[mythtv-users] Lix Systems Barebones -- thoughts on it for a QUIET frontend

Paul Bender pebender at san.rr.com
Tue Oct 17 18:27:45 UTC 2006


Chad wrote:
> 
> One of the things you didn't mention is whether you are doing HD or
> not, but I'd guess with a 500GB hard drive you are probably not (yet).
> 
> In that case, the Epia based systems are really a nice choice to fit
> the "small, quiet, and works-with-mythtv" description.  The SP8000 is,
> IMHO, one of the best choices for a solution that works for people in
> your situation.  Toss in a Gig of RAM  and netboot, and you've got
> yourself a silent frontend.  You come out spending a bit more more
> upfront than if you choose a AMD/Intel based solution, but the in the
> long term, the silent system is definitely going to prove to be well
> worth the extra money spent.
> 
> Short of that, you *can* build a very quiet frontend using:
> One of the 6150 based motherboards (these are good for having a
> motherboard with TV out integrated into the board)
> One of the SilverStone cases (sometimes you have to swap out some of
> their case fans for quieter ones)
> An AMD64 Sempron ( somewhere close to a 3000)
> Replace the factory heatsink/fan with a Zalmann cooler, they provide
> better cooling and quieter fans.
> 
> That's about it, I think all of that is available at Newegg as well.
> Probably looking at close to $500 all said and done.  IMHO, the
> ~$650-$700 spent on a nice Epia based system is a far better option,
> but $150+ isn't exactly 'chump change' to everyone.

I have network booting MythTV frontends using both VIA CN400 (VIA EPIA 
SP8000E) and NVIDIA 6150 (ASUS A8N-VM CSM) based motherboards.

I like the VIA based board because it is small and fanless. However, it 
does not have working DVI-D support. If you have a TV with either DVI or 
HDMI input, then having DVI-D support is good, because the picture looks 
better than when using either S-Video or VGA. In addition, the VIA 
board's underpowered CPU cannot handle MythGallery image scaling or 
MythMusic visualizations.

I like the NVIDIA based board for all the reasons that I do not like the 
VIA based board. While it requires fans, in an Antec NSK2400 case with a 
Zalman CPU cooler, it is very quiet. However, it is not small like the 
VIA based board.


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