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#1
Dec 29 2015 11:32am
Built a few gaming rigs in the past and want to dabble with an htpc and kodi, possibly with nas capabilities?

anyone have links to builds <$500?

Would like this to be somewhat scale able. Not sure what all I'll do with it in the future but for now just want to stream media content to my tv. the box has to be somewhat "pretty" aesthetically. Designer wife is picky about my electronics...

thanks fellas

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#2
Dec 29 2015 11:39am
I've always wanted to dabble with something like this :)
I'll post what I would build shortly; however, it will be difficult to also use the system as a NAS due to the size limitations of an HTPC
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#3
Dec 29 2015 11:48am
Quote (Penguins0690 @ Dec 29 2015 09:39am)
I've always wanted to dabble with something like this :)
I'll post what I would build shortly; however, it will be difficult to also use the system as a NAS due to the size limitations of an HTPC


right right but maybe some external storage managed by the htpc would work well together

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#4
Dec 29 2015 11:51am
Quote (Viperink @ Dec 29 2015 11:48am)
right right but maybe some external storage managed by the htpc would work well together


i haven't thought about it tbh.
you could always convert your gaming rig (if you have one) into a NAS + Gaming rig with unraid provided you have more than a few drives in that machine

This post was edited by Penguins0690 on Dec 29 2015 12:04pm
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#5
Dec 29 2015 11:56am
Quote (Penguins0690 @ Dec 29 2015 09:51am)
i haven't thought about it tbh.
you could always convert your gaming rig (if you have one) into a NAS + Gaming rig with unraid provided you have more than a few drives in that machine


ahhh, yes good idea
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#6
Dec 29 2015 12:04pm
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kqxx7P
*note on the PSU - if you go non-modular you will have no problem putting in an optical drive; however, if you do go with an optical drive, you cannot get a modular PSU unless it's extremely small (SFX) and comes with a bracket so that it can be mounted in the case (haven't done much research on this, but I assume silverstone makes a compatible modular SFX psu with an ATX bracket :bouncy: )
*left room in the budget ofc cause why overkill it :P

you could also swap out the psu + stock cooler for something quieter as well or add an SSD or more HDDs

This post was edited by Penguins0690 on Dec 29 2015 12:05pm
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#7
Dec 29 2015 12:19pm
Thanks, this is a great start, I'm going to check it out. I'm not familiar with the efficiency of cpu's these days but if energy savings were to be had here as i expect this to be running quite a lot. Are there other options that are more efficient?
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#8
Dec 29 2015 12:37pm
Quote (Viperink @ Dec 29 2015 12:19pm)
Thanks, this is a great start, I'm going to check it out. I'm not familiar with the efficiency of cpu's these days but if energy savings were to be had here as i expect this to be running quite a lot. Are there other options that are more efficient?


ideally you would want an intel cpu with 4 cores that also has a t suffix (indicates 35w tdp)
i think it's cost prohibitive at your budget though so the following build has 2 cores

here is another option, just to include more variety, you could always mash the builds together or something lol
this build would focus on expansion into a NAS at some point due the to much more storage capacity (6x 3.5'' drives)
also, i made this build "silent", i think the max db is something like 21.5 or so when at full load, theoretically, the PSU shouldn't kick on the fan at high speeds ever, so it would come down only to the cpu cooler fan kicking on

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4Rfx7P

keep in mind my builds do not rule out going AMD, that's totally an option as well.

here is a link for unraid - http://lime-technology.com/
keep in mind you would need 3+ drives to use it.
you would create the NAS on the bulk of the drives and dedicate at least one drive (i would do 2x for redunancy) as a virtualization host (where you would run kodi and all those other cool things)

my problem is i would spend like $1000-$1500 on this as you can see :rofl:
which is why i stay away haha

This post was edited by Penguins0690 on Dec 29 2015 12:48pm
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#9
Dec 29 2015 01:49pm
Quote (Penguins0690 @ Dec 29 2015 10:37am)
ideally you would want an intel cpu with 4 cores that also has a t suffix (indicates 35w tdp)
i think it's cost prohibitive at your budget though so the following build has 2 cores

here is another option, just to include more variety, you could always mash the builds together or something lol
this build would focus on expansion into a NAS at some point due the to much more storage capacity (6x 3.5'' drives)
also, i made this build "silent", i think the max db is something like 21.5 or so when at full load, theoretically, the PSU shouldn't kick on the fan at high speeds ever, so it would come down only to the cpu cooler fan kicking on

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4Rfx7P

keep in mind my builds do not rule out going AMD, that's totally an option as well.

here is a link for unraid - http://lime-technology.com/
keep in mind you would need 3+ drives to use it.
you would create the NAS on the bulk of the drives and dedicate at least one drive (i would do 2x for redunancy) as a virtualization host (where you would run kodi and all those other cool things)

my problem is i would spend like $1000-$1500 on this as you can see :rofl:
which is why i stay away haha


LOL, gotchya. excellent, ty for info. going to continue my research and hopefully purchase something soon
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#10
Dec 29 2015 04:23pm
I think this will work as a fine htpc.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6R62XL (link fixed)
I would replace the stock fan on this case because its kinda loud, so i included an extra fan.
This only has space for 1 hard drive though, so if you're doing nas with anything more than a single drive, you'd need a different case in the future.

This post was edited by Rapture on Dec 29 2015 04:24pm
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