[mythtv-users] Time to take the next step...

[VCRAddict]

At 01:19 PM 11/16/08 +0200, =?UTF-8?Q?Johan_Heikkil=C3=A4?= wrote:
 >
 > I have the Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo as a backend and have experienced
 > stability issues. The motherboard temp has to be kept low so cooling
 > has to be good.

Odd.  I have had two of those boards in my general-purpose workhorse
systems for upwards of four years now, and I have NOT had the issues you
describe.  That said, I'm using good quality cases & PSUs, and I'm also
using Athlon XP-M "Mobile" CPUs in them, which have lower power consumption
(and thus produce less heat) than the standard "Desktop" CPUs.  But on the
third hand, I'm also overclocking those same CPUs, and running them at
slightly over their "nominal" Vcc to ensure stability.  So who knows..?  I
suppose there could be any number of explanations for this discrepancy in
our experiences.

 > The onboard SATA controller has some issues, newer
 > bios is needed.

At this point, I don't recall what BIOS version these systems are running,
and I'm not about to re-boot them to find out.  But I do recall updating
both of them awhile back, most likely using one of the BIOSes referenced here:

    <http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/1-vt69351.html?start=0>

No big deal.

 > It didn't always find the attached drives upon
 > booting. I use a PCI SATA controller. 

Which one, and how do you like it?  This is one of the things I need to
settle on for the new Back-End.

 > I don't recommend software raid with this setup. 

Why not?  Most everything I've heard about Linux's implementation of
Software RAID has been positive.  Note that I am NOT contemplating using
the "FakeRAID" provided by many of the el-cheapo "pseudo-RAID" cards out
there.  It will be either true Hardware RAID (such as the previously
mentioned 3ware 9500S-4LP), or the software RAID provided by Linux itself.

 > A better mobo and sata controller is recommended.

For a pure Back-End-Only system?  I've been considering that 2.167 GHz K7
to already be gross overkill for this application.

 > I'm going to throw it out. 

Don't do that!  Seriously!

If you're really bound and determined to get rid of that board, I'll at
least cover your shipping costs, and keep it as a spare.  Contact me
off-list to discuss this further, if you like.

 > Already bought a Supermicro PDSGE motherboard
 > including a PCI-X SAS controller. This is a server-like motherboard
 > with ECC memory and I expect better stability than the Asus.

I sincerely hope it all works out for you; but I *still* don't think the
mobo is really the root of the problems you've had.