2. Components For The Ideal Media PC, Continued

Noise is an important consideration when choosing media PC components. This applies to everything from the power supply, to the drives (optical and otherwise), to the graphics card, the CPU cooler, the power supply and any fans that may be built into the case itself. Quieter may be more expensive than louder when it comes to selecting and purchasing PC components, but it's also better suited inside a media PC (and because quieter components are usually more energy-efficient, this represents a greener alternative as an added bonus).

We've learned that power supplies that produce at least 300 Watts are needed in media PCs, while we have built many with suitably quiet CPUs in the 400-550 W range. We've developed a particular appreciation for the quiet, efficient power supplies from Seasonic and Zalman, among others.

While Linux isn't as power-hungry as Windows Media Center Edition (MCE), we believe a modest dual-core CPU represents the minimum processing power that anyone should choose for such a machine, particularly when high-definition video processing is needed. On the Intel side, this means a Core Duo VIIV T2300 or better; on the AMD side, this means an AM2 3800+ or better. We exceeded this requirement substantially in the builds for this story, as you'll learn in the section entitled "Test System Configurations."

And again, Linux doesn't necessarily need as much memory as Windows MCE does, but on systems where you want to record one (possibly hi-def) TV show at the same time as you watch something else (also possibly hi-def), more memory is better than less. Practically, this means 2 GB of RAM is ideal for both MCE and Linux media PCs (though you can get by with just 1 GB), in that it provides plenty of workspace for media capture and play back, paging and temporary files, and so forth. You can install more than that if you like, but we believe 2 GB represents the sweet spot between too much and not enough RAM. When we get the opportunity to test Vista in this capacity, these rules are bound to change, because of that operating system's greater capacity and appetite for memory.

Our HDD choice is Hitachi's Deskstar HDS725050KLA360 500 GB, 7,200 RPM, 16 MB Cache, SATA/300

We like using SATA drives, both magnetic and optical, in media PCs because SATA cables are more compact, easier to route and thus less likely to block airflow inside the PC case. That said, SATA drives for HD-DVD appear to be non-existent, and only about half the available Blu-ray offerings support SATA, while the rest use older but entirely workable PATA interfaces.