[mythtv-users] hardware advice: ivy bridge vs nvidia

[Mike Perkins]

On 27/08/12 14:42, Joseph Fry wrote:
> My current backend runs just fine on an old 2GHz Pentium Dual Core E2180,
> circa 2007, even transcribing 720p recordings at just a hair over realtime.
>
> You will find that the Celeron G530/G540 will perform well enough for most
> builds right now... and will certainly run Wndows 7 just fine.
>   Additionally you will have far less problems getting VDPAU working then
> you would VAAPI.
>
> Then a few years from now, you upgrade your processor to an 8 core i7, and
> 16GB-32GB of  2000MHz ram and you have a system that will easily last you
> another few years.  The key is the motherboard, make sure it supports the
> Ivy Bridge and the fastest ram speeds available... get a board with 4 ram
> slots and fill two now and two later for a more incremental build.
>
> Essentially, my motherboard, CPU, and RAM cost me under $140 (I just
> purchased them last week), barely more than you'd spend on processor alone.
>   And in a couple of years I can replace the processor about $50 and have a
> killer 4-8 core i7.  If you find a board with 4 slots, you could go to 32GB.
>
> My Build, prices after rebates/discount codes/shipping from various vendors:
> ASRock B75M            $66.81
> Intel Celeron G540       $44.04
> Patriot PV38G160C9K $24.99  (2x4GB 1600Mhz)
> Zotac ZT-40703-10L     $39.99  (GT 440 - ebay)
> Total:                        $175.83
>
> I could easily have spent that much on a just a processor... but then I
> would have to get VAAPI working now, when it's support is only so-so.  Far
> easier to skimp on the processor and go VDPAU and let VAAPI mature a bit
> more.  In the meantime, my motherboard/ram are ready for the upgrade.
>
The problem with this idea, which has come up from time to time over the past 
forty years or so, is that it almost never quite works.

Yes, it sounds like a clever way of future-proofing, but... in two years time, 
Intel will have a different socket for their CPUs. And, you'll no longer be able 
to get those particular RAM items anywhere, except at ridiculous prices. Or 
you'll no longer be able to find drivers for the particular I/O chips on that 
motherboard... the list goes on and on.

The big problem is that progress moves on with frightening speed. Everybody 
wants to jump on the new bandwagon and to heck with the old one. My suggestion 
is, if you buy that motherboard, fill it with the biggest, baddest CPU you can 
afford and all the RAM you can get NOW. That way you'll still be able to perform 
the OS upgrades in the future when you need them.

The alternative is to just buy what you need for today's functionality and 
bother about the upgrading when it becomes necessary. When that time comes, your 
old mobo just becomes another handy system you can use for another purpose. I 
have several of those...

-- 

Mike Perkins