[mythtv-users] Lowest power HD frontend?

[Jeff Siddall]

On 05/28/2013 03:46 PM, Raymond Wagner wrote:
> Even still, you're never going to end up with an expensive pile of
> melted plastic.  All modern x86 CPUs (a term to which Atoms do not
> qualify) have a "boost" mode, where thermal sensors will determine the
> amount of headroom a CPU has, and dynamically exceed its rated speed.
> While the lower end Pentiums and Celerons have this disabled, they still
> have the reverse where the CPU will drop below its rated speed if it has
> exceeded its thermal limts.  You can take the heatsink off a modern CPU
> and all it will do is downclock itself to maintain that stability margin.

Hmmm... hadn't thought of that.  So you are saying I could effectively 
throttle my system power consumption by simply removing the fan from my 
CPU heat sink?  That would be fantastic -- silent and low power -- but I 
am skeptical about the longevity and reliability of a system like that. 
  Has anyone done this before?