[mythtv-users] Core i5 or i7 processor for combined BE/FE?

John Stepien hackerbeavis at yahoo.com
Wed Jan 18 17:10:58 UTC 2012


From: Robert Longbottom <rongblor at googlemail.com>

To: Discussion about MythTV <mythtv-users at mythtv.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 9:51 AM
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Core i5 or i7 processor for combined BE/FE?
 



On 18 Jan 2012, at 03:04 PM, Richard Morton <richard.e.morton at gmail.com> wrote:


I have an q6600 core 2 quad which is equivalent on many metrics to the 35w i5 processor. My setup is similar to your proposed system. I have a combined febe with additional fe. 3 (1 hd) physical tuners each with 3 virtual tuners (9 total).
>I use a drive for of and db. A second for recordings and a third for library (file server, videos images, music). The only thing I have done is only allow a single user job to run at a time as dusk ip was getting saturated.
>R
>
>Please excuse brevity and pistakes as this email was composed on an Android smartphone.
>Thanks and best regards
>Richard Morton
>
>On Jan 18, 2012 2:57 PM, "John Stepien" <hackerbeavis at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>I would like to build an Ubuntu box that will serve as a back end for Myth, and I **MAY** make it a front end at some point as well. If it ends up serving as a FE, it will get a discrete nVidia GPU. Size and noise is not a concern with this box, as it will sit in another room from the TV. Here is what I would like to do with this box:
>>
>>
>>1). MythTV backend.
>>2). Commercial flagging.
>>
>>3). Mythweb server.
>>4). Run sshd so I can get in from work.
>>5). Syslog server for DD-WRT router logs.
>>6). Transmission bittorrent server.
>>7). Storage for media such as photos and music. Music will be accessed by a Windows PC with iTunes for synchronization with iPhone.
>>
>>
>>For MythTV, I have an HDHomeRun Prime (3 tuners), which I believe sends MPEG2 directly to Myth, so there is no encoding that Myth needs to do with this if I am correct. All content is HD, and I do routinely record HD with all three tuners at once. While recording is taking place, I may be viewing HD recordings on up to 2 frontends at once. Live TV is not used at this point, and I do not anticipate needing it. 
>>
>>
>>The processors I'm considering are either a Core i5-2405S Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 65W or a Core i7-2600S Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 65W, and there is about a $90 price difference between these two processors. 
>>
>>
>>
>>So my question is, will the i5 handle these tasks with a little room to spare, or do I need the i7? I don't want to pay for CPU that won't get used, but I don't want to come up short, either. 
>>
>>
>>
>>Thanks in advance for any advice!
>>
>>
>>--John
>>

I too run a Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4ghz as my backend and sometimes frontend ( used to be full time frontend / backend ). 

I run two dvbs tuners with 3 virtuals each and can record multiple hd channels and watch back something at the same time with no issue. 

My backend also runs myth web, MySQL, mail server, file server one virtual box windows vm and serves as a desktop for light web browsing and email duties.  I also run motion ( similar to zoneminder ) with 4 cameras.  Oh and I also run boinc ( seti at home, etc ) 24/7 but limited to 2 cores. 

I've got the os on SSD and recordings on hdd, but it all used to be on just the single hdd. 

I've never had any serious issues with it, so I'd image the i5 would be plenty powerful enough if it's comparable performance. 

Cheers,
Robert. 
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This sounds like the closest comparison to my use case, maybe even more intensive with boinc. This is great news, as I will save some cash going with the i5, and probably put that toward more storage. Now the next step is to choose a motherboard. Are there any chipsets that are preferred or chipsets to be avoided? I will need good PCI support for the CCTV capture card for Zoneminder, good SATA throughput, and an audio chipset that works will with Linux and Myth.

--John
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