Alx9r's Materials
| Alx9r's Sample Setup |
I did my best to keep track of all the materials I purchased in putting my system together. Note that prices are in Canadian dollars before taxes, duties, brokerage, shipping, etc unless otherwise stated.
Hybrid Core Kit
I started with a core/hybrid topology to keep my costs down. The original plan was that this hybrid box would become my core server that lives in a closet, and I would go to a smaller dedicated media director in my living room.
In addition to the criteria I already mentioned here, the design of my hybrid was also guided by the following:
- Only components available through ncix.com, preferably in stock.
- Tend toward components that lend themselves to eventual use as a dedicated core serving 2 or 3 media directors.
I opted to put two HDD in the system to allow for easy software upgrading and re-installation without losing media. I have read that installing LinuxMCE on a partitioned HDD is not well supported. Having a separate system HDD should allow me to install LinuxMCE from bare metal without losing media or spending time tranferring it.
Below is a table of all of the items in the kit I used to build the Hybrid Core.
| Component | Model | each | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASUS M2NPV-VM | $94.01 | used in Video, now out of production |
| breakout | ASUS SPDIF-OUT/OPT | $9.02 | SPDIF breakout board |
| breakout | ASUS 9PIN Serial Port Header | $6.60 | two of these to breakout COM ports |
| CPU | AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ EE Dual Core Processor AM2 Windsor 2.4GHZ 512KBX2 65W 90NM | $80.92 | Video used 4400+, 4600+ is cheaper and maybe faster |
| heatsink | Scythe Mini Ninja Heatpipe Fanless Heatsink AM2 | $38.98 | should be good enough to cool w/o CPU fan |
| RAM | Kingston PC2-5300 512MB DDR2-667 CL5 240PIN DIMM | $16.70 | 2 sticks |
| second ethernet adapter | ENCORE ENL832-TX-RENT | $8.68 | based on Realtek_8139 |
| TV Tuner | Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 MCE | $79.78 | comes with a remote that looks like a Windows MCE Remote |
| HDD 1 | Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 3.5IN | $87.20 | media drive |
| HDD 2 | Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 80GB SATA2 2MB 11MS 7200RPM Hard Drive | $42.64 | system drive |
| SATA Cable | nGear Serial ATA SATA Right Angle Cable 18IN 7PIN | $2.69 | 2 come with mobo, straight cable would be fine too, right angle was cheapest |
| optical drive | Pioneer DVR-212D Black 18X6X18 DVD+RW 18X8X18 DL 10X SATA 2MB | $32.19 | |
| CD Audio Cable | $3.00 | to connect optical drive audio out to mobo onboard audio | |
| case | Silverstone Lascala LC17B | $129.99 | HTPC form factor, big enough to accomodate conversion to core |
| power supply | OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W | $61.99 | cheap, works, fairly quiet |
Living Room AV Gear
TV
A 42" wall-mounted LCD seemed like the right thing for my condominium's living room. The Video showed a Sharp Aquos LC-26D6U in the bedroom. Sharp seems to have good RS-232 control support -- as long as the control port is actually there.
I settled on the Sharp Aquos LCD LC42D64U because it met the following criteria:
- Has RS-232 control.
- Very close to the TV used in the Video.
- Countless positive reviews, only a few reported issues.
- 1080p
- Got it for a decent price ($1499) and in my neighborhood. No shipping, brokerage, or duty.
Receiver
I set out looking for a receiver that met the following criteria:
- Has RS-232 control.
- Similar to models that other users have gotten working with LinuxMCE.
- Decent sounding.
- 5.1 and 7.1 capable.
- Modern surround-sound decoding capabilities.
Something from the Marantz line seemed like a good fit. I settled on a Marantz SR7500 that was available for $500 USD. It seemed to have all the features of the latest-greatest same-category SR7002 except for some video switching and conversion features that I probably wouldn't use anyway. The great thing is that I got the SR7500 for 1/3 the price.
Speakers
The Definitive ProCinema 600 speakers I selected are small. The space that I have set aside for home theatre is only a part of my already main living space. I didn't want it to be dominated by speakers - especially since there would be six of them in a relatively small space. The wood-framed condominium where this will be used doesn't have enough sound insulation to crank the volume without disturbing the neighbors, so a modest speaker set is a good fit.
I managed to get the ProCinema 600 set for $520 USD.
Glue
There were a variety of miscellaneous items I ended up needing to put this system together.
| Component | Model | each | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall Mount for Sharp LC42D64U | Ergotron WM Low Profile Wall Mount P/N 60-578-003 | $89.00 | costco.ca Item # 115242 |
| Null Modem Cable | Generic Null Modem Cable DB9 Female to DB9 Female 6FT | $4.50 | 2 of these to control the TV and receiver |
| HDMI-DVD cable | Generic HDMI-DVI/D M/M HDMI to DVI-D (Dual Link) 10FT Cable - M/M (19 Pins) / (24 PINS+1) | $30.00 | to connect the TV |
| infrared transceiver | USB UIRT | $50 + $8 S&H | to use IR remotes and control AV gear |
