[mythtv-gta]: Re:MythTV Frontend Hardware

Tue Jun 17 15:27:11 UTC 2008

Just to follow-up on what I got for a new front end, the good the bad
and the ugly (there is a bit of all the above in the new front end)
here goes:

The good:

- The case, a SilverStone SST-SG02-F in black. Quite nice, a LITTLE
larger than I would consider ideal, but in every other respect I am
happy with this as a case.

- The CPU, an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ AM2 socket using CPU. Low-end,
inexpensive, and just fine for basic front end purposes.

- Memory - 1 GB from a no-name firm, again, nothing to complain about.

The bad:

- ASUS M2N-MX SE PLUS motherboard. Normally I have had great results
with ASUS motherboards, but this one is a stinker. I can not get it to
install KnoppMyth, with error such as:

    BIOS Bug: MCFG area at f0000000 is not E820-reserved

There is another error regarding an invalid MAC address. Yes, I have
upgraded the motherboard to the latest version of the BIOS (didn't
help...).

I have been able to get Mythbuntu to install on the machine, but that
raises other issues (a Mythbuntu FE can be made to talk to a Knoppmyth
BE, but things get nasty fast...).

Further, the on motherboard nVidia video display is not good enough to
support the playback of HD content (grumble).

At the moment I am wondering if my best way forward is to move
everything to Mythbuntu or if I should buy a different motherboard
(both options being nasty in different ways)...

The ugly:

- Coolmax 500W power supply. Way more power than a pure diskless FE
would need (as it turns out I have tossed in a 40 GB drive to support
Mythbuntu, but that is another story...).

Any event I thought I would drop this power supply into my FE/BE box
and move the FE/BE 430W power supply (also a Coolmax) into the FE box.
That turns out to be a non-option. The cord from the power supply is
too short to run from the power supply to the 20/24 pin power
connector on the motherboard. So, all is well inside the FE box
(shorter distance from power supply to motherboard). But it means that
I have a bigger power supply than I want/need in FE box and I don't
have the option of swapping power supplies between those two boxes
should the FE/BE power supply die...

In summary:

I am disgusted with the ASUS M2N-MX SE PLUS, it works but barely (all
the issues appear to land at the feet of the BIOS creators...), and I
am not happy with the Coolmax 500W power supply (would it kill them to
add an extra 3-5 cm of wire to the power connector).

Colin McGregor

On 6/8/08, Colin McGregor <colin.mc151-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On 6/6/08, Aaron Vegh <aaronvegh-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> I've lately been attempting to research hardware that would be
>> suitable for a Myth Frontend machine. I'm having a hell of a time with
>> it, as it turns out. My requirements are:
>>
>> - Must playback HD video
>> - Must have gigabit ethernet
>> - Must run either fanless or very silently
>> - Must have DVI output
>> - Really want it to be under $400
>>
>> I'm actually considering buying a used Mac Mini, with the Core Duo
>> 1.66 GHz processor -- it's a couple years old, and can be had for
>> under $500 on eBay. The Everex gPC Mini that just came out also
>> appears to have the right hardware, but at $500 US is too much money.
>>
>> My understanding is that one should be able to save big bucks building
>> it themselves. I just can't find the right components, esp. the
>> motherboard. Any help or recommendations would be welcome!
>
> First off I am cc:'ing this to the local MythTV mailing list. I know
> there is a fair amount of overlap between the TLUG list and the MythTV
> list, but the MythTV list will bring in a few additional minds to the
> issue at hand (which also means my apologies to those who see this
> message twice...).
>
> I got back from a trip out of town Thursday (helping my mother get
> settled at home a a few weeks in hospital), After much internal debate
> I took up to her what had been my MythTV FE box (now converted to a
> FE/BE box), so I am now in the middle of a similar process (sorting
> out building a new FE box).
>
> The one thing I hated in the old box was the size, I used a
> SilverStone LC-13 case (very nice, solid, elegant looking case, with
> lots of space for motherboard, drives, etc.). The Silverstone LC-13 is
> more-or-less everything you would want in a FE/BE or pure BE case. As
> a FE box stuck in my modest size bedroom the LC-13 was just too big,
> it just took over the top of my dresser (sigh...). So, while the new
> box doesn't have to be pocket size, it can not be a full size box...
>
> Once one drops the idea of a full size case (and with it, the idea of
> a full size motherboard) the question is where else is one willing to
> accept compromises? In my case the answer is not in very many other
> places. While power supplies failing on me has not happened very
> often, it has occurred often enough that any machine that uses a
> proprietary power supply is out. I want a PSU that I can swap in
> minutes, and be able to get a replacement for from 95+% of the PC
> dealers in Toronto. This means the Shuttle boxes and the Apple TV
> boxes, cute as they are (and some are very cute) are out in my books.
>
> While doing another conversion of a FE box to FE/BE box is a very low
> priority for me, I do want that option on the table. So, I have turned
> towards the micro ATX motherboards, the smallest "standard" size
> motherboards. A max. of 4 expansion slots, but at least will use
> standard PCI and/or PCI express and/or AGP expansion cards. A range of
> micro ATX only case designs are available, some of which are very
> attractive and many accept standard power supplies.
>
> With the micro ATX motherboards route, appearance / speed /
> performance / cost / noise are all options you have some wiggle room
> on. For example I was NOT happy with the noise of the original CPU fan
> in my FE/BE box, so I bought a Thermaltake TR2-R1 CPU fan, which
> helped a lot (ALMOST silent). A box that can deal with HDTV content is
> just a matter of a decent CPU and decent video card (my old Semperon
> 2400+ CPU based FE with an nVidia 6200 card could (just) handle decent
> HDTV playback to an SD quality screen (but one had to pay attention to
> video settings)).
>
> My current target for my new FE box is $200 (Cdn.), a target I don't
> think I will quite make, still, I do expect to be under $250. A few
> things, this will be a diskless box, net booting off the main FE/BE
> box (so, no hard drive(s), DVD ROMs, etc.,) thus knocking ~$100+ off
> the cost of a more conventional box. Keyboard / mouse are coming out
> of my spare parts bin (again lowering costs). I have selected (and
> bought on Saturday) a case, a SilverStone SST-SG02-F in black (bought
> from Canada Computers (who have several locations in the GTA)). Still
> debating CPU/motherboard picks...
>
> I'll let folks know how my box comes together...
>
> Colin McGregor
> --
> The Myth TV mailing list
> How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://gtalug.org/wiki/Mailing_lists
>
--
The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://gtalug.org/
TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://gtalug.org/wiki/Mailing_lists