[mythtv-users] Myth experiences with Zotac ION + ATOM mobo

[Phil Bridges]

On Wed, May 27, 2009 at 8:48 AM, Phil Bridges <gravityhammer at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 11:33 PM, Glen Dragon <gdragon at jetcom.org> wrote:
>> Since i figured that others might be interested, i figured that i'd post my
>> experiences in the past week with the 1st of the Nvidia Ion boards to come
>> out.  For those that don't know the Zotac IONITX is a mobo with a nvidia ion
>> chipset that mates a 9400 graphics core with a intel atom processor.
>>
>> I managed to grab one of these boards last week right after the reviews came
>> out..  newegg had them (since sold out)
>> There are 4 different boards with various combinations of single/dual core,
>> and internal DC-DC power vs ATX.
>> I got the IONITX-C. board..   The board i got has the DC power regulator,
>> and the single core atom N230.
>> I would highly recommend this board.
>>
>> This board is what us myth folks have been looking for since we started this
>> hobby.
>> I'm using it as a diskless frontend connected to a 40" LCD, playing off of a
>> network master server/backend.
>> Using VDPAU..
>>
>> Can play ATSC OTA recordings both 720p & 1080i, and hdpvr h.264 720p
>> recordings.
>> CPU utilization while playing is 5-10%
>> Can playback at 1.4x - looks pretty good.  logs show some dropped frames,
>> but still watchable depending on source.
>> Power draw at the plug is 21 W.   Power draw did no vary from idle to
>> watching recordings
>> Board is stable. uptime is a 5 days. -- Replaced my main watching FE
>> machine.
>> Netboot works out of the box
>> Runs 64 bit executables
>> Small - fits behind TV, out of sight.
>> Fanless. Totally silent.  You need a blinky light to know that it's on.
>> (Still playing with de-interlacers)  Running 180.51 drivers.. need to
>> upgrade to 180.60
>> Sensors does not find temp sensors.. GFX core as reported by nvidia tools
>> runs from 59-67 deg C.
>> GUI menus very usable, w/ blootube wide
>> Audio over optical spdif works, Analog audio too.
>> Audio over HDMI is allegedly supposed to work.. (i'm not using -- don't have
>> a spare hdmi cable to test)
>> VGA & DVI both tested, hdmi untested (no reason to think it shouldn't work)
>> Boots in a reasonable amount of time.
>> DC Supply is ideal. I cannot fathom a use for the ATX connector.. (yes, i
>> saw the other thread..  )
>>
>> Negatives:
>>
>> Takes 2-3 minutes to prescale theme images first time.  w/ blootube wide
>> Needed to disable generating pixmaps from bookmark, as atom processor isn't
>> very good at that, and make user interface seem to lockup.
>> Unable to rmmod alsa-realtek module, always in use, never gets freed. <-
>> Kernel bug?
>> No firewire for cable box control/capture -- not really an ideal backend
>> anyways.
>> No speedstep scaling.. not supported by atom N230.  Not needed..  see 21W
>> !!!!
>>
>> Some might consider the dual core atom ... I don't think you need it.  My
>> understanding is that it may require a fan for the dual core, and certainly
>> draw more power.   The Atom processor is really not used for much.
>>
>> I used this case:
>> http://www.mini-box.com/M350-universal-mini-itx-enclosure?sc=8&category=87
>> Perfect application for it.
>>
>> My pics:  Gallery
>>
>> Questions welcome..  I will probably pick up a few more of these boards for
>> other locations in my house in the near future.
>> -- dragonian
>
> Thanks for posting this!  What sort of processor load did it show
> while playing at 1080P?
>

Also, I may have missed it in your post, but was the power supply
included with the board or case?