[mythtv-users] HD Frontend hardware: cases for enclosed spaces

Sean Cier scier at PostHorizon.com
Mon Oct 24 23:12:05 EDT 2005


I'm finally chucking the wretched XBox that has served as my living room 
frontend for far too long, and building a proper machine.  I want HDTV 
support (only have an SDTV there at the moment, and no HD sources, but the 
latter will hopefully change before long, and the former will undoubtedly be 
replaced some day).  That means a hefty processor; I'm planning on going 
Athlon 64.  I'll have a hard drive just to avoid the headaches of remote 
boot, but it'll spin down and presumably not be a factor heat-wise.

The catch is, I want to put this in my armoire-style TV cabinet.  That means 
either:
-- in a shelf under/over the TV (~5" high X 27" wide x 20" deep, but a case 
must be no more than 4.2" high to actually be able to get it in there), 
which is open on the front but enclosed on the sides/rear/top/bottom, or
-- in the cabinet area, in which case it'd have a whole half of the cabinet 
to itself (17"w x 19"h x 21" deep), but apart from a 1" vertical wire-access 
slit in the rear, the doors will be closed and it'll be completely enclosed 
effectively 24/7.

So, I see three options.  I'd love advice, feedback, anecdotes, 
what-have-you about which will most likely work without fear of overheating, 
and give me the least grief from a stability, functionality, future lifetime 
(e.g. replacable parts), and compatibility/standard-hardware standpoint (I 
want to be able to use modules from ATRPMS as much as possible, like my 
other boxes, not spend hours patching it every way from Tuesday just to get 
something to maybe run briefly on Thursday mornings when Saturn is ascendant).

-- Slim desktop-style case, ala Minuet or Pundit-R (these *can* work 
horizontally, right?).  Seems like if the vents are in the right places and 
the case has pretty good
-- Cube-style SFF case in the cabinet, ala Antec Aria (I've been happy with 
Antec cases in the past) or Shuttle.  Seems like the small case, with 
clearance on the sides *and* top, would give a shot at better airflow.
-- ATX-sized desktop case in the cabinet, ala Cooler Master 620 (which I'm 
using happily for another frontend), Ahanix D.Vine, Silverstone, NMediaPC, 
etc.  If the lack of edge clearance (the cabinet is only 17" wide) isn't an 
issue from an airflow standpoint, this would be a lot easier to deal with 
than a shuttle-style SFF case.
-- Say screw it and put a run-of-the-mill mini-tower in the cabinet. 
Wouldn't look as sexy as the other solutions, but definitely the easiest, 
and *probably* would have the best airflow overall; and hey, it'd be behind 
doors usually.

With no tuners and such, the hardware demands are relatively light and I 
never anticipate them growing too far (though perhaps evolving with new 
video cards, new processors, etc someday) -- but I want something solid that 
isn't going to give me grief, and something that'll last a while without 
going completely obsolete.  And, I want *full* Myth PVR/music/DVD/video 
functionality -- no embedded hardware that'll only do half of what my other 
frontends will.

I'm not too concerned with absolute silence in this location, though I of 
course don't want an absolute jet engine either.  I'm only concerned with 
appearance if I use one of the shelves rather than the cabinet, though I'll 
go for a decent HTPC-style appearance either way rather than a drab 1990 beige.

-spc

-- 
  /-                 Sean Cier <scier at PostHorizon.com>                  -\
( Everyone should believe in something; I believe I'll have another pint )
  \-                 http://www.PostHorizon.com/scier                   -/


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