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

[Roy Lofthouse]

2009/5/27 Phil Bridges <gravityhammer at gmail.com>:
> 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?
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>

it's included if you get the C version of the board.