Hi,

From what I can tell the default Knoppmyth kernel is compiled with SMP support.

My question is simple:

Would compiling a newer kernel (perhaps with slightly tweaked options) provide any performance benefit when using an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+?

If anyone has actual experiences with custom kernels, please let us know if you think it has been of any benefit and what kernel config options you think made a difference.

I'm trying to troubleshoot occasional digital artifacts and glitches when recording or watching HDTV. I've changed a lot of things, but still experience these. Next on my list is faster RAM, and I'm willing to accept (after I've tried everything!) that reception in my area just occasionally goes haywire, but I'm wondering if I should be looking at super-charging my kernel too.

Brian

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3 pcHDTV cards & Winegard SS-2000 Square Shooter Antenna, ethernet over power on R7.

Awhile back I searched the mythtv-user archive trying to answer a similar question -- does Myth performace improve if using an AMD-specific kernel on an Athlon-based system?

After reading lots 'o messages, I came to the conclusion that it's best to stick with straight 686 files. There were anecdotes on both sides (yes, it improves, vs. no, it sucks) but the scariest were mentions of mplayer and other dependencies that worked substantially less well with a custom kernel.

I'd stick with the default KM kernel and pursue other tune-ups at this point. Once you get everything else perfected, maybe experiment with kernels then.

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Was one of the optimizations you've tried compiling mythtv from source/svn? I've noticed that when its compiled with DVB support enabled a warning comes up, advising you that "if you plan to watch HDTV recordings", you probably need to optimize for your processor.