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Improved ION IGP w/better VDPAU support?

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  • #81
    Yeah seen that review, definitely not getting the 240, just a 210 if needed/wanted eventually.
    I do need space for a PCI sound-card (the essence ST), & I want the ability to add/remove a much stronger GPU down-the-track.

    Thanks.

    Comment


    • #82
      Kano?

      Well I've absorbed several of the reviews floating around & the Core i3-530 looks like a winner!

      I'm a little concerned about this though:

      I might have to get the Intel board....

      I'd prefer to get the fancy gigabyte, or maybe a Q57-based one.


      Tis a shame idle power wasn't also dramatically improved.

      It would prolly be running all the time as a front-end.
      (although often in suspend mode)

      Which makes me wonder....
      Could I power a clarkdale-based system on a sub-ATX PSU?

      Comment


      • #83
        I know you are looking for Kano's reply, but here is what I have looked at in the past. ITX cases usually don't have the strongest PSU. The only case I found that would work with what you'd want is here:

        http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=41116&promoid=1146 - Lian-Li Case ITX Case

        The case can actually take a full ATX PSU.

        http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136073 - DFI mITX Mobo - 1156 Socket

        Mobo got one PCI-E for a video card. It does however have Digital Audio Out (which may or may not satisfy the audiophile in you).

        If you need more expansion slots you are going into mATX size.

        -----

        This is just something I found in my own searches for the perfect MythBox.

        Comment


        • #84
          yeah i;ve found mITX is just a tad too small....
          It's a shame AMD's form-factor DTX didnt take off, smaller than mATX but just a little more real estate for one extra full size PCI/e etc.

          But maybe now that pretty much the entire NB and GPU is in the CPU packaging for 1156 we'll see mITX boards this year with enough room for more than one PCI/e slot?
          Havent got time for them to filter through thoufh, will prllly have to settle for mATX H57 or Q57.

          Yikes, 430am, good night!

          Comment


          • #85
            Myth Back-end + NAS (already own the parts; cept 3x 1/1.5TB HDD)
            This machine will do all video capturing/transcoding.
            It will also be the Backup Server/NAS....

            1x Old Lian-Li midi-Tower or Chen Mei FT
            1x Gigabyte 8600GTS .................................... [take transcoding load off CPU w/VDPAU or is this def. not doable?]
            1x Hauppauge HVR-2200 .................................. [may eventually add a 2nd one]
            1x GA-P35-DQ6 (ATX form-factor)
            1x TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF ................................. [2x2GB DDR2 1066; 4GB enough?]
            1x Core2Duo (conroe) E6420 2.13Ghz ..................... [may underclock/volt slightly?]
            1x Antec True Power 3.0 650W ........................... [Less wattage possible?]
            Storage Sub-sys:
            1x 1TB WD Black ........................................ [video capture disk, can it handle 4 simultaneous HD streams?]
            1x 150GB 10k RPM Raptor ................................. [boot/system volume?]
            3x 1/1.5TB 7.2k RPM HDD ....................... [For content storage & BU, may not bother w/RAID till get hw controller?]

            ********************************************
            Myth/XBMC Front-end (don't have the parts; cept where mentioned)
            This will be the media player & MAME PC...
            Later (6mth) I'll buy a top-end GPU that'll be swapped-in sometimes for gaming.

            1x mATX H57 or Q57 mobo. ......... [make/model?]
            1x Intel Core i3 530
            2x DDR3 1GB ...................... [make/model?]
            1x 30GB SSD or USB Flash*? + 74GB 10k RPM Raptor? (for local storage; already own)
            OR
            1x 1TB WD Black or Samsung F3? [innermost sectors -20GB?- for OS, outermost for local storage]
            1x Xonar Essence ST (PCI; already own)
            1x H6 (Essence daughterboard; already own)
            1x PSU ................................ [perhaps BE PSU is best here if I intend to use strong GPU sometimes; make/model?]
            1x Case ............................... [make/model?]
            1x nV GT220 ....................... [only if IGP+CPU not enough; make/model?]

            For the back-end I was thinking of doing a minimal Ubuntu install & only adding what is needed.
            For the front-end I was thinking of starting the same way and gradually adding MythTVFE, XBMC, and maybe a lightweight DE like crunchbang etc.
            Interested in peoples thoughts on what I'm missing hardware or software wise or just some general advice.
            Thanks!
            ________
            discarded:
            ********
            74GB 10k RPM Raptor ....................... [very old -not used much- slightly damaged connector so connection always a bit loose]
            *4GB USB flash ................................ [aside from the fact that 4GB is too small, is USB flash too much of a poor alt to SSD?]
            80GB 7.2k HDD, make/model YTBD.
            Last edited by jalyst; 24 January 2010, 01:45 PM.

