New HTPC/Server Build - Recommend Changes!

StevenBullen

StevenBullen

StevenBullen

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Joined
20 Jul 2011
Posts
32
I currently have a few internal drives and a few external drives connected to an old server and looking to move it all inside a new htpc/server. So I am looking to spec a new htpc/server and need some recommendations.

Requirements
  • Storage - 15TB RAID 5 (12TB)
  • Quieter the better
  • Cheaper the better(-ish) I am not made of money lol
  • Lower power consumption the better
  • Windows 7

Usage
  • Streaming to AppleTV 2 XBMC (720P moving to 1080P occasionaly in the future) & TV of course through HDMI
  • Running two Windows 7 programs all the time the machine is on

Spec So Far
Case - £167 Lian Li PC-C60B HTPC Case
Motherboard - £180 Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - Possible overkill for an HDMI out and SATA RAID on board
Processor - £96 Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor
Memory - Not Sure
Power Supply - Not Sure
HD (OS) - Already have a SATA drive for this
HD x 5 (Storage) - £130 each Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
SATA Controller Card - Was hoping to use the onboard RAID
Graphics Card - Was hoping to use the onboard HDMI
 
Last edited:
StevenBullen said:
I was actually looking at another motherboard that is half the price but it has HDMI and RAID 5 for 5 drives.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-202-MS

Thanks
Click to expand...

I think you will find it will only raid 4 drives.

Also motherboard raid is slow and unreliable. I.e: If your motherboard dies you have lost your data however with a adaptec raid card you can replace the card and your raid array should be recognised again.

YOUR BASKET
5 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST3000DM001) £129.98 (£649.90)
1 x Intel Core i3-2120 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Fractal Design Define R3 Midi Tower Case - Arctic White £79.99
1 x Gigabyte H61MA-D3V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £47.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £43.19
1 x Sandisk Ultra SSD 60GB 2.5" SATA-2 Solid State Hard Drive - (SDSSDH-060G-G25) £39.95
1 x Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply £32.99
Total : £999.01 (includes shipping : £12.50).



+ £200 - £300 for raid card.
 
Thanks

If I want to spend the extra money, do you see anything wrong with the case I picked as it will look better under the TV?

Also can you recommend a RAID Controller card? never purchased one, well except for a SCSI controller years ago.
 
Sorry one more question.

These days do controller cards have the ability to add drives on to a RAID5 setup, so if I purchase 3 drives this month and then purchase 2 next month? or is it just easier to set it all up with 5 drives in one go.
 
StevenBullen said:
Thanks

If I want to spend the extra money, do you see anything wrong with the case I picked as it will look better under the TV?

Also can you recommend a RAID Controller card? never purchased one, well except for a SCSI controller years ago.
Click to expand...

The reason i reccomended the fractal is due to the fact that the cases are very quiet and have sound deading material all over as well as sound isolationg gromets on the HDD trays.
 
StevenBullen said:
Sorry one more question.

These days do controller cards have the ability to add drives on to a RAID5 setup, so if I purchase 3 drives this month and then purchase 2 next month? or is it just easier to set it all up with 5 drives in one go.
Click to expand...

Most cards should allow you to add to the array.

I am not sure about which raid card.

You want a LSI or Adaptec card. That has 2 SFF8087 connectors on it.
 
If your current case is good enough and already under the TV why not move your storage to a HP Microsever. It's what I use along side a regular HTPC.

The newzbin download and extracting all happens on a dedicated server which doesn't disrupt any TV viewing. And any tinkering on the server means any episodes of Eastenders don't get missed :)

The server streams videos to HTPC/TV, and mobile devices using Plex Media Centre.
 
jamesfreddie said:
You want a LSI or Adaptec card. That has 2 SFF8087 connectors on it.
Click to expand...
Thanks will do some investigation this evening.

Mujja said:
If your current case is good enough and already under the TV why not move your storage to a HP Microsever. It's what I use along side a regular HTPC.
Click to expand...
I currently have a Small Tower that will not hold all the drives.

Mujja said:
The newzbin download and extracting all happens on a dedicated server which doesn't disrupt any TV viewing. And any tinkering on the server means any episodes of Eastenders don't get missed :)
Click to expand...
I normally would pause Newsbin when I am about to watch anything so that shouldn't be a problem.
 
jamesfreddie said:
The reason i recommended the fractal is due to the fact that the cases are very quiet and have sound deading material all over as well as sound isolationg gromets on the HDD trays.
Click to expand...
Yeah but it will look awful under my TV, any ideas for something black and holds 6 drives that has good sound isolation? or I could just add some sound proofing to the inside :/
 
You might want to consider the HP ML110 G7 which is very cheap at the moment with cashback (£250).

You'd still need a RAID card (like the LSI one above) as the onboard RAID is software based and limited to RAID0 or 1. The 4 hard disk bays use an SFF8087 cable so could be plugged straight into the LSI card rather than onboard. It's got 2x5.25 bays that could put a 3x3.5 disk caddy in (£80), and link it to the second LSI port with a SATA to SFF8087 cable (£20)

Only down side is that you don't get any control of cooling, you'll be stuck with the fans that it comes with as they use HP specific connectors. Mines reasonably quiet most of the time, but it could be a problem.
 
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