[mythtv-users] Some advice on new hardware

[Johnny]

>>> I do not need a Quad Core
>>> Hyper Extreme Whatever Edition, a decent dual core should do it for now and
>>> probably have some reserves for future possible HD playback. I want
>>> something with low energy consumption and little heat production. An Atom
>>> won't do it though, will it?
>
> No atom. But you may be able to get away with Core2Duo or pre-Phenom
> Athlon CPU, where you can get both the CPU and the motherboard for
> about $100.

A user on the list recently reported using an ION system as a backend.
It had an Atom 230 I believe and he got near real time commercial
flagging with 1080i ATSC recordings. So an Atom system is feasible as
a backend depending on your use case. If you want real time commercial
flagging with mulitiple HD recordings etc, it probably won't cut it.
But if you only have SD or rarely record more than one HD show at a
time you may be happy with an Atom system. There are also more
powerful Atom processors than the 230.