The Epia P is a great board for a Myth-like box... my next frontend will
probably have that (for my bedroom) because a fanless configuration would be
nice.
However, it's not without its flaws. The 600Mhz CPU is barely powerful enough
to run a frontend and backend together... forget trying to use it to transcode.
The core is based on the old Cyrix core, so a lot of the math takes a back seat
to integer performance. Not a big deal with video, but when dealing with
compression/decompression of MPEG-2 or 4 streams this can start to saturate
these 600Mhz CPUs pretty quickly. All Pentium-class CPU's are not made equal...
bear that in mind when shopping for a media-PC.
Oh, and on the 600Mhz, if you're running MythMusic then better not try to run
full-screen visualizations either :)
I would also point out that even with the XvMC support for these boards, don't
try HD content. You need a LOT more muscle than this to pump HD to the screen,
even the 1Ghz version of the board won't handle it.
Be aware of the specs also; I'm not sure if the Epia P does come in a 1.3Ghz
form, I think it tops at 1Ghz as I recall. Either way, as pointed out above
since it's based on the Cyrix core some of the floating point ops are a little
slower than a similarly clocked Intel or AMD. However, the heat and electricity
used are a lot nicer in these cores.
We're still in a phase where embedded systems are a huge compromise... but the
situation's improving dramatically and continues to. Now, if we can only see
some lower prices on the hardware :)
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Chris Weisiger
Sent: Tue 1/17/2006 10:53 PM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Cc:
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Looking for good specifications for mythTV
Here is the link
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/mini_itx/epia_sp/index.jsp
Chris Weisiger wrote:
>The thing is with the mini-itx stuff is that I have an old NES and i
was
>reading about
>building mini-itx systems and thought while im building it...to build
it
>in a way
>to use it as a pvr system.....which i was looking at getting a mini-itx
>board
>that can handle a 1.3 or so processor
>
>This is the motherboard that I was looking into getting....thats if i
>cant locate
>a mini-itx to handle a pentium processor
>
>
>
>Gavin Haslett wrote:
>
>
>
>>So long as you're not trying any HD content, this is probably good
>>(though that one's obvious given the 350). I run mine on an AMD 800
with
>>768MB RAM and it runs like a champ. Single PVR-250 and an NVIDIA card
>>running XvMC for playback.
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Chris Weisiger
>>Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 10:02 PM
>>To: Discussion about mythtv
>>Subject: [mythtv-users] Looking for good specifications for mythTV
>>
>>What are some good specs for a mythTV box..I have seen specs for high
>>end machines doing multiple recordings....I am not looking into doing
>>such things...
>>
>>All i am looking for is to record a single channel while watching
>>it....and the possibility to pause live tv...
>>just a basic recording box....
>>
>>I am looking into buiding a mini-itx box with laptop
components....slim
>>line cd/dvd, laptop hard drive, dimm or sodimm memory depending on
what
>>type of mini-itx motherboard i get or is recommended....
>>
>>What is the lowest possible processor speed to accomplish recording
and
>>pausing live tv....
>>
>>i was looking into getting a mini-itx with a 1.3 processor? and a
>>pvr-350 card?
>>
>>i know memory helps the system..so i was planning on maxing out the
>>memory..i found a mini-itx board that can support 2 gig or ram...and
the
>>hard drive space of course is not an issue for me to deal with...it is
>>basically the processor speed..
>>being this is the first
>>attempt at creating a mythTV box...
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>mythtv-users mailing list
>>[email protected]
>>http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>mythtv-users mailing list
>>[email protected]
>>http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>>
>>
>>.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>mythtv-users mailing list
>[email protected]
>http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>
>.
>
>
>
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