Non-gaming Mini-ITX "power house"

stueng

stueng

stueng

Associate
Joined
30 Dec 2011
Posts
1,177
Location
London
I had a previous "build your own nas" thread but I have decided that instead of having a dedicated NAS I want a machine to replace three existing machine

NAS (currently 2TB)
XBMC + sab/cp/sb etc (currently ion2)
Homeseer (currently lenovo x60 laptop)

So I want to build a mini-itx machine capable of housing at least 4 sata 6gb/s 3.5 disks, preferably 5. CPU/RAM to run VirtualBox with at least one XP guest running homeseer. CPU/GPU to run XBMC with all plugins, effects etc

Must have HDMI

Here's what I have so far

YOUR BASKET
3 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) £129.98 (£389.94)
1 x AMD A8-3870K 3.00GHz (Socket FM1) APU Processor (AD3870WNGXBOX) £107.99
1 x Gigabyte A75N-USB3 AMD A75 (Socket FM1) DDR3 mini ITX Motherboard £74.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q08B USB3.0 Mini-ITX Case - Black £73.98
1 x Lian Li IB-01B PCI-Express 5-Port SATA-II & 1-Port e-SATA RAID Controller £69.98
1 x OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) £59.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99
6 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-15BL Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 15cm, Blue £2.99 (£17.94)
Total : £853.30 (includes shipping : £11.25).



Could someone please help me with choosing a PSU and CPU cooler?
And any comments? changes? suggestions?
 
 
I'll go for the cheapest SATA 3 SSD, I think there will be obvious performance gains by going SATA 3 over 2 when talking about SSD's

yeah in my post I said Im looking for some advice on a PSU and a cooler too please :)
 
stueng said:
I'll go for the cheapest SATA 3 SSD, I think there will be obvious performance gains by going SATA 3 over 2 when talking about SSD's

yeah in my post I said Im looking for some advice on a PSU and a cooler too please :)
Click to expand...

Well unless you're doing intense reading/writing you don't need the fatest ssd - most people won't notice the difference. I had the original agility (30GB, SATA2) and my new M4 doesn't feel any faster to me because I don't use the the extra speed.

Well that PSU I linked is plenty as you have no dedicated GPU :)
Coolers, you're limited in height in that case as the PSU is in front of the motherboard. I can't find what the height limit is though... You may be best sticking with the stock cooler for now.
 
I notice that the A6/8 support RAM up to 2133mhz

Is there some low profile dual channel 1866-2133mhz RAM out there for a reasonable price?
 
I'm looking at building a similar thing but for around £500 all i need it to do is to run XBMC and play 1080p videos. I currently have a Qnap 410 which i stream from to watch my movies but am running out of space (only have 4tb).
What could i sacrifice to still play 1080p blu ray's?
 
HammyUK said:
I'm looking at building a similar thing but for around £500 all i need it to do is to run XBMC and play 1080p videos. I currently have a Qnap 410 which i stream from to watch my movies but am running out of space (only have 4tb).
What could i sacrifice to still play 1080p blu ray's?
Click to expand...

you want it to be a NAS as well as play xbmc? Disks alone would be £350ish unless you plan to use your existing disks and migrate to new ones? For example, buy 2 X 2TB disks now, transfer your data accross and then add your original disks to the new array?

Well anyway, something like this would work: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-209-MS - couple it with a micro atx case that fits a bunch of disks, cheap PSU, cheap ram.. install linux, create mdadm RAID array, migrate your data and then extend the array with your old disks

6 SATA ports and built in GPU, it will play back 1080p no problem but I wouldn't count on being able to run the Aeon MQ3 skin with all the effects turned on
 
Last edited:
stueng said:
you want it to be a NAS as well as play xbmc? Disks alone would be £350ish unless you plan to use your existing disks and migrate to new ones? For example, buy 2 X 2TB disks now, transfer your data accross and then add your original disks to the new array?

Well anyway, something like this would work: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-209-MS - couple it with a micro atx case that fits a bunch of disks, cheap PSU, cheap ram.. install linux, create mdadm RAID array, migrate your data and then extend the array with your old disks

6 SATA ports and built in GPU, it will play back 1080p no problem but I wouldn't count on being able to run the Aeon MQ3 skin with all the effects turned on
Click to expand...

It's more going to be a XBMC and just have all my films onto it.

Processor is it best to go for the Quad Core or will this one do.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-307-AM&groupid=701&catid=1967&subcat=2060

Thanks for your reply
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom