[vox] Good quiet hardware for Myth TV

[Bill Broadley]

On 04/21/2011 11:39 AM, Brian Lavender wrote:
> Wes' presentation Monday night got me thinking that I should

Sadly I missed it.

> build a Myth TV box. I guess the biggest thing I am thinking about is
> noise and size, similar to my existing Tivo box. It is very quiet.
> Any recommendations on cases and fans?

Well the cooler your CPU/GPU is the easier silent cooling is.  I've seen two 
approaches.  Some folks have a big beefy machine with tons of disk/cpu for 
ripping/transcoding/hdtv cards and a thin client (just for video out/remote 
control).  Others go with a single box.  If you want near silent, a couple 
disks, and a CPU that's good at compression/decompression/transcoding and 
related duties I'd consider this:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/silverstone-gd05

If you want just a thin client with hdmi out you can definitely find smaller.

> I thought there was a page of hardware setups, but I can't find it.
> Is there a page on suggested hardware setups?

Nvidia seems to be the preferred choice for low CPU utilization, best linux 
support, and stable HDTV output.   Just about anything with an nvidia should 
handle HDTV output.  If you want something new, quiet (no fans), and 
relatively low power I'd consider something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131663

I've been slightly less happy with the AMD drivers, but this is pretty 
competitive as well:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131697

Certainly if you want more CPU for ripping or transcoding I'd upgrade to an 
AMD quad or 6 core (cheap) or intel sandy bridge(less cheap).