[mythtv-users] Advice required on low wattage combined system

Tom Abnett tom at abnett.plus.com
Sun May 28 08:38:11 UTC 2006


Hi,

I'd like to set up a dual DVB-T combined mythbox for TV, DVD, mp3s etc. One 
of my main requirements however is that I want to keep the mains consuption 
down to as little as possible. I'm not sure whether to go for a low power 
box (e.g. EPIA), or go for a more powerful (e.g. Athlon XP) unit.

I've looked at Socket A mobo's that support wakeup_clock (I'm guessing that 
mythtv does a good job of powering down/up as required), but there's not 
many. The ASUS A7V8X looks like the best bet. I've also wondered about 
putting in an Athlon XP Mobile, but many motherboards (including this) don't 
seem to be able to set the Vcore low enough to get the most benefit. I'd 
also want to get WOL working so I could use mythweb to schedule recordings. 
Can you send a WOL packet through a NATting ADSL router? I'm not fussed 
about my MAC being visible.

As for the EPIA option - how well does it support DVD, browsing, running 
mysql etc - is it ever frustratingly slow? It seems some boards output RGB 
for SCART which would be great. Are there any other annoyances?

Any advice you have on running a usable mythbox and minimising power drawn 
would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom 



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