Linux First Build Hardware Review
#16
I am not much of a Linux user myself so I will defer to them for the compatibility with Ubuntu

From my perspective the hardware selection looks solid I would have you consider a couple things I notice for aesthetics
have you considered where in your entertainment center you are going to place it? Having a tower standing upright can be a bit of
a distraction or break the flow of your room aesthetics. you can lay it sideways but that may mess up the case airflow. or look at a mATX case
designed to sit down, there are some designed specifically for HTPC.

Consider your future uses as well. If you intend to have lots of media do not concern yourself with a huge case or storage availability in your
case, as you are going to want a NAS device down the road. With several clients fetching media you are going to want a dedicated device for holding your content located away from your main TV, as you are not going to want to leave that one powered on all the time, or getting louder and louder as you add more harddrives, etc.

Remember most people love XBMC because it does one thing better than everything else....PRESENTATION. It looks great and displays your media in such an awesome and customizable way.
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#17
(2013-01-24, 20:11)slithers Wrote: I am not much of a Linux user myself so I will defer to them for the compatibility with Ubuntu

From my perspective the hardware selection looks solid I would have you consider a couple things I notice for aesthetics
have you considered where in your entertainment center you are going to place it? Having a tower standing upright can be a bit of
a distraction or break the flow of your room aesthetics. you can lay it sideways but that may mess up the case airflow. or look at a mATX case
designed to sit down, there are some designed specifically for HTPC.

Consider your future uses as well. If you intend to have lots of media do not concern yourself with a huge case or storage availability in your
case, as you are going to want a NAS device down the road. With several clients fetching media you are going to want a dedicated device for holding your content located away from your main TV, as you are not going to want to leave that one powered on all the time, or getting louder and louder as you add more harddrives, etc.

Remember most people love XBMC because it does one thing better than everything else....PRESENTATION. It looks great and displays your media in such an awesome and customizable way.

This HTPC will be in the living room permanently. I don't mind a clean looking black tower sitting beside the entertainment system.
This system can house a max of 18TB right from the start (if I take the BD Drive out) 15TB with BD in.

My entire living room is black so it blends in LOL and trust me over the years I have had many towers sitting around the house.

So this system will remain my NAS AND HTPC for a very long time. I won't run out of space for a long time AND not to mention if I fill this thing up with drives I can still use external USB drives to add even MORE storage LOL....

I also plan to install Windows 7 now since XBMCUbuntu will not handle Netflix properly without jumping some hoops.

The secondary TV's already have devices that support Netflix so if I wanna watch Netflix I will use those devices rather then the Pivos with XBMC on it.

I think if the hardware I choose now will properly handle serving files to at most "Two" tvs at once with the large storage it allows I am looking good.
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#18
sounds like you are all set then. Good luck!
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#19
Final Setup

Living room setup
HTPC/NAS (Hardware in this post) attached via HDMI to A/V receiver Surround Sound --> A/V to TV.

Bedroom Setup
Roku for Netflix
Pivos XBMCUbuntu for the rest of my collection

Workshop Setup
Pivos XBMCUbuntu - No need for Netflix in the shop.... I rather just listen to music or a old movie from the collection....

Office Setup
Sony BD-Player for Netflix
Pivos XBMCUbuntu OR repurposed Laptop for XBMC


So with all information from this thread of my intended use and all cosmetic / aesthetic issues aside.
Do you think the hardware for this setup will work.
Do you think with the setup above I can extend storage enough to ensure I do not run out of space for at least a few years to come.

I just wanna be double sure on it all before pulling the trigger.
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