[mythtv-users] MB fried - suggestions to replace or upgrade?

[David Murphy]

Shane Hickey wrote:
> 1X - Antec NSK2400 Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129014
> 	- I read some negative comments about fans, so I thought I'd get the following 2 fans.  I was thinking one as intake and one as exhaust?  I think I was reading that the fluid dynamic fans only do exhaust well?  With the 2 fans that come with the case that'll give me 4 to play with.. surely I can find 2 that work out of those 4.
> 1X - ARCTIC COOLING 120mm fliud dynamic fans - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186008
> 1X - SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm 17-39.5 DBA fan - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999344
> 1X - winTV-pvr 500 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116628
> 	- NEED TYPE A!
> 1X - winTV-pvr 350 - I already have this from my fried box
> 2X - SAMSUNG 500GB SATA drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052
> 	- still trying to decide if I want to do software raid 0, 1 or no raid on these.  I'll do LVM2 for my /video parition, though.
> 1X - SI-128 CPU cooling heatsink - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109129
> 1X abit NF-M2 motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127013
> 1X AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103751
> 2X 1G Memory 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134009
> 1X - SAMSUNG DVD burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151136
> 1X - LITE-ON DVD ROM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106066
> 	- I think I'm only getting this so I can copy disk to disk... and cause it's only $18 ;)
> 
> I appreciate any feedback.  Even if it's, "you are an idiot". ;)
> 
> Shane
> 

As I actually built a frontend system around this case I thought I would 
follow up w/ some tips on your hardware selection.

Fans:
If I were you I would hold off on buying any aftermarket fans until you 
have the system together and see what the noise and temp levels are 
like.  I would not run one fan as exhaust and one as intake.  I would 
advise you run them either as both exhausts(case airflow is designed 
this way) or both intakes (may be desirable w/out a fan on the si-128 
and also get internal cleanliness benefits of running positive pressure. 
  The included tri-flow fans aren't that bad and if you can't stand the 
noise from them on their low setting you sure don't want a fan that is 
gonna ramp up to 40db.  My experience was that the 80mm power supply fan 
was the most irritating as although it was not super loud it had a 
certain high-pitched tone that became difficult to ignore if I wasn't 
actually watching tv.  As it looks like you are building a combined 
FE/BE that will be online 24/7 it will be important to get the noise 
levels to a level that will be tolerable 24/7.  I replaced the power 
supply fan w/ an 80mm Nexus with good results.  I also replaced the 2x 
120mm w/ 2 of the orange Nexus 120mm fans running at their stock speed. 
  I noticed a much greater benefit from replacing the single 80mm fan 
than I did from replacing both of the stock 120mm fans.  If you do 
decide to replace the 120mm fans I would go back to silentpcreview and 
look at their 120mm fan reviews.  Most manufacturers listed specs are 
rather optimistic about fan noise levels

Hard Drive:
The Samsungs are nice but keep in mind they have reduced their warranty 
to 1 year.  The 500Gb Western Digitals received very favorable noise 
reviews and still carry a 3yr warranty.  Slightly cheaper as well I believe.

Heatsink:
The SI-128 is rather nice but surprisingly difficult to get clamped 
down.  Go easy.  May want to remove the 2x 120mm fans before you try to 
attach it.  You can't really mount it outside the case as it will block 
   some of the motherboard mounting screws.  There is some conflicting 
info as to whether you have to buy a special bracket to mount this to 
am2 boards.  Ignore this.  Everything you need is included in the si-128 
package.  You do not need any extra parts to properly fit this.

CPU:
I would strongly recommend you get one of the newer 65nm core X2 cpus 
and not the 90nm core one you have listed.  You'll appreciate the 
reduced power consumption and heat output which are key to getting a 
quiet system.  The 65nm 4400 is only marginally more expensive than the 
4600 you listed and should be entirely adequate.

Overall I'm mostly happy w/ this system as a frontend.  It is by no 
means silent but it is relatively easy to ignore on idle and disappears 
if the tv is on.  If you find the system doesn't power on, check the 
connection on the front power button.  It is secured w/ hot glue and 
mine arrived w/ a severed lead that required re-soldering.