Greetings everyone. I've been spinning my wheels trying to decide how to implement a media server (both hardware and software) to suit my needs. Every time I look I find downsides and differing opinions.

 

My dilemmas are as follows:

 

I just got gigabit Internet, and as a result I've decided to embark upon creating a home server that can do multiple things.

 

Couchpotato/Sonarr/Nzbget/Deluge

Owncloud

Kodi

Plex to my parents, gf, and best friend who is far away in 1080p. The clients they will be using to access will probably be Apple TV and Chromecast.

A private VPN so I can access the file server remotely.

Devices that will be on the network locally:

 

MacBook Pro

iPhone 6+

Xbox one

Chromecast

 

Initially the idea was to construct a PC that could sit underneath the TV and be plugged into the TV via HDMI providing both frontend(kodi) and backend(everything else) service. The rough build I threw together sans hard drives is below.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Xq9X4D

I'm very open and flexible on this and currently I have heard so much great stuff about the lian li cases.

 

is there a more elegant or cost effective solution to what I need? I have Ethernet wired throughout my apartment so placement of the server may not absolutely have to be under the tv.

 

 

So should I then try and have a headless server and get myself a raspberry pi2 for kodi on the tv? Pls help guise

 

Budget: 500-600? Wouldn't mind saving somewhere

Storage plans: basically going to be adding HDs as I go. Looking at WD reds 3tb.

I would aim for a ITX c224 chipset based asrock board and a xeon e3 cpu for the grunt

Any specific ones you can recommend?

 

Edit : the e3 processors are really increasing the price of the build a lot

Yeah sorry I forgot about the price point.

 

So after some consultation with a friend or two I've gotten this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($183.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: ASRock B85M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($62.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Patriot Signature 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Toshiba X300 5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($139.99 @ B&H)

Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($39.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $601.91

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-18 02:44 EST-0500