[mythtv-users] help me check parts list before I buy...

Preston Crow pc-mythtv at crowcastle.net
Sat Dec 27 23:43:07 EST 2003


> OK I'm but just a few days away from purchasing the parts for my myth box
> and I was hoping those who've actually built one could look over it and
> make sure I'm doing alright.

I asked the same question a few weeks ago, so it seems it's only fair
for me to answer.

> Depending on what ever case I end up going with I'm going to have either a
> full size MB or a micro-atx.  Board brand doesn't really matter does it? 
> For the most part all drivers etc. should work.

So I'm assuming that you're using one box to do everything.  (Some
people use different boxes to play and record; that means you can put a
good portion of the hardware where you don't care so much about heat and
noise, but it's more expensive.)

> 512 RAM
> At least a 2.0 Ghz CPU.  Probably a 2.4 or more depending on price.
> Either 80 or 120 Gig drive (not to important now, can always add or
> upgrade).

You don't mention a HDTV tuner.  Without HDTV, I think you're probably
getting more CPU than you really need, but you're still at the low end,
so that should be fine.  I would start with a larger hard drive--adding
more later probably means having two drives, which means having more
heat and noise.  On the other hand, if you replace instead of add on,
and cost is a major concern, that could make sense.

> 1 x PVR-250
> 1 x PVR-350
> 1 x unknown video card with hardware decoding.  I don't plan on using the
> 350 for play back just yet.  I see to many things on this theard that
> don't work right yet.  My plan is to have an easy to use "finished" box
> that the kids and wife can all use from remote control with no problem. 
> So why a 350 you ask?  Well I'll upgrade to using it for TV out at a later
> date when drivers are more mature and existing issues have been worked
> out.

I haven't heard much about problems with using the 350 for video out, so
you might want to reconsider using it.  It's the only full-MPEG playback
device that I'm aware of with a working driver.  I bought a Gforce4
440MX SE, which has hardware MPEG decoding, but that isn't supported by
the Linux drivers, though the motion compenstaion is useful (and the SE
model doesn't require a fan on the GPU).  I think the 350 is adequate
for anything you record with the 250 or 350 as well as DVDs (I'm sure
someone will correct me if I'm wrong).  The 350 will not do HDTV, but
that doesn't appear to be an issue for you.

> DVD Burner for dvd playback.  And someday when I'm more familar with
> things I'd like to record some stuff from our cam corder to DVD.

Depending on cost, you might get a cheap DVD-ROM drive and hold off on a
burner if you're not going to play with it for a while.  It depends on
how much you expect prices to fall and how long it will be before you
want to start burning.

> Do I also need a sound card even though the 250/350 have sound?

You don't need a sound card for recording, but you will need one for
playback.  My impression is that most motherboards have adequate sound,
though you'll want to look closely if you want surround sound or
something fancy like that.

--PC



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