I was wondering if anyone could help ?

[3dfx]

Hi guys
A friend of mine was asking for some help with a system that could meet the following requirements. It has to be within the budget.

a)Edit HTML files.
b)Scan graphics files.
c)Record sound samples.
d)Capture short video clips (which consume vast amounts of disk space). As video clips will be captured from a standard camcorder which the company already owns, a webcam is NOT suitable. Project lifetimes are short, so a backup device is essential.
e)Have internet access to upload the required pages to companies. Internet service providers supply all the software required.
f)Supply video conferencing facilities. The digital camcorder, which the company owns is not suitable for this purpose as it will be mainly used away from the company office.
g)Print high-quality colour graphics.
h)This project has a £1500 budget available.

[J1NG]

Personal or Professional use? It isn't quite clear to me from what I've read. It seems to be an amalgam of the two.

J1NG

[UtwigMU]

Since it's pro, I recommend either Intel or AMD chipset.

Case: Antec Sonata, get 350W to 400W quality PSU if going with case without PSU.

Intel® Desktop Board D875PBZ
Intel 875 Chipset board (Intel boards are excellent and fast, and lack overclocking, which is out for company owned machine anyway).

http://intel.com/design/motherbd/bz/index.htm?iid=ipp_dlc_deskmb+p4pmb_d875pbz&

If you need Firewire (IMO yes, since you'll want to perhaps connect a scanner and digital camera), go Asus P4C800 Deluxe, or similar board from reputeable manufacturer.

http://www.asus.com/products/mb/socket478/p4c800-d/overview.htm

P4 2.4C - P4 is slightly better at streaming contents. Use Intel stock cooler.

2x512MB PC3200 (Corsair is problematic with certain boards, so go other brand such as Kingston, Mushkin, Micron/Crucial, Infineon, Viking, Twinmos).

If CAS2 is important, pay for it. IMO for the above application not.


AGP: Matrox P750
Sound: ask arround for professional grade soundcard. Consider Terratec DMX Fire6
LAN - onboard, add a NIC if you require multiple connections

Storage:
ger WD Raptor for OS and apps and add another SATA drive for capture.

Use onboard ATA ports for DVD recorder (Plextor) and I recommend a Combo drive for reader (Toshiba)

[leech]

For editing HTML files, you can do that with notepad. Or whatever your favorite text editor is.

To make everything cheaper, you could just go the linux route. I'm sure for everything that you've listed there is a free program for it under linux.

a) Editing HTML there is Bluefish (http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/)

b) Just make sure you get a scanner that is SANE compatible. (http://www.sane-project.org)

c) There are quite a few sound recorders. There is one included with either the Gnome desktop or KDE desktop.

d) For this you could get a TV capture board that is supported under linux, and XawTV will capture clips for you. (http://bytesex.org/xawtv/)

e) Of course Linux has all the best Internet utilities already at your finger tips for setting up webspace.

f) Just make sure you get a supported webcam/soundcard for linux. And you can use Gnomemeeting (http://www.gnomemeeting.org)

g) You can do this with most HP printers, since HP has Opened up the code for them. Just check http://www.linuxprinting.org for the supported list before you have your friend decide on a printer.

h) This will save a LOT on buying software. So then your friend can concentrate on the hardware.

Also there is Linare (http://www.linare.com) that sells a 1.3ghz computer for 200 bucks! Though of course I always prefer to build my own....

Hope that'll help.

Leech

[3dfx]

Thank you all for your helpful responces

[az]

You absolutely NEED a FAST harddisk for capturing video files, I'd recommend the HGST DeskStar 180GXP, since it's both fast and quiet.

AZ

[UtwigMU]

I second checking your hardware purchases for Linux compatibility, just in case you want to switch latter (or right away).

I made this a requirement for myself.

[3dfx]

Any recommendations for a TV capture board that is supported under linux ?

[leech]

I know that my WinTV card works flawlessly under linux. (one of those things where I think the drivers for linux are better than they are for windows.) If I recall correctly, there was a LinuxTV project out there that had created their own hardware for doing video captures and such. Though I can't recall what the name was.

Leech

[runderwo]

Any recommendations for a TV capture board that is supported under linux ?

Does it actually need a TV tuner on it, or just capture a composite/S-Video input? If you don't need a TV tuner, you can get a Zoran-based board like the Pinnacle DC10plus with hardware MJPEG for very cheap. (see mjpeg.sf.net)

You could also go the Matrox Marvel route -- those cards are well supported as well. (see marvel.sf.net)

[leech]

That actually (from what I can tell) would be exactly what he would need.

And actually the Marvel G400-TV worked great in linux, TV tuner, capture and all.

Amazing at how much a corporation can save when all they really have to do is buy the hardware, rather than having to pay a lot for the OS/Apps.

Leech