[mythtv-users] "small" mATX case that can still hold a full PCIcard?

[David Kubicek]

On 02/26/2010 07:11 PM, Dan Armbrust wrote:
> I'm still wanting to get 2 tuners and a full size video card in it...
> so the idea of messing with the extenders seems... well, seems that
> there could be issues there.
>

You're right. I have TT Mozart SX case, which "supports" 3 PCI cards, 
riser included. The fact though is that I could hardly fit two half 
sized DVB-S2 tuners inside! No custom or unsupported configuration.

They're forcibly rammed in, the riser is half-way out the "base" holding 
PCI socket and I can use only bottom & top case slots, because there's 
no space between those cards. You couldn't insert a leaf into the middle 
position.

So, although this solutions might look good, in practice there's so many 
factors that can easily blow you out of the water.

Next time (soon), I'm going for a split FE/BE config. No doubt about it. 
BE is going to be in the attic - nice and close to the sat multiswitch 
(no limitation on number of cards, no new cables in wall required), the 
only thing I need to drag up there is an Ethernet cable, which I have to 
anyway (for WIFI, the ADSL backup). I'll probably hide smartcard readers 
with the BE too. I haven't needed to touch them since installation.

FE will be a fucking tiny nVidia-based nettop, real cute, quiet, cool 
looking thing without all those cables lying around. My tests confirm 
that 100Mbit ether. is much more than enough for anything I do with my 
MythTV, including all the 1080p shit.

That's just my $0.02 based on more than a year of daily MythTV 
experience with DVB-S2 setup and before that 4 years analog setup.

Really do consider *all* your options, that's all I'm saying.

-- 
David Kubicek