[mythtv-users] HTPC cases

[Raphael Pooser]

Nick wrote:
>
> Is the general consensus the AMD A/A64 chips run noticeably cooler
> than their P4 counterparts? Does the Cool'n'quiet support in the
> kernel for the AMD chips make a big difference? I'd likely recommend a
> Zalman silent cooler for the system, but it could mean the difference
> between the AlCu and Cu versions.
>   

Let's see, yes yes yes.  For AMD athlon 64 that is, and that's compared 
to Prescott only.  Northwood is not really so bad at all - on par with 
regular athlons.  Regular athlons, the palominos and higher clocked 
bartons (like 3200+) are not so cool running by default, but if you get 
a motherboard that can use athcool properly (or actually, more 
correctly, that properly supports setting the stopgrant bit) then you 
can cool down an athlon to unreal levels.  I was using athcool on a 
palomino and had great results, to the tune of 33C idle temps.  I 
replaced that with a thoroughbred 2400+ and when idle the cpu goes down 
to room temperature.  I am not exaggerating here.  I saw my temps 
sitting at 26C in the BIOS.  While linux was running I have seen it 
running as low as 25C (ok this is not going to happen in the 
summertime).  When recording mpeg4 the processor is running full speed 
and I can actually hear ever so slightly the power supply fan increase 
just a little to compensate.
As far as athlon 64, nothing special like athcool is needed.  The ones 
in the 3000's range run cool even at full load. (I have a 64 3200+ that 
has yet to go above 43C loaded).  The processor fan on my 64 runs at 
800RPM under full load.  For comparison, the fan on my athlonXP runs at 
a "slow" 1700 RPM (2200 stock).  Looking at these numbers it should be 
quite easy to remove the fan from your athlon64 heatsink altogether and 
use a good rear far in the system, provided you have a low enough 
clocking A64.  Some people on this list have also used the "sonic tower" 
on regular athlon XP's with only a fan in the back and they got good 
results.
Raphael