2013-08-06, 03:11
I recently moved out of my house in the country and into an apartment in the city. I no longer could keep my sever in the basement and had to make it presentable and quiet for the living room. Some changes with the server sparked a refresh of my HTPC client.
Here goes:
New HTPC Specs:
CPU: Intel i3-3245 3.2GHz HD4000
Motherboard: ASRock H77m-ITX
Case: Realan E-i7n (Sold at EcoSmartPC)
PSU: Integrated 84W AC Adapter
Cooler: Scythe Shuriken Rev B
RAM: GSkill RipJaws 4GB DDR3-1600
SSD: Intel 40GB X25-V
Internal IR Receiver: Inteset CIR Internal - allows computer to be turned on from a completely off state
Case Fan: 80mm Noctua
Remote: Harmony 650
Software: XBMC on Win7 x64
Server Specs:
Motherboard/CPU: SuperMicro X7SPE-HF-D525-O
- integrated Intel ATOM CPU. Heatsink is passive
- IPMI v2.0
- Gigabit Intel NIC
- Internal full sized USB port for thumbdrive
- 6 SATA ports
Case: Fractal Node 304
- 6 3.5" HDD bays
- Attractive front, subtle power and HDD LEDs
- Two expansion slots, required for the 'over sized' mITX SuperMicro board
- Quiet case fans on a 3 position controller. The controller requires one Molex 4-pin power cable. My SuperMicro motherboard has a 4-pin Molex on board that is able to power the fans on low power. Medium is hit or miss and high power causes the motherboard to beep angrily
HDDS:
- 4TB parity
- 5x2TB storage
Cache: Mercury AccelsiorM mSATA PCIe Controller w/ 64GB Plextor M5M mSATA SSD
- I tried two cheaper PCIe cards from NewEgg, a SYBA and a Koutech. Both were based on the same Marvel controller with 'hyperduo' SSD caching technology. I couldn't get either card to work in my unRaid server or my general Windows desktop (computers would not POST). I finally found this Accelsior card from Other World Computing based off of ASMedia 106x controller.
PSU: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W
- Modular cables
- Two 6-pin power cables are permanently attached and not necessary for my build
- Only two SATA power cables are needed besides the permanently connected cables
RAM: 4GB DDR3-1333
USB Drive: Lexar FireFly 2GB
unRAID: Plus license. Using all available disks, cache, and flash. Motherboard is completely full on SATA ports and case is completely full of 3.5" drives. Perfect.
The Rest:
Denon 789 AVR (HDMI switching)
Vizio E60-Ai 60" LED TV
Ascend Acoustics 340's (F,C,L)
Ascend Acoustics 170's (rears)
Technics SL1200mk2 turntable
PlayStation3
Here goes:
watch gallery
New HTPC Specs:
CPU: Intel i3-3245 3.2GHz HD4000
Motherboard: ASRock H77m-ITX
Case: Realan E-i7n (Sold at EcoSmartPC)
PSU: Integrated 84W AC Adapter
Cooler: Scythe Shuriken Rev B
RAM: GSkill RipJaws 4GB DDR3-1600
SSD: Intel 40GB X25-V
Internal IR Receiver: Inteset CIR Internal - allows computer to be turned on from a completely off state
Case Fan: 80mm Noctua
Remote: Harmony 650
Software: XBMC on Win7 x64
Server Specs:
Motherboard/CPU: SuperMicro X7SPE-HF-D525-O
- integrated Intel ATOM CPU. Heatsink is passive
- IPMI v2.0
- Gigabit Intel NIC
- Internal full sized USB port for thumbdrive
- 6 SATA ports
Case: Fractal Node 304
- 6 3.5" HDD bays
- Attractive front, subtle power and HDD LEDs
- Two expansion slots, required for the 'over sized' mITX SuperMicro board
- Quiet case fans on a 3 position controller. The controller requires one Molex 4-pin power cable. My SuperMicro motherboard has a 4-pin Molex on board that is able to power the fans on low power. Medium is hit or miss and high power causes the motherboard to beep angrily
HDDS:
- 4TB parity
- 5x2TB storage
Cache: Mercury AccelsiorM mSATA PCIe Controller w/ 64GB Plextor M5M mSATA SSD
- I tried two cheaper PCIe cards from NewEgg, a SYBA and a Koutech. Both were based on the same Marvel controller with 'hyperduo' SSD caching technology. I couldn't get either card to work in my unRaid server or my general Windows desktop (computers would not POST). I finally found this Accelsior card from Other World Computing based off of ASMedia 106x controller.
PSU: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W
- Modular cables
- Two 6-pin power cables are permanently attached and not necessary for my build
- Only two SATA power cables are needed besides the permanently connected cables
RAM: 4GB DDR3-1333
USB Drive: Lexar FireFly 2GB
unRAID: Plus license. Using all available disks, cache, and flash. Motherboard is completely full on SATA ports and case is completely full of 3.5" drives. Perfect.
The Rest:
Denon 789 AVR (HDMI switching)
Vizio E60-Ai 60" LED TV
Ascend Acoustics 340's (F,C,L)
Ascend Acoustics 170's (rears)
Technics SL1200mk2 turntable
PlayStation3
