The Ultimate Media Center Computer

In this post I will be discussing a guide to my view of the ultimate media center computer as of 2025. Many of these choices are personal and opinionated, but I will explain each choice further down. The PC will be equipped for the following:

Coding
Emulation (DOS and others)
Gaming
Multimedia Production (Images, Videos, etc.)
Music Production (live and recorded)
Privacy
Security
Streaming (TV and Movies)
Virtualization (Primarily Windows)

I will be building this computer from scratch and installing all necessary software. As an overview, I will first discuss the hardware, OS, then software in the above categories as well as an overview of their setup. I will be using Fedora Linux as an OS; although I prefer LMDE, Fedora has solid Wayland, HDR, and AMD Freesync support with KDE. Wayland support in Cinnamon is experimental at the moment.

Hardware

The main hardware requirement will be Linux compatibility, as I will be using Fedora Linux . Most hardware works well with Linux if it is not too new; I will also be building an all AMD system as NVidia drivers are a nightmare to deal with on Linux. I’m also not a big fan of RGB, which might be a deal breaker for some. I want my PC to be eihter Yellow, Wood, Retro, Matte, or Vaporwave themed; but you can get a different case and peripherals to fit your own style. Also see the same build on PCPartPicker. The total cost as of 2025 is about $4K.

Part	Name / Link	Stats	Cost
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D	4.2 GHz 32 Threads	$740
CPU Cooler	Custom Copper Tube Liquid Cooling	40dB	?
Motherboard	ASRock X870E Taichi	ATX AM5 4x DDR5 RAM 6x SATA 2x PCIe V5 3x PCIe V4 2x 2.5mm audio USB 2, 3, and C Ethernet LAN Etc.	$450
RAM	G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo	2x 34GB DDR5-6000	$200
SSD Storage	Toshiba XG6	x1 1TB PCIe	$75
HDD Storage	Toshiba X300	4x 4TB SATA	$500
Backup Storage	Toshiba X300	1x 4TB USB-C	$125
GPU 1	AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT	16GB VRAM 1.89 GHz 80 Raytracing Cores	$1250
GPU 2	AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT	16GB VRAM 1.83 GHz 72 Raytracing Cores	$500
Case	Geometric Future Mode 6 or custom steampunk/wood case	Mid Tower ATX	$150
PSU	ASRock PG-1300G	1300W ~$80/Mo at 0.17¢	$190
Extra Cooling	Apevia AF512L-SYL	25dB	$25

Peripherals

Part	Name	Stats	Cost
Modem/Router	Netgear Nighthawk CAX30	2.7Gbps Docsis 3.1	$300
Monitors	x2 MSI 274QPF-QD	27″ QHD 170Hz FreeSync	$440 ($220 each)
TV	Any “dumb” TV	1440p	$200-$500
VR	Valve Index	Full VR set	$1000
Keyboard	Yellow: Yellow Retro: 8bitdo Retro Wood: Bamboo Steampunk: Typewriter Vaporwave: Purple Matte: DAREU EK98pro	Compact with Numpad	$20-$150
Mouse	Yellow: Yellow Retro: Lofree Touch Wood: Mahogany Steampunk: Steampunk Vaporwave: Logi M325 Matte: Logi M550	Office mouse, USB-A	$20-$60
Mouse Pad	Yellow: Golden Waves Retro: Lemmings Wood: Grain Steampunk: Clockwork Vaporwave: Synth City Matte: Blackwave	Any size, felt	$5-$30
Speakers	Edifer R1280Ts	Bookshelf 4″ bass drivers 52Hz – 20KHz	$170
Headphones	Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro	Open, Over-ear 5-35000Hz 250Ω	$180
Audio Mixer	Mackie 802VLZ4	8 Channels 2ch EQ Phantom Power XLR and Tape inputs Onyx Preamp	$200
Microphone	Shure MV7X XLR	Dynamic 50 Hz – 16 kHz	$200
Instruments	Epiphone G-400 Casio CT-S400 Novation Launchpad	Electric Guitar MIDI Keyboard Ableton Launchpad	$200 $270 $80
Amp	Orange Crush Mini	Mini Amp	$75
Pedals	Behringer VD400 Boss RV-6 Boss SD-1 Boss BF-3 Sonicake Noise Wiper	Delay Reverb Overdrive Flanger Gate	$40 $150 $60 $150 $35
Controllers	XBox Series WiiMotes Mayflash Dolphinbar	Bluetooth or USB-C	$80 $30 $30
Stickers	Manufacturer Stickers Style Stickers	Fedora, Linux, AMD, Toshiba, ASRock, GSkill, XBox Yellow, Retro, Steampunk, Vaporwave	Varies
LEDs	Yellow: Yellow Retro: Beige Wood: Orange Steampunk: Orange Vaprwave: Purple/Cyan Matte: White	USB-A Dimmable	$20
External Media	Floppy Reader Record Player Cassette Player AM/FM Radio 8Track Player VCR CD/DVD ROM	USB-A RCA 2.5mm 2.5mm RCA RCAV USB-A	Varies
Misc	SATA to USB-C HDD Case USB Pen Drives Headphone Stand Phone Clamp Mic Snake Arm HDMI to USB-A video capture card DisplayPort hub Thermal Paste	Various	Varies
Cables	x3 DisplayPort m2m x2 HDMI m2m x1 MIDI interface m2m x4 1/4″ m2m x1 dual RCA m2m x2 RCA to 1/4″ m2m x2 2.5mm to 1/4″ m2m x1 XLR m2f x1 RCAV m2m x1 RCAV to HDMI converter f2f 2.5mm to USB-C f2m cat5e rj45 m2m coaxial cable m2m Power cables and power strips	Make sure video cables are rated for at least 1440p. Also make sure not to exceed 1200W per outlet. Your PC should get its own outlet with nothing else plugged in.	Varies
Friend	Mr Tux	Linux Mascot	$35

