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have a look at this review - first Intel Atom/Nvidia 9300 MB
http://forums.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=19853		 Page 2 of 2
Author:  penguinpwr [ Sat May 30, 2009 9:22 pm ]
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The computer case does bring up some interesting information. The MB is just in an old SV-24 case that is modified so I can swap mini-itx MB. I use it for testing. I disabled the case fan because it is noisy and I tied a 120mm to the side for airflow. The cover is not installed. This makes it easy to work on. So I removed the 120mm, connected the case fan and put the cover on. While playing 1080i at full screen the temp went to 63C. That is not a small number! At least that is hotter then I like it. With a 40mm fan on the heatsink, the temp lowered to 56C. A 50mm fan lowered it to 49C and the 80mm lowered it to 47C. The heatsink looks like it is made to attach a 60mm fan to. The HT version does not come with a fan but the dual core does. At least the picture shows it does. So those who plan on using this MB, plan accordingly.

My real myth box is in an Antec solution case. So it looks like a piece of stereo equipment. The wife unit doesn't complain about it. Tell your buddy not to hang all the Linux distro cd's on the wall instead of the kids pictures? That doesn't go over well either. I will never understand the female mind. I wonder which kernel it's using?
Author:  penguinpwr [ Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:46 pm ]
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I got some more testing done and thought I should post it. First of all I had a typo earlier. The line that has to be added to the "/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base" file should be "options snd-hda-intel model=3stack-6ch-dig". There is also no need for the asound.conf file. The audio setting under the "Linhes Configuration" will make the necessary changes.

I installed the HDMI cable and the 60 mm fan. I tried an Asus U3100 usb tuner but failed to get it to work. I finally ended up with a HDhomerun. They are sweet. With 1080i on "Watch TV" I was getting 103% cpu on mythfrontend with surges to 180%. The X was at 57% and would drop when the mythfrontend surged. It would stutter real bad on sound and the video would stop and then jump. Things were ugly. Kind of like Intel graphics. Then I put the mythtv-vdpau on. I set up a vdpau playback profile. I then launched "Watch TV" on a 1080i show. The mythfrontend was at 17% and X was at 1%. Truely amazing.

I still have some issues to work through. When I ran HDMI sound to the TV the colors saturated green. I still haven't ran this down to an exact fix but I do have a work around. The issue arises from the setting in the bios for the audio. For HDMI audio the Azalia Audio must be set to "Internal" in the bios. Everytime I make a change to this setting the video comes up with a high green content. If you shut the computer down, unplug its power, push the on button for about 10 sec, plug it back in and restart it. The problem goes away. I will add this to my list of things that make me go "Huh?". This could be the bios, the hdmi cable or my MB. I'm just not sure which yet.

For HDMI sound the Azalia setting in the bios must be on "Internal". It will not work on the other settings. The LinHES Configuration / Audio settings need to be set to ALSA / Analog / NVidia[HDA NVidia](HD:0,3). The MythTV configuration audio settings need to be ALSA:hw:0,3 / Default / Stereo / Passive. Only "Enable DTS to SPDIF" should be checked. That will make HDMI sound work through the HDMI cable to the TV.

For analog sound from the speaker jacks the Azalia setting in the bios can be set at "External" or "Internal & External". Either way works. The LinHES Configuration / Audio settings need to be set to ALSA / Analog / NVidia[HDA NVidia](HD:0,0). The MythTV configuration audio settings need to be ALSA:hw:0,0 / Default / 5.1 / Passive. That will make the analog audio work.

I have not been able to get the digital audio to work yet. I'll play around a little more and see if I can figure out the correct combination.

I never did see any tearing on the Watch TV testing. But I never watched any dark horror movies on it. I did watch tennis. It was very painful, but there was no tearing. Compared to my main myth box, I think my onboard 6150 looks a little better then the ION. However, this is very subjective and I am use to the main unit. So this comment should be taken lightly.
Author:  Digriz77 [ Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:14 am ]
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Thanks for the info.
I have been looking at building a atom 330 based system. I have been waiting for a better chip set then what itel are offering on there boards. These ion ones sound fantastic.... hoping they will be readily available in Australia. The only catch for me is i only have composite inputs on my tv. Do you know if there is a work around or does that mean id need a new tv for it to work.

