Login at Kodi Home

JPCRacing24 · 2013-09-28, 03:00

Hello All!

In February I will have saved up my $2000 budget to build both a NAS and a Gaming Home Theater PC. I have two parts lists made. I pretty much know how to set up and build the gaming htpc, but I have no clue about how to make a NAS system. Any help or suggestions on either is greatly appreciated.

First the gaming htpc:

CPU - Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core $219.99
CPU Cooler - Cooler Master GeminII M4 58.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing $24.99
Motherboard - Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 $169.99
Memory - G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $135.00
Storage - Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" SSD $171.66
Video Card - Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB $255.66 <-- this could change depending on the benchmarks of the new AMD cards
Wireless Network Adapter - D-Link DWA-182 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 2.0 $49.99
Case - Silverstone SST-GD08B (Black) HTPC $154.98
Power Supply - XFX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V $109.99
Optical Drive - LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer $79.99
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $90.88
Keyboard - Logitech K400 w/Touchpad $29.99 and wireless Xbox Controller

And now the NAS. I want to be able to keep my ripped DVDs/Blu Rays and my music on it as well as using it to run PlayOn for my streaming video content. So I have no clue what OS to go with nor how to set it up. Also what is the best way to transfer new files to it?

CPU - Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core $114.99
Motherboard - ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 $64.99
Memory - A-Data Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 $34.99
Storage - Kingston SSDNow V200 Series 64GB 2.5" SSD $52.99
Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM $81.94
Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM $81.94
Case - Apex TX-606-U3 MicroATX Mid Tower w/300W Power Supply $54.98
Optical Drive - LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer $15.00

Thanks for everyone's help!

z31fanatic · 2013-09-28, 03:08

You are overspending on the NAS. No need for an i3, SSD, or 4 gb RAM (2 will do). A Pentium G630 or equivalent will do the job.

JPCRacing24 · 2013-09-28, 03:25

(2013-09-28, 03:08)z31fanatic Wrote: You are overspending on the NAS. No need for an i3, SSD, or 4 gb RAM (2 will do). A Pentium G630 or equivalent will do the job.

Well it will need to transcode the video for PlayOn. Would the Pentium be able to handle that?

**Harro** · 2013-09-28, 04:13

Have you taken a look at Unraid for your NAS?
I have been running Unraid for a few years with no problems and use the plex server on it to stream my content to other devices.

For transferring files you open up your network folder and drag the files over to the created folders you have made on the NAS. to access the NAS you have a web GUI on your network.

I have my build in my sig if you care to look. It is probably too big but hardware wise it would suit you.

JPCRacing24 · 2013-09-28, 15:15

I guess I just have no clue what I am doing with a NAS system, and nobody really talks about how to make one anywhere I have looked. The reason I was going for an SSD was to house the OS and have it just big enough that PlayOn could work on it (because it needs at least 4 GB of space for video transcoding). Do I just need to go with a basic Windows setup or will Unraid run PlayOn? PlayOn says it only works on Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later) or Windows Server 2003/Windows Home Server (Service Pack 1 or later). 64-bit versions of Windows are also supported.

**Harro** · 2013-09-28, 18:41

Unraid is based off of a Linux OS. The OS runs off of a 2 gig USB stick. So no windows OS is required. Once you have your NAS built, you configure it to boot off of the USB stick. When the Unraid OS is installed, you can simply open up your browser from another networked computer and type //tower. This will then take you to the Unraid GUI where you can set the hard drives up and folder shares, etc..

With the unraid OS you can add plugins. Here is a list of plugins that could be installed.
Unraid is free for the first 3 hard drives. So you may want to play around with it.

Richard39 · 2013-09-29, 12:34

for a basic server a HP N54L would make a perfect server along with unraid and u cant go wrong , cheap as hell as well , at least in uk.

the wireless network card wont cut it for the BR, best to go hard wired.

with a 2000 dollar budget and with cutting costs of the server build , imo prolly be better to build separate dedicated htpc and gaming pc

**A-Swiss** · 2013-09-29, 13:57

Why not buying a Synology NAS instead of selfmade? I use a DS1812+ with a DX510 Extention with a total amount of 13 x 3 TB Disk...
Even the entry models (2 Disks) will offer anything you'll need... and access from any device in your LAN/W-LAN environement.

Christer K · 2013-09-29, 14:36

I doubt there is enuogh grunt in the Synology for transcoding purposes

JPCRacing24 · (This post was last modified: 2013-09-29, 15:58 by JPCRacing24.)

(2013-09-29, 14:36)Christer K Wrote: I doubt there is enuogh grunt in the Synology for transcoding purposes

That is what I am worried about. I want to stop paying for cable tv, and so I need something that can transcode video to all the devices in the house. Also I see that Windows Home Server 2011 is $50.00 on Newegg and Amazon. And that is compatible with PlayOn. Is that a decent OS?

Christer K · 2013-09-29, 16:33

If you´re a windows person , WHS 2011 is rather ok and for 50 bux almost free Smile

. Myself I use Win 7 just for sharing media all around the house, no raid or nothing.

How many devices needs transcoding simultaneously in "worst case scenario"?

JPCRacing24 · 2013-09-29, 17:13

(2013-09-29, 16:33)Christer K Wrote: How many devices needs transcoding simultaneously in "worst case scenario"?

At the most 2-3. Most of the time the HTPC would be the only one streaming from the server.

Christer K · 2013-09-30, 13:52

(2013-09-29, 17:13)JPCRacing24 Wrote:
(2013-09-29, 16:33)Christer K Wrote: How many devices needs transcoding simultaneously in "worst case scenario"?

At the most 2-3. Most of the time the HTPC would be the only one streaming from the server.

Then you´re spot on going with the i3. However I highly suggest a quality PSU (instead of that no-name psu included)

JPCRacing24 · 2013-09-30, 17:46

(2013-09-29, 12:34)Richard39 Wrote: for a basic server a HP N54L would make a perfect server along with unraid and u cant go wrong , cheap as hell as well , at least in uk.

the wireless network card wont cut it for the BR, best to go hard wired.

with a 2000 dollar budget and with cutting costs of the server build , imo prolly be better to build separate dedicated htpc and gaming pc

I like what I saw of the HP N54L on newegg. Would the AMD Turion II Model Neo CPU handle transcoding?

Christer K · 2013-10-01, 10:54

How about installing the PlayOn service on the htpc? That would decrease the cost signifcantly