How To: Build a Kitchen PC
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All this makes the kitchen an interesting opportunity for intrepid system builders. The ability to offer customers a life-altering, real-world use for a system can help differentiate a system builder's services, attract new customers, and turn a nice profit in the process.
For the ideal kitchen PC, the following functionality is paramount:
- Small form-factor: Lets the user position the PC in a cabinet or under a counter.
- Web browsing: To find recipes, news, etc.
- Multimedia: The ability to watch TV, play DVDs, and play music CDs and files.
- Touch screen: Eliminates the need for a counter-cluttering keyboard and mouse.
- A "flexible" screen: I'm not talking about one of those space-age, fruit roll-up types of flexible screens. Rather, I mean a mount for the display that can be positioned above a stove, cabinet, or counter so it does not consume valuable counter space. The display should be easily maneuverable so that the user can adjust for height, distance and location.
Also, the less power—both in terms of energy consumption and performance—the better. What do I mean by that? In contrast to many PC projects, a kitchen PC will be used for fairly simple computing tasks. Therefore, it needn't be a processing monster. Instead, I aimed to find a sweet spot on the low-end of the price-performance scale that would result in a cool, quiet, and affordable system. Unfortunately, it turned out that I aimed a little too low, so, as you'll see, my project can also serve as a cautionary tale.
The greatest attribute of this rig is that it is entirely scaleable. In other words, you can convert any system, including an older PC, into a kitchen system. Let's dig in!
Ingredients
Here's everything you'll need to build a kitchen PC:
- AMD Sempron 3400+: As I mentioned above, we're not looking for massive processing power. This low-power, yet solid-quality CPU can be found in the $110 to $130 range at online retailers. Here's a shot of the Sempron 3400+:
- AMD makes a number of Socket AM2 processors that will work with Shuttle SN27P2's motherboard. More on these motherboards follow directly below. For more on AMD's processors, go to the firm's Compare Desktop Processor Specifications page.
- Okay, time for full disclosure: At the end of this project, it was clear to me that I had undershot my performance goal. So in retrospect, I would now recommend you going with a slightly more powerful processor—either one of the higher-end Semprons, or a lower-end Athlon 64. Either way, the price will still be extremely affordable.
- Shuttle SN27P2 case enclosure: The Taiwan-based Shuttle Computer Group has been building small form-factor (SFF) PC case enclosures with integrated micro-ATX motherboards for over a decade now, and it has real credibility. The firm's new SN27P2 is a forward-thinking gem that uses nVidia's new Nforce4 570 core logic chipset and supports AMD's recent Socket AM2 and DDR2 memory. This should make for a long life and an easy upgrade path. It also lays the foundation for a system that will perform at optimum levels, even with a mid- to low-range processor. The system is only 8.7 inches high, 8.3 inches wide, and 12.8 inches deep. For pricing information, see this Pricegrabber.com information page. Here's a photo of the Shuttle case enclosure:
- If you don't want to build out a PC yourself, Shuttle sells fully-configured retail boxes at affordable prices. An SN27P2 configured with an Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4600+ and a 200-GB drive can be purchased for a little over $1,700. At the lower end of the scale, the Shuttle X100, equipped with a 1.6-GHz Celeron M, offers excellent price-performance at just under $700.
- DiamondMax 10 160-GB SATA drive: This is a standard SATA drive that can be found online at prices of $60 to $80. For more detailed pricing information, visit this Pricegrabber.com page.
- Two 512-MB sticks of Corsair ValueSelect PC2-4200 RAM: Given the increasing memory appetite of Windows XP and the possibility of dealing with large files in Media Center edition (see the next entry), using 1 GB of system memory is only prudent. At $70 each, a pair of memory sticks cost $140.
- Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005: The newest version of Microsoft's Media Center variant of Windows XP is an excellent choice for general media and TV tuner functionality. This OS supports multiple tuners and integrates very easily into existing Windows home networks. The OS can be found at online retailers such as New Egg for as little as $110. For more information, check out this Microsoft Windows XP Media Center PC page.
