Rate HTPC/NAS build

D

DermicSavage

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 8, 2004
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[H] I need your opinions on this build.

I currently have an old laptop with a 2TB external hard drive acting a dedicated XBMC/NAS box (it is always connected to my TV). I am hitting the 2TB capacity pretty easy on this little hard drive, and I'm getting rather frustrated with the USB transfer rates (I max out at about 40MB/s), so an upgrade is on the table for consideration.

Here is what I intend to use the system for:
-Run XBMC, Netflix, uTorrent, Crashplan (I intend to be a backup server for family), Tversity, and my OpenVPN server
-Will use either Windows 7 or Windows Small Business Server (I have a student license for both). I very much lack proficency and interest in Linux.
-I intend to use either SnapRAID or FlexRAID for snapshot RAID. I do not need any highpower RAID at this time, just some weekly snapshots.
-I will not be recording or ripping any DVDs or BRs
-I want to have the option to upgrade with a CableCARD in the future, and I'm not sure how much power I will need for that, but this is optional.
-This box will run 24x7 and should rarely ever be shut down or rebooted
-I want to keep the cost around $800 with a max of $900

I have been parting together stuff on Newegg and have two possible builds in mind, Intel & AMD:
(Apologies for the newegg links)
Common Parts:
Case: nMEDIAPC HTPC 5000S $60 (This case will sit in my home theater shelf and cannot be taller than 5.8")
Power Supply: CORSAIR CX430 430W $40
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 $36
SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD1 64GB $80
Storange: 3xWD Red WD30EFRX 3TB $151

Intel:
CPU: Intel Celeron G1610 Ivy Bridge 2.6GHz $50
Motherboard: ASUS P8H77-M LE Intel H77 $75
or
AMD:
CPU: AMD A4-5300 Trinity 3.4GHz (3.6GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 $55
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 FM2 AMD A75 $60

All in all both builds are about the same price around $800.

Would there be a significant difference in the performance using the AMD processor over the Intel Celeron? For the most part, I would think that only the GPU power would be the determining factor here, but I'm not sure how relevant that even is. If I used a Ceton or HD Homerun later on would I need that extra power for any transcoding?

Am I overlooking anything with this plan to have a dedicated home server/HTPC?

Thank you for the input [H]
 
Personally i'd suggest the FM2 build.
You may not need the extra GPU power for 1080i MPEG-2 (aka: most cable channels in the .us) but some are starting to move to h.264 and there's always blu-ray discs.

i've got a socket FM1 HTPC (low end dual core) that basically laughs at blu-ray playback thanks to the acceleration. (even the infamous bird scene in Planet Earth)
 
I haven't really been too well termed in the GPU ability of either processor. The AMD A4 is considerably more powerful on the GPU front compared to a Celeron?

How would these stand up versus an i3 CPU?

I've fallen way too far behind on the hardware game these past years.
 
Well, Intel HD4000 vs FM2 onboard graphics it's easily hands down FM2.

As far as performance goes, that particular processor vs. i3 you'd have to consult benchmarks but I rather suspect the i3 will win if you need the extra grunt for anything. (though it almost sounds like you won't need a whole lot of cpu horsepower)

The onboard hd4000 should be able to do h.264 decoding without an issue so it'll work as an HTPC processor.

Something I forgot to mention, OS wise: If you want to do CableCARD later you'll want to run win 7 as I rather doubt Small Buisness Server includes win media center. (XBMC and/or MythTV don't deal with protected channels* such as TBS)

*the dreaded Copy Once flag.
 
I looked up some benchmarks and found a great benchmark article on the low end processors at xbit labs here
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/trinity-vs-ivy-bridge.html

Definitely looks like I'll get more bang for my buck with the AMD A4 than a Celeron or Pentium for sure. I also don't think it's worth another $90 almost to go with an i3 instead, being that my options are not very CPU intensive. One thing I was not aware of is that AMD had developed their own version of quicksync, god now I'm all behind. Since the video encoding capabilities are faster than real time, I doubt I will have any issues.

Fnord, thanks for the advice on using Win 7. I wasn't keeping WMC in mind as a requirement for CableCARD. Is XBMC working on adding support for this? I'm also just curious what if, anything different, Windows SBS version would bring to the table over Win 7 or home server. I hear a lot of buzz about Windows home server and would be interested to hear what this other version has.

I'm just going to take advantage of the slashed prices before Richland comes out and order this stuff this weekend. Hopefully I'll have pics up in the gallery soon :D
 
I rather doubt XBMC is ever going to get support for Copy Once stuff given I had to install PlayReady (whee! DRM!) as part of the CableCARD setup for media center, last I heard MythTV was the same, CableLabs just won't let them or something like that.

Having said that as long as you don't care a lot about TBS and/or other premium channels that may use Copy Once (HBO?) you can do basically whatever you want to the .wtv files. I personally strip the commercials then use handbrake to make 720p h.264 encodes before tossing the thing on my fileserver.

Far as Windows home server goes, last I heard they've discontinued that particular line so 2011's the last version.

Last I dealt with SBS (2005 R2 I think) it's main features were that it came with Exchange and SQL Server.
 
Good to know, thanks again!

Well I just ordered everything. With some coupons and rebates I'm slashing my total price down to $705 total for this build! Pretty cheap for a dedicated server and media portal.
 
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