[mythtv-users] Processor recommendations - low power, low heat, enough oomph was: Awsome Case

[raphael]

Brian wrote:
> With a case as small as the Hiper, I'd be very concerned of 
> heat problems. The specs for the case state a max CPU cooler height of 
> 40mm and a single 50mm fan. That's not much room to play 
> with. The little 50mm fan at 3000rpm would be fairly loud. I guess the 
> only way is to try it out. They listed another case that appears to come 
> without a motherboard (HMC-2K53A-A0) but it's not available yet. (A 
> forum posting somewhere mentioned they're only available to system 
> integrators at the moment).
>  
> I was intending to use the Antec Fusion but I really like the 
> appearance/size of the Hiper case. Unfortunately, I'd prefer two 
> internal HDDs as I'd rather not have my HTPC dependant on another box 
> right now but want alot of storage space. Given my requirements, I may 
> be stuck with both a FE and a BE.
>  
> I *was* considering an Opteron 170 for my new FE/BE but I've had poor 
> results temperature-wise with my Opteron 185 workstation. It runs 
> extremely hot (40C idle, 64C load) and I'm debating on returning the 
> processor. While I haven't measured, I'm sure the CPU cooler on my Opty 
> 185 is MUCH taller than 40mm. This is a bummer as I have four 939 m/bs 
> and 8Gb of DDR400 RAM kicking around. Maybe it's time to do some selling 
> on eBay. (ugh!)
>  
> What processors offer the best performance/cost/heat/power 
> consumption combination right now? The Intel Core Duo 2s? The mobile 
> Intel Cores?
>  
> I'd like to build a single FE/BE with HDMI w/ audio, one or two 750Gb 
> SATA HDDs (software RAID 0 if two) and a PVR-350 (for survellience 
> cameras). I'd like enough processor to record up to 4 HD streams over 
> firewire at the same time, be able to commflag as needed. If possible, 
> I'd the system to also handle my cable Internet connection as well 
> (iptables/nat, dhcpd, ntpd, named, vpn). I really don't want to spend 
> more than $300 on a processor though. Any recommendations?
>  
> Would an AMD64-4000 be enough to play HD content?
>  
> Thanks!
> -Brian
>  
>  


I think some people have found in the past that it is possible to do HD 
with that speed. I believe there have been some previous posts where 
Jarod Wilson has something slower in the 3000 range doing HD as well.

I might be able to use a matx 939 board. You can email me off list if 
you want to sell one of the extras you have laying around.
Raphael