[mythtv-users] Questions about new hardware purchase

[Fred Firestine]

On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 4:32 PM, Marc Randolph <mrand at pobox.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 2:18 PM, Fred Firestine <ffluvssg1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >  Here are my current picks. Current total is $499 before tax and
> >  shipping. Hmm, nice round number, but too high? I would like to save
> >  about $60 by using a processor with a slower FSB but higher clock
> >  speed. What do you think? Note that I am adding a third capture card.
> >
> >  Fred
> >
> >  Shopping list:
> >
> >  Motherboard: Intel BLKDG965RYCK $100.00 3 PCI slots + FW need COM port
> >  1066/800 FSB
> >
> >  http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813121049
> >
> >  Case: $60.00    Many include 400W PS for this price
> >
> >  CPU:    Core 2 Duo E2220 (2.4 GHz 880 MHz FSB)  $95.00  heatsink/fan included
> >
> >  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116070&Tpk=E2220
>
> Howdy Fred,
>
> To play back all formats of HD (high frame rate H.264 or VC-1 with
> lots of motion), everything I've read leads me to believe that a C2D
> needs to be in the 2.8 to 3.0 GHz range, or you need hardware decoding
> assistance.  The 965 may provide a small amount of decoding
> assistance, but I'll bet not enough to get you over the hump.   If
> you're going to be using the machine to encode or transcode at the
> same time as watching TV, you'll probably need a lot more power.
>
> Considering that the Core 2 Duo's overclock so easily, my preference
> would be to get a motherboard that you can do a mild overclock with
> and save a few dollars by getting a slightly less expensive processor
> (2.0 or 2.2GHz).
>
> I'm sure you could get a thousand opinions on this topic!
>
>   Marc
>
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Thanks Marc and Darryl for your replies. Re: the HVR-1600, I had seen
mixed reports from the group on the level of success in getting this
running. I figured it would be worth a try and only improve in the
next few months, right? I have also considered forgetting about the
whole HD thing for now, as my TVs are good old SD tubes and I will
hang on to them until they fail. Buying this newfangled card was more
of an experiment and it is supposed to provide SD recording capability
as  well as HD.

My thoughts on the CPU power required for HD playback are about the
same (experimental use only). Currently the encoding and decoding for
SD recordings is handled by my Hauppauge cards. I do commercial
skipping, but only allow jobs to run at night, and no transcoding, so
my CPU usage during viewing hours is low. BTW, I neglected to include
the link to the more expensive CPU I am considering, the Intel E6300
Conroe 1.86GHz:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115005

That has a 1066 MHz FSB, but as you can see the clock speed is lower.
That's why I am asking about the relationship of clock speed to FSB
for the purpose of MythTV. I have seen recent suggestions of a $200
Intel processor, but no response as to the usefulness of all that
horsepower. If someone who is currently watching HD recordings using
Intel hardware could give me their impressions, that would be great. I
am pretty close to breaking the bank on this one.   ;-)

Fred