Ongoing Building a Media and TV server (1 Viewer)

[VdR]

I decided to build a new Media and TV server to replace the old GX270 with the bunch of USB HDDs I use now.

I want this server to have two discs in RAID1 for the operating system and 3 TB effective disc space in a RAID5 array for media storage.

It should hold my two BlackGold DVB-T TV tuner cards.

It should connect to the Gigabit LAN. It will sit in the attic and I will remote access it through a remote desktop connection.

It will run MS XP Pro SP3, MP TV server 1.1.0 and HandBrake for encoding.

So here is the shopping list I compiled:

Case:
Coolermaster, CM 690 = ATX, mid-tower, 5x 5.25" ext., 5x 3.5" int., 3x 120 mm fan, 1 pc

Power supply:
Coolermaster, Real Power Pro M520 = ATX, 150 x 86 x 150 mm, 520 Watts Continuous, 1 pc

Motherboard:
MSI P45 Neo3-FR = ATX, PGA 775, 1333/1600 FSB, Intel P45, 1x PCIe x16, 4x PCI, 8x SATA w/ RAID, 1 pc

Processor:
Intel Core2 Duo E8400 = 3.0 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 6 MB cache, 1 pc

Cooler:
Coolermaster Vortex 752 Copper base, 2 heatpipes, Alu fins, Fan: Φ92 x 25 mm, 800~2200 RPM

Memory:
Kingston KVR800D2N5/1G = 1 GB, 800 MHz, DDR2, PC2-6400, CL5, 1.8 V, Leaves room for overclocking to 1600 MHz, 4 pcs

Optical:
TBD

HDD (OS):
Western Digital, Caviar = 500 GB, from the shelf, 2 pcs

HDD (data):
Samsung Spinpoint F1 desktop = 1000 GB, SATA II, 32 MB cache, 4 pcs

Graphics adapter:
ATI, ATI Radeon X300SE, from the shelf, 1 pc

TV tuner:
Black Gold (BDI), from the shelf, 2 pc

Any comments and suggestions are welcome.

VdR

 

[VdR]

This server has been (almost) ready for quite while now.

Almost because I have only moved the media, not the TV cards and TV Server yet. I will wait with that until MP 1.1.0 is released. My current setup with 1.0.1 is just too stable to touch.

There is one big thing I ran into. MS Windows XP Pro cannot address a disc exceeding 2TB. So it did not show my 3TB RAID5. As a workaround I configured two 1.5 TB RAID5s, each using 50% of the four 1TB HDDs as dynamic discs and then joined them. UGLY! I'm not sure how much performance I lost because if this setup.

I used the build in MSI h/w over clocking to make the processor run at 3.6 GHz (instead of 3.0) , this works like a charm.

VdR

 

[MLH01]

Looks like a decent media server setup.

The only suggestion I would have is to go with Windows 7 when it becomes available to make use of your large storage. I'm sure you already have that in mind though...

 

[VdR]

Yes indeed. But considering the subtle difference that XP Pro is available to me from my desk drawer and Windows 7 only from stores ...

VdR

 

[Gixxer]

Do you really thing its a good idea to overclock a server? I mean the difference will only be in encoding and going from 3.0 to 3.6 dont know how profitable it is. have you considered this?

actually i dont encode so i have my server AUTO underclock when it does not need the power. reduces power consumption by about 20W so thats good.

 

[VdR]

Agree.

I mostly did this because I could. Indeed the advantage is only when encoding TV recordings that I want to save for the kids. With MSI over clocking speedstep (I think it is speedstep) still works. The machine runs at only 2.4 Ghz when not under load (CPU-Z).

VdR