I took the plunge and decided to build a HTPC incorporating MythTV in a small-form-factor case.

The aim was to:
- play from my song library
- play from my movie library
- record from DVB Freeview
- remove adverts
- general web-browsing
- perform any rendering of any movie files (just a general computer, useful to have around)

Ideally I'd like to be able to play 1080p files. So far it does that but seems to judder a bit. 720p went fine. Bear in mind this is an untweaked system. So far, I've installed the components and got the operating system to recognise the components. I haven't made any configuration changes....yet. I expect it to perform better than it does so far.

Components:
1 x AMD AM2 Athlon 64 5000+ Brisbane Core
1 x Zalman CNPS8000 Ultra Quiet Low Profile CPU Cooler
1 x Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H AMD 690G, SAM2, PCI-E
1 x 2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2 DHX, DDR2 PC2-6400
1 x Samsung SpinPoint T166 500GB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM
1 x Silverstone Sugo SG01B-Evolution Black SFF / uATX aluminium Case
1 x (but I'd get 2 next time) 45cm Akasa Serial ATA HDD cable, with right angle connector SATA300 Certified
1 x 80mm Zalman ZM-F1 Quiet Case Fan Speed Adjustable
1 x MX-2 Thermal Compound
1 x Hauppauge WinTV-Nova-T PCI Freeview receiver (909)
1 x 2.0m Scan HDMI V1.3 Cert.

The case is great. Instructions slightly awkward, not a complete installation process (don't say when to put memory on motherboard - but common sense and some forethought will help)

The main problem with this case and motherboard is the motherboard's sata connectors. They face horizontally away from the board right into the path of the hard=drive caddy fan.You'll only get two and it's a squeeze - so that's one for the DVD and one for the harddrive. The others are not accessible - unless you can find a right-angle Sata that has a very short connection before it goes through 90 degrees. Maybe an IDE DVD would be more practical.

Connect the sata cables to the motherboard first, then slide the caddy into place. It requires some jiggling around but it's do-able without damage.

I went for a fresh install, just putting the downloaded 7.10 Ubuntu CD in and installing from there.

For first installation, you will need a ps2 keyboard, just to get into the bios and change it so that USB mice and keyboards are enabled.

Download the AMD64 version of ubuntu

Have a guess at what the installation buttons are (they're off the bottom of my screen). Could change xorg, but possibly not worth it yet. Easy enough to guess, tab through and enter for ok. (this is why we're wiping the drives - no idea how to get through this menu at that point without seeing the keys)

reboot

Blank screen.

Reset

At point where Grub loads, press Esc. Choose safe mode

First time round, I got a GUI, after disabling gnome I lost it. Partly my fault.

Let's sort out Xorg so at least we've got a VESA signal for the HDMI output. edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and change the Device driver to "vesa"

reboot

Go to restricted drivers and enable ATI

Restart

Keep an eye out on the progress for RadeonHD. It looks more promising longer-term but for now this works. From what I've read, sound via HDMI may actually be possible. It even shows it on my mixer and I can select it in the preferences, but it doesn't actuall do anything (yet).

Now increase your system and browser font sizes so you can read what you're looking at :-)

For those wanting MythTv, then put Mythbuntu on top of it. (you could go straight with Mythbuntu and not have the underlying Ubuntu, but I prefer to have a more rounded-desktop)

Follow the instructions at MythTV to install.

Works well as a combined front-end,back-end, desktop on 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon