[mythtv-users] advice for frontend/backend

[Saravanan Subbiah]

I have ordered this case (the black one) which is to arrive this monday.
Many MATX has the clearance problem if you go for a bigger CPU Heatsink
+ fan. But I read that the stock fan should fit in, tightly though.

A much detailed review can be found at
http://www.monkeyreview.com/reviews/review.php?num=274&page=0

Will post how it goes when my case arrives.

One interesting thing is  that though it says 200W in the description in
newegg, the picture displays a 230W power. hm.. waiting to see what I
get.

-Saravan


On Fri, 2003-09-19 at 22:37, Dave Stewart wrote:
> Like Sean and Neil, I too am a newbie trying to configure a system (and
> stay within budget!).  I'm leaning toward a micro-ATX case and thought
> I'd bring the Athenatech A100SC to people's attention. It's attractive,
> and is about the right size to sit on top of the VCR at 5.75 by 13.5 by
> 14.5 inches. I stumbled across this case at
> http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20030804/case-14.html
> 
> Has anyone built a system with this case?  It looks like you might have
> clearance problems between the CPU and back of the optical drive, with
> the wrong motherboard. No review talks about noise, either...
> 
> (changing subject) If you use the NVidia chipset motherboards, are the
> on-board graphics sufficient for software decode?  It seems that saving
> the cost of the AGP card is a good way to keep under budget.
> 
> Dave
> 
> On Fri, 2003-09-19 at 07:37, Sean wrote:
> > > On Thursday, Sep 18, 2003, at 14:07 US/Pacific, Neil Konouchi wrote:
> > > 
> > >> I know it's been asked a thousand times, but in searching the archives,
> > >> it's been hard to find a solid answer. i'm looking to build a
> > >> front/backend to sit in my entertainment console. the basic ideas i've
> > >> had are the Asus Pundit, a Shuttle XPC (not sure which model), or a
> > >> homebuilt using either the Leadtek K7NCR18GM
> > >> (http://www.leadtek.com.tw/motherboard/winfast_k7ncr18gm_1.shtml) or
> > >> MSI
> > >> K7N2GM
> > >> (http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/
> > >> pro_mbd_detail.php
> > >> ?UID=437&MODEL=MS-6777).
> > 
> > I have been weighing this question over the past few months and being a
> > complete nOOb in the ways of HTPCs, Linux, and the wonder that is MythTV, I
> > have been researching A LOT. Ironically, the part that I should have down
> > pat is where I keep stumbling - system buildout. Here is what my limited
> > knowledge has come up with:
> > 
> > The Pundit and Shuttle systems would look good and work well as a HTPC
> > front/back but only if you don't want to expand your system to say include a
> > 2nd tuner or more storage. A Full-size ATX board in a tower gives TONS of
> > functionality, but aside from the Antec Overture (due late September) and
> > several varients of the Atech D.Vine series (which as $200+), there are
> > seemingly no good home theater sized, full-ATX capable desktop units (that
> > look like anything).
> > 
> > So I too have gone the microATX way of thinking. Chaintech makes a microATX
> > board that has the Geforce MX S-Video out onboard. ABIT has microATX boards
> > in Intel and AMB (VIA) flavors that offer optical and coaxial SPDIF out.
> > ASUS has their A7N8X-VM board which would be excellent if they included the
> > nearly impossible to find SPDIF and Svideo out brackets.
> > 
> > My choice will be (once they start distributing the damn things) the ABIT
> > VA-11. It is just the right blend of all-inclusive microATX boards for a
> > HTPC system. I should have 2 free PCI slots (once I tack on a GeforceMX AGP
> > card and the Hauppauge PVR-250). If I had to do it today, I would sacrifice
> > the onboard Firewire and go for the ABIT VA-10.
> > 
> > (I should note that the Chaintech is a tempting choice, but it doesn't
> > leverage the feature set well. True the onboard S-Video makes it appealing,
> > but the AGP slot will go unused and I would still have to add a separate
> > sound card like and Audigy 2 to supply the digital out.)
> > 
> > Hope this helps. There are other like us in the same position I am sure and
> > I for one would like to hear some other choices. Good luck and have a good
> > one all!
> > 
> > --Sean
> > 
> 
> 
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