Multimedia Computer: Part 2, The Motherboard

When you first begin building a computer, there are infinite possibilities, but as decisions are made these possibilities decrease until the final decision producing a unique computer. The choice of the motherboard decreases possibilities, but it gives direction. Many decisions are made by virtue of the choice of the motherboard.

As I have mentioned before, putting a computer together is now like making tinker toys or putting Legos together. The important part is being able to get it to all click together at the end. In order to insure articulation, the motherboard is the guide.

The first part to consider is the form factor, i.e. what are the dimensions of the motherboard? My last two computers were based on the mini-ITX form factor motherboard. These are small. The current motherboard is a micro-ATX (not to be confused with a mini-ATX). It isn't quite as small as the mini-ITX but isn't as big as the ATX. It kind of makes sense. The form factor will determine the type of case you get. In case you are worried, the engineers have it all worked-out that the holes match up in the right way.

The motherboard also determines the type of CPU. It does that via the type of socket. The socket, clearly enough, is where the CPU plugs in. This wasn't an issue in my mini-ITX computers as the CPU came attached to the motherboard. I will have to buy a CPU for this and there will be a choice as the motherboard has an LGA775 socket which will accept a variety of different chips.

The type of memory that will work in the computer is determined by the motherboard. It turns out that this motherboard has slots for DDR2 memory and for DDR3 memory. According to the manual, there is no mixing and matching on this board; I've got to choose either DDR2 or DDR3. So I still have a choice to make there. However, there is more to know. I have to know what speed of memory is compatible. For DDR2, this board supports 1066/800/667 MHz and for DDR3 it supports 1333/1066/800 MHz.

Then are the various drive connectors. This board has one IDE connector and four, count 'em, four SATA connectors. I've discovered that one really has to go out of the way to get an IDE drive anymore, and I doubt that I can even find an IDE blu-ray drive, but if I can find a cheap one, I do have that option.

The board has two PCI expansion slots. I will use one of there for a TV-card and the other for a wireless network card.



In addition to the two PCI slots, there are a couple of PCI Express slots of different sizes. I am not to familiar with these other than I know you can plug cards into them that will do cool stuff. That might enable me to have more choices in my TV-card or wireless card.

I will confess that this motherboard is a bit more complex than I thought it would be. I hope that doesn't turn out to be a headache for me, but this is a hobby. I am doing it to learn. Sometimes headaches are part of the learning process. I will keep you informed.

One piece at a time: Part 1

After I built my itty-bitty Ubuntu box, I began to explore possibilities for this new design. For a user whose needs were modest, the smaller mini-ITX motherboard and associated smaller CPU were not a handicap. They were a right-size alternative to what "the man" wants to sell you.
I began to think of my middle-schooler whose computing needs (and I use that word in its pre-teen sense) are quite modest. She has my old iPod and the Smiley Virus (I mean Miley Cyrus) and the Justa Beaver CDs that she has ripped there unto. She has whatever Disney sites she likes to peruse. Then there is the school district's PowerSchool page. That is it.
She has been using her eldest sisters old laptop which is coughing up blood mucus and whose sclera have turn yellow. It is laying back upon a pillow and has taken on a preternatural glow.
The idea occurred to me that it would be fun for the two of us to build a computer for her. At this point it looks to me like her itty-bitty hands with those long, thin fingers would be quite useful inside a mini-ITX computer case.
Buying all of the pieces at once so soon after having built my first mini-ITX computer would put too much strain on my marriage and my credit card, and besides there is nothing like teaching about the delay of gratification--if I don't know about it at least my children should--so we decided to be like Johnny Cash and build it one piece at a time.
The first piece is the case. If you take a look at it I am sure you will agree that it fits my middle-schooler's personality. It arrived this week.

We will report on the rest of the pieces as they arrive.

My itty bitty Ubuntu Box

It was scary because it was all so easy. First I ordered the parts:

• the motherboard-CPU combo,
• the memory,
• the case, and
• the optical drive.

