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    HTPC motherboard...which one?

    Yo HTPC geniuses, I need your advice.

    The only thing I have 99% settled on is the Zalman case shown here:

    So now I need to find a motherboard for it.

    I know I want a minimum of 2 PCIe slots and 6 SATA devices, USB, firewire and I really want to find one that has optical or co-ax digital audio out.

    P4 3.0 Core Duo is the processor, DDR2 of some kind, I figure about 4 GB.

    EDIT: the plan is to use the Linux MCE, so it must have Linux drivers...should be no biggie.


    Thanks for the input!
    Luke

    Closing SOON!
    "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

    Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

    Thanks for 10 years of fun!

    #2
    Pick one with 865 or 875 chipset (I heart ASUS boards).
    Mtech1 v8 build thread - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=413205



    OEM v8 manual chip or dme - https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho....php?p=4938827

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by StereoInstaller1 View Post
      the plan is to use the Linux MCE
      Luke
      that demo video for it is THE SHIT. youtube: linux mce if anyone is wondering.

      "BMW Style 32 Poster-Child"
      HTTP://WWW.CLAVINZERO.COM/e30-5-lug
      **(My Guide to E36 M3/Z3 1.9L 5-lug Swap)
      **

      Comment


        #4
        Clavin, are you the OP of that shit? I have wanted HTPC for years...but that damn video sealed the deal on what is gonna go down.

        As I get more and more aged and decrepit, I am beginning to look for a new career...maybe "Smart Home" integration design/implementation just might be the new thing.

        So, after me being out of the PC game for nearly 8 years, ASUS is still tier 1? They were always the best IMO.

        Closing SOON!
        "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

        Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

        Thanks for 10 years of fun!

        Comment


          #5
          Luke

          Nice case choice, I went with something similar by Silverstone



          In terms of motherboards, look for features that you know for a fact you will use, for instance the Asus board I have has eSata, which I use to connect to my external drive array...somewhat handy to have.

          To be honest any motherboard will work. For Linux compatibility you will want to ensure everything is supported, the chipset usually is, however audio/video can be somewhat tedius. I'd recommend nVidia over ATI for Linux, and most of the time the onboard video will work.

          I'm running an E4300/2GB of Ram on mine with Vista Ultimate MCE, HD Recording and all..I love it.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by James Crivellone View Post
            Luke

            Nice case choice, I went with something similar by Silverstone



            In terms of motherboards, look for features that you know for a fact you will use, for instance the Asus board I have has eSata, which I use to connect to my external drive array...somewhat handy to have.

            To be honest any motherboard will work. For Linux compatibility you will want to ensure everything is supported, the chipset usually is, however audio/video can be somewhat tedius. I'd recommend nVidia over ATI for Linux, and most of the time the onboard video will work.

            I'm running an E4300/2GB of Ram on mine with Vista Ultimate MCE, HD Recording and all..I love it.

            Interesting boxes.. got some more details on the two of those?
            Who doesn't love a little BBQ?
            Griot's Garage at a Deep Discount

            Comment


              #7
              James=baller $ for EVERYTHING
              Luke=broke as hell, but working on it

              eSATA? WTF? damn I am old.

              Closing SOON!
              "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

              Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

              Thanks for 10 years of fun!

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by StereoInstaller1 View Post
                James=baller $ for EVERYTHING
                Luke=broke as hell, but working on it

                eSATA? WTF? damn I am old.
                eSata = external sata. Essentially the same thing as if you had a sata cable running out of your case, but instead you get a cool port on the back that attaches to a header on the motherboard. I dont think there's anything special about it other then that.
                Who doesn't love a little BBQ?
                Griot's Garage at a Deep Discount

                Comment


                  #9
                  Luke, I *MAY* have been the OP on that linux thing.

                  James... dood your system seemed to be set up so nice, with all the bugs worked out, everything was functional when we were all there. It pays to be a geek doesn't it? :P

                  Those cases are all super sweet.

                  Luke, just google some motherboard roundups or comparisons and it is easy to get back in the game with all the terminology and technology stuff. I just did the same thing.

                  Side notes: 4 gigs of RAM only works with Vista I think. I second the vNidia for Linux thing also. I just did a dual boot on my PC with Kubuntu and XP; the nVidia driver stuff seemed easier than the ATI stuff when I was google'ing the hell out of everything.

                  "BMW Style 32 Poster-Child"
                  HTTP://WWW.CLAVINZERO.COM/e30-5-lug
                  **(My Guide to E36 M3/Z3 1.9L 5-lug Swap)
                  **

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by clavinZERO View Post
                    Side notes: 4 gigs of RAM only works with Vista I think. I second the vNidia for Linux thing also.
                    No, Linux will support more than 4 GB of ram as well.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Alrighty then, things got odder last night.

                      Talked to the guy who set me up with the PC I am on right now. He said it was a 3.0Ghz Core Duo 2 HT Pentium 4 with 2 PCIe slots, 1 1X and 1 16X, 4 RAM slots and 4 SATA ports.

                      I knew about that because I put a 500GB SATA HDD in it, and a SATA DVD burner.

                      So, how about I use this machine as a alearning tool and do this as a video card http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p...56EH&class=vga

                      and this as a a DVR card: http://www.hauppauge.com/site/produc...a_hvr1250.html

                      And then...linux MCE.

                      Closing SOON!
                      "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

                      Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

                      Thanks for 10 years of fun!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Oh yeah, forgot to mention...said computer guy works for an unnamed cell phone carrier. He gets to keep the old PCs out of the mall kiosks, so they are very small and quiet.

                        Half height cards are required, though.

                        Closing SOON!
                        "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

                        Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

                        Thanks for 10 years of fun!

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by kommissar View Post
                          No, Linux will support more than 4 GB of ram as well.
                          I should have clarified.... out of the Windows versions, XP can't do 4bg.




                          ---



                          Luke... check like www.linuxmce.org and stuff for compatibility. I would just stick to normal size gear for simplicity reasons. But can you get that stuff free from that guy or what? Maybe it is worth a shot.

                          "BMW Style 32 Poster-Child"
                          HTTP://WWW.CLAVINZERO.COM/e30-5-lug
                          **(My Guide to E36 M3/Z3 1.9L 5-lug Swap)
                          **

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Not quite free, but $225 got me 1GB DDR2, P4 D/C 3.0Ghz, 500MB SATA in this tiny little HP, thus the need for low profile cards. Seems like it would make a great Media Director, and I can get 2 of them for the same price as that beautiful case...so I might just skip the pretty part and work on making the thing work first.

                            In addition to the little HP, I have a full size case with room for about 6 HDD, full ATX, and a buttload of space in general. If I do the LinuxMCE, I will use that as the core. I have a 2.8 P4 on an Intel motherboard with no damn video slot at all. It also has 4 SATA ports, plus normal PATA on board, about 1.5TB in HDD space and 2GB of PC2700. With no video demands at all, it should do just fine, except for TV capture on PCI only...not too happy about that, but if I use a couple of Media Directors, I can put capture cards in those as well.

                            Seems like I have a ton to learn, but maybe I can learn enough to do this crap for a living since I am already so familiar with the A/V aspects.

                            Closing SOON!
                            "LAST CHANCE FOR G.A.S." DEAL IS ON NOW

                            Luke AT germanaudiospecialties DOT com or text 425-761-6450, or for quickest answers, call me at the shop 360-669-0398

                            Thanks for 10 years of fun!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              damn, when i need a dvd player, i just go to best buy lol
                              Originally posted by NavyE30
                              I saw Vlad was posting and got excited. Then I saw there weren't any boobs and was sad.

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