Linux desktop for bittorrent and movies.

auq · Post by **auq** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:32 pm

I will use the computer for bittorrent and watching movies (including x264 HD), other than that just basic stuff like surfing and chatting. Since the OS will be Debian or Ubuntu the hardware obviously has to be Linux compatible and not too exotic. It's in my bedroom and I would like it to be silent enough for me to have it on 24/7, but it's not a must.

Parts that I'm pretty sure about:

Case: Antec P182
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750

Parts that seem nice but I'm really just guessing here:

PSU: Seasonic S12-380
HSF: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme

I was thinking about choosing another motherboard with integrated Intel graphics (GMA X3000 or GMA X3500) because of the open source drivers and then I wouldn't need to buy a separate VGA card but is it a good idea? Will I be able to watch hd movies? Will everything run smooth? If not, what VGA card would you recommend?

What about fans? How many, how big, where, and which ones? Nexus seems good.

I already have two harddrives:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3200822AS 200Gb
Hitachi Deskstar 7K500 HDS725050KLA360 500GB

Here are some other parts I already have:

Corsair XMS3200 DDR-DIMM 512MB PC3200 32Meg x 8, CAS 2-3-3-6-T1, 400MHz, 6ns (two of these)
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS PCI
NEC ND-2510A IDE

What do you think about the RAM, should I get something new? Is the soundcard worth putting in there or should I just use whatever is on the motherboard? I might get a new dvd burner but that depends on what the rest will cost me, not a big priority though, I can wait a couple of minutes for a dvd.

I've read several threads and articles on SPCR but I'm still a newbie when it comes to hardware so any advice is welcome :)

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:13 pm

another Linux user to talk to.

well, to start off, how familiar with it are you? and more importantly, what Distro is your target? there are plenty of them out there.

first off, i think your CPU, although a very good one, is a bit overkill. i'd suggest cutting back, an E6600 is more than enough for any linux environment you'll run.

secondly, the RAM that you have, is different from what the motherboard requires. DDR and DDR2 are quite different. i'd suggest a dual channel kit, 1 or 2gb is more than enough for your usage. i have a 1gb dual channel kit, and will be getting either 1 or 2 more GB as i boot Windows as well.

a 380W power supply is a good pick, you'll probably need no more, unless you're going to choose a much higher end graphics card, which is something i'd recommend. i have a few systems lying around, and when i had linux on the boxes with onboard graphics, i can't say i liked it much, there were too many limits on it, between refresh rate, and resolution. a seperate card might be better. and for that, its a big debate between nVidia and ATi, i have two computers that run nVidia, and one that runs ATi, i can't really say one is better than the other. the main difference is that with on-board, unless you get HD, you'll just see it on regular VGA. if you're looking for on-board DVI, i'd strongly suggest going AMD for it, but i can't really say i've got a new AMD box to tell you about.

in linux, sound is touchy depending on what you're using. i did a fresh install yesterday [as i was having trouble with my 64bit Ubuntu, and now its working fine] and when i finally got my Audiophile 2496 running, it sounds excellent, but its a gamble. as long as you aren't recording anything, onboard will be fine, but the recording work that i do came out terrible with onboard in Linux.

unless you have less than a 16x DVD burner, a new one is hardly worth it...the difference between 16x, 18x and 20x is hardly noticable IMHO.

a rear exhaust fan will be plenty, you can block off the vent at top for better front to back airflow, and having two front fans will help cool lower placed PCI cards as well as a GFX card if you opt that route.

My suggestion for a VGA card would be any nVidia fanless 7xxx series card, the 8xxx series seems a bit too much, and i'm not sure how well linux will be able to use it, i can't say i see anyone running much of a graphic performance linux box, its not really needed. If you want ATi, i think a fanless 9xxx model might be enough, i'm not too sure if you'll really need anything more than that.
Hopefully your monitor is DVI?

120mm Nexus fans are preferred, Scythe S-Flex fans are also good, Yate Loons are popular as well. 7v is a very good number for fans, a fan controller can solve that, or you can do more exploring to find how to undervolt fans through their molex connectors. four total fans can be kept inaudible when undervolted, any more than 4, and you could be scraping thin ice depending on the manufacturer. 92mm is probably the smallest fan you'll want to use, if i'm not mistaken i think its two 92mm fans in the front of a P182 and a 120mm in the back and top.

The Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme will be perfect with a fan on, but i can't say i see many people running them fanless. if not the Ultra-120, a ninja could easily pull it off as well.

