hardware config for hybrid

[FireMail]

hi there,

i finally found time to configure the hardware of my new hybrid. it should be capable of streaming fullhd movies from mkv files.

can you please comment on that hardware? i dont want to run into any hardware issues.
- motherboard: Gigabyte Mainboard GA-MA785GT-UD3H, Socket AM3, 4x DDR3, 1x PCI-Express16x(16x Speed),
1x PCI-Express16x (4x Speed), 3x PCI-Express1x, 2x PCI, 6x SATA2, 1x PS2, 6x USB, VGA, DVI,
HDMI, Firewire, Lan, Sound,
- CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 3,4GHz, 8MB Cache, Socket AM3
- Graphiccard: Zotac Grafikkarte GT240 512 DDR3, PCI-Express, Dual-Link DVI, PN 288-2N130-010ZT
- RAM: 2xADATA 2048MB DDR3 2GB DDR3, 1333MHz
- HD: HDD750GB Samsung Festplatte F1 HD753LJ, SATA, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache
- optical drive: Samsung Blu-Ray Combo SH-B083L, DVD+-Writer
- soundcard: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium - Soundkarte - 24-Bit - 192 kHz - 109 dB S/N - 7.1 Channel
Surround - PCI Express x1 - Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity
- wlan: W-LAN PCI Adapter TP-Link TL-WN951N, Retail (300 mbps, 802.11b/g/n, abnehmbare Antennen, 3
Transmitter, 3 Receiver (3T3R))

i want that thing to be high end and not lagging around as my old setup is
if you have any suggestions or know some bottlenecks / problems, i would love to hear them.

thanks very much

[purps]

1. Not sure if a quad core is necessary, might be able to save your pennies there. It won't do any harm though!!
2.You need a second network card that uses a hard wire, not a wireless one. If you want wireless internet access, plug a wireless access point (can be an old router) into your switch.
3. Consider getting a small HD for the OS, and use the big 'un for all your data. I had serious problems doing it like this with 0710 with regards to mythTV recordings, but I am pleased to say that 0810beta2 handles it beautifully (thanks devs!).
4. I remember having problems on an ubuntu box using a PCIe soundblaster sound card, in that it couldn't recognise it. That was a while ago mind, so do some research on that one would be my suggestion.

[purps]

Ooo, you got a PSU that's man enough?

[FireMail]

thanks for your reply - but what is PSU?

1. Not sure if a quad core is necessary, might be able to save your pennies there. It won't do any harm though!!

my single core laptop cant stream 13GB mkvs without lagging, my quadcore can - i just want to be sure that everything runs smooth

2.You need a second network card that uses a hard wire, not a wireless one. If you want wireless internet access, plug a wireless access point (can be an old router) into your switch.

em thats confusing me. i have this WEBDDT panel which uses wlan for communication. so i need 2 wired NICs? since linux doesnt care about wired / not wired it should work using 1 wired nic and 1 wlan? or am i completely wrong here?

3. Consider getting a small HD for the OS, and use the big 'un for all your data. I had serious problems doing it like this with 0710 with regards to mythTV recordings, but I am pleased to say that 0810beta2 handles it beautifully (thanks devs!).

ok i will switch to 20/750 then

4. I remember having problems on an ubuntu box using a PCIe soundblaster sound card, in that it couldn't recognise it. That was a while ago mind, so do some research on that one would be my suggestion.

thanks i will

[FireMail]

well i googled around and it tells me PSU = power supply unit. if you mean that, its a Delta GPS-750ABA ATX with 750 watt

[purps]

1. Sounds good.
2. Read the FAQ; you need 2 wired NICs. One is for external network (ie internet connection) and the other is for internal network (ie connecting to your switch). To then add wireless to the system, you need to add a wireless access point to the switch. I must reiterate; read the FAQ before you do anything else, all of this is explained. Try to read as much of the wiki as possible as well, it will save you a lot of ballache.
3. 20/750? Are you talking about a 20 gig HD? Smallest I can find these days is 80 gig! Or is it an old one you've had lying around?
4. Definitely look into it.
5. Yes, PSU is power supply, 750 W should be fine.

[FireMail]

thanks again for your answer.

2. i didnt know that wired nics are needed. that makes it more complicated since i need a router that maintains two different wlan networks. one for the webdt panel and one for the internet connection.
3. i take the smallest hd i find dont care about the size then

[purps]

Seriously, read the FAQ. LMCE _IS_ a router, the internet cable coming out of your wall connects directly to the core (that's 1 NIC). Your second NIC goes to your SWITCH. You can then plug your router into the switch, but it is only acting as a wireless access point - it's not actually "routing" as such (your core and switch essentially do that).

[Techstyle]

To Echo Purps comments, Read the FAQ, connect a wired NIC to a Wireless acess point and attach the WEBDT to that.  you will save yourself a bunch of issues.

[FireMail]

hi,

i read the FAQ and it is much clearer to me now, eventhou i still have a question.

i will do it as techstyle wrote - the NIC for the internal network to a WLAN AP where the WEBDT connects to.
the problem is the external network since the hybrid is located in the living room where there is no network access, there is only a WLAN router 2 rooms away - cant i use, for the external network, a wlan NIC? the faq doesnt mention anything that a wired nic is needed.
if it wont work, i would need another wlan router that bridges the traffic from my first router to get a working external network?

[purps]

Sorry, how are you going to be able use a wireless network card for your external network?

Keep it wired, from the point of view of both setting it up AND reliablity whilst it's in use, wireless is just not worst the hassle.

[FireMail]

hm.

when is the external network needed? for updates and if i want to access the internet with it?
because then i would plug it in for the install and remove the cable, since i dont want a cable going through 2 rooms

[purps]

If you're not intending on using LMCE as your router, letting it handle your network, handle your telephone, security, and you don't want to access the machine from outside (these are all things that LMCE is very good at), then perhaps consider using mythbuntu or something if you are planning on just using the system for media, as LMCE will be overkill for you.