- nVidia's DualTV MCE: This is a dual-tuner TV card, meaning you can plug two separate cable boxes into it. Also, it's compatible with Windows XP Media Center Edition. More information on nVIDIA's DualTV MCE page.
- 3M M170 Touch Screen Display: This marvelous display was the pice de rsistance of my own project. The 3M Touch System offers a brilliant display and is the crown jewel of our kitchen PC. The touch screen functionality allows you to eliminate a mouse and keyboard entirely. You use only your fingers or a makeshift stylus to browse the Web, enter text, and access the Media Center functionality. Here's a photo of the M170 touch screen display:
- Another nice touch: The M170 display has built-in speakers. While they're not the highest quality, this means you won't have to worry about installing or mounting separate speakers in the kitchen.
- At a little over $700, the M170 display is pricey, but consider this: Not only are you getting a touch screen, but you're also getting a high-quality, high-resolution screen. For more pricing information, go to this 3M Touch Systems page. Also, check out this Pricegrabber.com page for pricing on various models.
- Ergotron LX Wall Mount LCD Arm: I literally stumbled across this sharp-looking wall mount from Minnesota-based Ergotron, and I'm glad we did. One of my big concerns regarding this kitchen PC was where I would place the display. Using this device's swing-arm mounting system, I was able to mount the M170 touch screen in an unoccupied area of the kitchen, a space directly above and to the left of the stove.
- For pricing information, visit this Pricegrabber.com page. And here's a photo of the Ergotron wall mount:
- 16x DVD +/- RW drive: Any standard optical storage drive will do.
- USB keyboard and mouse: You'll need them for the installation process only!
- Coaxial male-to-male cable extender: This will be deployed to make the run from the cable line/box to the kitchen.
- Tools: The only tool you'll need for this project is a standard Philips-head screwdriver. An Allen wrench needed to mount the display is included in the box.
Four Steps for Set-up and Installation
1. Assemble the PC: At its core, this is a fairly standard PC build. You'll need to install all the system components—CPU, TV tuner card, hard drive, optical storage, and memory—before you install Windows and boot the system up.
You can use the touch screen display as a normal display until you set it up. Once you've installed Windows XP Media Center Edition, you can go ahead and install the M170's drivers.
Because SFF boxes are so compact, they often require that you install components in a certain order. The Shuttle SN27P2 is no different.
Here's the recommended order of installation in seven steps:
- Remove the hard-drive trays. This will give you access to the Shuttle's innards. Feel free to mount the drives in the trays, but do not place the trays in the case yet.
- CPU: First remove the cooling device. Next, install the CPU. Don't install the CPU cooling device until after you've installed the memory.
- Plug in the two RAM DIMMs.
- DVD drive: This mounts in the optical storage bay, which sits over the hard drive bays.
- TV tuner card: The Shuttle's integrated graphics and audio mean you only have to install one expansion card, namely, nVidia's Dual TV MCE.
- Plug in the drives. Connect the SATA and ATA cables to the drives.
- Connect power and other cables. At this point, you can plug your cable or satellite box(es) into the TV tuner card you just installed. To receive a TV signal, you'll probably need to run a long extension of S-Video or coaxial cable from wherever your cable line or cable box is located into the kitchen.
2. Install Windows XP Media Center Edition: This is another standard installation. Once you progress through the installation of Windows, you'll boot into the Media Center setup wizard, which will walk you through an intuitive step-by-step process. The following screenshot shows how Windows Media Center allows you to quickly find and record or watch TV shows that interest you:
Media Center Edition is essentially an application that sits on top of Windows XP. You can minimize it or resize the window as you would any other Windows app. If the primary use will be watching TV or listening to music, then set Windows to boot into the Media Center interface when the PC starts up. But if the primary use will be surfing for recipes or for news, then booting directly to the desktop is preferable. In the Settings option, the General Settings tab is where you can make this selection.
3. Set up the touch screen display: Now it's time to transform this rig into a kitchen PC. Installing and calibrating 3M's M170 display is easy. First, install the software. Then reboot the system. While the system is booting back up, connect the supplied USB cable between the display and the PC. The Found New Hardware Wizard will pop up. Allow it to search for the drivers automatically.
