[mythtv-users] Minimum hardware recomendation

Jim Stichnoth stichnot at gmail.com
Thu Aug 13 17:18:43 UTC 2009


On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 4:25 PM, Allen Edwards<allen.p.edwards at gmail.com> wrote:
>>  With the lid on, it idled in the
>> 80s and hit the low 90s under load.  So I added vents in the lid until
>> it now idles at 72C.  I can't really guess how much of the heat is due
>> to the CPU and how much is due to the GPU, but it's certainly
>> plausible that a second core could push the temperature uncomfortably
>> high.
>>
>
> That was one of the worries I had about the cardboard box.  Cardboard
> is a pretty good insulator where metal a pretty good conductor of
> heat.  I am thinking perhaps just an old DVD player case I have lying
> around from one of the many dead DVD players I have collected over the
> years.  It may be a little large but would fit nicely over a receiver
> in and AV system.  The other was RFI.  I guess this is less of an
> issue with everyone on DTV so you are not messing up anyones TV any
> longer but if you have any Ham Radio operators around, they are not
> happy with you.  It is nice to put this stuff inside a shielded
> enclosure.

Yesterday I found a metal "tin" that was exactly the right width for
the IONITX (the length was about 3" longer than necessary).  I tried
running the board fully enclosed and unvented inside the tin, and the
temperature was pretty much the same as for the unvented cardboard
box.  So I think that the air is the real issue.  Maybe you could do
better by putting together some sort of heat pipe from the heatsink to
the case, otherwise ventilation holes will be the key.

Funny story.  This morning I was trying to drill some holes in the
lid.  The drill bit caught the lid, spun it around, knocked it against
my full coffee mug, and sloshed coffee all over the ION board.  In a
panic, I removed the memory and the heatsink, rinsed the board with
water, and then dried it thoroughly with a hair dryer.  Fortunately,
it booted up and seems to be just fine.

Jim


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