Building Dedicated LinuxMCE PC

[Brett]

Hi,

As the title explains, I am going to be building a dedicated media server that I plan to run LinuxMCE.

I hope to utilize DVD ripping / playback, music playback, shared content for networked computers, etc..

I'm just not sure what kind of specs / requirements this distribution needs for smooth operation.  Would a simple 2.2ghz core 2 duo w/ 2gb ram do the trick?  Also, the big question is which video card!  I would like to output video to my television in at least DVI, but i've seen some with HDMI as well, so that'd be even better.

After some looking around, I found this motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141007
Its got HDMI output (integrated nVidia geforce 7100).

Or maybe something a little higher end. I really want to get this right the first time, and not have to waste money upgrading components.

Thanks in advance.
Brett

[cirion]

I am using this mother board on 2 MD's now and I can reccomend it on both Core and MD.
http://www.uabit.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=48&page=1&model=383

It's got integrated GFX and HDMI + Optical SPDIF.
It uses AMD x2 64bit CPU's and in 0710Beta3 they work great in 64bit.

[skerit]

I am using this mother board on 2 MD's now and I can reccomend it on both Core and MD.

What case do you use for your MDs? I'm having a hard time finding something that can be tucked away as easily as the Fiire products.

My Hybrid/Core:

Asus P5KPL-MV (Wanted to use another one, but was the only decent µATX mobo that I could find)
2 GB Memory
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4 Ghz) 4 Mb (-- I bought this one for 300 euros last year, now I bought an E8200 for a lot less then half this, which currently resides in my regular computer

And I'm planning on getting a TT-budget S2-3200, DVB-S2 card. I currently have a regular Hercules Smart TV 2 Stereo, but getting that to work decently is a nightmare.

[cirion]

I have not tucked mine away, since I have to be able to have my TV Cards inside the MD's.
I have 2xDVB-C cards and a DVB-S card. All of them able to receive HD channels.
They are currently not set up in VDR, but they work in Kaffeine....

Waiting for the VDR plugin to finish.

For the abit mainboards I'm using this case:
http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=00281

Since I already had too much av gear in my living room I bought a TV Bench with 2 sliding glass dors and 2 big drawers.
I have both MD's in that bench, one for the living room and the other for my bedroom tv wich is on the other side of the wall.

[fibres]

Hi cirion

What country are you in?
Whatdvb-c cards are you using?
You running these with CAMs or just free channels?

Regards

[cirion]

I am currently using 2 of these:
http://tven.terratec.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=267

I have one CI-Module and a ConaxCam.

I have not been able to use the CI on this card in Linux, but in beta2 I had kaffeine running with a CS client.
I have not been able to compile that plugin in beta3 yet, but I now have the cards working in VDR

I'm in Norway. When using the same cards in Windows, the CI/Cam works fine.

[deadguy87]

Thank you Brett just the question I was going to ask.

I am using this mother board on 2 MD's now and I can reccomend it on both Core and MD.
http://www.uabit.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=48&page=1&model=383

It's got integrated GFX and HDMI + Optical SPDIF.
It uses AMD x2 64bit CPU's and in 0710Beta3 they work great in 64bit.

Before I settle on that MB, was there any trouble driver wise? *The usual Linux question* Cause the optical SPDIF and HDMI would make my dreams come true.

[Stingly]

I am using this mother board on 2 MD's now and I can reccomend it on both Core and MD.
http://www.uabit.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=48&page=1&model=383

It's got integrated GFX and HDMI + Optical SPDIF.
It uses AMD x2 64bit CPU's and in 0710Beta3 they work great in 64bit.

That board looks great! Any idea how tall it is with a CPU and cooler? I'm looking for as slim a case as possible (small is beautiful!) for MD purposes, if anyone has any suggestions?

[Todd]

Are the computers your have now able to do HD smoothly?  720p or 1080i?

[cirion]

In my livingroom I'm using HDMI -> DVI to my 40" LCD TV running 1366x768 UI2 no alpha blending.
I also use the optical spdif to my receiver. No driverproblems in 0710Beta3.

There is one problem with the MB, and that is that the Optical Spdif is too close to the HDMI port, so I had to cut of the rubber all the way to the isolation to be able to use the optical port.

The other one is used in my bedroom, and is running 1024x768 over VGA and using analog audio.

Other than that both are running nicely. Smooth, no tearing.

UI2 with alpha blending runs fine but with tearing.

[cirion]

Oh... One problem I encountered with both my MD's... They did not want to net boot...
After resetting cmos everything worked perfect.

The one with VGA booted directly in to the AVWizard. And I could select 1024x768 with analog sound.
Then it booted to the setup wizard. Everything worked out of the box

The one with HDMI booted directly to a black screen... Pressed 1 on the FiireChief and the avwizard was shown.
I selected 1024x768 with Optical spdif. AC3 and DTS tests worked great.
Then it booted to the setup wizard. Everything worked out of the box
I manually edited the xorg.conf to get 1366x768 working.