oh god. can i just request a simple answer instead of being told 'Wiki' each time
Is there a rack mounted system that someone has used in the past with success? (YES/NO - delete as applicable)
If yes - would you like to tell me what it is?
Is there a rack mounted case that someone has used in the past with success? (YES/NO - delete as applicable)
If yes - would you like to tell me what it is?
i'm not asking for a detailed part list - JUST A CASE!!!!!! I can read the bloody wiki and find the rest of the parts - however i can't find a rack mounted case in there. (please tell me where if i've missed a page)
I was really looking forward to this project but i can't understand why this has suddenly become such a mission?
Tomm - you are getting a little over heated here, as others have pointed out - it is important to note that this post was only 12 hours after your initial question. Remember, just because the posts in that time didn't give you an answer doesn't mean that you won't get one .... unless you start ranting
that's a sure fire way to get people's backs up. This is a community forum, and so its entirely possible that either the person with the info you want hasn't read your thread yet or that nobody has the info.. don't just assume that the info will come in the first posts! Just because it doesn't, doesn't exclude the possibility that it won't.. keep working the thread and don't get exasperated or you shoot yourself in the foot.
As it happens, although you may not have realised it due to your inexperience (by your own admission), the answers are there now. First, you have some suggestions of particular products, also a pointer to Andrew's (Totallymaxed) company in Essex, but most importantly Zaerc's (albeit tetchy!) advice ... that the case is the least specific thing.... find any old case that is rack mountable, from any source, it will have a motherboard profile like ATX, then choose any compatible motherboard that is that profile. It is meaningless to ask which is the motherboard that is best with that case as any board that has that profile will work equally as well, there is no distinction upon which the forum members can provide you advice there, its arbitrary hence you won't get specific answers to that question.
Perhaps a simple guide for selection will help:
First, decide what capabilities you want - most importantly will be the video and audio outs... HDMI, DVI, component, composite, VGA for video; HDMI Audio, SPDIF optical/coax digital, analogue, surround, etc for audio. Ask specific questions about these options and you will get very specific answers from the community.
Next, how many and type of drive you want to connect, capacity of storage, RAID protection, etc - do you want the storage onboard or remote. How many USB ports you want, and other basic I/O capabilities.
Now you've determined that, you can select a board based on it. Again, asking for a specific board recommendation based on these specs is somewhat meaningless - there are squillions of boards out there, many that will match your specifications, numerous that have already been shown compatible... you can't ask people to select it for you, as it will necessarily be arbitrary and biased advice ... most will have only tested their own board so can't really compare it with many others that match. This is why people simply document in the wiki or forums what they have working so that you can access these and choose one for yourself. If you are uncertain, by all means actually choose a board that you think fits and that others have used, then specifically ask about that board... you are far more likely to get a definitive answer/advice when the question isn't so open-ended... in other words make it easy for people to answer the question without speculating.
Personally, my advice is always not to get too hung up on the particular board - concentrate on the chipset. If the board is compatible with Kubuntu 0710 (easy to find out) then you are half way there. Now look at the video, audio and network chipset. For video, choose nVidia (if you've been reading the wiki and boards then you already know why) something in the 6200-7300 range is perfectly adequate, although the 8xxx and 9xxx series will likely offer some decoding advantages in the future. There are some very common sound chips that work wonderfully with LMCE, choose one someone has confirmed elsewhere, but at the least choose one that is compatible with kernel 2.6.22-14 and has an ALSA driver. Finally, the network chip - Intel is de rigeur here, but again there are plenty of common ones that are compatible, choose one.
Using this (chipset) method, you are not as locked down to specific motherboards, which often get discontinued even though the chipsets live on!
Finally, once you have choosen your motherboard, take its form factor and pick any old rack mount case that accepts that form factor and a power supply that can deliver enough power. Done! You have your system, now pick your peripherals with care. hope this helps.
