

MSI Media Live (7329) Motherboard

Fiire Chief Remote Control

Also see Category:Media Directors, and Where to Buy.

1 Intro
2 Barebones Integrated Systems (no CPU/RAM)
3 Individual Components

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 Media Live

Hiper HMC-2K53A-H2

Shuttle SN68PTG6

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).

Hiper HMC-2K53A-H2

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).

Shuttle SN68PTG5 AM2 Barebone

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

Requirements
The requirements for the case really depend on individual user desires. If you could care less that there's a monstrous sized 10-slot tower sitting wherever you plan on locating your Media Director? Then a Monstrous 10-Slot Tower would be the selection for you. However, on average, the smaller the case for the Media Director? The nicer it's going to look. So there isn't a true "requirement" for the Media Director Case Selection. Just use your best judgement for your look and style.

Requirements

The requirements for the case really depend on individual user desires. If you could care less that there's a monstrous sized 10-slot tower sitting wherever you plan on locating your Media Director? Then a Monstrous 10-Slot Tower would be the selection for you. However, on average, the smaller the case for the Media Director? The nicer it's going to look. So there isn't a true "requirement" for the Media Director Case Selection. Just use your best judgement for your look and style.

Antec Fusion 430 Case

Antec Fusion 430 (Silver or Black)

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)

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).

The Silverstone LC20M includes a VFD display and an IR remote port.

Approx $200 (June 2008)

Motherboard

Requirements
The requirements for a Motherboard are based on Processing Power, Distraction Level and A/V Quality. A fanless Motherboard will make less noise than one with a fan. NVidia Video cards have the best compatibility with LinuxMCE 5.1 or better audio ports allow for higher quality sound The more PCI slots you have, the more you can do with your Media Director

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)

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

Other MSI Motherboards

You can use almost any other motherboard, if you are willing to put in a separate graphics card. Currently (LinuxMCE Version 7.10, or RC2, as at 30 Sep 2008) this should be an Nvidia card. See below for recommendations.

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).

AMD Athlon X2 4050e 2.1GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W 65nm Dual-Core Processor

About $68

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)

Hiper HFC10820C1(German website)

Also see this review of the quietest, best cooling fans for your CPU. The best are about $50. Don't forget to check that the height of the cooler will fit into your case!

RAM

DDR2 800Mhz 240-pin (PC2-6400) nonECC 1.8 V -- 1 Gb (used by MSI motherboard above)

about $27 (May 2008)

Video graphics card

Nvidia graphics cards are currently (Sep 2008) recommended for LinuxMCE 7.10 (also called RC2). ATI cards are not recommended.

LinuxMCE needs medium speed 3D and high speed 2D. About $70-$100 should be your budget. You don't need 512MB of graphics memory for LinuxMCE, 128MB or 256MB is adequate.

Recommendations:

SD playback- Nvidia 6200 or 6600 are OK (Turbocache/TC or GT versions preferred). May not be a good choice if you want to run the nice UI2 with Alpha blending as the photo screensaver is jerky due to the slower 3D performance.
HD playback (720p, 1080i and 1080p)- Nvidia 7300 or 8400GS (can someone please confirm these 2 are OK with UI2+Alpha), 8500GT, 8600GT.

The 6200 Turbocache 128 MB (5.6 GB/sec, 1400 Mtexels/sec) is adequate for SD (standard definition- 576 lines or below) video playback. It is too slow for the UI2 Alpha Blended interface (horribly slow until you kill the photo screen saver). Also not adequate for HD TV broadcasts (720p and above).

The 6600 'probably' has enough horsepower for HDTV and UI2 (4.2 GB/sec, 2400 Mtexels/sec). 6600GT should be fine (16 GB/sec, 4000 Mtexels/sec).

The pick of the current Nvidia line up (Sep 2008) for a full height card is probably the fanless single slot 8500GT (12.8 GB/sec, 3600 Mtexels/sec), about AUD$75 (US$50).

Other options are the 8600GT (22.4 GB/sec, 8640 Mtexels/sec) at AUD$120 (US$80), also available as a single slot Gigabyte version. This is more expensive than the 8500GT.

Other options are the 9500GT (14.4 GB/sec, 10400 Mtexels/sec) or 9600GTs- try the silent Zotac ("zone" series) or Gigabyte versions. The drawback of many of the 9400GTs, 9500GTs and 9600GTs are that the silent versions may take up 2 slots due to the size of the heatsink!

You should look for a card that has the right sort of output for your TV or display- HDMI is good as it gives you a bit of future proofing.

Here is a handy comparison table. And another one- look at the GB/sec of memory transfer as one measure of performance. You can see that the 9400 GT is about 3x faster in memory speed and 3D performance than a 6200 Turbocache. Wikipedia has a good section comparing the different cards.

Simple rules:

Pick a version of a card which has a fanless design (heatsink/heatpipe only)
Pick a low profile design to match cases that need the smaller physical card
Check if the card takes up 1 or 2 slots on your motherbaord (due to the heatsink)
Check that the card is the same type as your motherboard slot- AGP or PCI-Express (PCI-E) are usually faster options over PCI cards. PCI-E cards may specify a "1x" or "16x" slot which are different physically as well as in speed.
Higher numbers tend to be faster (e.g. 9400 is faster than 7200)
LE is a slow version of a particular graphics chipset
- GS is a slow version
- No suffix is medium speed
- GT is faster speed
- An LE in a higher chipset might be faster than a GT in a lower chipset
- Or it might not!
There are other "high end" letter combinations which you don't generally need to worry about as these are 3D gaming cards whose extra performance does not help LinuxMCE
A card with GDDR3 memory is often about 2x the speed of the same chipset without GDDR3