[mephistopoa]

Guys, just a quick heads up if this was not already discussed here, this is a server that has 4 removable caddies and uses a amd neo dual core 1.3ghz

With a ATI 4550 and using DXVA acceleration it can play 1080p mkv files perfectly as my [email protected] ghz+ati 4870

the sweet part of this server is that is virtually silent, low power consumption and CHEAP!

here in UK it costs normally £200-230, but until 31st January there is a £100 cashback offer. I'm using 4x 2TB drives on it as a file server on my network and using SMB 2 it can do 110MB/sec.

One of my friends is using only for 1080p movies, so because ATI 4550 carries the audio over HDMI, no sound card or cables are needed.

Seriously this is the better NAS/Media player I've ever seen on this price level.

Also for people that likes virtualization, it can run ESXi perfectly, of course it is a weak power CPU, but for a lab environment it is really capable!

Just last observation, without hardware acceleration, it can't play 1080p properly, so make sure you get a decent graphics card that supports it. With a 4550 cpu usage during a 15GB 1080P movie rip was around 40% on one core and 50% on the second core

[Hannes The Hun]

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/...48009.html

I kinda like the concept... so this is basically like a windows home server NAS where I can add a GPU such as a G210 nvidia and have some decent XBMC action? actually thinking about making this baby my 2011 project right now, gotta find out if the PSU could support a GT430.

[mephistopoa]

the power supply if I'm not wrong is something around 170-200 watts. I'm not sure about which GPU is equivalent to the ATI HD4550, but if it consumes the same power and gives you DXVA acceleration, go for it!

You will have 4 caddies and on the 5 1/4 bay you can add one more drive, swap drives is easy as on a proper server.

It doesn't come with any OS, so you can perhaps use the live version of XBMC but I haven't tried it yet. What I can say is that open filer and freenas works fine. I'm running win 2008 on it as a file server at the moment because of SMB 2.1, I can saturate the gigabit with 2TB samsung F4 drives

[Hannes The Hun]

kinda hard to calculate right now, I'm thinking of sticking a GT430 in there, using the 5 1/4 bay for OS system drive (SSD) and the other ports as media drives, around 2TB.
other option seems to be to have OS on internal USB but I don't like the speed of that.
my plan would be to have server ubuntu on that thing with file server as well as XBMC on top of that.

[mephistopoa]

I wont recommend it as a desktop pc, it is basically a netbook CPU.

Don't waste a SSD on it. The goal should be a weak GPU able to play 1080P passive cooled that carries AUDIO over HDMI. The server doesn't have a audio card built in.

I would say if you want to stick with nvidia, check to get a low power one that is capable of accelerate dxva and passive cooled to maintain the silence. There is one 120mm fan in the back that takes care of all the system and is efficient as the air doesn't need to make turns, just straight line one intake and exhaust.

[Hannes The Hun]

I'm fully aware of that, I've been in the forums and XBMC long enough ^^

all I'm saying is that I laid an eye on these acer windows home servers but thought it a shame/waste that this (atom) hardware could not double as media player because of the restricted graphics and no chance to upgrade it.
with this HP Microserver, I see a really nice evolution of the concept in that I have the opportunity to stick my favourite nvidia card in it and have a linux-based multi-port NAS and Full HD media player at the same time in one nice, cool and decent system without too much hassle and at an attractive price point.

[mephistopoa]

that's is a good point then =)
I was just trying to advice as some people don't realize that neo is a netbook cpu

You can stick even a dual port low profile NIC and team them, there is lots of things this little box is capable of.

Well, I would say go for it, there is no better nas/media player on the market now and cheaper. I've been a long time thinking to build a file server but I always ended with something expensive, bulky and no caddies. By the way, hot swap works on linux and windows, HP doesn't know their products very well.

If you need any other tip let me know, I think I'll take a few more units for the company I work for, damn cheap!

[poofyhairguy]

Pics!

[mephistopoa]

Pics!

http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.p...&t=1126552

[mephistopoa]

Pics!

http://www.techhead.co.uk/video-hp-proli...-on-review

[BEKO86]

This is the same as what i have over on the thread i started. only i opted for a geforce210 after recieving advice from poof.ı actually ordered a card with cooling but recieved a passive one. Its reaching 56 when pushed so keep an eye on temps its only a small box afterall. one impressive bit of kit though very quiet!

Still waiting for my cash back from hp though, going to put that towards a new netbook.

[poofyhairguy]

What netbook?

[BEKO86]

No the HP microserver NAS

[seanysean]

I've got one as a media server - it's fantastic. Got it to replace my quad core server which basically sat idle 99% of the time. As I see it, it's actually faster at serviing over samba than the old machine, probably due to the network card being a bit better.

I'm thinking of setting up XBMC locally so I can just pick it up and take it to a mates house to watch films on. Does anybody know of a nice fanless GT430 or other card that will fit in the box?

BTW it cost me £98 after rebate - an utter bargain. Don't worry about the processor - it's a dual core AMD Neo, which is sort of between an Atom and a low-end Core2Duo. I've got 4 drives in RAID5, and another scratch drive for downloads. It also boots from USB, and has a handy internal USB port for this so it's all nice and neat

If you're in the UK, you need one of these!

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hp-proli...ay/824679/

[poofyhairguy]

Does anybody know of a nice fanless GT430 or other card that will fit in the box?

PLEASE don't get a fanless card. You need to move air in that case or you will kill your harddrives in a matter of a few months. Trust me, I have done it in a similar setup. Fanless GPUs and HDs are a terrible mix. If you are gonna make one a HTPC, accept a little fan noise or accept data loss.

For the record, any half height GT430 will work:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

Like that.