wpdster at gmail
Nov 23, 2009, 6:06 AM
Post #4 of 13
(998 views)
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On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 1:47 AM, David L <idht4n [at] gmail> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm new to mythtv and about to build my first system. A frontend/backend
> system that I will also use when I work from home for compiling,
> running matlab etc, so I want more horsepower than myth alone would
> probably require. Here's what I've tentatively picked so far:
>
> Processor:
> AMD Phenom II 965 Black 3.4 GHz X4
> http://www.frys.com/product/6023518
>
If it's a combined FE/BE, then you might be concerned about the noise
and power consumption. (At least I was, as I just went through this
effort myself over the last 2 weeks or so). So I focused on the low
power consumption Athlon Regor (at 65W). I might have gotten one of
the 45W Semprons, but not being sure of what I was doing, I bumped the
processor up a notch, and hoped I might get one on the lower side of
the power consumption curve.
>
> Motherboard (this is the one I was least sure about, but I'd prefer to buy
> my case,mobo,processor, and ram together at a local brick&mortar shop,
> and this is one I found on Fry's web site as being compatible with Phenom II)
> Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5
> AMD 790FX + SB750 Chipset
> http://www.frys.com/product/5842583 ($49)
> or
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128377&Tpk=MA790FXT
> ($179???)
> (I must be missing something... why is NewEgg 3x the price? Are these
> different motherboards with very similar part numbers? If so, is the cheap
> Fry's one good enough?)
>
No clue, although I notice that the part number at Frys ends with -UD5
whereas the part number at Newegg ends with -UD5P.
>
> Memory:
> Corsair 4GB DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800
> http://www.frys.com/product/6009088
>
From what I've read (keep in mind, I've had my Myth box assembled for
about 48 hours now, so I have absolutely no real world experience) 1GB
should be plenty for MythTV. I went with 2GB just for insurance. I
would encourage you to check the motherboard manufacture's web site to
ensure that the memory you choose has been qualified to work with that
motherboard.
I made a slight mistake in my system -- I meant to order 2 1GB sticks,
but ended up with 1 2GB stick. No big deal, but using the memory in
pairs gives a performance boost. I guess I could just buy a 2nd
(identical) 2GB stick and be stuck with 4GB instead of 2GB :-)
>
> Video Card (I really have no clue here... I just googled "mythtv best vdpau" and
> found a thread that recommended this one):
> SPARKLE SFPC84GS512U2LP GeForce 8400 GS 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI HDCP
> Ready Video Card
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187042
Do you want to watch HD? From what I've read, you will need an 8600
or a 9600 class card (or possibly a 9500 class card, although that
seems iffy from reports on the list.)
>
> Hard drives:
> 2 of these (one for OS, one for video)
> Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
> 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
I bought 2 drives as well. From what I've read, 10GB ought to be
plenty big enough for the OS drive, but 80GB was the smallest I could
find. So I split that into 3 25GB partitions (with the remainder
available for swap) so that I could have my production software
running on one partition and 2 other partitions for development and
testing. I am thinking that I will boot off the production partition
99.9% of the time (and all of the time when I leave this alone for my
family to use), but I might try different installations or
configurations on the other 2 partitions w/o (too much) fear of
messing things up on the production partition.
>
> Capture:
> HD Homerun
> OTA and/or Cable
I bought an ATI Wonder HD 600 USB stick from WOOT for $25.
>
> Case:
> I haven't picked one yet... thought I just get a recommendation at Fry's.
> Now that I say it, that sounds kind of scary. Anything I should look out
> for?
I picked an Antec NSK2480 based on its reviews for noise (or lack
thereof) and power efficiency (80 plus power supply). I took careful
note of the height of the case to make sure that it was roughly the
same height as the TiVo+OTA digital tuner it would replace and saw
that they were comparable. Unfortunately, I didn't take much note of
the width, depth, nor weight of the case. So I was somewhat surprised
when it arrived (I ordered everything from Newegg). It looks to be
about the same size and weight as a desktop PC. Not having thought
this through too much, I assumed that a case for a uATX board would be
substantially smaller than the case for an ATX board.
My takeaway... decide if the size (and/or weight) of the case matters,
and then see if the one you choose fits. Also, for a combined FE/BE
system that is on all of the time, you might want to think about the
noise and power consumption.
>
>
> Does this system look like something that will work well with mythtv?
> I plan to use Mythbuntu if that makes any difference although I could
> be convinced to try something else.
>
My sense, having spent a couple of weeks agonizing, analyzing, and
overanalyzing, is that anything you put together today will work well
with MythTV. There will surely be some heartburn getting this driver
or that driver to work, but somebody else will have already had the
same heartburn and be more than willing to share his/her experience
with you.
--wpd
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