<p>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:36:47 -0700, Douglas Choma <doug@polaritylabs.com> wrote:</p>
<blockquote type="cite" style="padding-left:5px; border-left:#1010ff 2px solid; margin-left:5px; width:100%"><!-- html ignored --><!-- head ignored --><!-- meta ignored --><!-- meta ignored --> <!-- meta ignored --> On 8/24/10 2:01 PM, Mark Hutchinson wrote:
<blockquote type="cite" style="padding-left:5px; border-left:#1010ff 2px solid; margin-left:5px; width:100%">So maybe use an atom with a Nvidia GPU?<br /> If not, then does a Nvidia 9400M that I see listed frequently onboard with the atom work well?<br /><br /> This is where I get confused on the frontend atom vs Nvidia etc...<br /></blockquote>
<br /> I've been using a Zotac mini-itx board (B series) as a FE, and I don't have any complaints. It was relatively inexpensive, doesn't require active cooling (therefore silent), and seems to perform fine. It's a single core Atom with the 9400M GPU (aka ION). The VDPAU decoding on the Nvidia does all the heavy lifting for video playback. Of course I'm not using it for anything other than Myth. Maybe there are some FE applications I haven't tried that would really show how wimpy the Atom processor is, but so far so good.<br /><br /> Incidentally, it also requires so little power that I'm able to use a picoPSU (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl/it.A/id.417/.f">http://www.mini-box.com/s.nl/it.A/id.417/.f</a>).<br /><br /> Is there something else out there that isn't ION-based that hits all these marks? Mac Mini isn't an option... I love Apple products, but the mini is ~2.5x the price.<br /></blockquote>
<p>I also use a ZOTAC board. Its the A-revision with the Atom 330 dual core. I also an't complain at all. The MythTV menu and the OSD fadein and outs are all smooth and fast. The VDPAU decoding of the videos and menu are super.</p>
<p>I use my computer also as a server. Full Email-server, mp3 streaming over the net. It also provides FTP-, SSH-, webserver functionality. All this is running in parallel and no glitches at all. So if someone is looking for a nice frontend get this case: http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc19&area= together with a dual ATOM / ion board and you are all set.</p>
<p>Robert</p>
<p> </p>