First htpc build. Does this look good?

M

mystic demon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 29, 2005
Messages
185
motherboard:BIOSTAR TA75MH2 FM2 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138367
comes with this ram for free: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428
Cpu:AMD A6-5400K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113282
case: Silverstone GD07B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163195
bluray player/burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252
reusing this psu from another build
CORSAIR HX Series HX750
For Hdds i figured i'd just reuse one of my old drives right now for the os drive although considering picking up a samsung ssd. For media storage i have a samsung Spinpoint F3 terabyte drive and just bought a WD red 3 terabyte drive.

Do you guys/gals think all of this looks good? I only plan to use the htpc for streaming my blu ray/dvd rips and maybe some emulator use. I'd like to eventually pickup a tuner card to record some tv shows but i have directv and didnt know if i needed something special for that or not. I should also be fine without a graphics card as well correct?

Thanks everyone!
 
Looks good overall, but Danny has a point. Why use a mATX board when you have an ATX? You're missing out on extra features like extra ports, expansion slots, etc. You might as well use the space since you got it.
 
Ultimately, how many hard drives are you looking to add in the case?

Due to space constraints, I personally ended up buying the slimmer sibling Silverstone ML03B and can fit (if memory serves) up to 3 hard drives if I do not install a DVD/Blu-Ray drive.

Like you, I wanted extra space for media/server storage, but opted for a separate dedicated NAS box for several reasons.

  • Airflow and temperature are important aspects in a small HTPC box, even when using "Green" hard drives. You are more prone to generating undesirable heat, especially if you throw in an internal TV Tuner that runs really warm (e.g. Ceton InfiniTV4 PCI-e). This causes you to throw in extra fans to keep the temp down, and extra fans mean extra noise.
  • Dedicated NAS will allow you to do RAID mirrors, which is important if you want to back-up valuable media. Whereas you'll need a RAID controller in your HTPC box if you stick all of the HDDs in there.
  • I find NAS to be easier to operate from a network-sharing perspective. Then again, I'm somewhat of a n00b with networking stuff...I just want things to work without tons of fiddling. :p
If you do decide to move away from having a bunch of HDD's in one box, and want to trim down on the physical size of the case, I would suggest the Silverstone GD05 -- it is similar to that of the GD07, but in mATX form. OTOH, I'd assume the GD07 is easier to work in since it offers more physical space. Both the GD05 and GD07 are aesthetically pleasing, and IMO, it boils down to personal preference.
 
Well at the moment i'll be at 3 hard drives. I'd like to think that i wont fill this 3 tb drive but i have my doubts. Looks like i have some more researching to do than what i previously had thought. I'll look into the idea of doing a seperate nas and htpc.
 
mystic demon said:
Well i chose that case because i dont have a server for my media so i wanted the extra space for hdds. as far as the matx mainly because it was on the cheap end and came with free ram.
Click to expand...
How exactly will you be setting up your storage scheme? Just a bunch of independent drives? RAID? Windows 8 Storage pools? Drive Bender? etc.
mystic demon said:
Would it be worth the extra cash to jump the atx biostar since it also comes with free ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138366? Or would you suggest some other board from asrock, msi, or asus?
Click to expand...
Depends on whether or not you're actually gonna stick with that ATX case.
 
I just figured i would stick with independent drives. I have honestly never looked into RAID, i've always just thrown my new drives in and moved on. I'll stick with that case unless it is smarter that i do a seperate server.
 
IMO, it's smarter to do a separate server. That lets you use whatever OS and storage setup you want for the server i.e Windows 8 with storage spaces, Windows 7 or 8 + Drive Bender, FreeNAS, Solaris, Linux, ZFS, etc.
 
Yes definitely use a separate media server in case you decide to expand. A media server would allow more than one computer to access it, and allow the media center to run quieter, which is greatly appreciated when watching movies. The clickity clack of several mechanical drives inside an HTPC will get old fast.

I have this for my media server. 10 drive bays plus with drive trays you can add 4 more, totaling 14 drives.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352018

I use a AMD Llano A4 build with an ASRock A75 Extreme6 (Hudson D3) motherboard because it has eight SATA ports.

Runs Windows Home Server 2011 and so far holds six 2TB Samsung drives flawlessly.
 
Thanks for the input you two i appreciate it greatly. I guess that coolermaster stacker i used to own would come in handy for times like these hah. I'll have to do some reading on freenas and the like on my days off this week.
 
Sharing my experience with FreeNAS, my ASRock A75 Extreme6 Hudson D3 motherboard would not allow FreeNAS to boot at all. Guess it doesn't recognize the SATA controller or the UEFI BIOS. Check with FreeNAS's forum to make sure you get a board or controller that works.

I have a TechNet subscription, so I'm fortunate to have access to Windows Home Server.
 
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