[mythtv-users] My perfect HTPC

[Brian Wood]

On Thursday, October 07, 2010 04:24:35 am Josu Lazkano wrote:
> Hello everybody!
> 
> After a long time searching the components, I am ready to build my
> HTPC to play MythTV.
> 
> I have at home:
> 
> Tevii S470 DVB-S2 PCIe tunner.
> KWorld PlusTV Dual DVB-T USB tunner.
> Western Digital 160GB 2.5 hard disk (WD1600BEVT).
> 
> I need a VDPAU capable board with a PCIe slot to add the DVB-S2
> tunner. The HTPC must be silent and low power, I will use it as a web
> server, Asterisk PBX and file server.
> 
> I have this box in mind:
> 
> Thermaltake Element Q case:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133093
> 
> And these boards:
> 
> Zotac ION mini-ITX NM10/Atom D510
> Zotac ION mini-ITX/N330
> 
> I will buy 2GB DDR2 PC800 RAM and a MCE USB IR receiver with a remote.
> 
> I have some questions:
> 
> 1. Which board do you recommend?
> 2. Is the box good for this board and the PCIe DVB-S2 tunner?
> 3. I am thinking to add a mini PCIe SSD disk to a faster boot and
> MySQL performance, is it a good idea? Whit 4GB it will be enough.
> 4. With this configuration, would I play DVB-S2 and DVB-T HD channels?
> 
> Any other recomendation for the HTPC? Any of you use a Zotac ION based
> board to play MythTV?
> 
> There is lots of Zotac boards, is those two compatible to my configuration?
> 
> Thanks for all your help.
> 
> Best regards.


I would seriously question whether a fanless case is a good idea, given what's going to be inside it, I'd think a low-
speed fan might be a good idea.

I know you want "silent", so do a lot of people, but it is extremely hard to accomplish, especially for a combo BE/FE, 
especially if it's doing other things all the time. That case may in fact be well-designed enough to accomplish "fanless", 
but in my experience most "fanless" designs do not provide adequate cooling.

It's hard enough to get a standalone FE to run fanless, a combo is much harder. I'd want to at least have a fallback 
position of adding a fan if it turns out to be needed.

One approach is an external power brick, keeping the PSU heat out of the case, but they come with their own set of 
problems.