Building a Myth PVR, switching to NVidia and AMD... I'm scared!

[DGath]

Title says it all, building a myth PVR. My tuner is going to be the PCHDTV 3000 that just came out, so I'm pretty excited about that (even though I don't have an HD TV, hah!). I've always gone with ATI and Intel in the past, but for this project, AMD/Nvidia seems to be a no brainer (right?), so I'm looking for advice on what to get.

Processor
I'd like to get a AMD-M chip becuase of the low power/heat which will help out the noise factor. Any reccomendations? I'm not going to be overclocking, but rather maybe underclocking. There won't be much gaming on this system besides console emulation. Those most intensive thing this system will be doing is video capturing/transcoding. I'm probably not going to go Sempron becuase I'll spend the extra $$$ on an Athlon, though I am impressed with the semprons thus far and am still considering it. Probably dumb questions, but it's not possible to go passive cooling on a processor right? I do want the quietest heatsink though, and am looking for suggestions. I like my main system's Zalman copper HS, but don't need that cooling ability and quieter would be nice.

Motherboard
This I have no clue on, I know intel boards well, just not AMD boards. I'll probably want to go with an Nforce2 chipset (right?). Integrated video is an option as long as it is GF4 which works well with Linux (from what I've heard). However, I'm probably going to go with something along the lines of a GF4 MX4000 as it has SVideo/VGA/DVI.

Case
I love Antec cases and am leaning towards an Antec Overture right now. I'd much rather have a desktop case versus a cube. I'm open to any suggestions in this area.

Other than that, I'll probably start with a 256 stick & a DVD-Rom. I already have a Remote Wonder 1&2 lying around that should be useful too as well as a 160gb drive.

So basically, yeah... that's it. I know Intel and ATI pretty well, but NVidea and AMD, not so much. Questions I'm looking to get answered are what are the core differences between nforce2 & 3? Remeber, this is going to be linux, so everything needs to be compatable, especially with Myth, preferably KnoppMyth as I'm a linux noob.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Check the "System" thread (thread #1 in General Hardware) for motherboards. Antec Sonata is another good case choice, it's quiet and ships with a good power supply.

 

[DGath]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Check the "System" thread (thread #1 in General Hardware) for motherboards. Antec Sonata is another good case choice, it's quiet and ships with a good power supply.

I was really looking at the Sonata for my last build (ultimately decided against it), still really like that case, but mostly looking for a desktop/HTPC style case.

Considering I have the builders thread bookmarked on my mozilla link bar, I have no clue why I didn't look there initially. *smacks forehead*

 

[DGath]

Alright, so at this point, I'm probably leaning towards the huttle AN35N-Ultra with a mid-range Athlon-M. That Biostar looks good, but I don't need the integrated video as I need a seperate video card with the different video outs.

I'm tempted to maybe go with a 64 2800+ just to jump on the 64 bandwagon. Via the system builder's guide, its about $140 to go with a 2400+ w/ mobo, or about $200 for a 64 w/ mobo. What's the heat like on a 64 2800+? Like I said before, I'm looking to make this as quiet as possible

Maybe another forum more myth oriented would be the best place, but I'll need to be able to control a Motorola cable box, I'll need an IR blaster right?

As far as the video card goes, I'm really looking for recommendations on a MX440 or 5200. Once again, need TV or Svideo out (prefer svid), vga, and dvi.

NewEgg wishlist so far


Thanks!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

If you go sktA get a board with Soundstorm.

 

[Thegonagle]

Ah, the Antec Overture--so beautiful, so novel; unfortunately, it's a mixed bag.

With the Antec Overture, the cooler your components run, the better off you will be, because that case isn't a cool runner--I know from experience. A P4 3.0 and Radeon 9800 Pro caused the fans to make a lot of noise. A mobile CPU with the coolest-running video card you can find would be a good idea if you intend to keep the fan speeds low in the Overture.

I like the Overture, but if you put hot stuff inside, the fans will run wild. SilentPCReview.com is a good place to check out in order to find cool components for a quiet system.

 

[DaveSimmons]

FYI, Cooler Master makes some nice desktop mATX cases that take full-size ATX power supplies so you can get a quiet one.

 

[batmanuel]

I'd recommend the A7N8X-E Deluxe for a HTPC mobo because it has Soundstorm onboard, which will encode all of your audio into Dolby Digital 5.1 on the fly and allow you to output it to a home theater receiver via coax S/PDIF (not sure if the DD encoding is supported under Myth, though). It also has passive northbridge cooling (unlike the Abit NF2 boards) to cut down on the noise level and onboard gigabit ethernet (just in case you've got some big multimedia files you want to move across your home network). Add in a passively cooled graphics card, and a nice quiet fan for the processor and you should have a nice quiet setup.

As far as desktop cases go, I like the looks of the Coolermaster Cavalier 2 a lot. The VU meter on the front is a nice touch. Since it is a full ATX case, you've got more mobo options than with the uATX cases (I liked the looks of the old Coolermaster HTPC style cases, but my choice of mobos was too limited). Has anyone seen any reviews of the Cavalier 2? I'm really thinking of getting one to dump my current A7N8X into and use as a PVR when I upgrade my main system to an A64 in a year or two and I'm wondering if the beauty is just surface-deep or not.

 

[DGath]

Great suggestions, definitely considering both now.