[Kewlkat007]

Been lurking on here for a while. I had joined a while back but never really activated my account. Since then I've built a Flexraid server to house all my media and other files.[Media Sorta Took Over]

Flexraid server is currently 20TB with 15TB of TV Shows/Movies/Music. [12 HDDs currently][ 1x1b OS drive][10x2tb data drives/1x3tb Parity drive] PSU Corsair TX 650.

I've been looking to build an Xbmc computer just to serve my media for a while.(Been looking at all the threads and recommendations, and builds)
I'm now at the point I can go full stream ahead and just built it. I pretty much need to take the dive while I have the funds.

My Dilemma is: I do not like having a lot of devices on at the same time. Especially in summer my room gets pretty hot and is uncomfortable. Having my NAS Server + Xbmc Htpc
on at the same presents a problem with heat and electricity and noise.

So I was thinking should I build:

1. Small, quiet Mini-ITX Xbmc build that saves power and is not as noise while leaving my NAS on to serve my media.

2. Small, quiet Mini-ITX Xbmc build but buy a low powered NAS[Just for media*only], like a Qnap, Synology, Thecus.[This could also be used as a backup]

3. Slim microATX Xbmc/NAS build that can support 5 to 7, 3 or 4 TB HDDs to hold my media. (I know, there goes my noise and power efficiency but I would rather have 1 devices on.)
I can probably build it cheaper than Option #2. Could possibly be better than option #1 in terms of power saving but not sure.

Currently I have a Ivy-bridge i3570K + Crucial M4 64GB I acquired from a friend and wanna get started.

Thanks

[mgithens]

I'd push you towards an ATV2. 6watts and works flawlessly... the downside, is they don't make them anymore. You'll have to go on ebay/craigslist and buy one - expect to pay about $200 - FAR less than an HTPC build, perfectly quiet and practically no heat.

(ATV2... there is no hack for ATV3 and there likely won't be for a long time)

You could also look at the Boxee box and I know that this is blasphemy, but you could check out the Popcorn Hour devices.

[romwarrior]

ATV2 is a good option unless you want 1080p output.

I use Synology and it works great and is low power/heat, but is not the cheapest option. I like the NAS option, but it may not be worth it if you only have one device.

Not sure you can build a slim HTPC that holds 7 HDD's. Smallest case I found that holds that many drives is the Silverstone GD08.