[mythtv-users] Motherboards: help me understand my choices

kanetse@gmail.com kane.tse at gmail.com
Sat Aug 30 21:56:44 UTC 2008


On Sat, Aug 30, 2008 at 9:26 AM, Sixten Otto <himself+myth at sfko.com> wrote:
> I'm considering replacing a very aged Myth box with a new,
> from-scratch build, and I need some help sifting through the piles of
> advice.
>
> I'm mostly interested in an HTPC to record and time-shift ATSC
> broadcasts (no cable, satellite, or analog broadcast) and watch ripped
> content (XViD, H.264, etc.). Maybe someday (when they're cheaper) I'll
> install a Blu-Ray drive. Will be hooked up to a 720p LCD TV for the
> foreseeable future, so I'm not super-concerned about 1080p playback.
>
> It seems like the integrated graphics are really, really good these
> days, but I'm not sure how the Linux driver support is. It'd be nice
> not to need another card, but not if I'm stuck in driver hell.
>
> I've read some very, very positive things about the new 780G
> motherboards for AMD (like the GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H). The main worry
> I have there is that those reviews are mostly Windows-centric; the
> conventional wisdom for MythTV boxes has always been, "go with
> NVIDIA." On the other hand, it seems like the main benefits of that
> (driver quality, hardware acceleration support) are very much
> diminished these days.
>
> There are a number of motherboards with NVIDIA graphics (6100, 7050,
> 8200) for both AMD and Intel, and also Intel options with their own
> integrated graphics (for which the driver support seems to be getting
> better). Would any of those provide a significant advantage in speed,
> quality, or driver support over the 780G options?
>

I just bought this board last week (Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H) for my
MythTV backend/frontend; and it's been a nightmare.  I believe the
problem to be related to immature Linux drivers for the AMD 780G
chipset, although I can't be sure as I'm still trying to get the
system to work properly.  Only one person so far has responded that
they have MythTV working with this board, and they were using a 32-bit
Gentoo kernel or something like that.

Like you, I have an older Myth box which is able to continue being my
production machine... I would not recommend this motherboard
(GA-MA78GM-S2H) for MythTV at this time.  Maybe with future releases
of drivers, MythTV, etc. things will get better.


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