[mythtv-users] Superserver

[Mark Hutchinson]

So maybe use an atom with a Nvidia GPU?
If not, then does a Nvidia 9400M that I see listed frequently onboard with
the atom work well?

This is where I get confused on the frontend atom vs Nvidia etc...

On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 2:55 PM, jedi <jedi at mishnet.org> wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 04:02:25PM -0400, Michael T. Dean wrote:
> >  On 08/24/2010 02:51 PM, Mark wrote:
> > >Mark Hutchinson wrote:
> > >>Good point yes.
> > >>What might some good options be for small frontend machines be
> > >>that can be turned off and on easily? I plan to have the
> > >>frontends all in the basement as I have 3 CAT 6 cables run to
> > >>each TV.  2 cat6 for HDMI and the 3rd for a remote or kb/mouse.
> > >>Does suspend work for this?  How would they be woken up?
> > >>
> > >>Thanks for the thoughts.
> > >have you considered mini-ITX atom boards for local frontends?
> > >They are very small and make no noise.
> > >
> > >Remote pc's and long wires are a pain, in case you have'nt played
> > >with that yet...
> >
> > OK, I'm not going to recommend any specific system.  Normally, I
> > wouldn't even reply, but I'd just like to inject a bit of
> > non-marketing reality into the thread.
> >
> > Note, also, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a /confirmed/
> > Atom-hater.  I have a huge and deep bias against Atom.  (For some
> > reason, I feel a computer should be able to compute.)
> >
> > That said, low-power doesn't have to mean a toy.  See what proper
> > design of a real computer system can do (whether you do it or Apple
> > does):
> >
> > http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html
> > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3468
> >
> > (10W idle and 85W max power consumption) and if you figure you'd be
> > using VDPAU for decoding /when VDPAU works with the stream you're
> > decoding/, you'd be running at close to that idle 10W even when
> > decoding, for example, h.264 video.  The big difference, however, is
> > that you actually have computing power in reserve when you need it
> > (for Flash or video that doesn't meet the codec, profile, bitrate,
> > and deinterlacing limitations of VDPAU or whatever other proprietary
> > problems we can't solve).
> >
> > Now, even if an ION system ran at 0W, and we assume the Mac Mini is
> > running at close to idle when using VDPAU decode, that's a typical
> > savings of only about 10W.  And, if you're shutting down your
> > frontend when not in use, the difference between an Atom-based toy
>
>   OTOH, the Atom based toy probably has a very user friendly power button.
>
>  Plus they are cheap.
>
>  I'm the first guy to declare that an Atom is crap for anything but that
> which can be accelerated by an nvidia GPU. However, I have still used them
> to replace Mac Minis.
>
> [deletia]
>
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