TV Server

What was the reason I removed the 7010iX tuner card from the HTCP, you wonder... Well, I wasn't using it much to watch TV or record from... so I had the bright idea of building an energy efficient PC as a dedicated TV Server...

I was worried about the power consumption of my HTPC - averaging 150W at times - and leaving it on to record programmes late at night. The idea was that if I could build an energy efficient box - using 50W when running - I would sleep better at night ;) and use it more to record TV...

Just today, I see this Acer PC for sale on eBuyer: Acer Aspire X1300 SFF Desktop PC.

It has the energy efficient AMD processor in it: the 5050e and according to the guy on Coding Horror, he's built a energy efficient PC using it.

But after a quick calculation of the components making up that PC, I think it can be built for less. Using near-equivalent bits from Scan, I can make a box cheaper than the asking price of £250:

CPU: AMB Althlon 64 X2 5000+ @ £43
Mobo: Asus M3N78-VM @ £48
RAM: 2 x 1Gb Hynix 667 @ £33
HDD: 320Gb Hitachi £31
DVD: Samsung SH @ £18
Case: mATX case @ £31

Total: £204

Admittedly, there's no OS or warranty costs, but still a saving of about £45... Well I think I'm going to wait for the AMD X2 240e processor (as I don't seem able to get the 5050e anymore) to be released to start building this box...

Another reason to pull of the 7010iX card is to reduce the energy consumption of the HTPC, and speed up the boot process. Uninstalling TV Server or configuring it so it does not start up the service on boot or on MediaPortal start, means that MP loads faster for Movie watching...