[mythtv-users] CPU for dedicated backend

[Karl Newman]

On Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 2:35 PM, Hika van den Hoven <hikavdh at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hoi Joseph,
>
> Thursday, September 11, 2014, 11:21:25 PM, you wrote:
>
> >> I have a little question about it. I have a ION board frontend and the
> >> backend in the same place, is it a good idea to join both frontend and
> >> backend in the same machine? This CPU could manage both service very
> >> good, I could add a dedicated GPU.
>
> >     I would keep the frontend separate. You are bound to do things with
> > the backend that are likely to generate heat and noise and be disruptive
> > to your playback environment.
>
> >     If the backend is somewhere else entirely, you can let loose with it
> > and do whatever you want.
>
>
>
>
> > He said that he has the backend and frontend in the same place...
> > he wasn't proposing to move the backend elsewhere.  If the backend
> > is going to be there anyway, why have a separate frontend  right next to
> it... just combine them.
>
> While his machine should be powerful enough to do both I don't like
> them to be in the same machine. Mythfrontend can sometimes be unstable
> needing a reboot. If the backend is in there you have to wait till
> the backend is idle or disturb ongoing recordings.
> Also in essence the demands for both are different. A frontend needs
> to be quiet and have powerful enough graphics and sound and it is nice
> if it looks nice. A backend just needs enough power to do what it must
> and before most it needs to be stable. You could even leave out the
> graphics and the sound.
>
> I don't agree. I've been using a combined front/backend machine for 8+
years and Mythfrontend has been quite stable for me. If it's not, it's
sufficient to just exit out and restart it. No need to reboot the entire
machine. Rarely, I'll need to restart X, but I've *never* needed to reboot
because of some crash or whatever that happened with Mythfrontend.
Regarding the noise, if you demand extreme quiet then you may need a
separate backend. However, I'm using a low-power Sandy Bridge i3 and it's
plenty powerful for both front and backend duties. It could be quieter if I
chose a different case, but it doesn't bother anyone in my house (there are
plenty other ambient noises!).

Karl
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