A while ago, my Asus Pundit based frontend/backend died. I'm now getting around to replacing it, and a few things have changed. I have another TV that I am thinking about connecting, and have now pulled ethernet wires through my house. I have also decided that I don't want as big and noisy of a box by my tv (the pundit wasn't bad, but the hd was the loudest, hottest part). I've decided to set up a separate backend to be placed in a closet and have a smaller and hopefully quieter/cooler frontend. Right now, I have a PVR-500, so all my recording would be SD, but I would like the ability to move to HD later.<br>
<br>For the frontend, I was thinking of using a Zontac Zbox. I was planning on running it diskless, with a flash card for mythbuntu. I was looking at two models, but can't decide between them. The ZBOX HD-ID11-U (<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173005">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173005</a>) and the ZBOX HD-ND02-U (<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173004">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173004</a>). The HD-ID11-U looks like it has a newer ION GPU, and dedicated video RAM, along with a slightly faster processor. Is it enough to actually make a difference as a frontend though? Looking through the archives, people seem to be happy with the Zbox and it seems that they can handle HD, but I'd be interested in any specific thoughts or suggestions. If I decided to in the future, would it have enough power to run MythGame and emulators?<br>
<br>For the backend, I am not yet sure what I want. I have a couple cases around that I could use since looks don't matter in a closet, but I would like something that is efficient and doesn't waste power. Any suggestions for a good, cheap, energy efficient CPU choice that would be sufficient for a backend?<br>
<br>Sean<br>