Now i just have to convince the wife.
Author:  Tweak [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:34 pm ]
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This Ion system looks so tempting for a MythTV box. ;-)

http://system76.com/product_info.php?cP ... ucts_id=95
Author:  mihanson [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:44 pm ]
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It seems that if one is interested in keeping costs down, the single-core Atom 230 sufficent appears to be sufficient for a frontend only box. And it's fanless to boot! :)
Author:  Tweak [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:08 pm ]
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Ah, nice thread! Lots good info.

mihanson wrote:
It seems that if one is interested in keeping costs down, the single-core Atom 230 sufficent appears to be sufficient for a frontend only box. And it's fanless to boot! :)
Author:  tscholl [ Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:27 pm ]
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Have a question, how do you control the front end? I don't see any mention of an IR interface.
Author:  hackmeister [ Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:09 am ]
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I just built a Zotac Ion AU based frontend for $318:
http://pdavila.homelinux.org:8080/blog/?p=347
http://pdavila.homelinux.org:8080/blog/?p=348
http://pdavila.homelinux.org:8080/blog/?p=349

So far I'm loving it
Author:  marc.aronson [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:33 am ]
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$199 for a complete system at Newegg (1GB RAM, ION LE, 160GB disk in a nice case w/ a power supply). It arrived the other day and I will by installing R6 on it soon.

Does anyone have a pointer for instruction on how to install R6 onto a USB drive? I don't want to install internal drive that has Windows XP. I tried once and it failed. Did some searching in the forums and didn't find any obvious pointers.
Author:  ceenvee703 [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:32 am ]
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Marc: I'll look around, but why not partition and dual-boot if you want to preserve the XP install?

This system looks great, particularly with HDMI output built-in.
Author:  craigtv [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:09 pm ]
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Marc:

I have that exact system from newegg that I configured as a frontend. Works great. I used a portable USB DVD drive for the install, but I just blew away XP.
Author:  mihanson [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:26 pm ]
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If you're afraid of installing over XP, then use clonezilla to image the drive first. You can always get it back if things go bad.
Author:  marc.aronson [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:12 pm ]
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Thanks for all the replies. I've actually succeed in installing things onto an external USB drive, but when I try to boot from that drive I simply get the letter "J" displayed in the upper left corner of the screen and everything hangs. I am guessing that its a boot loader problem -- any suggestions?

In terms of the other suggestions -- I want to retain the XP partition as I want the option of booting into windows. I'm game for a dual-boot option off that drive -- pointers on how to do this would also be appreciated.
Author:  ceenvee703 [ Wed Jan 13, 2010 1:13 pm ]
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I searched a bit for the "J" problem and found nothing conclusive. One thing I saw was to confirm that your computer is set to boot from external USB, but my guess is that you've already done that. Maybe searching for "J" and "grub" might turn something up.

Found one thread on the forums here -- old thread -- about dual booting.

http://knoppmyth.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13226

That's how I'd do it, although I'm not sure that's the best method anymore. Since Ubuntu makes it easy to partition and set up the dual boot, that thread basically says to do that, then set up additional partitions for a manual KnoppMyth install. I've never done a manual install, though, and not sure what the deal is with R6 and manual installs.

So if it were me, I'd probably clone the XP drive (Macrium has a free version of their program that does a great job), then wipe it and install R6, or alternatively, install and dual boot Ubuntu or Mythbuntu.
Author:  marc.aronson [ Fri Jan 15, 2010 10:36 am ]
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I found out how to get grub on the USB drive:
Code:
mount /dev/sdb1
cd /mnt/sdb1
grub-install --not-floppy --root-directory=. /dev/sdb


Boot starts but it fails when it cannot hit /dev/sda. I think the issue is related to having sda still being my drive with an NFTS / windows boot partition.
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