[mythtv-users] Would the $200 Everx gPC have enough power for a myth-box?

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Fri Nov 9 01:37:36 UTC 2007


Brad wrote:
> I have been saving up my cashola for a new mobo and processor for a
> while now, for a mythbox that I want to build.  I already have a
> tv-tuner card, tv-out video card, and a large hard drive for storage.
> 
> I was wondering if people think the $200 everex gPC that is being sold
> at walmart would be powerful enough for DVD/movie playback and streaming
> live TV?  It comes preloaded with Ubuntu, so it shouldn't be too hard to
> install mythTV.  Here are the specs I could find:
> 
> Mobo: VIA pc2500 (micro-ATX)
> Processor: 1.5 GHz Via C7-D
> Ram: 512 MB (expandable up to 2GB)
> Graphics: Integrated, shared memory (hopefully this can be disabled)
> Expansion: 2 PCI slots
> Audio: Onboard 6-Ch AC97

The VIA mobos are known to sometimes cause problems with Myth, and the
VIA CPUs have pretty small caches.

The graphics would be a problem, and you didn't mention any AGP or
PCI-Express slots. While folks have used PCI video cards I'm not sure if
they would work with that setup

A BIG maybe for SD, and a definite NO for HD, IMHO.

Personally I wouldn't try it. If you have to go with something in that
price range I'd look for a used P4 machine, perhaps one of the NetVistas.

beww


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