[mythtv-users] new PC build that's MythTV compatible

[Jim Abernathy]

On 11/2/20 4:56 AM, Mark Kendall wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Nov 2020 at 23:00, James Abernathy <jfabernathy at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Looking for advice on what folks have working in their setup.
>>
>> I'm replacing my old Core i7 2700K system that uses an Nvidia GT-1030 GFX card. The reasons are other than Mythtv, but I want Mythtv to work just as well as it does today.
>>
>> I know the Core i7 10600K is a respectable 6 Core 12 thread CPU and it has Intel GFX. I'm not disappointed with what my GT-1030 is giving me, so I can always put that old card into the new system if the Intel GFX sucks. But then I'm wasting money on GFX I'm not using.
>>
>> I've been looking at the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 which is 6/12 core/thread and is very respected. If I get a 500 series motherboard it would also support the 5000 Zen 3 processors when they come out.  I could use my GT-1030 GFX card or add a Radeon RX 570 GFX card and still be cheaper than the Intel Core i7 10600K.system.
>>
> Jim
>
> As others have said, this is complete overkill for a mythtv only
> frontend - but I'm assuming from your comments that you have other
> requirements.
>
> For reference, my main development system has a dual core celeron
> (G4920 - CoffeeLake).
>
> VAAPI support is flawless:
>
> VAAPIDec: EGL DMABUF available for best VAAPI performance
> VAAPIDec: MPEG2 Simple (Max size: 4096x4096)
> MPEG2 Main (Max size: 4096x4096)
> H264 Constrained (Max size: 4096x4096)
> H264 Main (Max size: 4096x4096)
> H264 High (Max size: 4096x4096)
> VC1 Simple (Max size: 4096x4096)
> VC1 Main (Max size: 4096x4096)
> VC1 Advanced (Max size: 4096x4096)
> VP8 (Max size: 4096x4096)
> HEVC Main (Max size: 4096x4096)
> HEVC Main10 (Max size: 4096x4096)
> VP9 Level 0 (Max size: 4096x4096)
> VP9 Level 2 (Max size: 4096x4096)
>
> It will playback just about any sensible clip I can throw at it (i.e.
> 5k/8k is a no go).
>
> Other use cases aside, with the current generation of CPUs I don't
> believe you need anything more than 2cores/4threads for pretty
> comfortable CPU performance (this does of course assume hardware
> decoding).
>
> Any integrated intel GPU from CoffeeLake above should be fine and
> VAAPI is, imho, the best supported and best performing API around for
> linux video.
>
> Integrated AMD GPUs should be fine as well - though I've only tested a
> cheapish external AMD gpu. AMD supports both VAAPI and VDPAU - but
> VAAPI is again the way to go.
>
> I've started looking around for an upgrade and am looking at a Ryzen 5
> 3400G. 4cores/8threads, Vega 11 graphics, reasonably priced. Put that
> in a reasonable motherboard and it should also offer an upgrade path
> for zen3 if needed.
>
> The only other concern I have when looking for new parts is to ensure
> HDM2.X support to ensure full 4K HDR support at 60fps. For integrated
> GPUs that is usually a motherboard issue/constraint.
>
> Regards
> Mark
>
> P.S. I also find NVidia is becoming increasingly troublesome to use
> when compared to intel/amd parts. I can just swap out cards etc with
> intel/amd and they just work - no need to uninstall/reinstall
> proprietary drivers and/or deal with the issues that seem to always
> arise with new nvidia driver releases.


If all I cared about was Mythtv I'm actually already good enough.

What I didn't get into, and I should have, was what else I wanted to do.

MythTV backend duties are on a remote backend built on another Core i7 
2600 with software RAID used as a NAS and shared with CIFS/SMB and that 
will remain unless the hardware finally dies.

My main TV has a Nvidia Shield TV for most all of my view needs, 
Netflix, Youtube.TV, Prime TV, Leanfront, and mythtv-frontend. But that 
TV has more or less become my "office" display when I do computer 
related stuff like software development, etc.  On my current system, the 
build from source of Mythtv, or Linux kernel, emulation with QEMU, or 
virtualbox, can be a real workload.  For example bitbaking a Yocto 
Project build for ARM for kernel plus QT can take a couple of hours

My thinking is those activities could really use some more 
cores/threads. Please the VT- Technologies are now much modern than my 
older 2nd gen core i7.

A big improvement is all the new motherboards have M-2 slots that 
support PCI3x4 NVMe 2280 SSD modules that support 3,500MB/s read speeds.

I do want to use the new PC for mythtv frontend, gaming, and software 
development and it sounds like any choice from Intel internal GFX to my 
old GT1030 to any new AMD Radeon card will work for Mythtv.

So since my Mythtv frontend isn't a concern either way, I just need to 
decide about future proofing vs. present cost.

The AMD solution using my old GT1030 would work fine for everything 
because the 1030 is good enough today for GFX requirements  and the 
system could be easily upgraded to Ryzen 5000 with just a CPU and cooler 
replacement, and obviously a newer GFX card can be added at anytime.

The Intel solution with either GT1030 or Internal GFX sounds like it 
would be upside, but $100 more and no history of upgrade without 
motherboard change.

Appreciate the discussions.

Jim A