2012-02-23, 01:04
Here is what I am looking for. A low power HTPC. But I need a new setup for networking some drives since my awesome usb router died.
So, low power HTPC/Server?
I need it to playback 1080p files, nothing uncompressed but still fairly good quality with DTS audio. Also, these same files should be accessible for streaming from other devices on my LAN.
This will NOT be for gaming other than possibly some old school emulators.
I plan on running some cat5e to it and not bothering with wireless.
As of right now I will NOT be using any kind of raid platform at all, due to current hard drive prices I simply can't afford that. So, JBOD it is. I have a 3TB external that needs a new enclosure, and a 2TB which needs a home so those will be in there. These two drives are in NTFS and will not be reformatted as I have nowhere to move the data to as of now.
This is what I am thinking for hardware:
Main system:HP ProLiant N40L
GPU:GeForce 210
I have read that regular 240 pin DDR3 desktop ram is ok to use in this and as it happens I have an extra 8GB of it laying around. I'll give it a shot.
My main question is the OS to use? I have worked with some linux and to be honest, it looks like the better choice for lightweight hardware.
BUT I don't see FreeNAS playing nice with XBMC. And I don't see XBMC live playing nice with file hosting. So if I wanted Linux what does that leave me with? An Ubuntu based build? Or possibly Ubuntu Server?
I've also seen good reports of Windows Home Server 2011 on similar builds but I am worried about hardware acceleration for video decoding and the fact that I have never had great luck with setting up Windows based file sharing (between XP and 7 since chances are I will be using both).
I know FTP is old and clunky but it is what I used on my recently deceased router. And honestly, it works great for streaming media to XBMC on every platform so unless I can find something that works better, that is what I plan on setting up.
Now, does any of this raise some red flags as far as compatibility or just stupidity?
Also, a little help with the software?
--edit:
So, low power HTPC/Server?
I need it to playback 1080p files, nothing uncompressed but still fairly good quality with DTS audio. Also, these same files should be accessible for streaming from other devices on my LAN.
This will NOT be for gaming other than possibly some old school emulators.
I plan on running some cat5e to it and not bothering with wireless.
As of right now I will NOT be using any kind of raid platform at all, due to current hard drive prices I simply can't afford that. So, JBOD it is. I have a 3TB external that needs a new enclosure, and a 2TB which needs a home so those will be in there. These two drives are in NTFS and will not be reformatted as I have nowhere to move the data to as of now.
This is what I am thinking for hardware:
Main system:HP ProLiant N40L
GPU:GeForce 210
I have read that regular 240 pin DDR3 desktop ram is ok to use in this and as it happens I have an extra 8GB of it laying around. I'll give it a shot.
My main question is the OS to use? I have worked with some linux and to be honest, it looks like the better choice for lightweight hardware.
BUT I don't see FreeNAS playing nice with XBMC. And I don't see XBMC live playing nice with file hosting. So if I wanted Linux what does that leave me with? An Ubuntu based build? Or possibly Ubuntu Server?
I've also seen good reports of Windows Home Server 2011 on similar builds but I am worried about hardware acceleration for video decoding and the fact that I have never had great luck with setting up Windows based file sharing (between XP and 7 since chances are I will be using both).
I know FTP is old and clunky but it is what I used on my recently deceased router. And honestly, it works great for streaming media to XBMC on every platform so unless I can find something that works better, that is what I plan on setting up.
Now, does any of this raise some red flags as far as compatibility or just stupidity?
Also, a little help with the software?
--edit:
Quote:So far this thing is running pretty good. I have it set up with Xubuntu 11.10 which automatically signs in, runs proftpd in the background, and starts XBMC Eden RC2. As I am not a very experienced Ubuntu user (although I have used it on and off over the last few years) it took a lot of tweaking to get it working just right.
I did manage to get the 3TB drive mounted. Unfortunately I did have to reformat it to an EFI volume first using gdisk and then gparted. While I was at it I used the ext4 file system and it is incredibly fast compared to when I had it in NTFS in USB mode. (SATA II > USB 3.0)
The GeForce 210 is keeping up nicely although, I did have to mess with the heat sink pretty heavily. That said, it is staying at less than 70*C when watching 1080p videos which is really all I need it to do.
The G-Skill Value Series DDR3 1333 (2x4GB) that I had laying around is working great. No compatibility issues as it seems to have down-clocked by it self. (which is good since it is almost unusable when overclocking on my other system).
No optical drive as of yet. Eventually I may throw another hard drive up there or possibly some nifty HTPC gadget since there is a pile of readily available 4 pin molex connectors underneath it.
All in all it is working well so far and I would highly suggest a similar setup to others. Granted the CPU isn't the fastest around but it works just fine and has 4 internal 3.5" bays, a fast SATA II controller and a really good NIC (Not an easy set to find on a Mini-ITX board).