Home Media setup - fileserver/HTPC?

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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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I'm building a small file server to hold my multitude of DVDs. I've asked about this before, but due to family issues was unable to buy. Now I've got the cash in hand, so I'd like to order (most parts) ASAP.

Core info:
1) File server - see notes below
2) 80,000 yen - 120,000 yen (I've got the 80,000 yen now with the remainder available mid month)
3) If you couldn't guess from the budget, Japan...
4) No preferences
5) No current parts
7) No overclocking
8) N/A - file server but see notes
9) ASAP - I will place an order for the parts by mid-week for the initial parts and mid-month for the remainder if needed.

Notes:
The main goal is to store a ton of dvds (800+ at last count) eventually and to be able to play them on a PS3 or Sony Bravia TV. Now I'd like to keep switchable subtitles and languages - my SO is Japanese and likes to have either Japanese or English subtitles... or Japanese audio if available. IIRC PS3s cannot cope with .iso so I would have to convert, and I'm unsure on what format etc. but that's a seperate issue.
But this does link onto the other part. Would it be better to go for an HTPC (with extra HDDs) for the moment and then build a new fileserver at a later date (e.g. summer bonus...:p if the SO will let me). I won't be filling up the drives immediately.

Parts I was previously contemplating...
ASUS E45M1-I Deluxe Link
Fractal Design Array R2 Link
OR
Silverstone Grandia GD06 Link

Final option would be to get a prebuild, mini box for HTPC now. E.g. ASRock CoreHT or even a Mac Mini...

I will need quiet as everything would be near-ish the TV...

Thanks all
Michael
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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Spikesoldier said:
E-450 is a good choice.

i currently run a freenas fileserver with a e-350 in there and it does a great job while sipping the power.

i went with this case: http://www.amazon.co.jp/NZXT-TEMPES...computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1333814357&sr=1-2-fkmr1

because it can hold up to eight hard disks.

i run all my hard disks in RAID 1. if i built today, i would probably go with 2TB or 3TB hard disks instead of the 1TB drives it currently houses.
Click to expand...

The case is nice, but it has to sit in the main room in plain view... as such it needs to be stylish in order to please the one who controls the purse strings... :D Also, how noisy is yours?
 
Spikesoldier

Spikesoldier

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Oct 15, 2001
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splat_ed said:
The case is nice, but it has to sit in the main room in plain view... as such it needs to be stylish in order to please the one who controls the purse strings... :D Also, how noisy is yours?
Click to expand...

the fans included seem cheap and are probably more noisy than quality fans. it sits in the corner of my office and i can't hear it. the e-350 board i have is the micro-atx asus model which is passively cooled.

currently, the server has six hard disks in it, all 7200rpm. the fans make more noise than the disks, though.

i like the case because it has room for eight hard disks, and if you want to get a 3x 5.25" sata backplane, expandability for four more, bringing a total of twelve hard disks.

if you want something more elegant, (and i love lian-li cases) the maximum i've seen is probably to be around six hard disks, but then again, i haven't looked recently so maybe something new has come out.
 
Kartajan

Kartajan

Golden Member
Feb 26, 2001
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Just for some comparison, I have 208 DVD's on my server. i3, 2G Ram, 2TB HDD, WHS v2 all in a generic emachines case. I use less than 1TB for all of my movies (main movie w/ subs & lang, no compression). A generic case should be able to fit enough HDD's

As long as you can locate a standard case that looks good, you can easily run what you want.

I would probably try this, get (2) 2TB HDD, and a copy of WHS v2 for the fileserver
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000345142/?lid=ksearch_kakakuitem_title

LuvMachines Lm-i736E Standard

Also, once you are running the server, you can remove monitor/mouse/keyboard/DVD-rom (if you need the bay space for additional HDD's) and run it headless. (regular PC is used to interact w/ the server and load new DVD's on to the system)

Note: I use DVDFab to rip my DVD's to a main movie only/ folder structure.
MyMovies does my metadata, I have good functionality with all my PC's and my NTV550.

Since you are aiming for PS3 freindly, read this: http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/PS3_H.264_Conversion_Guide_page1.html
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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mfenn said:
So is this going to be an HTPC or just a file server?
Click to expand...

I've been thinking more about this today. I will go for a file-server for now. I can run a long hdmi cable from my gaming pc to my tv as a stop-gap measure until I build/buy a HTPC later in the year.
 
Kartajan

Kartajan

Golden Member
Feb 26, 2001
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I forgot to mention, the server method does allow you to relocate the server to anywhere you can reach with CAT5 cables and electricity in the event that it is not pretty enough for the SO... I keep my server in the top of a closet in order to keep it out of sight....

Example:

TV--NTV550--------------------GigE ethernet hub---------------------Server

(I have more stuff than that connected, but you get the idea...)
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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Looking at it, I'll stick with the motherboard and Fractal Design case - it's stylish, quite quiet and holds 6 hdds + 1 SDD. The motherboard can cope with 5 x SATA but that should be enough.

Unless anyone has any other recommendations for motherboard/case for a file server?

Just need to decide on memory - I was looking at a single stick of 4GB
e.g. Buffalo

And then need HDDs/SDD. The question here is should I get a SDD for the OS disk?

Final question is which OS? I'm more comfortable with windows (so WHS) but I do know a little about linux - my laptop runs gentoo...
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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For the HDDs, what are Hitachi like? They've got a 4TB available...^_^ that would hold quite a few dvds...

As to RAID? There will be important data such as photos on here, but I back those up to blu-ray on my main pc. So it's more about having a central spot to organise...
 
