[mythtv-users] Minimum hardware recomendation

[Allen Edwards]

On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 10:18 AM, Jim Stichnoth <stichnot at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>

I used to design electronic instruments.  Vent holes are very important
otherwise you are creating a theormous bottle.  I once put vent holes on the
top for air to get out and on the sides for the air to get in.  The bottom
doesn't help as it is covered by the PCB.  I avoided using a fan with using
just these vent holes and I am sure I was burning more power in this box
than you are.  We tried to keep the ambient rise in the box under 15 degrees
C.

Funny story. My wife watered the plant on top of her TV and it spilled water
into the TV.  She quickly turned it on to make sure it was OK.  You did the
right thing.  Afterall, PC Boards are washed in water as part of the
soldering process.  I finally got the TV fixed but it blew parts up 5 times
before I washed the critical area.  It would blow them in sequence and I got
so that I could jump up and turn it off after only the first part blew.  The
second one was fairly expensive as I remember.  The last one to go was the
fuse.
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