[mythtv-users] Myth experiences with Zotac ION + ATOM mobo

[Phil Bridges]

On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 11:33 PM, Glen Dragon <gdragon at jetcom.org> wrote:
> Since i figured that others might be interested, i figured that i'd post my
> experiences in the past week with the 1st of the Nvidia Ion boards to come
> out.  For those that don't know the Zotac IONITX is a mobo with a nvidia ion
> chipset that mates a 9400 graphics core with a intel atom processor.
>
> I managed to grab one of these boards last week right after the reviews came
> out..  newegg had them (since sold out)
> There are 4 different boards with various combinations of single/dual core,
> and internal DC-DC power vs ATX.
> I got the IONITX-C. board..   The board i got has the DC power regulator,
> and the single core atom N230.
> I would highly recommend this board.
>
> This board is what us myth folks have been looking for since we started this
> hobby.
> I'm using it as a diskless frontend connected to a 40" LCD, playing off of a
> network master server/backend.
> Using VDPAU..
>
> Can play ATSC OTA recordings both 720p & 1080i, and hdpvr h.264 720p
> recordings.
> CPU utilization while playing is 5-10%
> Can playback at 1.4x - looks pretty good.  logs show some dropped frames,
> but still watchable depending on source.
> Power draw at the plug is 21 W.   Power draw did no vary from idle to
> watching recordings
> Board is stable. uptime is a 5 days. -- Replaced my main watching FE
> machine.
> Netboot works out of the box
> Runs 64 bit executables
> Small - fits behind TV, out of sight.
> Fanless. Totally silent.  You need a blinky light to know that it's on.
> (Still playing with de-interlacers)  Running 180.51 drivers.. need to
> upgrade to 180.60
> Sensors does not find temp sensors.. GFX core as reported by nvidia tools
> runs from 59-67 deg C.
> GUI menus very usable, w/ blootube wide
> Audio over optical spdif works, Analog audio too.
> Audio over HDMI is allegedly supposed to work.. (i'm not using -- don't have
> a spare hdmi cable to test)
> VGA & DVI both tested, hdmi untested (no reason to think it shouldn't work)
> Boots in a reasonable amount of time.
> DC Supply is ideal. I cannot fathom a use for the ATX connector.. (yes, i
> saw the other thread..  )
>
> Negatives:
>
> Takes 2-3 minutes to prescale theme images first time.  w/ blootube wide
> Needed to disable generating pixmaps from bookmark, as atom processor isn't
> very good at that, and make user interface seem to lockup.
> Unable to rmmod alsa-realtek module, always in use, never gets freed. <-
> Kernel bug?
> No firewire for cable box control/capture -- not really an ideal backend
> anyways.
> No speedstep scaling.. not supported by atom N230.  Not needed..  see 21W
> !!!!
>
> Some might consider the dual core atom ... I don't think you need it.  My
> understanding is that it may require a fan for the dual core, and certainly
> draw more power.   The Atom processor is really not used for much.
>
> I used this case:
> http://www.mini-box.com/M350-universal-mini-itx-enclosure?sc=8&category=87
> Perfect application for it.
>
> My pics:  Gallery
>
> Questions welcome..  I will probably pick up a few more of these boards for
> other locations in my house in the near future.
> -- dragonian

Thanks for posting this!  What sort of processor load did it show
while playing at 1080P?