High-performance home server

[theriel]

Dear all,
I am intending to build a small factor PC which would serve as a home server (HTPC+NAS). I have looked at this and other fora and the following is the result of my research. Any advice would be highly appreciated!

Assumptions:
-> small, elegant, quiet and operating 24/7
-> Intel Haswell, SSD, 4 x HDD, BR
-> media streaming: 5 portable devices in 3 rooms + TV + monitor
-> video and music ripping/transcoding (inc. on-the-fly downsampling)
-> possibility of adding graphic card in the future (if I decide I want to turn it also to a gaming rig)
-> Windows 7 (compatibility reasons)

Build:
->case: Fractal Design Node 304 (~70GBP)
->mobo: Asus Z87I-Deluxe (180 GBP) - it's beautiful
->CPU: i5-4670 (180 GBP)
->RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series, DDR3 1600 (2x8GB) (~100GBP)
->SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 or 450, 128GB (100GBP)
->PSU: Seasonic SS-460FL2 (fanless) or SS-660XP2 (fan) (100GBP)

->HDD: (4+1) x 3TB WD Caviar Red (already have)
->BR: Pioneer (already have)

Total: ~730 GBP (I know, it's much cheaper in the US...)

A few thoughts / questions:
(1) Any thoughts on RAM and SSD chosen?

(2) Which case would you choose? Fractal Design N304 or maybe something else? (I have looked also at PC-Q25, but N304 seems better; Bitfenix Prodigy is too big)

(3) Fanless PSU (SS-460FL2) or maybe some ultra-quiet fan PSU (e.g. SS-650KM3 or SS-660XP2)?

(4) Stock or some other low-profile fan for CPU (which one?)

(5) I thought about using FlexRAID (4 DRU + 1 PPU). I have crucial data backed-up, but having to re-rip 3TB (~100 BR movies) in the case of a single HDD failure would suck. Is there any reason why it might be better NOT to use Snapshot RAID solution in my case?

(6) Do you know if Z87 on the aforementioned Asus is already shipped in C2 version ?

(7) I initially thought to get a built-in BR case (e.g. PC-Q28), but I realized that it will be more convenient and elegant to have the PC hidden, with just an external BR drive (which I already have) under the TV. Do you see any problems with such a solution?

Thank you for your help and thoughts!

Best,
Theriel

 

[Smitty2k1]

Very happy with my fractal! Fans are nice and quiet. Look into getting a msata ssd if your mobo supports one. I think your build looks great! For a PSU in that case I'd find a fully modular one or the modular 450w Silverstone SFX unit.

Stick with stock Intel heatsink and upgrade later if there is a need.
I use unRaid so I cannot comment on flex raid. External BR sounds good especially if you can do USB3 instead of esata. You're quickly running out of sata ports.

AFAIK no haswell boards are C2 yet but don't let that stop you

 

[tiraides]

Cut some costs by going with a different processor and motherboard. Since you don't need to overclock your server, pair either the i5-4430 or the i5-4570 with a board like the Asus H87I-PLUS. Alternatively, you could go with Ivy Bridge and pair the i5-3470 with the Asus P8H77-I. (I didn't link anything because I don't know which retailer you're buying parts from.)

You should also look for a cheaper DDR3 1333 dual-channel kit. Again, you don't need to overclock, which eliminates the need for DDR3 1600 or faster RAM.

I personally don't like any OCZ SSD due to the company's long history of quality and customer service issues. I like the Samsung 840 Series as my "cheap" SSD, but there are other good alternatives.