Once the drivers are installed, a calibration wizard will pop up on the display. Follow the instructions, and you're up and running.
The M170 works remarkably well with Media Center, mainly because Microsoft designed the Media Center interface to be used with a remote control. In real-world terms, this means big, shiny buttons that can be easily activated with your fingers. Having said that, using the display in the conventional Windows environment can be a little trickier—the smaller icons and lack of keyboard require some fairly straightforward tweaks to the Windows interface.
Here are the steps I took to make accessing the Web and entering text a fairly easy process:
- Create bookmarks for favorite cooking/recipe Web sites on the Windows desktop. This way, the user can easily access their favorite sites.
- Set up a single desktop folder containing all the user's recipes.
- Set up your PC to use large icons. This will make navigation easier.
- Use Windows' On-Screen Keyboard. This is a fairly easy way to enter text into the Web browser or any other application.
Once you get everything up and running, perform the following steps to permanently enable the on-screen keyboard:
- Press the Windows logo key + U.
- Next, select the "On-Screen Keyboard is not running" option.
- Press the Start button. Then click the "Start automatically when I log in" radio button.
If the On-Screen Keyboard app doesn't work well enough for you, there are numerous virtual keyboards you can download and/or purchase. For example, Virtual Onscreen Keyboard from Mount Focus is an excellent choice. These virtual keyboards make entering text easy, because they feature large buttons that can be easily activated with a touch screen. By displaying a full-screen keyboard on the display, Mount Focus' Virtual Onscreen Keyboard makes text entry via touch screen a snap. Here's a screenshot:
4. Assemble the swing-arm mount: Assembling the Ergotron swing-arm mount was surprisingly straightforward. The device comes with three key parts: wall mount, arm mechanism, and arm extender that you can use to add an extra 12 inches of reach.
First, attach the wall mount base unit to the wall itself. Carefully measure out the height at which you want the mount to be placed. Keep in mind that the location that you screw the wall mount into will serve as the lowest point the display will reach.
Next, attach the wall mount to the wall using the supplied screws. A word of caution: When attached to the full swing-arm mount and display, this apparatus will be quite heavy. So make sure you're attaching the wall mount to a portion of a wall or other support that can bear the weight.
The rest of the swing-arm assembly process is fairly easy: Simply slide the arm and/or arm extender onto the wall mount. However, before you do that, you must first first attach the display to the business end of the swing-arm. To do so, attach a metal plate that comes with the swing-arm mount to the desired display with a series of four screws. Many flat screen displays, including the M170, come with what is known as a "100 mm VESA mounting pattern." This is a universal four-screw mounting platform.
In the case of the M170, a little extra work is involved to attach the display to the swing-arm. First, remove the LCD base stand from the screen itself in order to connect the two. To do this, remove the M170's base cover, then unscrew the base. (The manual for the display does an excellent job of explaining this process in clear detail.)
After you have removed the base, connect the steel VESA pattern plate that comes with the swing-arm to the display and to the end of the swing-arm using the bundled screws. Now you can go ahead and slide this arm (with the display attached) onto the wall mount. Once you've attached and mounted the display, use the supplied Allen wrench to fine-tune and tighten the springs that govern the position and maneuverability of the arm.
Final Conclusions
After I used my custom-made kitchen PC for a week, I drew these three conclusions:
- The use of the swing-arm and touch screen makes life in the kitchen easy—even easier than I expected. The ability to move the screen around, plus the elimination of the keyboard and mouse, let me find an ideal position without compromising counter space.
- I was concerned that the screen would become covered with kitchen grease and fingerprints, and it did. But cleaning the display turned out to be simple. Just run a damp cloth over it.
- More processing power is better. After a week, I wondered whether I'd made a mistake with my choice of processor. Windows XP Media Center Edition puts more strain on the CPU than I expected. I can't help but think that if I had spent another $60 on a low-end dual-core Athlon 64 instead of the Sempron, I would have been a lot happier with the system's overall performance.
GEORGE JONES is a San Francisco-based technology writer and computer-games consultant. Since 1992 has worked at numerous computer publications, including PC Week, CNET.com, and Maximum PC.