First step is to assemble the PC. There are plenty of guides online, but here are the steps in general:

Make sure your workplace is static free. Wear shoes and touch a metal object that is grounded to discharge any built up static. Make sure your workspace has plenty of room and lay down a towel or mat to discourage static discharge. Even the smallest shock could damage PC components.
Unbox and inspect PC parts for damage. Many a time have I heard of friends receiving PC parts that were broken.
Start assembly by inserting the CPU into its socket.
Insert RAM into the DDR5 slots, using dual channel configuration (e.g. if there are slots 1 2 3 4, put the RAM sticks in slot 2 and 4).
Install the motherboard into the case. Remember to fit any fittings or gaskets to the motherboard depending on your chosen cooling solution.
Install CPU cooling solution. I will be making a custom copper tube liquid cooler (which I will make a separate guide for in the future), but any fan with the right size will do. Make sure to apply thermal paste before attaching the CPU fan. Also install any other extra fans.
Install the SATA HDDs, connecting SATA cables as necessary.
Install the PSU or power supply unit, attaching cables to necessary components including LEDs if any. Generally you will have to connect the ATX/EPS connectors to the PSU, as well as PCIe power connectors and SATA power connectors.
Install PCIe devices including 2x SSDs, sound card, and GPU.
Make sure everything is securely attached including RAM sticks, fans, and any screwed components.
Seal up the PC and celebrate: the first part is done!

Why I chose certain hardware

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
On top of needing a decent CPU for gaming, having multiple cores helps a lot with virtualization, especially if utilizing the host and guest at the same time. Also supports AMD-V and AMD-Vi (IOMMU) for virtualization.

AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
AMD offers superior drivers when it comes to Linux. FreeSync is also much better than GSync when it comes to Wayland as well. This will act as the powerhouse GPU for gaming.

AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
The second GPU will be used for virtualization and passed through to VMs. This GPU has been confirmed to work in KVM/QEMU and supports the needed tech for VM gaming.

ASRock X870E Taichi
Has all the IO features I’m looking for. Supports IOMMU for virtualization as well as Raid 5 for SATA storage.

Toshiba X300
Currently Toshiba has the best track record for long lasting and dependable HDDs. I’ve had mine for almost 15 years with no problems.

Office Mouse
I personally prefer the ergonomics of common office mice like the Logi M250. I’ve tried out various gaming mice and do not like how they feel.

Compact Keyboard
While I think mechanical keyboards are cool, the clacking kinda annoys me. I prefer something more compact and with a slimmer profile. As long as the buttons have decent tactile feedback I only really care about the form factor.

