[mythtv-users] Decision matrix: Pundit vs 7NIF2 & Coolermaster ATC 620

[myth-lane at dowobeha.net]

Quoting Aaron Griffin <aaronmgriffin at gmail.com>:

> First off, let me say that that is surprisingly hard to read, and I'm
> not in the mood to save it and open it in some external program (too
> lazy today).

Yes, my apologies on the hard-to-read format... :}

I was working on the decision matrix in an OpenOffice spreadsheet. I mostly
thought it *might* be useful to someone else down the road, but I wasn't sure
if the mailing list treated attachments kindly. Hence the exported CSV (or in
this case colon-separated values) pasted into the email.


> Personally, Ilike the chaintech... and next week
> (payday!) I will be ordering the Chaintech/Coolermaster 620.

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm really torn. I think that for power per dollar, the Pundit definitely wins.
But for expandability, you gotta go for the Chaintech/Coolermaster combo. If I
didn't have HDTV in mind for the future, I think I'd go with the Pundit and a
1.8 GHz Celeron.

> On either system, I would use the onboard sound (SPDIF) and hook it up
> to my reciever.  So the audigy is kinda out (besides the fact that it
> could obstruct air flow which you want to maximize to keep it quiet).

Yes, I am planning to use onboard sound. But, I don't think that the Chaintech
7NIF2 has SPDIF. For me, the Audigy is as much for Firewire as it is for sound.


> The chaintech is an nForce based board, which is always good...
> besides this blurb:
> [Video Sub System]
> [Integrated NVIDIA NV17-class (GeForce4 MX) GPU]
> [Embedded TV encoder supporting NTSC/PAL TV]
> [256-bit 3D/2D graphics accelerator]
> [Full frame rate video playback of HDTV and DVD content]

> And, by the way, check out pricegrabber.com and pricewatch.com for
> prices before ordering anything... IIRC you can get the coolermaster
> and 2600 barton much cheaper.

Will do.

> Here's my system plan, for comparisson:
> Chaintech 7NIF2 Motherboard ($76 pricewatch)
> Coolermaster ATC-620 Case ($75 pricegrabber)
> GD-2500 4x/24x DVD/CD-ROM ($34 pricegrabber)
> Hauppauge WinTV PVR 250MCE ($95 pcalchemy)
> Kingston HyperX 512MB PC2700 DDR DIMM Memory ($89 pricegrabber)
> Athlon XP (Barton) 2600+ Processor OEM ($65 pricegrabber)
> Seagate ST3200822A 200GB Hard Drive ($95 pricegrabber/pricewatch)
> ATI Remote Wonder ($30 pricewatch)
> Total ($533)

Good to know. Thanks for the info. Do let me know how it goes.

>
> On Thu,  9 Sep 2004 18:28:59 -0500, myth-lane at dowobeha.net
> <myth-lane at dowobeha.net> wrote:
> > In case anyone's interested, I thought I'd post this. I've been agonizing
> over
> > the choice between an Asus Pundit and a Chaintech 7NIF2 / Coolermaster ATC
> 620.
> >
> > I'd appreciate any comments on good power / heat / cost balance for a
> processor
> > that can still handle displaying HDTV recordings when I get the pcHDTV
> 3000. HD
> > output would be either via built-in DVI on the Pundit, built-in S-Video on
> the
> > 7NIF2, or DVI on a GeForce 5200 if I bought one to go with the 7NIF2.