check my unraid and htpc builds

[hoamskilet]

I'm about to put a parts order in at newegg for my unraid and htpc build.  Would like you guys to check em out to see if there's anything I should change or overlooked.

 

Server:

 

 

I'm going to get two of the hard drives and have a 3rd 2tb in my current pc that will move over to the server.  I will also look into hot swap bays at a later time as i add more drives.  

 

HTPC:

 

 

This will be used to stream bluray, dvd, and music from the server.  I'd like good performance but don't want to spend any more than i have to.  

 

let me know your thoughts

[wsume99]

For the server you should consider this Newegg combo deal.  ASUS M4A785-M + AMD Sempron 145  You'll save a few bucks.  Also, many long time users on the forum consider it a bad practice to buy more than one of the same drive from a single vendor at a time.  They would suggest doing one of the following: wait a while (maybe a few months) before getting your second drive from Newegg, order a drive from a different mfg from Newegg now, or get your second WD20EARS now but use another source (Amazon, TigerDirect, etc).

 

Your HTPC is fine, but if you're only going to stream bluray, dvd, & music from your server then I'd suggest you look into getting a nvidia ION based SFF PC.  It will be smaller, cheaper, and use less power.  The Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11-U would do that perfectly running xbmc live using a SD card or the complete xbmc install on a SSD to keep the heat down.

 

[GBH2]

If you are only going to stream bluray, dvd, and music from the server, then , as wsume99 said, ion would be sufficient - cheaper and low power. If you plan on doing a lot of ripping, transcoding or streaming from the internet I would stick with the i3.

 

For your i3 htpc build the power supply looks like serious overkill. You may want to keep in mind that with the i3 setup you listed you will only be pulling about 88 watts under MAX (100%) cpu load and 40 watts or less at idle.

[hoamskilet]

yes, i forgot, we will be doing a decent amount of streaming off the net

[hoamskilet]

Made some tweaks to get my price down.  This is my final build and I'm probably going to order today unless somebody notices something I should change.  I will get my 2 hard drives from different places but left them on the sheet just for build info purposes.  Total after psu rebate comes to $437.  Can I build this any cheaper or is there anything I need to change?

 

[wsume99]

Looks good.  You might consider getting a WD20EARS and a WD20EADS both from Newegg.  Since they're different models you should be ok getting them at the same time.  The WD20EADS is the standard format (512 byte sector) version of the 2TB Green drive and it only has a 32MB cache vs. 64MB on the EARS model.  The difference in cache won't make any difference in unRAID.  You'd better check the label if you get the EADS drive because I've seen a few comments about some of them being advanced format drives (4KB sectors).  If it is labeled as an advanced format drive just add the jumper on pins 7 & 8 like you'll need to on the EARS drive and everything will be fine.  With the $20 promo code it'll be $10 cheaper than the EARS drive.

[lionelhutz]

On the server front - that power supply might allow about 8 to 10 drives maximum just depending on the drive. You might want to consider a 80plus (or better yet bronze or gold) PS. Any better efficiency on the PS end will translate directly into energy savings.

 

On the HTPC front - I would look at a PicoPSU. Lots of power for your system, very efficient and noiseless too.

 

I wouldn't second guess myself with those cute little Atom boxes since your proposed set-up will be very comparable in power usage yet has way more processing power. FYI, I'm running an Intel E6300/Nvidia 9300 system that idles at 38W and i3 systems can have even better idle power numbers. I've read about i3's running <20W at idle. You can put a i3 in a pretty small box too if you're willing. Also, you can likely make your own i3 system quieter than those cute little boxes, I know my system is very quiet.

 

Peter

 

[wsume99]

I'm running an Intel E6300/Nvidia 9300 system that idles at 38W

Just curiuos, what MB are you using?  I'm assuming it's an ITX.  I'm currently mulling over my options for a xbmc/mythtv htpc and I've been looking at getting a Nvidia 9300 ITX board.

[lionelhutz]

I'm running an Intel E6300/Nvidia 9300 system that idles at 38W

Just curiuos, what MB are you using?  I'm assuming it's an ITX.  I'm currently mulling over my options for a xbmc/mythtv htpc and I've been looking at getting a Nvidia 9300 ITX board.

 

It's the Zotac ITX 9300 based board (9300-G-E?). It's working great for me. Why not an i3 based system though?

