SUP DOODS! Okay, so I've been playing with the idea lately of buying or building myself a media center type deal. The thing is, I have no clue which way to go about it, so I am reaching out to people who know shit about it, for some opinions and recommendations. What I'm thinking is either buying one of those cheap Intel NUC computers, and a NAS server, and set those up in combination. OR, the other option is building a complete system, where I get a mini-itx case with room for 2-4 hard drives, and build up a small computer for the purpose. Something along the lines of this: http://lifehacker.com/5936546/how-i-built-the-media-center-of-my-dreams-for-under-500 , only with a roomier case -- and possibly an Intel CPU instead(?) Anyway! Does any of you tech geeks have any experience with these things, or perhaps some recommendations or ideas for what to do/stuff to get? Thanks!
for media use and light/moderate gaming an AMD or Intel CPU will do, which ever is cheaper. You can probably get a 3GHz Haswell dual core CPU for about $70 (Pentium something or other), or an 3.xGHz Richland dual (maybe a quad?) for $60-80. Either will do fine and be of similar enough performance. A NAS is quite expensive for what it is, you would be better off building an actual PC and sticking drives in it IMO. Despite what any of them say, a cheap little integrated SoC and cheapo graphics card will not run 4K video very well. If you want this build to be able to handle things for many years into the future of media playing you will need a CPU like the one I listed above, as well as a decent GPU. If you dont care about anything higher than 1080p then any old little POS will do.
What about heat/noise levels? That's what I'm mostly worried about I think, when it comes to building something myself. It would suck having to listen to loud fans constantly while watching a movie.
You can make it basically silent with air cooling even by building yourself. Just get some fans that are specifically advertised as silent. Anything around 20db is great. I think Noctua makes some good ones. I would recommend a Hyper 212 EVO with a pair of aftermarket fans on it, that way you have a lot more metal to take the heat away from the CPU, and two silent fans will be enough to keep the air flowing out of the case and make sure you never overheat. I actually built a PC for my grandma, and didnt even try to make it especially silent with custom fans and I have to check it at times because I dont think it is even on, but it is. Too freaking quiet for my tastes. Ideally, you will want a case that can use 120mm fans, since those are the best for silent fans. However that means the case might take up too much room, so you may have to make a few compromises depending on if you want to save more space or drop another few dB.
So, what I've come up with so far is this. But I can't figure out if it's perhaps a bit overkill for just a HTPC type setup (although it will also function as my automatic torrent downloader as well as a network storage/backup unit). Cooler Master Elite 130 ASUS Z87-PRO Intel Core i3 4130 Dual Core CPU Corsair CMX8GX3M2B1600C9 XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL9 Corsair CP-9020075-UK Builder Series 450W CS450M ATX/EPS Semi-Modular 80 Plus Gold WD 2TB 6Gbps SATA III Hard Disk Drive - Green Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5 inch Basic SATA Solid State Drive
That case and the motherboard wont work, the case is a Mini-ITX size only, while the motherboard is an ATX size board. Look at Mini-ITX motherboards. Zotac, ASUS, and Gigabyte all make good ones. Also those WD Green drives have way too high of failure rates IMO. Go with either a black or Blue series if you want WD, or a Seagate SV series which is meant for multiple video streams (technically video surveillance recording but similar usage as a media streamer).
Ah, I linked the wrong motherboard it seems. Stupid Amazon. This is one the I wanted to link to: https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87IPRO/ I was also a little worried about the WD Green. They just sound perfect on paper, with low power consumption and quiet operations. I think Black might be a tad overkill, since I don't really need performance, but I need reliability and quiet operations. Perhaps either Blue or Red would be better? EDIT: Well poppycock! Blue only offers up to 1TB a disk, which is simply not enough. And black is almost twice the price of greens. :/
Red could be a good choice because they are made for NAS type duty. That motherboard is a kickass board. Way overkill but so awesome. It holds nothing back in features for mini-ITX form factor. Ill pick out some fans later today after work that are silent and will fit in the case.
Now I'm considering getting a Micro-ATX motherboard instead (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/H87MPRO/) and the BitFenix Phenom M case (http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/phenom-micro-atx/) instead. That board is cheaper than the Mini-ITX, and the case has more internal bays. ARGH the decision! D:
Not particularly, but the two cases I've mentioned both fit into some spot under my TV. Any bigger, and that might be a problem, but I am sure I could find an alternative. I've actually been considering building the system directly into one of the drawers under my TV.
Well whichever then As for fans, here are some good choices. Look at the specs and decide and then look up the model numbers on whatever places you can order from. Newegg might ship to Denmark now, but not positive. 120mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553002 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608038 80mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608028
I am soooo tempted to grab 4 WD Reds and set up a RAID config. Just because. But that suddenly makes things all that more expensive. But I think am I going to go with the Micro-ATX board rather than Mini-ITX. Also, I think the BitFenix case looks pretty darn good. Just a shame they've "closed off" the 5"25 bay, so I can't throw in a Blu-Ray player.
Also, any ideas on a small-sized CPU cooler? Or should I just go with the stock one? EDIT: Nevermind, just remembered you already gave a recommendation on it, although I don't know if the 212 EVO will fit. Hmm..
This one should fit, but double check to be sure. It is 120mm tall http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186039 With that BitFenix case, I would buy two of the silent 120mm fans to replace the stock fans in it. The fan that comes on that CPU cooler is probably quiet enough to not need any replacement for it. Fully done, I don't think you will hear the PC on from more than a half meter away. ya, it would be lots of fun though. At that point I think the hard drives spinning would be what you hear most out of everything though. To keep it silent, I think you should just go with 4-5 1TB 840 EVO drives
It looks like the 212 EVO might fit after all. It says it's 159mm tall in the specs, and the reviews I've read on the BitFenix case say it allows for a 160mm cooler. So it might be cutting it close.
I have used coolers before that push against the side case, as long as you dont mind the side panel being pushed out slightly then you can use bigger coolers just fine. I think I have gone about 6-7mm taller than the specs of a case officially support before. I think it is better for cooling anyway because the heatpipes will deposit heat right to the side panel and then it can get spread out even more so.
If you have a decent case and aren't overclocking the stock Intel cooler won't be audible over anything else. And if you find it is loud you can replace it later. The BitFenix is good, you might want to check Fractal Design's stuff too. http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series The 605 has sound deadening and looks at home in a home-theater rack setting. This isn't going to be a heat-machine. You pretty much don't need to worry about it except to make sure the fan openings have breathing room. The included Intake+exhaust fans will be sufficient in that bitfenix. Make sure you give the dust filters on the intakes a cleaning occasionally to help with that. Fro example: I've got a Fractal Design R4 case with a 3570k and a GTX780. With the stock HSF on the CPU and the two included fans it's almost completely inaudible and CPU temps don't exceed 40c.
EDIT: Switched my order to grab the Node 605, and a Freezer 13 from AC. That case was simply too fucking sexy to pass up on.