Which is better for Ubuntu MythTV server

[DarkTXKnight]

Ive got some spare parts that I would like to use to build my MythTV server and maybe one front end. I have 2 GB of PC3200 RAM and some disks lying about and want to know which are the better processors for this:

P4 2.4 GHZ
AXP 2800+
AXP2500+
Sempron 2500+
AXP 2200+

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[allies]

i say the sempron 2500+ but that's just my opinion... I've never used any of those processors.

 

[myocardia]

I'd definitely go with the P4. Pentiums always destroyed Athlon XP's in doing video work, and every single processor you list besides the P4 is an Athlon XP, including the Sempron 2500.

 

[DarkTXKnight]

would the video performance matter even if this is a myth backend?

 

[DarkTXKnight]

anyone?

 

[pm]

I've run it on a 3.6GHz Pentium 4, and then ran it later on a Via Epia M10000 - and it worked fine for live TV watching in both cases. If you are going HD, you might need a higher performing processor, but for baseline use, pretty much anything above a 733MHz Pentium III works.


http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-3.html

Here are a few data points:

A PIII/733MHz system can encode one video stream using the MPEG-4 codec using 480x480 capture resolution. This does not allow for live TV watching, but does allow for encoding video and then watching it later.
A developer states that his AMD1800+ system can almost encode two MPEG-4 video streams and watch one program simultaneously.
A PIII/800MHz system with 512MB RAM can encode one video stream using the RTjpeg codec with 480x480 capture resolution and play it back simultaneously, thereby allowing live TV watching.
A dual Celeron/450MHz is able to view a 480x480 MPEG-4/3300kbps file created on a different system with 30% CPU usage.
A P4 2.4GHz machine can encode two 3300Kbps 480x480 MPEG-4 files and simultaneously serve content to a remote frontend.

The second mode of operation is where MythTV is paired with a hardware-based video encoder, such as a Matrox G200 or a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150/250/350/500. In this mode, because the video encoding is being done by a dedicated video processor, the host CPU requirements are quite low. See the Video Capture Device section for details.

The price differential between a frame grabber and a card that implements hardware MPEG-2 encoding, such as the Hauppauge PVR-x50 series, is now less than $30 US. Primary development in MythTV has transitioned to supporting MPEG-2 capture devices and HDTV, so if given the option, go with the hardware MPEG-2 encoder.

If you have a Via M10000 series or a Hauppauge PVR-350, MythTV can use the hardware-based video decoder for playback, which further reduces CPU requirements.