2tb hdd with sdd - what size and how to setup? No longer use standby? (1 Viewer)

[datfreak]

My current HTPC uses a 2tb WD green drive for everything. I plan to keep this drive for the new rig.

I'm about to order parts for a new HTPC - going to go with low end I3 3225 and a giga or asus h77 board.

Now with SSD being cheaper, I'm considering getting either a 128 or 256gb.
This pc will be standalone - and the 2 tb media drive will be network accessible.

Obviously the ssd will be the OS drive and mediaportal drive. but should I get one big enough for TV recording or should I have that recording on the slower 2tb hdd? A lil 128gb sdd is only $100ish but that would not hold much recorded tv. A 256gb sdd would work for tv recording, but doesn't leave much room, plus is more expensive.
thoughts?

Also because SSD boot time are so much quicker, is it still worthwhile using S3 anymore or is it just as quick to do a full shutdown/restart?

thanks for your thoughts

 

[Atomic7431]

I have a 64gb ssd and it holds all i need at present for windows 7 x64, mepo and addons, makemkv and various tools i use and still have 20 gb spare (roughly).
I have 3 2TB hdd and i have tv recordings and music on one, tv series and other software backups on another and hd + sd movies on the other drive.

I wouldnt use my windows installation drive to record to as well if you can afford not too, just my personal opinion as if you start recording much hd content you may find (depending on how quick you watch things) you run out of space even on a 256gb drive, and besides why pay a premium for the extra ssd space when a normal hdd will give you far more space for less £s and you wont need a mega quick drive to record too.
I appreciate ssd prices are a lot cheaper now but i would buy a 128gb and use whatever you save and buy a bigger or extra hdd for storage space as you can never have enough once you start putting bluray and films on in general.

What gpu are you using? have you considered the amd A10-5800k with its built in gpu ? performs well in a htpc setup.

my setup never sleeps and therefore no extra config to setup for resuming when recording etc and no issues with start or resume speeds. ssds are great for speed etc but i just find leaving it on stops a lot of niggling issues some have with coming out of sleep for recordings and or epg grabs etc.

 

[kiwijunglist]

I'd still use S3, it'll be faster.
It's up to you where you put your tv recordings
SSD
- takes up more space
- more expensive
- quieter when recording
- uses less power when recording (only 1HDD active)
HHD
- cheaper
- more room for recordings
- slightly more noise when recording
- slightly more power when recording

I'd probably put your recordings on the 2TB HDD
The i3-3225 seems like an overkill for an HTPC, the onboard HD4000 is plenty fast enough for 1080i.

 

[datfreak]

What gpu are you using? have you considered the amd A10-5800k with its built in gpu ? performs well in a htpc setup.

my setup never sleeps and therefore no extra config to setup for resuming when recording etc and no issues with start or resume speeds. ssds are great for speed etc but i just find leaving it on stops a lot of niggling issues some have with coming out of sleep for recordings and or epg grabs etc.

I was going to use the onboard intel hd4000 gpu - from what i have read it seems to do everything I want.
Although on my older amd X2 htpc the onboard vid sometimes did strange stuff like half window after resume, so I eventually went and bought a discret gpu card which fixed some issues - I hope the intel doesn't do anything too odd.
I will look into the a10-5800k before i buy the intel gear - i'm keen on a low power / heat /noise setup and even considering running passive cooling if i can find a low power cpu/gpu

I'd still use S3, it'll be faster.
The i3-3225 seems like an overkill for an HTPC, the onboard HD4000 is plenty fast enough for 1080i.

I was going to buy the 3220 which has the 2500gpu for $119 but then the 3225 is $135 and has the 4000gpu, so I thought it was worth the extra money.

It seems a waste to have a 128gb ssd and only use ~ 10gb with OS and mepo files(ok time shifting files also). Maybe I could use it for tv recording, but use a script to move recordings over to the HDD when the sdd is 80% full.


thanks for your thoughts

 

[kiwijunglist]

Yeah actually the i3-3225 is fine, it's worth it over the i3-3220... for some reason I thought the CPU you listed wasn't the cheapest 3rd gen i3. You can also consider AMD Trinity A4-5300 A6-5400 both are also good HTPC CPUs (Don't get the AMD Llano eg. A4-3XXX or A6-3XXX) The AMD CPUs generally have slightly faster graphics and generate slightly more heat than the intel ones.

You can go with a cheaper motherboard eg. B75 and for RAM I'd get 2x4GB of cheap DDR3 1300 CL9 (don't need expensive RAM), I'd go for slower 8gb rather than faster 4GB any day.