[mythtv-users] Potential system

[Matthew Asplund]

I originally build a little SD mythtv/amarok/Firefox box for my kitchen, and
the WAF is so high that I am pondering expansion, especially as it  is
related to HD.  My current system is a 1 GHz P3 with 512 MB and a full
height PVR-150 card, hooked up to a wall mounted 19" LCD monitor.

 I am looking at an AMD Brisbane (65 nm) X2 processor (1.9 GHz, dual core,
$95 at newegg), an ECS GeForce6100 base microATX motherboard with 2 GB of
memory, and a low -profile desktop case (like the Antec Minuet 300) so that
it fits in the space that I built in my kitchen for it.

0. How is the onboard 6100 graphics for doing HD?  I know that I will get
better performance from a discreet board, but it is more money, and more
heat, and I won't ever be playing 3D games on it.

1. My current PVR-150 card is a full height.  The Antec, and other cards
like it, only accept low-profile cards.  My card currently plugs into a rise
card in my P3 that turns the card 90 degrees so that it fits, and the case
it designed to have horizontal cards.  I don't think that I can use the old
case because it is an older ATX power supply, and doesn't have the extra
motherboard power connector.  Is there a way to re-use the riser card and
save myself $60 to buy a newer SD card?

2. I am also thinking about getting a HDHomeRun for HD reception.  As I
understand it, they don't do NTSC, only ATSC, so I still need my PVR-150 for
SD.   How hard are they to set up?  In the near future I am thinking about
getting at 42" LCD for the family room, and I can save $200 (the cost of the
HDHomeRun) if I don't get an internal tuner, but I need to have it work
immediately to have the WAF necessary for the purchase.

3. How much more storage space do I need for HD.  The PVR MPEG2 output is
about 2GB/Hour.  I currently have a 250 GB which works just fine, bu I am
assuming that I will need more.


I  have been amazed at how quickly my family has taken to my myth system.
Our WindowsXP box downstairs almost never gets used because the myth box is
always on, and always stable.  My wife initially scoffed about using Linux,
but she is pretty convinced now that she is used to it.  I am figuring a
medium-term budget of $2000 ($800 for the 42" Olevia 342, $160 for the
HDHomeRun, and $450 each for two AMD X2/ECS GeForce6100 boxes) and I'll be
in the modern age.

Matthew Asplund
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