Kartajan

Kartajan

Golden Member
Feb 26, 2001
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I would go with 2 sticks of whatever size you like in order to maximize it's efficiency. Pretty much everything supports dual channel operation. As far as a SSD for the file server, I would not go there- the most work the server does is on the big HDD's that carry your stuff, a SSD would be wasted in that scenario. (unless you find the big bucks and go ALL SSD, but that would be crazy expensive)

RAID is likely to be more work and cost than what this scenario calls for. I personally maintain a seperate HDD backup of my server's entire contents "offsite" (in my fire safe). (Removable HDD Rack is very useful in that respect)

Note that any HDD larger than 2TB(2.5??) does not cooperate well with many file systems and would need to be split into seperate partitions so they look like seperate HDD's to the server's OS.

Just FYI....
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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This motherboard is single channel architecture... linky

I'd probably only go for 2TB HDDs anyway, the $ (or yen) to GB ratio is better at that point usually, plus more choice. But the more info the better :D
 
KentState

KentState

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Oct 19, 2001
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mfenn

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Jan 17, 2010
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splat_ed said:
Looking at it, I'll stick with the motherboard and Fractal Design case - it's stylish, quite quiet and holds 6 hdds + 1 SDD. The motherboard can cope with 5 x SATA but that should be enough.

Unless anyone has any other recommendations for motherboard/case for a file server?

Just need to decide on memory - I was looking at a single stick of 4GB
e.g. Buffalo

And then need HDDs/SDD. The question here is should I get a SDD for the OS disk?

Final question is which OS? I'm more comfortable with windows (so WHS) but I do know a little about linux - my laptop runs gentoo...
Click to expand...

IMHO if you have to put the machine in plain view, you are losing out on a lot of the cost advantages of being able to build a dedicated file server in a cheap, big case. The Fractal Array is very nice, but certainly not cheap. If you're going to be dropping the money on a stylish case, you might as well spend a few more bucks and make something that is truly HTPC-capable instead of having to rely on hacks like running a long HDMI cable. Something like a Pentium G620 plus an H61 mini-ITX mobo would be fine.

Kartajan said:
Note that any HDD larger than 2TB(2.5??) does not cooperate well with many file systems and would need to be split into seperate partitions so they look like seperate HDD's to the server's OS.
Click to expand...

The limit is 2TB for MBR-based partition tables, and partitioning won't help you extend it. That's because an offset greater than 2TB cannot be expressed in an MBR partition table the table would need to have the starting offset for any partitions beyond the 2TB threshold.

That being said, Windows 7 can handle GPT partitioned disks just fine which don't have this problem. Just choose to make a GPT disk in Storage Management.
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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mfenn said:
IMHO if you have to put the machine in plain view, you are losing out on a lot of the cost advantages of being able to build a dedicated file server in a cheap, big case. The Fractal Array is very nice, but certainly not cheap. If you're going to be dropping the money on a stylish case, you might as well spend a few more bucks and make something that is truly HTPC-capable instead of having to rely on hacks like running a long HDMI cable. Something like a Pentium G620 plus an H61 mini-ITX mobo would be fine.
Click to expand...

That hack is not going to be for this machine...
This is the setup I'm now looking at (as I think some wires are getting crossed :D)
1) File Server - currently under advisement...
2) HTPC - Future project
3) Gaming machine - this is where the long HDMI cable was being looked at... as a stop gap measure until 2) is ready.
4) PS3 - the alternative to 2), but cannot play .iso/full DVD from network :( (although I can just convert to playable versions, just will take longer...)

Now I'd love a bigger/more capable case but, unless 6HDDs is not enough, it should be okay. Plus it's within budget. Finally there is nowhere for me to chuck a fileserver which isn't within sight so it can't be chunky/ugly/loud without annoying my fiancee.

However, I will look into that combo you suggested as a little extra oomph in the server will be appreciated in case I try streaming/transcoding to get around the PS3 limitations.

Michael
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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I just found this case Lian-Li PC-Q25 which I'm now considering but there's no info as to how quiet it is... anybody?

Also, can the Pentium G620 be passively cooled? Or at least quietly cooled?

So much info to look at and collate...
 
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mfenn

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Perhaps I wasn't clear before. :( Let me try again: what I am saying is that since you are having to spend money on a fancy case anyway, you might as well pay ~$50 extra to make the machine a full-fledged HTPC with a Pentium G series and an H61/H67 mobo instead of the E-450.
 
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splat_ed

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Mar 12, 2010
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mfenn said:
Perhaps I wasn't clear before. :( Let me try again: what I am saying is that since you are having to spend money on a fancy case anyway, you might as well pay ~$50 extra to make the machine a full-fledged HTPC with a Pentium G series and an H61/H67 mobo instead of the E-450.
Click to expand...

It looks like I didn't quite grasp what you meant ^_^

To clarify, with that I'd build both fileserver and HTPC into the one box. The fileserver aspect is needed for my gaming pc, and fiancees laptop (photos and other docs)... not just DVDs and media for TV although that will be the bulk of the data.
 
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mfenn

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splat_ed said:
It looks like I didn't quite grasp what you meant ^_^

To clarify, with that I'd build both fileserver and HTPC into the one box. The fileserver aspect is needed for my gaming pc, and fiancees laptop (photos and other docs)... not just DVDs and media for TV although that will be the bulk of the data.
Click to expand...

I'd still say to make the HTPC be the file server as as well. It's something that is low power and will need to be available at a moments notice for both tasks.
 
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