• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

HTPC / Server Case

S

Superjoe

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
1,311
I'm trying to find a decent mini-itx case that will both look decent and fit in a home theater system (not too tall), and also hold 4 3.5" HDD's with room for a 2.5".

I've found this so far: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112265

Only problem is there is no way it will fit in my home theater racks. Not an absolute deal breaker but I'd really like to have something that did. Plus, that case is a little expensive, though it does seem like a very nice piece.

Right now I have a Windows home server (acer easystore) and an HTPC. They both sit in the home theater itself, so it's very impractical and kind of a waste of two computers so I'm looking to combine them. I have an nMedia case right nowhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204035 and it's nice, and I might keep it, but I'd like to see if anybody has any better options. Thanks!
 
It's generally not recommended to combine the HTPC and file server together.

As for mITX cases that can fit four or more drives, there is another mITX case that can fit 4+ drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352019

As you can see, it is smaller than that Lian Li but significantly more expensive, even after factoring in the cost of a PSU for that Lian Li case (around $45). In addition, this review wasn't exactly too favorable of that case:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2010/07/14/fractal-design-array-r2-m-itx-case-review/1
 
That Fractal case piqued my interest earlier, but it's too darn expensive.

The other route that I was considering was gutting the easyStore home server and upgrading it to an e-350 and leaving my HTPC alone. I'd have to upgrade to Windows Home Server 2011 which I really don't want to do as the original has burned me so bad on several occasions.

It just seems like kind of a waste since the E-350 would be more than adequate at decoding my 1080p movies, especially since I'd throw in my amd 6570 from the HTPC....

I'll sleep on it I guess, thanks!
 
you cant find a way to cram 4 3.5" drives and a 2.5" in that case you have? if youre using an itx mobo then it looks (estimating here) like you could stand two drives on their sides by the pci slots, and another 1 or 2 on their sides behind the psu. possibly another up front beneath all the front panel stuff. the newegg pictures arent very clear on whats down there. if you have that nice looking htpc case, you should try to use it if at all possible. i fit 4 3.5" drives in this case and its quite a bit smaller than yours. doesnt have the fancy front panel stuff yours does that takes up a bunch of room though. i think it can be done.

also, if i may comment on the htpc/server debate, mine has been working great for almost a year now. i can watch a video over wireless on my laptop while my roommates are watching a movie and utorrent, firefox, peerblock, etc are running. just dont skimp too much on the hardware and it can do it all just fine. i prefer one small box to 2 small boxes, and i like that i didnt have to buy double hardware. mine came to about $350 not including the drives, which is about as much as a 4tb NAS, and mines a full htpc and can handle 12TB of internal storage (only has 9tb internal though). only thing that can suck is that if theres an HD rip playing on the htpc, then streaming a movie over the wireless can be slow. also, you really have to think about cooling. i have the case top off right now and am waiting to install a nice slow 120mm fan to cool the drives. the way i have 3 stacked straight on top of each other with no active cooling is less than ideal. :)
 
Another option could be this:
$338 - HP ProLiant MicroServer + Windows Home Server 2011 combo
$80 - Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G 2 x 4GB DDR3 ECC Unbuffered RAM
 
Are you deadset on running Windows on the file server? The reason I ask is you can typically get away with more less powerful hardware running Linux. I've got Ubuntu on my little server running a single core Atom and it's more than sufficient. It downloads torrents, hosts Subsonic, serves media, etc no problem. Also, it's running on a 4GB compact flash card. Poor man's SSD.
 
Headcase_Fargone said:
Are you deadset on running Windows on the file server? The reason I ask is you can typically get away with more less powerful hardware running Linux. I've got Ubuntu on my little server running a single core Atom and it's more than sufficient. It downloads torrents, hosts Subsonic, serves media, etc no problem. Also, it's running on a 4GB compact flash card. Poor man's SSD.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I did. Got a motherboard+sempron 140 (can unlock the dual core but didnt, isnt needed for my server), threw it in a CM590, and installed Unraid on a usb stick. I also back up images of my HTPC to the server so I can have it up and running in no time if there are any issues, for the WAF. I don't want to have to worry about stability on my HTPC, cause we all know if it crashes once or twice that will be used in the future against you as "It breaks all the time". :p People remember the bad much more than the good. Plus hard drives are noisy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top