Budget NAS for 1080p

Watching this thread closely, just acquired a i5 3570k for my home server but i am wondering on the best motherboard to pair it with, im looking at itx builds but obviously storage connections are a must. Does anyone have a recommendation of a board that has 6+ sata connections and is suitable to run a home nas/server form?
 
Honestly those Gen8 HP MicroServers are hard to beat, especially with cash back.

I would build it right once, although you don't need transcoding now I find that it rarely stays that way once you start using Plex you end up wanting to use phones, tablets and even the web streaming to a browser is awesome. I think if you end up with an atom or the like you will kick yourself when you cant do these things. the trouble is as mentioned a NAS with a decent processor is much $$$.

this leads you back to a DIY NAS on a £300 budget if you need the faster processor.

You can get a *cough* version of Synology (Xpenology) that works really well on the Microserver. See HERE
 
Thing is im not to sure what to do my HTPC in our bedroom is i5. Now i want a NUC for the tv downstairs that will have plex put on. The NUC will run windows. Now my HTPC has only 1tb storage and that is nearly full and when i get a NUC i will just be running an SSD with no internal drives. The external drives i have at the moment are nearly full due to backing up my movies and music. Now this is where im stuck.Im sorry im tech savvy and don't have much of a clue on these things. Now im not sure to get a NUC that doesn't have much power processing wise and get a more powerful NAS to transcode my 1080p mkv's and 3D films most of my collection are over 20gig films and fair few 720p films with DTS. What are others thoughts on what to do any help be appreciated many thanks
 
Cant really link you to competitors, sorry

If your not tech savvy at all a pre built NAS would be better suited, however installing xpenology (Synology) isn't really hard either.

I am of the opinion you should, if possible have a NAS at least capable of transcoding. You just never know what might need it, The XBONE, Smart TV's, Tablets, Phones all rely on some files being transcoded for them to varying degrees.

If you know for certain that all of your players are capable of direct playback of all of your file types you can certainly save yourself a little effort and get a lower end prebuilt NAS.

* Edit for my pants grammer
 
eggbert said:
Cant really link you to competitors, sorry

If your not tech savvy at all a pre built NAS would be better suited, however installing xpenology (Synology) isn't really hard either.

I am of the opinion you should, if possible have a NAS at least capable of transcoding. You just never know what might need it, The XBONE, Smart TV's, Tablets, Phones all rely on some files being transcoded for them to varying degrees.

If you know for certain that all of your players are capable of direct playback of all of your file types you can certainly save yourself a little effort and get a lower end prebuilt NAS.

* Edit for my pants grammer
Click to expand...

Yeah, some people go dumb NAS > NUC (for transcoding) then pipe that to everything though. That works too. Plex client works fine from a low powered client like a RPI2 as well, don't need a NUC for playback generally speaking.
 
How does the HP microserver handle transcoding ? my HTPC doesn't need it and when i get a NUC for the tv downstairs that wont either. Been looking at the i3 NUC. But we do have a Samsung S tablet and 2 smartphones aswell as a laptop but the laptop is powerful also
 
I use the RPI2 with Rasplex (Plex client designed for RPI!).

It's attached to my AV Receiver, which is in turn connected to my TV via HDMI ARC port.

I can get the RPI2 to play Dolby Digital, and DTS, but I've never seen it say DTS-HD or anything. I suspect my source material is usually either DD or DTS though, does those just fine.
 
Not to beat a dead horse as I think the OP's question has been answered but something puzzled me yesterday about having split setups (NAS/Client or HTPC) and I wonder what the answer might be:

Given a choice of:

Very powerful NAS with DLNA/Airplay streaming capabilities and the ability to load plex - to be used in conjunction with a weak client such as an Amazon Fire TV or RasperryPi

VS

Dumb NAS used for file storage and retrieval only connected to a powerful HTPC for HDMI output and streaming capabilities


Which one makes most sense and why? I can't justify or understand the point of expensive NAS units like synology DS415. I'd still need a decent client to actually get a picture out, particularly if connecting to a main household TV (unless I was streaming but built-in TV streamers are usually cack anyway)
 
what is your idea of expensive in regards to a client, a synology nas and a fire tv stick is for most a cheap solution. If you are talking about a cheap, single disk, £60 enclosure with network bolted on then IMO a synology nas is not even a solution you need never mind want. Syonology nas provide the option of reliable raid solutions, expandable, albeit limited hardware and consistent network performance with the ability to introduce third party software in to the mix.

