Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Mythtvnz

Advice/suggestions for quiet HD setup

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kerry.baker at orcon

Jun 7, 2011, 2:28 AM

Post #1 of 6 (613 views)
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Advice/suggestions for quiet HD setup

(Apologies for the double-posting. I forgot about a subject line... what
a n00b)

Hi all,
I've been a mythtv user for several years. I have been successfully using
a VIA SP13000 system as a frontend/backend combo with a DVB-S PCI tuner.

I've been thinking its time to HD my setup esp as XvMC support for Mythtv
is being discontinued.

I like the idea of a self-contained frontend/backend system that is quiet
so have been considering basing it on an Asus AT5IONT-I mobo -- mini-ITX
form factor with passively cooled D525 dual-core Atom CPU with Nvidia ION
chipset.
I also need an HD tuner. PCIe cards with Linux drivers seem hard to come
by and mini-itx cases often don't have a lot of room so I am considering a
USB tuner. HDHomeRun also seems like a good possibility tho and perhaps
more versatile.

I am putting this out there to see what you other experts think. I
welcome alternative hardware suggestions.
I'm also interested in learning about any "gotchas" (e.g. driver or mythtv
issues) with this setup and other peoples experiences with similar
hardware. (My Via setup has been successful for me but it was a b*tch to
set up in the first place! I don't want a repeat!)

Thanks in advance guys and gals!

Kerry.

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rick at kpo

Jun 8, 2011, 4:22 PM

Post #2 of 6 (582 views)
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Re: Advice/suggestions for quiet HD setup [In reply to]

On 7/06/2011 9:28 p.m., Kerry Baker wrote:

> I like the idea of a self-contained frontend/backend system that is quiet
> so have been considering basing it on an Asus AT5IONT-I mobo -- mini-ITX
> form factor with passively cooled D525 dual-core Atom CPU with Nvidia ION
> chipset.

I think it's worth noting that passive cooling of certain chips may get you
variable mileage depending on how you do it and it's hard to predict
performance before trying it. For example I have a fanless system with an
NVidia 9400 chipset. This came with its own moderate heatsink but under the
stress of playing HD video it got way too hot and it would go into partial
thermal shutdown (video will stop playing smoothly once this happens).
Meanwhile the CPU was running cold because it handed off just about all the
work to the 9400 (even 1080p MPEG4 uses like 5% CPU). I fixed it my simply
running a heatpipe to the case's main heatsink and now it runs at like 40
degrees lower with no reliability issues.

I suspect that the standard heatsink on chips like this might be fine if you
have a system fan to remove ambient heat but with completely fanless you
usually need to pipe out the heat for high performance things like HD decoding.

--
Rick Hudson
http://www.kpo.org.nz/ rick [at] kpo

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kerry.baker at orcon

Jun 9, 2011, 4:56 PM

Post #3 of 6 (578 views)
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Re: Advice/suggestions for quiet HD setup [In reply to]

I agree with you there. While the holy grail of quiet systems is no fans,
from what I have read about this mobo it still needs some sort of cooling.
I'm thinking along the lines of a large, slow case fan inside a M350 case
with lots of vent holes. I think I can still make it pretty much silent.

It looks like the main issue with the mobo is that its picky with RAM.

Kerry

>
> I think it's worth noting that passive cooling of certain chips may get
> you
> variable mileage depending on how you do it and it's hard to predict
> performance before trying it. For example I have a fanless system with an
> NVidia 9400 chipset. This came with its own moderate heatsink but under
> the
> stress of playing HD video it got way too hot and it would go into partial
> thermal shutdown (video will stop playing smoothly once this happens).
> Meanwhile the CPU was running cold because it handed off just about all
> the
> work to the 9400 (even 1080p MPEG4 uses like 5% CPU). I fixed it my simply
> running a heatpipe to the case's main heatsink and now it runs at like 40
> degrees lower with no reliability issues.
>
> I suspect that the standard heatsink on chips like this might be fine if
> you
> have a system fan to remove ambient heat but with completely fanless you
> usually need to pipe out the heat for high performance things like HD
> decoding.
>
> --
> Rick Hudson
> http://www.kpo.org.nz/
> rick [at] kpo

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hads at nice

Jun 9, 2011, 5:45 PM

Post #4 of 6 (583 views)
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Re: Advice/suggestions for quiet HD setup [In reply to]

On Fri, 2011-06-10 at 11:56 +1200, Kerry Baker wrote:
> I agree with you there. While the holy grail of quiet systems is no
> fans, from what I have read about this mobo it still needs some sort
> of cooling.

As a bit of an experiment a couple of years ago I set up an N330 ION
board (Zotac) in a Morex 5689 (perforated) case with no fan. It's been
running completely stable ever since, it gets pretty hot but obviously
not hot enough to die. It only runs XBMC, music and video.

hads
--
http://nicegear.co.nz
New Zealand's Open Source Hardware Supplier

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chris at thebayleys

Jun 9, 2011, 6:34 PM

Post #5 of 6 (574 views)
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Re: Advice/suggestions for quiet HD setup [In reply to]

On 10/06/11 12:45 PM, Hadley Rich wrote:
> On Fri, 2011-06-10 at 11:56 +1200, Kerry Baker wrote:
>> I agree with you there. While the holy grail of quiet systems is no
>> fans, from what I have read about this mobo it still needs some sort
>> of cooling.
> As a bit of an experiment a couple of years ago I set up an N330 ION
> board (Zotac) in a Morex 5689 (perforated) case with no fan. It's been
> running completely stable ever since, it gets pretty hot but obviously
> not hot enough to die. It only runs XBMC, music and video.
>
> hads
I run a viewsonic VOT-530, lovely wee box w/bluray, HD, HDMI, bout the
size of a wii, appears to be fanless, goes well with mythFE. On the
pricey side though I reckon struggle to find nicer hardware for the job.

ChrisB

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jonathan.hoskin at gmail

Jun 9, 2011, 7:07 PM

Post #6 of 6 (579 views)
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Re: Advice/suggestions for quiet HD setup [In reply to]

> I run a viewsonic VOT-530, lovely wee box w/bluray, HD, HDMI, bout the
> size of a wii, appears to be fanless, goes well with mythFE. On the
> pricey side though I reckon struggle to find nicer hardware for the job.

I bought a Mac Mini because they are made for the job and Apples customer service is spectacular:
http://store.apple.com/nz/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini

It has a fan, but I have never heard the fan in mine, even when playing 1080p content.

Only problem I've ever had with it was when Mr1 played post-the-letter with multiple DVDs at once. Apple repaired it under warranty overnight.

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