[mythtv-users] Hardware sanity check

[James Satterfield]

Larry Moore <larzm at nc.rr.com> wrote: 
>Hello all,
>
>   I am getting ready to purchase parts for my first MythTV box. I want
>a combined frontend/backend that will (eventually) have 2 tuner cards.
>This
>box will sit in my living room next to tht TV. I would also like to be able
>to
>play DVDs with this box. Here is my shopping list:
>
>Asus Pundit barebone system
>2.4 GHz Celeron Processor
>512 MB RAM
>CD/DVD ROM
>200 or 250 GB HD
>PVR-250
>
>I have some questions about some of the components.
>
>Is the Celeron going to have enough horsepower to record 2 shows at once
>or
>watch a recorded show and record another at the same time? But, if I move
>up to a Pentium 4 will I have to worry about heat?

Using a pvrx50 for capture, your celeron will be more then enough. It's 
nice to have some CPU around for cd/dvd rips too.

>
>Is the 512 MB RAM a good amount? Would 256 MB be enough?
>

I'm running 512MB and it's nearly all used. Most people say 256MB is okay 
tho.

>Also I am trying to decide between a 200GB Seagate 7200.7 here:
>http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=22-148-032&depa=0
>and a 250GB Western Digital here:
>http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-155&depa=0
>My main questions about these two are how quiet they are and how hot they
>are.
>Are
>these going to be acceptable to put in my living room (noise wise)?
>

I have the 200GB Seagate in my tivo and it's very loud. =(

>My plan is to get the box working with one PVR-250 card and see if the
>Pundit's
>TV-out
>is accepatable to me. If it is, then I will probably get a second PVR-250.
>If
>not, I will
>go for the PVR-350 for the (supposed) better TV-out.
>

Dunno about the pundit, but the pvr350 tvout is far superior to the nvidia 
tvout I was trying to use. 

>Also, any recommendations for a quiet DVD/CD ROM drive?
>

Stay away from the $20 16x DVD / 48x cdrom from Fry's. I'll be taking mine 
back. It's a BTC drive.

>Another, unrelated, question I had was about power loss. Assuming I don't
>have
>the box on
>a UPS and the power goes out, is there any way to set it to come back on
>automatically when
>the power comes back on? Is there such a feature?

It's been a LONG time since I saw a BIOS that didn't have this feature.

>
>Thanks for all your help!

NP. Good luck!

>Larry Moore
>
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