[mythtv-users] Questions about new hardware purchase

[Fred Firestine]

On 3/29/08, Brian Wood <beww at beww.org> wrote:
>
> On Mar 29, 2008, at 12:08 PM, Billy Macdonald wrote:
> >
> > I see a bunch of others already warned you of the downfalls, and
> > therefore you've canceled your order.  One more thing I wanted to
> > point out for anyone else that may be interested.  Anything sold as a
> > "server" is likely going to be LOUD.  Fans roaring and making a ton of
> > noise.  That's been the case on every server I've seen.  Loud fans
> > aren't ideal for the MythTV croud.  Just a thought.
>
> Good point. A summary of machines classed as "servers" is:
>
> No audio of any type
>
> Limited "business class" or even less video. Normally you need to
> drive a local monitor only to get the system installed, further
> configuration and management is usually done over the network from a
> management machine.
>
> Noise and appearance are generally not a big factor.
>
> Power consumption was not a big factor  with most older machines,
> though this is changing.
>
> Features included in a lot of "servers" that are probably not worth
> paying a lot extra for with MythTV machines are:
>
> PIX network booting
> SCSI or SAS drive controllers
> Hardware RAID controllers
> The ability to use a serial terminal as the main console.
> A serial "management" port
> Redundant power supplies
> Tape backup devices
> 100 or 133Mhz. 64-bit PCI slots
> HotSwap capability
>
> A lot of server class machines make good closet or garage located
> backends, but they are not generally good frontends or combined
> machines.
>
> To put it in a nutshell: A "desktop" is designed to interact with a
> local user. A "server" is designed to interact with users  over a
> network. Most servers are designed for fast I/O and reliability,
> rather than glitzy local video and sound (ie: games).
>
> Of course the marketing types will try and blur these lines if it
> benefits them.
>
> beww
>
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>

Thanks, Billy! Yeah, dodged a bullet there for sure.

Still narrowing down my hardware choices. Having trouble finding an
AMD motherboard with more than 2 PCI slots. I would like to use my PCI
wireless card (which I know will work with madwifi). It would also be
nice to have a firewire port. Anyone have a favorite motherboard? I
saw someone in the Wiki used a couple of GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3, which
look great, but they are discontinued many places. Is that good or
bad?