HTPC/Storage build

[MirageMobile]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? Etc

A HTPC/Storage build.
I would like to play content on a local TV, and eventually extend to other TVs in the house.
For storage, I was thinking around ~2-6TB.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$300-$700

3) Where do you live?

Missouri

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

Case, CPU, Mobo, PSU, Blu-ray drive, maybe GPU ( if needed)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Have some DDR2 667 RAM around
Also, have (1) WD 2TB drive that may be used in this computer

6) Will you be overclocking?

No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

20” older LCD to be used in the back room

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

When I get some questions straightened out

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

I would like some data redundancy, so a RAID setup is probably my solution?
Thing is, I have never set one up, but might be the time to learn.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?

Yes, Win7 Pro 32bit

 

[Dangman]

How much DDR2 667 RAM do you have lying around?
Are you adverse to building two separate systems, one HTPC, one server?
If yes, do you want a HTPC style case or would a tower case be doable?
Does the TV have HDMI?

 

[MirageMobile]

How much DDR2 667 RAM do you have lying around?
Are you adverse to building two separate systems, one HTPC, one server?
If yes, do you want a HTPC style case or would a tower case be doable?
Does the TV have HDMI?

About 6GB of spare DDR2 RAM

One system would be nice, because if I built two, they would sit right next to each other, which is about ~5 feet from the TV.

Therefore, I see a hybrid as the simpliest solution.
However, feel free to present the pros/cons of either scenario.


A mid tower case is actually ideal for its location and any future upgrades IMO.

The TV has HDMI, but my receiver does not.
Therefore, I plan to output the audio optically and run the video directly to the TV via HDMI.
Any known problems with this configuration?

P.S. I've glanced at some pure HTPC builds over in that section but am not sure how applicable they are to me.

 

[Dangman]

One system would be nice, because if I built two, they would sit right next to each other, which is about ~5 feet from the TV.

Therefore, I see a hybrid as the simpliest solution.
However, feel free to present the pros/cons of either scenario.

Well the reason why I mentioned two systems is for simplicty's sake as well as your mentioning of RAID. Your budget does not allow for a hardware RAID card which means that software or fakeRAID are your two options. However, a RAID5 array, the array you're probably thinking of, would require quite a bit of CPU power. Meaning that you may get hitches and other relatively unsmooth playback of HD content with such a setup. As such, if you want redudancy with a good chance of smooth HD playback, then two seperate systems would be your best bet due to your budget.

Then again now that I think about it, if you were to use a RAID setup, you'd have to get two more 2TB drives if you want to reuse it for a RAID array. That's $400 right there which isn't exactly possible with your budget.

P.S. I've glanced at some pure HTPC builds over in that section but am not sure how applicable they are to me.

They're pretty applicable. Just swap out the cases and you should be set. Here's a prelim build assuming that you ditch the idea of redundancy/RAID:
$59 - AMD Athlon II X2 240 CPU
$75 - Asus M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 HDMI mATX Motherboard
$66 - Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray Reader SATA Drive
$50 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$140 - Antec P183 ATX Case
---
Total: $390 plus tax and shipping. Reuse your RAM and HDD

Reasons for my choices:
- The CPU and that motherboard is all that you need to watch HD content as the onboard video offloads most if not all of the decoding of HD content
- The Antec P183 case is one of the quietest cases out there and can fit up to 6 drives right off the bat.
- The Corsair 400W PSU is more than enough power for the above setup + 6 drives.

 

[engiNURD]

So you want Data Redundancy in case one of the drives fail, right? Because RAID is not a backup solution. It only minimizes downtime.

You may or may not have an issue with the optical out and your receiver's optical in. Personally, I sometimes have to switch back and forth a couple times to the SPDIF for the handshake to work properly and to actually hear audio from my soundsystem. Then again, I have an OLD receiver from early 2001 or 2 or whatever.

 

[MirageMobile]

$59 - AMD Athlon II X2 240 CPU
$75 - Asus M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 HDMI mATX Motherboard
$66 - Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray Reader SATA Drive
$50 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$140 - Antec P183 ATX Case
---

Awesome list.

Perhaps a simpler RAID1 setup would use less CPU?

How about the above mentioned parts by Danny + another WD 2TB drive in RAID1
I know this is quite a decrease in storage capacity, but that may be fine for now.

This would still require some type of software, correct?

Or is there another motherboard that would better suit this situation and still decode HD content.

And, thanks for the heads up, enginurd. I will test out the handshaking with another computer this evening.

 

[Dangman]

Awesome list.

Perhaps a simpler RAID1 setup would use less CPU?

How about the above mentioned parts by Danny + another WD 2TB drive in RAID1
I know this is quite a decrease in storage capacity, but that may be fine for now.

This would still require some type of software, correct?

Or is there another motherboard that would better suit this situation and still decode HD content.

Yeah a RAID 1 setup wouldn't take that much CPU. In addition, it can be done with the motherboard's onboard RAID controller. If 2TB RAID 1 is fine for you, go for it. But just make that you keep what Enginurd said in mind: RAID is not backup. It just guarantees/increases uptime. So make sure you have an external backup solution for all of your more critical data.