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            • #86
              Originally posted by jalyst View Post
              Myth Back-end + NAS
              1x Antec True Power 3.0 650W
              Seems a bit much for what you have in there. Any quality 350W PSU will handle that no sweat. In fact, the closer you get to the actually wattage of a PSU the better the efficiency. For a computer that will be on 24/7 that may matter. But if you have it already, use that.



              1x 4GB USB flash for OS (unsure if this'll be enough room)
              I would advise against using a flash drive for any install you care about. I did quite a bit of testing with them (even tried a RAID 5 over 6 sticks) and they just don't like it much. After a few weeks of working they started to get more and more errors. I guess it's the constant writing that they don't like. So log files and such, just kill them.

              Why not use that 75GB Raptor. With HD that's only a few hours of room anyways.

              For the actual capturing drive I was going to use the black.
              What do ya'll reckon I should use in a RAID5 array for the BE/NAS, WD RE3 1TB or Samsung F3's?
              I think 2TB's still have a tad too much of a premium...
              I do believe that the 1.5TB drives are the best bang/buck right now. WD is a good choice in my books. And the WD Greens will do you quite well. I have 2 in RAID 0 and am getting over 200mb/s. You will never use that throughput on that machine. Even if you transcoded a show, recorded another, and watched a couple recording at the same time, it would be fine. I got 3x 250GB in Raid 0, and they are doing fine with such a load.

              For the back-end I was thinking of doing a minimal ubuntu install & only adding what is needed.
              For the front-end I was thinking of starting the same way and gradually adding MythTVFE, XBMC, Boxee, and maybe lightweight a DE like crunchbang or Lubuntu...
              Why not use the Mythbuntu Distro for both? It's fast, and only what you'd need.

              Comment


              • #87
                any recommendations for PSU's for FE & BE?

                i would use the 74GB raptor but it's very old (not used heaps over the years) and the sata connect partially snapped off.
                It's possible to still slot a cable in but it doesn't sit 100% firmly.

                Why not the cheapest SSD's I can find as the boot/apps volumes for the BE & FE?
                Or is SSD total overkill for a NAS/MythBE?

                Comment


                • #88
                  why does every one gush over the greens so much, the figures I've seen don't seem to indicate they really do save a hell of a lot in terms of consumption/heat/wear/noise versus other drives, yet they perform significantly worse (while waiting fir spin-up etc) & carry a slight premium because they're "green" drives

                  Comment


                  • #89
                    Originally posted by jalyst View Post
                    any recommendations for PSU's for FE & BE?
                    Well, I am partial to SeaSonic. I have purchased around 15 or so of them, and none have failed so far. I have 3 of the SeaSonic S12II 380B 380W ones running at home. Silent, cool running and sturdy. Love them. But you may need more juice if you are going to upgrade your video card later on. Maybe look at a 500W for the frontend. Or use your Antec one.

                    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...SeaSonic%20USA

                    Also good would be a PC Power and Cooling one. But there isn't as much selection on newegg.

                    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0and%20Cooling



                    i would use the 74GB raptor but it's very old (not used heaps over the years) and the sata connect partially snapped off.
                    It's possible to still slot a cable in but it doesn't sit 100% firmly.

                    Why not the cheapest SSD's I can find as the boot/apps volumes for the BE & FE?
                    Or is SSD total overkill for a NAS/MythBE?

                    BACKEND:
                    What you'd need is something reliable, not necessarily fast. You won't boot the machine often so you won't care much how fast it boots. Even if you got a cool, single plater HDD (most new 500GB are that way now) it should do fine.
                    What you won't like is if you'd lose your database with all your recording info. Yes, you would have your video files (on your RAID), but it will be a PITA to rebuild the main HDD.

                    FRONTEND:
                    Probably a much better place for an SSD. I am cheap on the other hand, so I would not put my money there. Just a simple, single platter drive again.

                    As well, SSD's are still somewhat of a "novelty" for me (my opinion, mind you). The whole issue with TRIM support in EXT4 still makes me wonder if I want to shell out a premium for them.

                    http://www.phoronix.com/forums/showt...t=17243&page=2 - 6 months old thread.

                    You can always get an SSD later on and change it in the Frontend. No loss since the recordings and movies will be on the backend.

                    (Sidenote: If you want to experiment a bit, you could go with a diskless frontend, have it boot over gigabit from your RAID on the backend. Mythbuntu has a setup for that.)

                    Comment


                    • #90
                      Originally posted by jalyst View Post
                      why does every one gush over the greens so much, the figures I've seen don't seem to indicate they really do save a hell of a lot in terms of consumption/heat/wear/noise versus other drives, yet they perform significantly worse (while waiting fir spin-up etc) & carry a slight premium because they're "green" drives
                      Actually they are some of the cheapest to buy.

                      But the 1.5TB WD Greens didn't get good reviews on newegg. Especially for RAID, so the Samsung ones may be better suited.

                      http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152175

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