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro
AT 250 Ohms the DT 990s make excellent studio quality headphones. They also double for great audio during gaming. Their high resistance (ohms) allows them to have a more dynamic range and higher volume when dealing with mic-level and pre-amped audio.

XBox Series Controller
Despite being made by Microsoft, the XBox series is very easy to interface with Linux. Growing up on XBox I am also used to and prefer the Xbox controller’s layout and ergonomics.

External Media
I enjoy vintage tech and old media formats, specifically VHS, Casette, Records, and 8-Tracks, which is why I incorporated them into my build.

Operating System

I will be installing Fedora Linux for its respect of privacy, better security, faster speed, and freedom to tinker. I will not be using Windows due to its bounty of privacy invasions, driver issues, anti-consumer practices, and proprietary structure. I will also not be using LMDE my favorite distro, because Fedora has much better support for Wayland, which offers access to HDR, Android Apps, and AMD FreeSync technology which are game-changers for gaming.

As of 2025, the Fedora installation process is fairly straight-forward.

On a separate computer you will need 3 things, the Fedora KDE ISO file, a pen drive with at least 3GB, and either Rufus, Fedora Writer, or Balena Etcher. Make sure to grab the KDE version of Fedora, as it supports Wayland, HDR, and AMD FreeSync.
Plug your pen drive in and open up one of the above programs.
Make the pen drive bootable via one of the programs; make sure to pick the USB drive, as you will overwrite all the contents on it. You don’t want to erase everything on the wrong drive.
Plug the drive into your new PC once finished. Power it on while pressing F2 (sometimes delete key) repeatedly to bring up the BIOS.
Go to the boot menu and select your pen drive. You should now boot into a live instance of Fedora where we can install the OS.
A popup should appear prompting us to install Fedora. Click install.
Choose your language.
For installation method, choose “whole disk”. Be aware this will overwrite all data on your system, if you have any.
Select encrypt disk; this will provide extra security for the files on your drives. Make sure to remember your encryption password!
Proceed and check the box confirming that you are sure everything will be erased and click install.
Do not power off or interrupt the install process, as doing so can lead to bricking in certain scenarios.
Once finished, restart the system and remove the pen drive.
Once booted in, select your language, configure your keyboard, and disable location services & problem reporting.
Configure your time-zone. Doing so accurately is important for other internet services.
Enable 3rd party repositories to get updates faster.
Create your user and password. Check “make this user administrator” to give yourself sudo privileges. Password should be at least 8 characters and contain numbers, letters, capitals, and symbols for best security.
Enjoy your new Linux install!

Hardware Connectivity

Now its time to set up all of the peripherals. The audio will be the most complex. See the chart above for connectivity.

Video
Connect the two monitors to the DisplayPort splitter. Plug the splitter into a DisplayPort port on the back of the PC. Plug the TV in to the PC via HDMI. Plug the Valve Index base station into the other DisplayPort port, and the headset into a free USB 3.0 port.

VCR
You will need various adapters to set up a VCR for use with a PC. Plug an RCA cable into the VCR and into an RCA to HDMI adapter. Plug the HDMI cable into a USB-A video capture card, and plug the USB-A into your PC. Chain will look like VCR – RCA Cable – HDMI Adapter – HDMI Cable – Capture Card – PC. Use the program OBS Studio to set up a live feed from your VCR. Pop in a tape and watch.

Audio Out
Start with the mixing board. Using a dual 1/4″ to RCA cable, connect the Audio Out L to the white port and the Audio Out R to the red port. Connect headphones to the headphones port with a 1/4″ cable.

Audio In
Connect the following to the AUX IN ports for each channel. Reserve channel 1 for the XLR microphone.
Channel 1: XLR mic (XLR m2f)
Channel 2: PC Audio (1/4″ to 2.5mm m2m) connect to audio card on back of PC.
Channel 3: Phone Audio (1/4″ to 2.5mm m2m with USB-C dongle f2m)
Channel 4: Guitar Amp (1/4″ m2m)
Channel 5: Piano Keyboard (1/4″ m2m
Channel 6: AM/FM Radio (1/4″ to 2.5mm m2m)
Channel 7: Cassette Player (1/4″ to 2.5mm m2m)
Tape In: Record Player or 8-Track Player (RCA m2m)

Guitar
Connect the guitar to your first pedal. Chain pedals with short 1/4″ cables as desired, and end with a connection to the amp. Connect the amp to channel 4 on the soundboard via 1/4″ cable.

