Seeking Suggestions/Advice for Media Server Setup

I was unsure which forum to ask this in. Being that the software in question will revolve around samba and apache this forum seemed more appropriate.

Overview:
I want to become better at administration of linux systems and I learn best by doing. So I am building this side project as a way to improve my skills.
I have an old AMD 64 3200+ box collecting dust and decided to put it to use for this project . It has 2 gigs of DDR RAM and a nVidia GeForce 8800. To maximize the learning potential for this project I will be making this box into both a content server (apache/samba) as well as a media server (xbmc)

Specifics:
Currently I am having issues finding an appropriate distro for the hardware. I have tried both LinxMint and PCLinuxOS (lxde for both) with poor results (nearly 60% cpu usage at idle). I just know I will be straining it once I get all the servers running.
This server will be more or less headless with most of the configuration happening though ssh. However, i can not completely get rid of the gui as I will need it for XBMC. Any suggestions / experience / constructive criticism?

For a media centre you may want to keep your admin overhead to a minimum by using an off-the-shelf media centre distro, such as XBMCbuntu (from the xbmc site). There are alternatives too, stuff like Mythbuntu or GeeXbox.

My media centre runs Fedora 17, but I've recently been trying the XBMC distribution for my raspberry pi.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roxoff

For a media centre you may want to keep your admin overhead to a minimum by using an off-the-shelf media centre distro, such as XBMCbuntu (from the xbmc site). There are alternatives too, stuff like Mythbuntu or GeeXbox.

My media centre runs Fedora 17, but I've recently been trying the XBMC distribution for my raspberry pi.

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Thanks for the suggestions. I will burn off a few disks and see what I like.

Ps: you got a pi! I wanted to get me some pi but the last time I went to buy one they were sold out :( How is it working for ya?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheAlmightyOS

Thanks for the suggestions. I will burn off a few disks and see what I like.

Ps: you got a pi! I wanted to get me some pi but the last time I went to buy one they were sold out :( How is it working for ya?

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It works a treat - XBMC with it is fantastic with 720p which is the bulk of what I've got to play on it. Not that I seem to get time these days. I've had the unit for four or five months, and it seems to have become a dust trap recently.

I might just redeploy it as a cheap-to-run server.

After trying a few in VM I settled on GeeXboX. Got it installed w/SAMBA configured in very short order. Everything works great. No problems. And, well, that's the problem. I don't encounter any real problems so I don't learn anything. I know that might sound weird to you, a poster complaining about something being solved, but I guess I am seeking out problems right now. Stuff that I can dive into and get my hands dirty. Right now I consider myself a linux novice and I want to be more. I want to really get to know BASH and how to fix tough problems. But no mater how many books I pick up nothing ever seems to stick except for the stuff I work on. And lets just say I am in a problem desert right now (with the exception of some weird hardware issues) and so it is proving very hard to learn. Eventually I want to take gauntlet of CompTIA tests and I am confident about A+ and Network+, but without some real world scenarios I don't feel so confident about Linux+.

But, I do now have a working Media server now which makes my GF very happy now that she can watch her documentaries in the front room so still a victory. Thank you for you help.

As for the r-pi, the exact reason I wanted it for was a portable media box. That little box has alot of potential. I am sure you will find a good use for it. I have heard of people turning them into powerful diagnostic tools for networks. Start messing with the GPIO and the possibilities are endless