SFF Home Media Server

J

Jerry_03

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
92
I am looking to build a Home Media Server, the purpose of which will be to stream media (mostly movies) to my roku device, run torrents and share files on my wired home network. OS will be Win7. I will run Plex and Tversity for the media streaming.

My requirements are:
-Low Powered - Will run it 24/7, so I want it to consume as little electricity as possible. at the same time I dont it to restrict performance too much. PicoPSU looks appealing
-Small Footprint - Small Form Factor build, because the area i want to run it is in a small bedroom and space is limited, mini-ITX looks appealing
-Silent/Stealthy - As silent as possible because like I said it will be on 24/7 in a bedroom,
-Headless - like I said the room is cramped, so I want to run this as a headless server and only remote in via Remote Desktop/Logme In and SSH.
-Budget - dont want to break the bank with this one. Prefer under $500, but willing to go over. Will be buying online, Newegg and Amazon

So far this is what im looking at:
Intel Core i3-3220

ECS H61H2-I3 Mini ITX Motherboard

Team 8GB DDR3 RAM

Still need the HDD, case and PSU. As I said I prefer a PicoPSU but im not sure if it would be enough power and have the right power connections.
i dont want any additional case fans, just the CPU fan.

I'm also considering doing an AMD build with the Phenom II, would that be better than the i3? Yes I will need at least a i3 or Phenom II because I will be transcoding the video to my roku
 
I would suggest buying something other than ECS. There is a reason why they are so cheap. I owned an older ECS board that was a huge nightmare and their support is a joke.

Also, there are better devices for local streaming than the Roku products. Roku is great for internet streaming, but limited for streaming on local networks. I love my WD Live. It does DLNA, SMB shares, you name it. No transcoding needed, it plays everything.
 
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Depending on which PicoPSU (and brick) you get, yes it can support your specified CPU and several HDDs.

For case, you just missed out on some $70 deals for the Lian Li PC-Q25B (Newegg) and Fractal Design Node 304 (NCIX). Those were designed for hosting a number of HDDs in a small space. You may want a case that uses grommets for the HDDs.
 
I was also looking at Foxconn for the mobo. i already have two roku's and i like it. later when i move and get a better TV i'll build a HTPC, but for now im sticking with the roku.

thanks for the info on the case deals, zap.
 
I built a similar mini-itx home server, I opted for the Intel DQ77KB. I find Intel boards are generally slightly more power efficient than the competition, plus the DQ77KB has a built in power supply so you don't need a Pico PSU. It also has dual gigabit ports, which means it can replace your router too so you have one less device to power 24/7. If you get a CPU that supports vPro you can also use the headless KVM feature of the DQ77KB, I am able to manage my headless server even when it is off and power it on and access the bios.

My DK77KB runs at 16watts from the wall, this is a mini pcie wifi card in access point mode, and a 1TB 2.5 inch mechanical HDD, and a i5 3470s. The only time the power consumption goes higher is if I am transcoding something with Plex Media Server. Even my old asus router, once I plugged in a USB stick for storage consumed 13watts.

i5 3470s = $200
DQ77KB = $140
8GB DDR3 SODIMMs = $45
minibox m350 case= $45
1TB 2.5inch hdd = $100

The total comes to a bit over $500 but you can get it below $500 if you stick with your 3220 instead of an i5.
 
If you dont mind some transcoding, Roku's using Plex are amazing and play just about any format under the sun. Roku's have replaced all my HTPC's at home.
 
I'd definitely recommend the DQ77KB.

Or check the mobo on the machine in my sig (ASUS P8H77). I'm running unRAID, including the Plex Media Server plugin, and it has zero problems whatsoever transcoding my media to iPhones/iPads. It has 6 sata ports, which is a plus over the Intel board.
 
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XcPNehVYlE4A3C said:
Nice build, using a single large fan to cool everything, brilliant!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, the single 140mm fan in the front cools it all, since the PSU spot is open since the board has it's own power supply circuitry on board. You just need a decent laptop brick.

I been thinking of picking up another of those cases and making it into a highend gaming desktop... w/ the GPU heatsink/fan sticking out the side panel like a hotrods supercharger, but I think that would be too much for just that one fan to cool. In the meantime I'll wait for the Ncase M1.
 
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