Ubuntu has a massive support forum, so using it would not cause any problems. Ubuntu has very good drivers for both nVidia and ATi, so it doesn't make much difference which you pick.

it wouldn't hurt to also google the hardware you plan on using to see what its compatibility is in Linux, it would save you some trouble later with the build. there are numerous topics about hardware, and there's also a top about people's current builds, which will give you a good idea of how compatible your hardware is.

just one thing to warn you about, it will be much easier to use hardware undervolting than software undervolting in linux, i've been looking for software that can dow it, but i haven't found anything entirely suitable for the job.

i hope that all helps, and if you need to know anything else, don't hesitate to ask, i'm mostly a ubuntu fan, but i've played around with a few other distros lightly [my dead laptop hasn't helped though].

alfhenrik · Post by **alfhenrik** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:40 pm

Parts that I'm pretty sure about:

Case: Antec P182
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750

All nice parts, should make for a very nice machine.

Parts that seem nice but I'm really just guessing here:

PSU: Seasonic S12-380
HSF: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme

Seasonic PSU's are very quiet and this one should fit your bill perfectly.

I have Thermalright Ultra-120 on an E6400 @ 3.2Ghz and it idles around 35*C in 20-25*C ambient so the eXtreme will keep your CPU nice and cool.

I can't say if integrated video will smoothly play HD video, some say it will and some say it may not. Anyway, Gigabyte has a couple of passive nVidia cards that aren't too expensive. A 8500GT, a 8600GT and a 8600GTS

All depending on if you want to be able to play games at all as well, the 8600GT would probably be your best choice as you don't say that you'll play games.

What about fans? How many, how big, where, and which ones? Nexus seems good.

I use 4 Nexus fans (top, rear, vga and hdd) and 1 Scythe on the Ultra-120. Top and VGA fans running at 7v, Rear and HDD between 45%-55% via Speedfan depending on Temp and the Scythe at 100% but it is only spinning at 800RPM so can't hear it or any of the other fans unless I put my ear right up to the case.

Corsair XMS3200 DDR-DIMM 512MB PC3200 32Meg x 8, CAS 2-3-3-6-T1, 400MHz, 6ns (two of these)

These won't go in any C2D enabled motherboards as these require DDR2 memory, those Corsair's are only DDR.

You could buy the Corsair Value Select stuff as you aren't going to do any OC'ing? Otherwise the TWIN2X2048-6400 which is quite good, I'm running the PC6400 C4 stuff which has tighter timings (4-4-4-12) than the non-C4 (5-5-5-12, although you can probably tighten these to the same as C4).

The onboard sound should probably suffice for what you are doing, but since you already have the PCI soundcard then you could just as well put it in.

New DVD burner would probably not be necessary unless the NEC is way to loud or not working properly.

Thanks.

butters · Post by **butters** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:54 pm

Like bonestonne said, the main problem with your plans is the memory. You need DDR2.

As for graphics, HD playback isn't as graphically intensive as you might think. The decoding is fairly CPU-intensive, but that's why we have multi-core processors. If all you're planning on is HD playback and Compiz Fusion, Intel graphics is fine. I'm ok with my aging laptop's i855GM graphics unless I turn on the useless water effect.

However, if you can hold off for a couple months, waiting for the G35 chipset would be a good idea. X3500 will be Intel's first serious attempt at mainstream (as opposed to budget) graphics. It will have a bunch of hardware features that won't be supported by the Linux drivers at launch, but Intel's commitment to their open-source Linux drivers is very strong. They've got Keith Packard (the legendary X hacker) on the payroll. Nuff said.

I've already revealed my pro-Intel bias. However, if you want to go the discrete graphics route, I'd recommend NVIDIA. The current (proprietary) Linux drivers support the 8 series, but the 7 series will do just fine. The Restricted Drivers Manager introduced in Ubuntu Feisty makes dealing with the proprietary drivers a lot easier. NVIDIA has the better hardware and Linux drivers at the moment, and AMD/ATI is having some execution problems.

Onboard audio is fine unless you're an audiophile or you're doing recording AND you're using the analog interface. If you're using SPDIF, then you'd be wasting your money on a premium soundcard. You pay for the ADA converters.

If the long-term progress of the Linux platform is important to you, then I'd recommend buying Intel whenever possible. They're on our side. For example, Intel is behind the PowerTop initiative, which develops tools for profiling power consumption on the Linux desktop and collaborates with other projects to fix code that wastes power. That's almost as important for silencers as it is for road warriors.