- Jun 17, 2013
- 7
- 0
- 0
I've been using an old PC as both a home server and HTPC for a few years now and it finally crapped out on me so I've decided to replace it. I had it hooked up to some external HDDs for storing my media and use Windows 7 to browse the internet, pull up Netflix/Hulu, and run torrents. This worked pretty well for allowing us to watch stuff on the TV or to access it from our laptops. I've got it set up in my office which happens to be on the other side of my TV so I can just pass the HDMI and USB cables through the wall to my living room and don't have to worry too much about noise or aesthetics. I don't really do any video transcoding or capture or play any games on it, so I'm hoping I can get away with not having a dedicated GPU.
Went ahead and ordered the following components...
Case: SilverStone GD06B Micro-ATX - http://amzn.to/1bMRqrn
Mobo: ASRock H77M - http://amzn.to/17SuGsJ
CPU: Intel Core i3 3225 @ 3.3GHz - http://amzn.to/17fROSK
Memory: G. Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 - http://amzn.to/11K49X3
PS: Antec EA-380D - http://amzn.to/19d8l70
I plan to start out by just using my existing 500GB HDD and connecting the same external USB drives to get it up and running. However, shortly after this I am hoping to upgrade to an SSD for the OS and few programs it runs (VLC, browser, sickbeard) and getting a dedicated NAS to handle storing my media as well as hopefully doing some local backups for our family photos/videos and the files on our laptops.
Does anyone have any recommendations for what SSDs might go well with this setup? I figure a max of 128GB would give me the headroom I need but I've never used an SSD so I don't know what to look for.
Any recommendations on the NAS? I have a friend who raves about a Synology device... are these generally good enough for doubling up as a media server and backup repository?
Finally, any and all feedback on my setup would be very appreciated. This is my first time building an HTPC specifically (though I have experience building my own PCs in the past) so any advice would be welcomed.
Thanks!
Went ahead and ordered the following components...
Case: SilverStone GD06B Micro-ATX - http://amzn.to/1bMRqrn
Mobo: ASRock H77M - http://amzn.to/17SuGsJ
CPU: Intel Core i3 3225 @ 3.3GHz - http://amzn.to/17fROSK
Memory: G. Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 - http://amzn.to/11K49X3
PS: Antec EA-380D - http://amzn.to/19d8l70
I plan to start out by just using my existing 500GB HDD and connecting the same external USB drives to get it up and running. However, shortly after this I am hoping to upgrade to an SSD for the OS and few programs it runs (VLC, browser, sickbeard) and getting a dedicated NAS to handle storing my media as well as hopefully doing some local backups for our family photos/videos and the files on our laptops.
Does anyone have any recommendations for what SSDs might go well with this setup? I figure a max of 128GB would give me the headroom I need but I've never used an SSD so I don't know what to look for.
Any recommendations on the NAS? I have a friend who raves about a Synology device... are these generally good enough for doubling up as a media server and backup repository?
Finally, any and all feedback on my setup would be very appreciated. This is my first time building an HTPC specifically (though I have experience building my own PCs in the past) so any advice would be welcomed.
Thanks!