[mythtv-users] Mini-ITX or standard PC?

[Preston Crow]

On Tue, 2004-09-28 at 11:06, Piers Kittel wrote:
> Am planning my MythTV box in which I'll be mainly using as a PVR, 
> currently recording analogue TV, but in the future might use digital TV, 
> DVD player, and a few other minor tasks - but I'm trying to find a 
> balance between power and noise/electricity usage.  I would like to aim 
> for a low electricity power and low noise, and cost isn't the greatest 
> concern here.
> 
> Would a mini-itx mobo something like M10000 or the MII12000 be 
> sufficient to use as a MythTV box or is it overkill?  Or would it be 
> better to go for an MicroATX board with an underclocked AMD XP/Sempron 
> processor with a big heatsink and a slow fan?

If you go with the mini-itx, there are several things you won't be able
to do.  You will run into problem with many games in mythgame, as they
will require more CPU or better video acceleration.  You will probably
not be able to support HDTV.  If that sounds fine, go right ahead.

I have an Athlon XP 2500+.  I probably should have instead bought a
mobile version of the chip (much lower power, but a slower bus speed). 
Perhaps in the spring I'll see what my options are for a
lower-power/higher-performance Socket A chip are.

--PC