 

Peter

 

[wsume99]

Will I'm stuck in a continuous do loop here second guessing myself.  I want a small, quiet/silent, low power HTPC using mythtv & XBMC.  It will serve as a combined FE/BE (unless I can get VMWare running on my unRAID server).  Since I want a SFF PC then that means an ITX system which also means only one PCIe slot.  That slot would be occupied by my tuner.  Now I have read on many forums (here, xbmc, myth) that Intel HD graphics are not that good for xbmc and the like (I see some good comments but a lot of bad ones as well).  Everyone seems to be gushing over the nvidia 9300 or ION graphics because of vdpau.  I'm concerned that if I go with an i3 (which I really would like to based on my desire for low power) the HD graphics might be a problem and if it is I'll be forced to make a decision between a tuner or a discrete graphics card in my single PCIe slot.  If I went with a 9300 board then I would not be forced to make that choice because so many users have reported success with the on-board graphics.  Now if I can get VMWare running on unRAID then I could move the tuner to my server and then I'd be clear to get an i3.  So right now I'm in a holding pattern and investigating what I need to do to get VMWare working and if it is STABLE.

[GBH2]

Will I'm stuck in a continuous do loop here second guessing myself.  I want a small, quiet/silent, low power HTPC using mythtv & XBMC.  It will serve as a combined FE/BE (unless I can get VMWare running on my unRAID server).  Since I want a SFF PC then that means an ITX system which also means only one PCIe slot.  That slot  I'd I j3would be occupied by my tuner.  Now I have read on many forums (here, xbmc, myth) that Intel HD graphics are not that good for xbmc and the like (I see some good comments but a lot of bad ones as well).  Everyone seems to be gushing over the nvidia 9300 or ION graphics because of vdpau.  I'm concerned that if I go with an i3 (which I really would like to based on askmy desire for low power) the HD graphics might be a problem and if it is I'll be forced to make a decision between a tuner or a discrete graphics card in my single PCIe slot.  If I went with a 9300 board then I would not be forced to make that choice because so many users have reported success with the on-board graphics.  Now if I can get VMWare running on unRAID then I could move the tuner to my server and then I'd be clear to get an i3.  So right now I'm in a holding pattern and investigating what I need to do to get VMWare working and if it is STABLE.

You could just get an hd homerun network tuner, freeing up the pcie slot so you could go with the i3.

 

I am actually running the Zotac itx with e6300 and i an HD 5570 and I have a dual tuner HD Homerun. The 9300 graphics were very good but the 5570 is better.

[poofyhairguy]

I second the HDhomerun. That things rocks, I have two.

 

I also will add- the HTPC will be way more awesome with a SSD OS drive....

[kenoka]

I'm currently running a Core i3 on my HTPC without a video card. I've been waiting for the 6xxx series from AMD to come out before I chose the card I wanted. Although it's woefully inadequate for gaming, it's been more than adequate for HTPC duty. I haven't had a hiccup on video playback. In benchmarks, the i3's video on chip seems to compare favorably to the Radeon 4200, which many people use for HTPCs.

 

An HD Homerun may still be a good idea though.

[wsume99]

You could just get an hd homerun network tuner, freeing up the pcie slot so you could go with the i3.

 

I am actually running the Zotac itx with e6300 and i an HD 5570 and I have a dual tuner HD Homerun. The 9300 graphics were very good but the 5570 is better.

I guess I forgot to mention that I already have a Hauppauge 2250 dual tuner that I would like to reuse.  I could buy a HD Homerun but it does not have analog support.  That is the reason I went with the 2250 to begin with.  I have Time Warner Cable so my clear QAM channels are very limited (basically anything that is not OTA is encrypted) so most of my recording right now is via WMC7 using the analog tuners.  It looks like the analog driver support for the 2250 is finally starting to materialize in Linux so I'm planning on switching to mythtv in the near future hence the interest in vdpau and the 9300.

 

I also will add- the HTPC will be way more awesome with a SSD OS drive....

A SSD has been in the HTPC build plan from day one.  Probably go with a 60GB OCZ Vertex 2.

[poofyhairguy]

I am actually running the Zotac itx with e6300 and i an HD 5570 and I have a dual tuner HD Homerun. The 9300 graphics were very good but the 5570 is better.

I guess I forgot to mention that I already have a Hauppauge 2250 dual tuner that I would like to reuse.  I could buy a HD Homerun but it does not have analog support.  That is the reason I went with the 2250 to begin with.  I have Time Warner Cable so my clear QAM channels are very limited (basically anything that is not OTA is encrypted) so most of my recording right now is via WMC7 using the analog tuners.  It looks like the analog driver support for the 2250 is finally starting to materialize in Linux so I'm planning on switching to mythtv in the near future hence the interest in vdpau and the 9300.

 

I think TVheadend supports that tuner which means that in the future you will be able to use it with XBMC's PVR branch...