New HTPC + Server (1 Viewer)

[CypherMK]

Hi all,

I'm planning to build a new HTPC and build a server out of my old components.

My HTPC should look like this:

Asus P8H61-M EVO (rev. 3.0)
Intel Core i3 2100
Scythe Shuriken Rev. B
OCZ Agility 3 SATA III 2.5" SSD 60GB
1TB Western Digital Green Power Hard Disk (Used for recordings, timeshifting, music and pictures.)
Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9/2G (2x2GB)
Sapphire Ultimate HD 6570 1GB DDR3
Corsair VX 450W (This is from my old setup, ATX 2.2) <-----------Is this good enough? Will this work?
Antec Fusion Remote (This is from my old setup)
Floppy DTV TV card (from old setup)

HTPC should play everything I throw at it.

My server should look like this:

MSI P7NGM Digital
Core 2 duo 5200
3 Hard disks (1.5 TB + 2 TB (2x) All: Western Digital Green Power. In the future maybe more?
4GB of RAM
I will use an old case from Antec. And I need a new power supply, Still not sure how many watts. I think 500-600W should be enough, in the case I buy more Hard Disks in the future (9 max).

The server has to be fast enough to stream blu-rays, mkv etc. to my HTPC (and maybe more future players). Are these hard disks fast enough. The server will be placed in my bedroom, so it should be as quiet as possible.

Any comments are very welcome

 

[craigparris1]

Hi there mate, have you used the Antec Fusion case + remote previously with MediaPortal? I'm wondering whether it's supported, as I'm thinking about getting this case

Cheers,
Craig

 

[CypherMK]

I've used this case for two years now with mediaportal. No problem at all. I only swapped the remote for something else, because of the range. I know have one with RF signal. The display also works very well. But you have to install the 7.60 Imon driver.

 

[CypherMK]

Any1?

 

[Jay_UK]

Hi there,

Puzzled by your terminalogy of "HTPC" and "Server".

Wouldn't it be better to put your TV tuner in the "server" and just use your HTPC as a client. Then all your timeshifting, recordings, etc are server based, and your client can focus on just displaying the content.

J.

 

[CypherMK]

Hi there,

Puzzled by your terminalogy of "HTPC" and "Server".

Wouldn't it be better to put your TV tuner in the "server" and just use your HTPC as a client. Then all your timeshifting, recordings, etc are server based, and your client can focus on just displaying the content.

J.

thx for the reply.

Maybe the server is better called: desktop PC with extra storage, not running 24/7. It will also be used as a desktop.

I don't have any experience with multi seat setups. But why is it better to put the tuner in the "server"? Is this reliable? I don't want to run my server 24/7. And TV has to work flawlessly , to make the wife happy!

 

[Jay_UK]

Hi there,

Now you clarified that, I think it would be best to keep single seat in your case.

I would be tempted to move the timeshift off that single drive - Maybe a RAM drive?

The drives in the server should be fine for serving content.

J.

 

[CypherMK]

A Ramdrive? You mean a virtual drive in my internal ram? Then I should have more ram in my htpc? And a X64 (windows 7) OS? Because in the past I got better performance with 4gb of ram then with 2gb.

So I should get 8gb? What are the benefits?

Thx for the help.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

 

[Jay_UK]

Hi there,

You may find that the 1TB WD Green is sufficient for recording and playing movies at the same time (some of the "energy efficient"/slower drives can struggle). Try it and see....

Yes I did mean a RAM drive. 4GB can be enough for everything including a small TS.

All depends on what you'll be running and what size of TS you want. The cost of an extra 2 or 4GB is cheap nowadays. You didnt mention anything about the OS, so I wasnt sure if you were "buying" new licenses. If so, buy 64bit. Everything runs fine on it - (The only interesting issue with 64bit is if you use it for compiling/software development - Its still usable you just have to do a bit extra)

J.

 

[CypherMK]

Hi there,

You may find that the 1TB WD Green is sufficient for recording and playing movies at the same time (some of the "energy efficient"/slower drives can struggle). Try it and see....

Yes I did mean a RAM drive. 4GB can be enough for everything including a small TS.

All depends on what you'll be running and what size of TS you want. The cost of an extra 2 or 4GB is cheap nowadays. You didnt mention anything about the OS, so I wasnt sure if you were "buying" new licenses. If so, buy 64bit. Everything runs fine on it - (The only interesting issue with 64bit is if you use it for compiling/software development - Its still usable you just have to do a bit extra)

J.

I think I will use the 1 TB disk for my initial purpose, recordings, timeshifting, pictures and music. Since I won't do many recordings, performance isn't critical.

As for the OS, I use Windows 7 32 bit now. The only benefit for 64 bit, would be if I use more RAM. Is that correct? If so, I'll stick with 32 bit for now (getting the 64 bit version isn't a problem btw .