[mythtvnz] Newbie hardware help

[Wade Maxfield]

Phill Coxon wrote:
> Hi everyone, 
> 
> I'm a newbie looking to set up a MythTV box and would like some feedback
> & suggestions on hardware. 
> 
> At this stage I'm thinking of building a new computer which will  be
> used mainly for MythTV but will also dual boot into Windows for family /
> friends to play games PC games now and then.  
> 
> We have Sky so I want to record output from the sky decoder and have an
> irblaster set up to control scheduling etc. 
> 
> Here's what I'm thinking as far as hardware.  Would you please give me
> feedback and any suggestions - i.e.: certain motherboard chipsets to
> avoid etc.
> 
> Intel E6750 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6GHZ CPU
> Gigabyte P35C-DS3R Motherboard 
> 2Gb DDR2 800 RAM
> Western Digital 320GB 7200RPM Drive
> Albatron 8600GT-256XS Video Card
> Hauppauge Wintv PVR 150 MCE 
> Microsoft MCE remote control
> Wireless keyboard & mouse 
> 
> I don't need a satellite card at the moment as I'm happy with Sky TV
> (unless there's a NASA TV feed available off the sky satellite?)
> 
> Anything missing or anything that should be changed?
> 
> Any suggestions / feedback would be appreciated. 
> 
> Thanks!
> 

Stick with the MCE remote/receiver, getting it to act as an IR Blaster 
for the Sky box was so much easier than my original serial port blaster!

I would question the dual booting into Windows part though. I can see 
some pretty low WAF when Myth doesn't record a programme just because 
someone booted Windows to play a game and didn't reboot to Linux in time.

Also I'd recommend putting in 2 hard drives, 1 small (could be an older 
drive from another machine) to use as a boot drive/MySQL/etc and the 
320GB as the recordings drive.

If you're not going to be using Windows (my preference) then the video 
card is more than you need. In fact the CPU is more than enough for now 
- at least until you upgrade and add a DVB-T card for Freeview/HD.

The way you say building a new computer implies that you might have an 
older one around.  It might be suitable for Myth duty.

  - Wade