Then they all came just as they said they would. First the motherboard and the memory, then the case, and finally the optical drive. At the same time, I had been working with Ubuntu. I had downloaded it back when I was working on my Windows Home Server. It was there on the hard drive on my laptop. I first put it on a thumb drive just because the possibility of booting from a thumb drive seemed so cool to me. Then I burned it on a CD just in case the BIOS on the motherboard wasn't up to it.
Then came Saturday morning. I woke up having slept like the righteous dead at approximately 6:30. The computer was together by 8. I didn't shower, but I did shave; I did make coffee and eat breakfast. I did put the previous day's dishes in the dishwasher. (We'd had a plumbing emergency on Thursday with the dishwasher.)
The point is that it all went together like a puzzle.
The case is the size of a 4-slice toaster. Seriously. It is red and as cute as a button. The mini-ITX board with the Atom CPU is square and a smidgen over six-and-a-half inches on a side. It all plugged in nicely with the various wires: power, SATA cables, USB cables, and front panel wires. Having learned previously the hard way, I took great care with the front panel wires, but there was a nice, color-coded schematic that came along with the motherboard.
Then I put in the hard drive, which I'd bought last September at Wal-Mart, and then the optical drive. This is where the smallness of the case and the strength of the design came into play. It all fit easily. I did stop to think it out; this is something else I have learned. But it all fit.
I'd thought ahead to put the SATA cables on before I even thought about the drives. There would've been no way my huge hands could've gotten in there to put them on with a hard drive in the way. If I ever put more memory in, I will have to take both of the drives out. This is just how it is going to be.
Anyway, the process was somewhere between stacking toast and the second round of Jenga in complexity.
Then I install Ubuntu Linux.
I'd never done this before. I didn't know what to expect. I stuck in the CD, turned it on, and it booted to the optical drive. It began installing. At various points it stopped to ask questions. Once I thought it was stuck but I was patient and it continued. Then it came time for the final restart and it did stick at the BIOS screen. I figure that was more of a function of the BIOS than Linux, so I just turned it off and turned it back on. (Having screwed-up and restarted a lot has given me an inner calm that allows me to do stuff like that.) It worked.
It has now been about 24 hours and I am happy. Ubuntu Linux looks a lot like MacOS on the front-end. I might just be saying this because I am a PC user, but it is my opinion.
Some issues that I've discovered that might matter:

• it doesn't work with iTunes and
• it doesn't do Netflix.
  

These are things I've discovered as I am now contemplating building a machine like this for my youngest daughter. Her iPod and TV are very important to her.
All said, it was a nice couple of hours, but those who've been inspired should read earlier in the blog about the failures.

The Challenge of the itty-bitty computer

Having successfully upgraded my wife’s old computer into a Windows Home Server and then, buoyed by my success in that area, having gone on to build a Windows 7 computer for my mother-in-law, my heart was at ease. I had conquered worlds. I had learned new curse words, words which had, up until that point, only had a shadowy theoretical sort of existence. I had been a successful computer builder.

But as with the rich fool in Luke 12 verses 16 through 21, who said, “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones,” I keep pushing for something more. My eyes kept sweeping over the web sites of New Egg, Geeks.com, and TigerDirect. I was looking for trouble. Seek and ye shall find, as the Good Book says.

It all begins with a motherboard. And I will continue calling them motherboards. Calling them System boards dehumanizes further an already technical field. The Big Motherboards are denoted by ATX. This hearkens back to the old AT computers if you are old enough to remember them. The ATX motherboard represents the first step forward from them. These boards are somewhat largish at 12 inches by 9.6 inches. The motherboard I removed from my mother-in-law’s old IBM was an ATX. A micro-ATX (mATX) motherboard at 9.6 inches square is smaller and easier to deal with.

Imagine my joy when I discovered the mini-ITX motherboard which is 6.7 inches square. Imagine my joy as well when I discovered that I could get it from New Egg along with a CPU for $69. Extend your imagination to unbounded possibilities by thinking what I might do if I also came upon a mini-ITX case with a power supply for $49.99. Then, and you are NOT going to believe this, imagine me finding one gigabyte of compatible memory for $19. Put this together with the knowledge that I have a leftover one terabyte SATA hard drive that is just setting around.

Yes, you are there aren’t you? You know what is going to happen. It’s like in the teen horror flick when the scantily clad teenagers are alone in the boat house. Not only will they get naked, not only will they have sex, but they will also be pinned together with a harpoon while their bodies are still entwined.

I ordered all of the parts immediately because who could imagine making any sort of computer that cheap, and this one will be so small and cute to boot.

The question that the experienced will ask at this point is obvious. It is so obvious not only do they know to ask it, they know the solution. The questions is: what about the operating system. You forgot to include it in your calculations. It is easy to do and any of the versions of Windows floating around will likely cost more than all of these parts put together. But this is the beautiful part. Ubuntu Linux is free. Furthermore, all of the cool young Geeks worship at the throne of Linux.

If I build an Ubuntu box, then I will be young like them. My hair will turn once again dark. The aching in my joints will go away.

The case for this is red by the way. It all becomes rather clear that this computer building mania I am going through is a mid-life crisis. Better a computer than a Corvette; better Ubuntu than a blond.

I will keep you posted as matters develop.