[mythtv-users] distribution of resources (PCs, storage)

[Chris McCuller]

Allan,

thanks for the perspective and suggestions. I never thought about power 
issues. I'm guessing that by you suggesting some of the lower power/less 
processing power processors, that Myth isn't very CPU intensive...

if so, I've got that old PIII650 that would be a fine backend...

Thanks!
----
Chris McCuller                                 cpmccull at valdosta.edu
Computer Support Specialist I                  229.249.2725 (w)
Video Conferencing                             168.18.146.81 (webcam)
Special Education & Communications Disorders
College of Education
Valdosta State University

Allan Stirling wrote:
> Chris McCuller wrote:
>> any thoughts or suggestions based on what some of you have done with 
>> multiple machines?
>>
> 
> Turn them off and consolidate.
> 
> Seriously. Running a 2 year or so old PC 24/7 costs a
> minimum of £0.50 / day.
> 
> More PCs = More power = more cost.
> 
> Older processors tend to be sometimes better than others -
> but it goes in generations.
> 
> The first processors out the door from the factory in a
> generation are _hogs_ when it comes to power consumption.
> This is what you'll be tending to get when you 'inherit' a
> system. If you buy at the end of a processor series, you'll
> tend to get more performance / watt.
> 
> Specifically, all of the processors in your list are
> "top-of-range at launch" types. This generally means hot,
> noisy, not undervoltable, etc.
> 
> I would seriously consider selling all of them locally and
> getting something modern and cheap for the backend -
> Something like one of the AMD Geodes, etc, and use your
> hardware encoder card. This processor will fit in the Athlon
> XP motherboard, but uses ~55w for the whole system
> (excluding drives).
> 
> Frontend, there's no real contender but the EPIA type
> boards. Low wattage and support S3 with relatively little
> work. That nvidia card is again the start of a generation,
> if I'm not mistaken.
> 
> I know this isn't what you want to hear - But "rescued"
> hardware costs money in the end.
> 
> For my own setup, I currently use an AMD Geode, Nvidia 5200
> on the frontend.
> 
> The backend I'm desperately trying to replace. It's
> currently a dual-xeon 2.8. Each processor draws ~50w. At
> idle. The motherboard is ~70w. Total draw from the mains
> socket is on the order of 300w.
> 
> Other hints: Set up S3 (suspend to RAM) on the frontend!
> It only takes a matter of seconds to resume, and saves you
> 3/4 of your power consumption. Another reason to go modern -
> Older BIOSes, etc don't support power saving well at all.
> 
> Anyway, good luck whatever you decide to do :)
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Allan.
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