[vdr] Mid range CPU choice

[covert covert]

On 8/21/07, Jouni Karvo <jouni.karvo at tkk.fi> wrote:
>
> hi,
>
>
> covert covert writes:
>  > About to step into the deep end and build my first VDR box. In fact 2
>  > of them at the same time both with the exact same specs.
>  >
>  > All parts are going to be new.
>  >
>  > New CPU's are a lot more confusing than the simple days of single
>  > cores at fixed clockspeeds.
>
> I can't help on the choosing CPUs part, but I can share my experience
> with a P4 for a VDR.  The thermostatic control fans reduce noise, but
> are not really silent.  I replaced both the power unit to a totally
> fanless one, and my CPU cooler is Scythe Ninja Rev B, which is totally
> silent (had a Zahlman AlCu7000 if I remember correctly, before).

My natural progression will be to chose a fan solution after choosing
a CPU. Thanks for the tips about fan less. I will seriously consider
it.

>
> Then I have an additional 120mm fan running slowly inside the box, but
> that I cannot hear outside.

The one single large fan running slow seems to be a common theme for
VDR. It must be a winning solution.

>
> The most noise right now comes from my Seagate Barracuda hard drives,
> which are pretty quiet, but still noticeable.  Especially one of them
> which has probably bad bearings.
>
> I also tried throttling / underclocking the CPU to reduce heat, but my
> MB starts an annoying whining noise if I do that, so I could not use
> that.
>
> But my advice, if you really want to reduce noise in a VDR, is to go
> for fanless choices.
>
> If you don't do other processing, any current desktop processor would
> have enough processing power.  For Full HD it could be different,
> though.

I want it to do some DivX encoding at night to save drive space so I
will want the grunt there when I need it.

Thanks for your advice.

>
> yours,
>                 Jouni
>
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