[mythtv-users] HDTV single-station for living room: Hardware buying list

Bjoern Wuest bjoern.wuest at gmx.net
Thu Jul 17 16:39:03 UTC 2008


>> And here follows my shopping list:
>>
>> - HT PC case Silverstone Lascala SST-LC16B-MR
>> - Asus M3N-H/HDMI 750a AM2+ => nVidia GeForce 8300-based chipset
>> - Scythe Slip Stream 500rpm 120 mm fans
>> - KNC ONE TV-Station DVB-S2
>> - AMD Athlon64 4850e boxed AM2 2x 2.50GHz
>> - 2048MB DDR2RAM OCZ Rev.2 PC800 Platinum XTC Kit
>> - Logitech Cordless Desktop Gorilla Laser OEM
>> - 250GB 3,5" Samsung SpinPoint HD250HJ SATA2 7200rpm 8MB
>> - Enermax EG365AXVE(G)FMA power supply
>> - CPU Cooler Master GeminII 6-Pipe
>> - Blu-ray drive LG GGW-H20L SATA
>
>Have you considered the Antec Fusion case?  It's considerably cheaper
>than the silverstone, and already includes two 120mm case fans and a 430
>Watt powersupply.


Thank you for the hint to the Antec case. Unfortunately, this case does not
feature a card reader, and also does not provide a bay for an internal card
reader (unless you skip the DVD/blu-ray drive). The Silverstone has a card
reader built-in.

Further, I am curious about the energy efficiency of the power supply. I
checked over 100 shops to deliver me a silver-class 80plus power supply, but
everything I could get at this efficiency level are 900Watt+ power supplies.
Thus, I decided for the Enermax because it seems to be the most energy
efficient low power market available power supply to me. As already
mentioned, electrical energy is quite expensive here in Germany (0,25 EURO /
0,40 US-$) while the price is increasing at an average of 25% per annum.


>I also like the Scythe Ninja Mini CPU Cooler, it's practically designed
>to fit inside the Antec case and it's possible to run it without a fan
>(on my board it sits right next to the case fans) If you listen closely,
>you can hear my system from maybe 1 meter away.

I planned to use the 120mm fans on top of the cooler, in the hope they
produce sufficient air circulation to not have any additional fans.


>
>If you're planning on ripping and storing videos on the box, you'll want
>a HDD that is considerably larger than 250GB
>
>I have 1.3TB and I need to add another drive.

Thanks for thinking about this use-case, but it is not relevant for me. My
typical behavior would be: record, watch, delete.

>>
>>
>> I am especially worried by the motherboard chipset. What I have had
>> heard, the AMD 780G or the new nVidia chipsets are the only ones you
>> can use to playback HD-content without worrying about performance AND
>> noise from fan AND without installing an extra video card.
>>
>>
>> So, what is your opinion on the above shopping list?
>>   Bjoern
>>

Anymore thoughts about this topic?


Thank you and best regards,
  Bjoern



More information about the mythtv-users mailing list