[PLUG] small Linux boxes
Keith Lofstrom
keithl at kl-ic.com
Thu Jun 22 20:37:30 UTC 2006
On Thu, Jun 22, 2006 at 03:03:55AM -0700, Josh Orchard wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm looking to build a linux box that will server one purpose. It will
> just encode audio files. I may encode video too but not right away. I
> want this machine to be very small. Thus a small case. I'm looking for
> any pre-built or easy to build small case machines and hopefully local
> supplier that would be compatible with linux. If all the features minus
> the sound and potentially video was built on the mother board that would
> be fine. I think I would need just 2 expansion slots to deal with the
> possible additional cards.
>
> I have seen cases with pre-built system before about but not in a
> while. really want a small box and was hoping to spend about $300. I
> don't need a killer CPU for this or more then 1GB Ram (possible only
> 512MB) and the HD can be as small as 40GB. I can buy a full on
> mid-tower case for this price but want the machine to be small.
>
> suggestions? Anyone buy a pre-built small case system that has worked
> with Linux - sound/video supported?
An older used laptop would do a fine job - audio encoding can be done
with quite a modest machine. Check http://www.linux-laptop.net/ for
info on specific models.
If you must have new, and a desktop-like machine, then there are a
few mini-ITX machines around. You will end up spending more like
$500, though, when you get done buying all the pieces. I have one
Shuttle ST62K mini-ITX running Linux, and compared to the average
desktop install, it was a pain in the rear. A lot of odd built-in
hardware with weird drivers, not the same as a full-sized motherboard.
There are relatively few people running Linux on mini-ITX, so the
ST62K built-in chipsets doesn't get much attention.
I chose the ST62K because it has a very quiet cooling system. That
might be important for a sound recording system. That said, I don't
even know if the sound input works on it. Probably.
I put a different video card in it, using up the one and only PCI slot.
Keith
--
Keith Lofstrom keithl at keithl.com Voice (503)-520-1993
KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
Design Contracting in Bipolar and CMOS - Analog, Digital, and Scan ICs
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