Are you happy with your system and includes both core and md under $1k?

[geekincolorado]

I would like to have postings and maybe even a WIKI (someone help me here) on systems that cost less than $1000 and have  a Core and AT LEAST one MD (preferably but not required).  Fiire.com has both of them
for about $1300. 
   Are people willing to post?  If so, please
include:

specs (model of motherboard, components, etc if possible)
was it easy/hard/etc to install and implement and how well do you like your running system?

Please only post setups that you are happy with.  I think this will help everyone that is
looking to know that they can (possibly) get a whole home configuration running for less than
$1000 and would be a good place to start for a newbie. 

[dgirard]

OK, here goes my config:

under $1000, one core pc, one md pc....

I'm not using myth, so i don't have a video capture board yet...(maybe that brings this over 1k?)

I have 2 pc's...both Dell precision 460's, XEON 2.4 ghz with 1 Gig ram, and 60 Gig hd's.  Got em for $420 each on Ebay with 2 year warranties.

Added a second 1 Gb nic to the core pc, and put an nvidia 6xxx video card in the second one (can't remember which, but it was $79.00)

This has proven to be a very good setup for testing/playing with linuxmce...the pc's are big and noisy, but I have them in a closet so it doesn't matter....the hard drives are a bit small, but again, for testing purposes, they work well, and hold a fair amount of video...My plan is to use my file server (yet another box) as the primary storage anyway.

Linux mce dropped onto the core system from the DVD install very nicely...took no time at all.   setting up the MD was even easier.  I'm currently driving my 47" LCD at 720p, and looking forward to 1080P with the 0710 release.   It seems like the processor is fast enough to playback 720p HD video streams...not sure about 1080p yet....

I'm not sure I would have bought these specifically for linuxMCE, but I had them from another project I was working on and they've migrated themselves to mce quite nicely.

I've been looking at the fiire systems and drooling...but what I've got is working fine at this stage...

-David

[rnmixon]

Just curious - knowing what you know now, would you buy the working firestation combo for $1300, rather than slog through your own setup to save $300?

From where I'm looking the difference might well be worth it for a lot of folks - but then a lot of us actually "enjoy" the tinkering.

[DeadPenguin]

A $1000 for a core and MD is easily doable. Using the M2NPV-VM motherboard for both. Get a X2 4000 for the md X2 6000 core. ddr2 800 ram 2gbs 1.5 to Core .5 to MD. 500gb SATA for the Core. Hauppauge 500 or HDHomeRUN for video.

2 mobos = $180
cpus = $225
ram = $50
Hard drive = $100 no HD for MD.
Capture Card = $160
Core case = $40
Md Case = $80
quick math gives me $835 * whoops forgot DVD - LG 20x get two of em'. $60.00

with the $100 get some extras. What about putting it toward a Nokia 800 to use as an orbiter? What about a SPA-3102 so you can use you home phones with Asterisk?
Put it towards some z-wave stuff.

* you could go cheaper on the Core cpu. Case prices assume you don't mind a big functional case to hide in a closet or out of the way. Md case price assumes you want something decent to put near your TV. You could save money by buying a cheaper Hauppauge capture card also.

Good Luck.

Regards,
Blair

[dgirard]

Just curious - knowing what you know now, would you buy the working firestation combo for $1300, rather than slog through your own setup to save $300?

From where I'm looking the difference might well be worth it for a lot of folks - but then a lot of us actually "enjoy" the tinkering.

If you're a system tweaker, who likes to putz around with systems, certainly building your own is going to provide much more bang for buck...

However, it's been my experience recently, that some of these high-end systems require some tweaking to ensure they're stable under stress...and LinuxMCE will put some stress on a MD machine...especially with HD output.   The upside to dealing with a system like the fiire, is that they've done the testing and tweaking to ensure stability already....when WAF (Wife acceptance factor) is critical, stability is of primary concern.

That's largely the reason i'm using the dell systems....same deal....tuned and tweaked already for stability....if I didn't have them on the shelf, I likely would be looking very seriously at the fiire systems.

On the tweaking front...I've seen some AMD motherboards where, depending on the CPU and Memory brand, you have to adjust voltages on the memory sticks to get them to perform reliably (and that's not overclocking...just plain old stability)....

So if you're the type who likes to tweak and figure out if it's hardware or software that's failing...and we need those types to populate the wiki with system configurations that are tested!...then build your own system and save $300.00....if not, then it's likely worth the slight price premium for a solid out-of-box experience....

[DeadPenguin]

Thanks I always wondered what WAF stood for and was to lazy to google it.
 

[dgirard]

Thanks I always wondered what WAF stood for and was to lazy to google it.
 

anytime...since I found out what it stands for, I find i'm using it all the time....makes for a good mantra when setting up technology around the house....


;-}

[DeadPenguin]

Yeah the WAF is costing me a lot more when it comes to pc cases. i can live with a nice $40 plain Jane pc looking case. She says "I don't want a computer near my TV" So i have to make them look like appliances. 

Regards,
Blair