[mythtv-users] Hardware Sanity Check

[Paul Bender]

Mark A. Hoover wrote:

> Before I started buying hardware, I thought it might be a good idea to
> run this across anybody who might have done this before.
> 
> I already have a backend server and want to put a frontend in the living
> room.  I don't see any reason the hardware combination below won't do
> what I need it to do, but you never know.
> 
> I'm planning to PXE boot the front end off the backend, so I'm not
> planning to put a harddrive in the case.
> 
> 
> Morex Cubid 3688
> Pioneer Slim DVD Burner DVR-K06
> VIA EPIA M10000 Nehemiah
> Kingston 1GB DDR266 Memory

It is hard to know without knowing what you want to do with it. For 
non-HD MPEG2 playback, the setup is be fine. For HD MPEG2 playback and 
MythGallery you will find the setup to be underpowered.

Also, 1GB of memory might be overkill. 512MB should be enough. In 
addition, if noise is a concern, then the ME6000 may be a better choice 
as it has not fan. I run a fanless ME6000 and a fanless SP8000E using 
512MB of RAM.

If size is not a concern and you can afford to spend a little more, then 
for about $70 more you could have a frontend that has the horsepower to 
play back HD MPEG2, display images in MythGallery and will be somewhat 
more responsive in the menus by using an AMD Athlon64 with an NVIDIA 
chipset based motherboard. I run an ASUS A8N-VM CSM motherboard with an 
AMD Athlon64 3200+.