A cheap single disk nas and a fire tv stick will play most things and serve you well if thats what you need, you will never have a great deal of flexibility with it but it will do it's job with some minor downsides that will effect you. slow transfer speeds and the like.

the way i see it is this.

'High end' HTPc and dumb nas gives you infinite flexibility as a open platform capable of being modified to exceed the function of the nas, file delivery. Gaming, 4k... 8k natively, but with the downside of being large and for the most part very close to your media consumption area and at times harder to accommodate a dedicated space of it's own.
You now also have to carefully or monetarily consider any expansion of the media network as you have dedicated your processing power at the fringe of the network rather than the root of it.

Powerful nas and a weak client deals with the awkward issues of accommodating a, for the most part, large htpc. You also now have the processing power at the root of the network allowing all of your fringes of the network to have far less power to accommodate your consumption of the media and more flexibility to expand without choking the root.

So with that in mind the running theme is expandability, both of the network and the systems being fed off of it. Deciding on a 'best' option boils down to how much you want to or may need to expand in to other areas of your house.
For most a synology nas and a fire tv HD will provide everything they ever need, they can add 2 maybe 3 more clients and never have an issue, it is a cheap option that installs the whole set up, 1 client and 1 server (nas) for around £300, minus your storage disks obviously.
Now add on tablets, phones or gaming consoles, even streaming to a remote location is possible and all of a sudden the nas doesn't cut it, this is where a high end nas comes in and becomes true 'server', money spent here invariably is deducted form any money spent down the line expanding into other rooms but with also providing the ability to use existing units connected to the network.

Whats best for you? how long is a piece of string, what do you want form your network and not just your main T.v, that answer will give you the answer to the question your asking.

Hope that helps
 
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Kanifee said:
what is your idea of expensive in regards to a client, a synology nas and a fire tv stick is for most a cheap solution. If you are talking about a cheap, single disk, £60 enclosure with network bolted on then IMO a synology nas is not even a solution you need never mind want. Syonology nas provide the option of reliable raid solutions, expandable, albeit limited hardware and consistent network performance with the ability to introduce third party software in to the mix.

A cheap single disk nas and a fire tv stick will play most things and serve you well if thats what you need, you will never have a great deal of flexibility with it but it will do it's job with some minor downsides that will effect you. slow transfer speeds and the like.

the way i see it is this.

'High end' HTPc and dumb nas gives you infinite flexibility as a open platform capable of being modified to exceed the function of the nas, file delivery. Gaming, 4k... 8k natively, but with the downside of being large and for the most part very close to your media consumption area and at times harder to accommodate a dedicated space of it's own.
You now also have to carefully or monetarily consider any expansion of the media network as you have dedicated your processing power at the fringe of the network rather than the root of it.

Powerful nas and a weak client deals with the awkward issues of accommodating a, for the most part, large htpc. You also now have the processing power at the root of the network allowing all of your fringes of the network to have far less power to accommodate your consumption of the media and more flexibility to expand without choking the root.

So with that in mind the running theme is expandability, both of the network and the systems being fed off of it. Deciding on a 'best' option boils down to how much you want to or may need to expand in to other areas of your house.
For most a synology nas and a fire tv HD will provide everything they ever need, they can add 2 maybe 3 more clients and never have an issue, it is a cheap option that installs the whole set up, 1 client and 1 server (nas) for around £300, minus your storage disks obviously.
Now add on tablets, phones or gaming consoles, even streaming to a remote location is possible and all of a sudden the nas doesn't cut it, this is where a high end nas comes in and becomes true 'server', money spent here invariably is deducted form any money spent down the line expanding into other rooms but with also providing the ability to use existing units connected to the network.

Whats best for you? how long is a piece of string, what do you want form your network and not just your main T.v, that answer will give you the answer to the question your asking.

Hope that helps
Click to expand...