USB
Connect the following devices to the USB ports on the back of the computer.
Valve Index: USB-A 3.0
Piano Keyboard MIDI: USB-A 3.0
CD/DVD ROM: USB-A 3.0
Floppy Reader: USB-A
Launchpad: USB-A
Keyboard dongle: USB-A
Mouse Dongle: USB-A
VCR Capture Card: USB-A
Mayflash Dolphin Bar: USB-A
Backup HDD: USB-C

Bluetooth
Xbox Series Controller

Software

Next up is installing and configuring the new system for gaming, productivity, optimal security, and privacy. On Linux there are different types of programs. System packages are installed via the terminal or package manager, while programs called flatpaks are installed via the discover store. Flatpaks are sandboxed and restricted programs, while system packages are obtained through repositories, which are usually vetted and confirmed to work on your system. Each distro has their own repository, where you can download from via the terminal using the <dnf> command. There are also 3rd party repositories, where the same software is mirrored. We enabled these during installation.

Settings & Customization

Make your new install your cyber home. Head over to System Settings>Colors and Themes and choose your favorite themes. Play around with the settings and customize what you are comfortable with.

Under Display&Monitor, make sure your resolution is 2560×1440 and refresh rate is 170Hz matching your monitors. Switch color accuracy to “prefer color accuracy”.

Essential Programs

You can install programs via the KDE discover store on the toolbar and the <dnf> command in the terminal. Here are some essentials and what they do. See my Linux Programs page for the best software; I will only be going over essentials and programs that need explaining below.

Mullvad VPN
It is a good idea to install this first to encrypt your internet traffic right off the bat. Install by entering the following code, obtained from Mullvad’s Website. Anything after a # is a comment and does not need to be typed:

# Fedora 41 and newer
# Add the Mullvad repository server to dnf
sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://repository.mullvad.net/rpm/stable/mullvad.repo

# Install the package
sudo dnf install mullvad-vpn

Librewolf
Librewolf has significant privacy advantages over stock Firefox. See Librewolf. Also install Ublock Origin, NoScript, and Privacy Badger as addons. Switch the default search engine to DuckDuckGo. Type about:config into the librewolf searchbar and change enable.letterboxing = true to combat fingerprinting.

Timeshift
Take snapshots of your OS’es state. If something goes wrong, simply revert to an older snapshot. I usually keep 2x monthly, 1x weekly, and custom snapshots before tinkering.

Steam & Proton
The well-known and well-loved games storefront. Steam personally forwards the development of Proton, which allows Windows games to run on Linux. Installing a game via proton with Steam is very easy. I prefer installing the Steam system package over the Flatpak.

Pegasus
A frontend for any emulated games and your steam games as well. Pegasus is very intricate and has a ton of customization options so I will only go over the basics here. You can read the Pegasus Getting Started Guide as well.

Install the Pegasus Flatpak.
Install a custom theme by downloading one from pegasus.org and placing in the /home/.config/pegasus-frontend/themes/ folder. I enjoy the Retro Mega Next theme.
Use Skyscraper via the terminal to add metadata and images to your collection. Read how to use here or via the –help command.
Edit each system’s media.txt file to configure launch commands for emulators like Dosbox X.

Flatseal
A program that allows you to modify permissions of all installed Flatpaks. Essential for fine-tuning and sandboxing applications.

Lutris & Bottles
For running Windows programs via a compatibility layer in Linux. Steam handles its own games well with Proton, but if you have any non-steam games, like through GOG or on disc, Lutris and Bottles both make running them easier.

Media Center Programs

Below are programs that fulfill the abilities I outlined in the beginning of the post.

Coding
Emacs, Kate, Idle

Emulation
Dosbox X, Pegasus, misc.

