I've been deliberating over a couple of potential builds for a couple weeks now. What I want is an HTPC that will double up as a media and file server (eventually with up to 6 HDD) that I can wake on LAN when I need it. I want to play HD 1080p video content and stream video from the likes of revision 3, iPlayer, and so on. Likely to stick XBMC on there. Its got to be quiet and reasonably low power consumption. I'm stumped over which of the two will suit my needs or if there is anything better out there.
Build A - Approx. £450 w/o psu
Zotac H67ITX-C-E
Intel i3 2100 3.1GHz
4GB 1333MHz DDR3
2TB Western Digital WD20EARX (eventually expanding to 6x)
AMD 6670
Lian Li PC-Q08B
Build B - Approx. £320 w/o psu
Asus E35M1-I DELUXE E-350
4 GB DDR3
Lian Li PC-Q08B
2TB Western Digital WD20EARX (eventually expanding to 5x)
The case has space for up to 6 3.5" HDD. The Zotac has 2 SATA III and 4 SATA II. The Asus has 5 SATA III. Preferably I wouldn't want to go any lower than 4 HDD and I'd like to stick to 3.5" to keep the costs down.
I'm unsure on a few things:
1) Is there a better case out there, or at least another option, with at least 4 3.5" bays and keeping on the small side like the Lian Li? The Lian Li is a bit ugly in my opinion. I've also been looking at the Fractal Design Array R2 mini-ITX.
2) Are the motherboards the best option for the job I want them to do? I've heard a few bad things about the Zotac (also been looking at the Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3, but it has no WLAN and the Asus P8H67-I Deluxe, but then I'm stuck with SO-DIMM) and I'm not sure if that's the best E-350 board to go for. If I were to go for build A, I would likely use it for a bit of gaming as well - Civ V, maybe a bit of Eve Online if I can find a comfortable way to play it on the couch! I'm guessing I wouldn't make use of a Z68 chipset (or the i3 2105 for that matter) as the i3 has trouble with 24p doesn't it? And I'm unlikely to make use of an SSD cache as storage capacity is more important to me.
3) What PSU do I need to power both?
Thanks to anyone who even just took the time to read that!
Build A - Approx. £450 w/o psu
Zotac H67ITX-C-E
Intel i3 2100 3.1GHz
4GB 1333MHz DDR3
2TB Western Digital WD20EARX (eventually expanding to 6x)
AMD 6670
Lian Li PC-Q08B
Build B - Approx. £320 w/o psu
Asus E35M1-I DELUXE E-350
4 GB DDR3
Lian Li PC-Q08B
2TB Western Digital WD20EARX (eventually expanding to 5x)
The case has space for up to 6 3.5" HDD. The Zotac has 2 SATA III and 4 SATA II. The Asus has 5 SATA III. Preferably I wouldn't want to go any lower than 4 HDD and I'd like to stick to 3.5" to keep the costs down.
I'm unsure on a few things:
1) Is there a better case out there, or at least another option, with at least 4 3.5" bays and keeping on the small side like the Lian Li? The Lian Li is a bit ugly in my opinion. I've also been looking at the Fractal Design Array R2 mini-ITX.
2) Are the motherboards the best option for the job I want them to do? I've heard a few bad things about the Zotac (also been looking at the Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3, but it has no WLAN and the Asus P8H67-I Deluxe, but then I'm stuck with SO-DIMM) and I'm not sure if that's the best E-350 board to go for. If I were to go for build A, I would likely use it for a bit of gaming as well - Civ V, maybe a bit of Eve Online if I can find a comfortable way to play it on the couch! I'm guessing I wouldn't make use of a Z68 chipset (or the i3 2105 for that matter) as the i3 has trouble with 24p doesn't it? And I'm unlikely to make use of an SSD cache as storage capacity is more important to me.
3) What PSU do I need to power both?
Thanks to anyone who even just took the time to read that!