That's exactly the point I was making Kanifee - see, I don't get why you wouldn't just run a basic NAS for storage and then run say an intel nuc right beside it or under a TV which, since it has a proper OS and proper outputs, can be turned into a plex server, media player, web browser etc all in one.

Look at this way:
Fully loaded Nuc with i3 (capable of transcoding 2/3 streams at once) - £400
Basic NAS such as Qnap 431 - £180
4x 3TB HDD - £300
Total - £880

This gives you a secured NAS for file storage, a flexible and powerful htpc to be a primary display output, a plex server, a media player and a browser/downloader

Now consider a powerful NAS/weak client scenario instead:
Synology DS415 - £350
Basic client Fire TV - £80
4x 3TB HDD - £300
Total - £730

This gives you a secured NAS for file storage with ability to stream to up to 3 clients but no display output, limited OS, limited "pc" functionality and in the case of having fire tV clients no 24p playback

With a nuc in the mix for scenario 2 it's even more expensive:
Synology DS415 - £350
i3 Nuc - £400
4x 3TB HDD - £300
Total - £1,050

It seems a no brainer surely? Option 1 is the right way to do it or am i missing something?
 
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Plex state a 2000 passmark score per 1080p transcode so the i3 could do maybe 1 1080p 10mbps + 1 720p maybe and you have hit the threshold.
 
Server

Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail Retail £154.99

ASRock Z97E-ITX/AC Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard
£114.95

Fractal Design Node 804 Micro-ATX Case - Black Window
£78.95

Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM
£303.80

Antec VP350P 350W 85% Efficient Continuous Power Supply
£31.99

2x Corsair Value 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single Channel Kit (CMV4GX3M1A1333C9)
£45.98

Total : £782.26

A small m.2 drive is needed to allow the use of all 4 sata ports on the asrock--!! scratch that, has 6 ports so just a small ssd for os.
and the HDD's are listed as they represent the cost of the ones you specified.

you can build a barebones brix system with 4gb ddr3 and a 60gb ssd for £170 and load up linux on both to run xbmc, plex server and whatever server software you choose.

Obviously this set up will take more input to set up form the user but it is far superior to anything you have listed and what i am aiming for give or take., i have my 3560k and in theory will allow up to 4 1080p transcodes.

If you want the extra ease add in a os for the server and or client. I may of missed some caveats of yours but that's just a quick chuck together, I'm not hung up on 24p myself at the moment so im happy with the fire tv hd but the brix should allow for it.


Edit..

Wrong case also, node304 is the itx, extra £17 off the list.
 
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Kanifee said:
Server

Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail Retail £154.99

ASRock Z97E-ITX/AC Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard
£114.95

Fractal Design Node 804 Micro-ATX Case - Black Window
£78.95

Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM
£303.80

Antec VP350P 350W 85% Efficient Continuous Power Supply
£31.99

2x Corsair Value 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single Channel Kit (CMV4GX3M1A1333C9)
£45.98

Total : £782.26

A small m.2 drive is needed to allow the use of all 4 sata ports on the asrock--!! scratch that, has 6 ports so just a small ssd for os.
and the HDD's are listed as they represent the cost of the ones you specified.

you can build a barebones brix system with 4gb ddr3 and a 60gb ssd for £170 and load up linux on both to run xbmc, plex server and whatever server software you choose.

Obviously this set up will take more input to set up form the user but it is far superior to anything you have listed and what i am aiming for give or take., i have my 3560k and in theory will allow up to 4 1080p transcodes.

If you want the extra ease add in a os for the server and or client. I may of missed some caveats of yours but that's just a quick chuck together, I'm not hung up on 24p myself at the moment so im happy with the fire tv hd but the brix should allow for it.


Edit..

Wrong case also, node304 is the itx, extra £17 off the list.
Click to expand...

I'm happy with my Proliant microserver - I was talking more in general theory. I don't see the point of an expensive/powerful NAS. Either get an all-in one expensive and powerful server like you've listed up there or get a basic NAS and a powerful htpc/nuc

I think your spec pretty much sums it up, powerful NAS makes no sense cost/performance wise
 
The server route doesnt allow you to secure your data very well as if something happens to windows or your os you're buggered
 
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