Plugged Up

True. Great information. Thanks again.

I have a Dune Max with a Gigabit capable Ethernet port. I did some research and learned if my Unraid NAS had a gigabit port and a processor that can handle it I can take advantage of the Dune's Gigabit port. While the Dune can't get above 12MB/s on its Ethernet port, I would be able to transfer files between the Unraid NAS and my server at speeds close to 100MB/s. My question is, with the build below, is it possible to add a gigabit ethernet card and would the processor handle gigabit speeds? Or would I also need to upgrade to a i3 cpu? If I need to go with an i3, would the ASUS mainbord take it, or is the ASUS board out? I am hoping I don't need to totally scrap my build specs that I finally decided on...

I would just have full quality MKV files that I would want to stream at a lower quality file type (could be a lower quality MKV or AVI) to devices that can't handle full BD quality video files. Now that I am thinking about it, this is probably impossible. I'll most likely end up making a separate folder for a second copy of lower quality MKV rips. The good news is low quality files don't take much space.

I will be building an unraid server to provide extra storage form my Dune Max. All Blu-Rays will be ripped at full quality. But I have an ipad and a standard def tv I wouldn't mind streaming these files to on occasion. Rather then rip twice, full and lossy quality compatable files, is it possibly to transcode direct from the unraid server? I know how to set up transcoding from my PC, but not sure if this is possible on the unraid server which is where my video collection will be at in the future.

Raj, Another thought... Wouldn't it make some to go with the 500 watt PS even with a 5 bay budget build... just in case I one day go with more hard drives. The http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139018 is only about $25 more. Other than pure savings I am thinking the advantage of the smaller PS in the budget 5 drive box is that it would be quieter, use less power, and run cooler while I am at 5 drives max (which is probably where I'll stay but who knows). Also, if two years from now I go up to 10 drives I may want a fresh PS anyway and at $50 a new one would not be a big deal.

I went with a Dune Max since it is a prebuilt media player the size of a Blu Ray and it plays every file you throw at it - Blu Ray ISOs, Folder Ripped BDs, MKVs at lossless quality including the DTS-MA or TrueHD sound track, and the list goes on and on but I'll mostly rip my BDs and DVDs to ISO and play them that way. It also has bit-torrent built in for direct overnight downloading of episodes that my DVRs missed for one reason or another and it can surf the web. There is a bay for up to two expansion cards that will allow adding a cable, terrestrial or satellite card should I choose in the future. A bit expensive at $500 but I like that it is pretty much plug and play and has a small foot print that will easily slide into my home entertainment center. It has a Blu Ray drive built in, so I'll move my current blu ray and put the Dune Max. The Dune Max can hold one 2tb drive, so I am building an unraid server to give it unlimited storage. The one negative is the out of the box interface is not that pretty but Zappiti can be installed to it giving it a very slick interface.

Raj, Thanks for the fast response. Going ahead and ordering now. Thanks for the tip on the cheaper memory. I love the total cost of this thing. The PC I am am on now is gaming rig quality and the video card alone was $750.00. I love how these servers just need quality but cheap parts to do their job. I guess I'll need to wait until build to see if I need to buy any extra cables and such. I also like the Green WD EARS - mostly because the price per gig can't be beat. Amazon had them at $79.99 last week but I see they are at $89.99 now so I'll wait for a good sale price.

Raj, New to the forum as I have just decided to build an unraid server. I have been doing a lot of reading here and it seems the BIOSTAR TA785G3HD MOBO is the board of choice in the forums and Wiki. Unfortunately I am late to this site and the BIOSTAR boards are out of stock everywhere I look. Your mention of the ASUS M4A785-M board caught my eye because it is actually in stock. My question is, will it work with the 5 Drive Budget Box with DDR2 RAM? Here is what I am thinking: 5 Drive Budget Box Mobo: ASUS M4A785-M $74.99 CPU: AMD Sempron 140 $36.00 RAM: Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $45.00 PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W $23.99 Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $69.99 Hot Swap Drive Bays: SUPERMICRO CSE-M35T-1B Black 5 Bay Hot-Swapable SATA HDD Enclosure x 1 $99/99 Hard Drives: Various 2 TB Green drives Cost: ~$350 + shipping + cost of hard drives Would this build work with this motherboard and RAM? The first Kingston 2GB DDR2 800 ram that comes up at Newegg is 200 pin for a mac. I am pretty sure that is not what I need and selected the 240 pin RAM instead. I have everything in my shopping cart and will order if it looks like this set up will work. BTW: It looks like the Cool Master Case is in short supply. At Amazon they had one for $635.00, luckily, newegg still has them in stock...