HTPC/server spec

strumpusplunket

strumpusplunket

strumpusplunket

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I've been dithering for a while over several options for replacing my old clunky HTPC. I think I've finally rejected the option of NAS + NUC/Amazon Fire TV, and am now focusing on just building a smaller, quieter, new HTPC from scratch and having it double-up with some light media server type duties as well.

Want to check my idea and specs with the good and knowledgeable people here first (not planning on making the purchase until the end of the month).

So, the machine must be:
  • No more than around 340-350mm deep to fit in a new TV stand/cabinet
  • Near silent at idle and when playing back video content (a bit of fan noise when gaming is fine)
  • Fairly low power in idle state, and able to wake/sleep via remote access

It will be used for:
  • Playing back DVD/BR rips (mostly 720p, some 1080p)
  • Video on demand services
  • Light gaming (mostly Minecraft, plus some kid-friendly games, like Sonic, Lego games, etc)
  • Web browsing
  • Serving media to other devices when required (iOS, Android, Windows laptop)
  • Sickbeard, sabnzbd duties possibly. Possibly also Plex, Play On server duties.

Specs I'm looking at are:
  • Silverstone GD09 case
  • AMD A8-7600 CPU
  • ASRock FM2A88M Extreme4+
  • 8GB Team Xtreme 2400MHz DDR3
  • Notcua NH-L12 CPU cooler
  • 2x Nanoxia Deep Silence 120mm case fans

PSU: aiming to re-use my current Antec Earthwatts 380W, but if it's too noisy I'll go for a 300W Silverstone Strider or Superflower Amazon

HDD: Initially, I'll be using my HTPC's 500GB drive as system disk, and one of the 1TB Hitachis from my main PC as media drive. Will add 4TB+ WD Greens/Reds as required, and possibly upgrade OS disk to a small SSD. Think the case can hold 3x3.5 and 1x2.5, which should see me good for a few years.

OS: Windows 8.1

Any advice/guidance greatly appreciated. I'm particularly green when it comes to servers and am hoping this machine will do all I want it to.
 
The biggest thing I found noise wise in my HTPC was the hard drive.

Once I removed all mechanical hard drives, and was purely SSD, only then was I happy with the noise level...

Mechanical hard drives DO make a noise, and they can be the most annoying of noises in my opinion.

For that reason alone, I would separate storage and playback into two separate boxes.
 
Best decision I made was to stick all my storage drives in a nas hidden away in a cupboard and have all computers in the house to run just ssd's. Everything's fast and quiet. Normally just use the old bits from gaming rig in my htpc as they are both itx. I know it's not really what you wanted to hear but I personally couldn't have my server and htpc as one. Silent parts of movies etc would probably hear them.
 
Hmm, yeah, I didn't really consider that. I mean, I know mechanical drives make a bit of noise, but to be honest the idea of being able to hear the drives over the noise of the fans in my current set-up is actually so... luxurious I'd not really factored that in!

I guess it is possible (inevitable?) that once the other noises are dulled, the remaining HDD noise will become irritating.

Damn, though. It does add to the expense of the whole thing. I could underclock and undervolt my current HTPC and convert it into a basic server, but I'd need to spend another £140+ on a case that will fit into a cupboard/hifi stack, a quiet CPU cooler, new PSU, and OS (currently it's on Vista, which has to go...)

Would an old Athlon X2 7750 underclocked with 3GB RAM (yes, I know!) even suffice as a media and Sickbeard/sabnbzd/Plex/Play On server?
 
HP microserver is under £100 again. Use with a dirt cheap graphics card as a media centre, server etc.. When the noise finally gets to much, relegate it to a cupboard as a NAS/server. It can easily do the software you mentioned. Put some Linux variant on it.
 
Well, I already have a noisy and bulky PC that I could shove a cheap gfx card into for the same effect, but I really need the noise and space issues addressed, as that's what's prompted the whole upgrade.

However, the dimensions of the HP Microservers do mean that I could just maybe fit it under the stairs somewhere as a server. And it would possibly cheaper than buying a smaller case, CPU cooler and new PSU for my current set-up. Hmm. That could be a possibility.


So, few questions after all this:

1. Is the HDD noise the only real issue with having an HTPC/server all-in-one set-up? I will have to have a think on this, but if it's the only issue then I might just see if I can live it first and then look for other options if the noise is too much.

2. Would an Athlon X2 7750 be appreciably better than the Turion II in the HP Microserver? I could always look into a small and cheap mATX cube for my current mobo/CPU.

3. Are those specs in my first post okay for what I want from the HTPC? Any improvements anywhere?

Cheers.
 
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I made mine with an A10 5700.

It's dead quiet, and can transcode in plex with no effort, an boots to XBMC in under 20s. Runs everything I can throw at it, multiple Plex streams, and stream from XBMC without even so much effort or much raise in CPU temps. It's dead quiet so I just leave it on.

My data store is on an HP N40L.
 
Ok, on further reflection, yes, it's probably right about not wanting mechanical HDDs in the living room HTPC. Seems silly to spend on super-quiet fans, cooler, CPU and then have disk noise.

So, after looking around for a bit I think the cheapest option might be to stick a low-power CPU into the Gigabyte AM2+ board in my current HTPC (thinking an Athlon X2 240e, which are available second-hand for around £20), building a shelf in the under-stairs cupboard, running some CAT5 to the gigabit port on our router and having that as our media server.

That only adds £20 plus the price of about 8m of CAT5 and a couple of bits of wood to the price of the project. Oh, and another OS I guess, though I've been thinking of grabbing Win 8.1 for my main PC anyway, so the server could just get Win 7HP on it.

So the only question remaining is:
Any problems with the specs in the OP for a light gaming/media HTPC?
 
Ooh, nice, Freefaller. Seeing all the shiny new kit really makes me want to get started on this.

Any reason you went for the A10-5700? I decided on the A8-7600 because it's a lower-power part that seems to have the same gfx performance as the A10-7850k. I never looked at the A10-5700 though, so don't know much about that one.

Isn't the XMS3 only 1600MHz? My understanding is that the APUs on the Kaveri chips really benefit in terms of graphical performance from very fast RAM, with FPS increasing notably as you go right up to 2400MHz. Have you done any gaming on it yet?

And is that the GD05 you've got there?

Oh, and what OS are you running for those fast boot times? OpenElec or XBMCbuntu?
 
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I got it on the MM for a good price - that's the only reason :)

No issue with gfx performance it's beautiful at 1080p no tearing, full DTS decoding too.

Yes it's only 1600 but again I'm not using it for games, so it was just about keeping prices down - built it all for around £250.

I'm running win 7 on it, as I have my plex server running on it hence why I just have a small SSD HDD.

All my media is stored on an HP server :)
 
It was all running on my microsever (HP N40L) but it was struggling a little - this set up is SO much better.

Good luck with the build and hope it works out well for you. :)
 
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