Gaming
Godot, GOG, Lutris, Pegasus, Steam

Multimedia Production
Blender, GIMP, Godot, Inkscape, Libre Office, OBS Studio, Scribus, Shotcut

Music Production
Audacity, LMMS

Privacy
DuckDuckGo, Flatseal, Librewolf, Privacy Badger, Ublock Origin

Security
Clam AV, Flatseal, KeePass XC, Mullvad VPN, NoScript

Streaming
Celluloid, FreeTube, VLC Online Media (e.g. Netflix, Paramount+, etc.)

Virtualization
KVM, Virt Manager

Raid 5 Storage

Now we will configure our SATA drives for a Raid 5 setup. We will do so using the mdam utility. First install mdam:

sudo dnf install mdam

Next we will partition and format all of our drives with parted. First use fdisk to list all of your drives.:

fdisk -l

Use the parted command on each of your 4 sata drives to format:

parted /dev/sde mklabel msdos

Next, use the fdisk utility to create a disk partition on each drive; do the following for all 4 drives:

fdisk /dev/sde

This will give you a few options. Select the following

press n (create new partition)
press p (select a primary partition)
press Enter (default is partition number 1)
press Enter (default is First Sector)
press Enter (default is Last Sector)
press t (change partition type)
type fd (selects Linux autoraid)
type w (write all changes to disk and exit)

Finally we will use mdam to create the Raid array; make sure to replace the drives with your drives that you got from the fdisk -l command:

mdadm --create /dev/md1 --level=raid5 --raid-devices=4 /dev/sde1 /dev/sdf1 /dev/sdg1 /dev/sdh1

In pseudo code what this command does is:
mdam “create a mountable drive” “with a raid5 configuration” “with 4 devices” “with these four SATA drives”

Your drives are now being configured for raid. This process will take a while, but you can use the following command to check progress:

mdadm --detail /dev/md1

Once you see

State: clean

your drives are fully initialized. At this point we can format the ext4 file system of our new raid drive with the mkfs command:

mkfs.ext4 /dev/md1

This will also take a bit of time. Once it is done, we can create and mount the Raid array. Replace “storage” with whatever you wish to name the drive.

mkdir /storage
mount /dev/md1 /storage

Virtualization

I will be setting up virtualization using KVM and virt manager to make GUI setup easier.

First step is to enable virtualization in the BIOS. Shut down your computer and press F2 or del repeatedly until the BIOS menu appears. navigate to Advanced>CPU Configuration>SVM Mode, and enable SVM Mode.

Boot up the computer and open a terminal. We will now be installing KVM and Virt-Manager via dnf, which will also download all the required dependencies:

sudo dnf install KVM
sudo dnf install virt-manager

Once done, run virt manager by just typing virt-manager.

Next step is to get a legal copy of Windows 10. You can buy a fresh install or if you have an existing install you can jump through some hoops to get one. This also works with any OS, so if you want to try out other Linux distros or even Android x86, you just need the .iso file.

In Virt-Manager, go to File>New Virtual machine. Here are the basic steps for setting up a new machine:

Choose Local install (ISO)
ISO Folder: It is good practice to make an iso folder somewhere and make a pool for your isos. Put your iso file somewhere safe and click browse in virt-manager.
Making a pool: Click the + button in the bottom left and create a pool from the folder you placed your iso in. A new entry should appear on the left; click it, then select the iso file and then click choose volume.
VM RAM and CPU: Next up is selecting how much RAM and how many cores you want your VM to use. If you plan on using both at the same time, delegate as needed, otherwise we can max them out for optimal computing power. Set RAM to 62,000 and CPU cores to 32.
VM Storage: Now we will create the storage for your VM. If installing Windows, allocate at least 60GB, and adjust for whatever use you may have for the VM, e.g. if you are installing a 20GB game, allocate 100GB total. 60GB OS + 20GB game + 20GB buffer = 100GB total.
If you want your storage to not be on your main drive, select the custom option and click manage. Make a new pool for your VM and create a new .qcow2 volume where you want your vm storage to reside.
Next, name your VM and click install. This will bring you to the live installer where, depending on your os, you can install to the storage file we made earlier.
Follow the install instructions and boot into your new VM.
Congrats! You are now running multiple OSes.

I will also make a tutorial on GPU passthrough with KVM/QEMU for gaming soon; stay tuned.