[EndersShadow]

Currently I have a WD Live TV. It works great to stream my MKV's from a 3TB Seagate HDD. But I'm running out of space fast so I want to look for a better solution. So I'm looking to build a small NAS that can also run XBMC (if needed).

I'm looking to build something to store and stream my MKV files to other rooms and devices. I DO NOT compress my video files so they are large in size, but storage is decently cheap. I also currently have 1 TB of music I'd like to move to this device from my main rig so I can sell some of the smaller HDD's it has to move to one larger one there.

I'm thinking I want to go with RAID 0 as I have the physical discs and plan to have the computer on a battery backup to help mitigate the likelyhood of a brownout or power failure resulting in a bad sector (more on that later).

I'm planning to run Windows 7 + XBMC + PLEX server + Logitech Media Server and some other apps on this device. I dont "plan" to use it as a HTPC but wire it direct to my router to feed a Roku (Purchase Plex channel) and a WD Live TV (already own) or a Chromebox running OpenELEC for Kodi downstairs. Downstairs is wireless via a Asus N66 network bridge running off 2.4 wireless N signal from my router.

Here is what I'm looking at hardware wise and would love thoughts on. I'm trying to do this as low cost as possible while making sure I dont buy utter junk.

CPU:
- Intel G3220 (30 from a friend) - integrated graphics

Mobo:
- Option 1: GIGABYTE GA-H97N-WIFI (110)
-- I like the dual LAN as an option to help load balance, but is this overkill? 6 SATA ports v 5
-Option 2: ASRock H97M-ITX/ac (80-100)

Memory:
-GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (50)
PSU:
-Corsair CX430 (30 after Rebate)
-- Chosen due to the modular part and I have the non modular in my current computer for 3 years worry free so I like Corsair

HDD (Video):
-HGST Deskstar 7k4000 2TB (70 per drive)
--Chosen due to their low failure rate and the fact this one has a 64MG cache. Also because the 3 & 4 TB drives are pricey when you start buying more than 1 at a time. I hope to start with 2 and move to 4 as I need the extra space. If I start to max that out, then I will move to 3 or 4 TB drives.

HDD (OS):
-SSD of some sort, likely in the 128 - 250 gig. I like Corsair, Crucial, Samsung as options

Case:
-Fractal Design Node 304
-- Chosen due to the fact it has just the right amount of space and it will allow me to use a larger cooler that I already have that I think can work
-- If needed I do have a Antec P182 case I can initially use if the money isnt there to buy this case, however I'd prefer to use it so I can hide it easier in plain sight.

CPU Cooler:
- Noctua HN-U12P - free already own
--I am NOT sure if this cooler is able to fit on this socket so if you know its possible or not, please let me know.
**edit** Appears Noctua is offering a free socket 1150 upgrade to folks with coolers like this one (link). You have to provide proof of purchase of the cooler and also a 1150 motherboard and boom, done. I have to say, this company just continues to impress me. The 120mm case fans I own are still running 4 years later and the CPU cooler is a dream as well

Thats kinda what I'm thinking part wise. I'd love some thoughts on this build and if its going to be decent or if I am missing something major.

[USCMitch]

Overall, I think the hardware is pretty solid for your purposes. Some thoughts:

-CPU: For a NAS or simple homeserver, the a G3220 is plenty. However, if you are going to use Plex Server to server multiple clients, you *may* more power than the G3220 can provide. I don't have much experience with Plex Server but I know it is recommended to have 2000 of Passmark benchmark score per transcode stream i.e. 2 streams would require a minimum 4000 Passmark score. For reference the G3220 has a Passmark score of 3190.

-Mobo: While the dual-LAN would be nice, I don't think it is necessary. The Node 304 can accommodate 6 drives, so I would get a motherboard that can support them all as you build out your NAS. So if you really want dual-LAN, you could go with this: Gigabyte GA-H97-N-WIFI.

PSU: Plenty of power, but you may want to look at the possibility of getting a Gold or Platinum certified PSU as a NAS will be running 24/7. This will cost a little more upfront but could save you money long term, depending on the cost of electricity in your region.

Case: Personally, I love the Node 304. One of the easiest ITX cases I've ever worked with. I had my home server inside of a 304 until I outgrew it. Great, quiet case.

[levi.baker88]

A few things:

I DO NOT compress my video files so they are large in size, but storage is decently cheap.

Do you mean that you do a direct rip of a movie you own to your computer (technically that information is already compressed) or further reduce the dismal video/audio quality that everyone passes off as "Blu-ray" on the interent? My Blu-ray Star Wars movies are 40GB+ so to me that is getting there on the large scale.

Large quantities of storage is not cheap, regardless of where you live, especially when you are looking at multiple 3, 4 or 6TB drives.

I'm thinking I want to go with RAID 0

RAID0 can be beneficial making lots of drives seem like one mega drive but it has some very severe consequences if a drive fails > Google RAID0

plan to have the computer on a battery backup to help mitigate the likelyhood of a brownout or power failure resulting in a bad sector

Whilst this is true, it generally occurs during a write cycle and a NAS for the most part will spend most of it's life being read from. If you want to try and mitigate brownouts or bad sectors, buy a high end PSU with really decent efficiency and some very large capacitors, the Corsair AX/AXi series are damn good. If you do buy a UPS, don't be cheap about it.

CPU:
- Intel G3220 (30 from a friend) - integrated graphics

This may not have the balls to do Plex transcoding. Transcoding is a very CPU intensive task and Pentium processors are not an intensive task CPU, so to speak.

Mobo:
- Option 1: GIGABYTE GA-H97N-WIFI (110)
-- I like the dual LAN as an option to help load balance, but is this overkill? 6 SATA ports v 5
-Option 2: ASRock H97M-ITX/ac (80-100)

Whilst you can issue both ports with an IP, AC wireless speeds will crap on what ever will come out of those ports, unless you are savvy with Ethernet bridging.

You need to decide if you want a NAS or HTPC.

[EndersShadow]

A few things:

I DO NOT compress my video files so they are large in size, but storage is decently cheap.

Do you mean that you do a direct rip of a movie you own to your computer (technically that information is already compressed) or further reduce the dismal video/audio quality that everyone passes off as "Blu-ray" on the interent? My Blu-ray Star Wars movies are 40GB+ so to me that is getting there on the large scale.

Large quantities of storage is not cheap, regardless of where you live, especially when you are looking at multiple 3, 4 or 6TB drives.

I use MakeMKV to rip the movie and leave it in that format with just the video and 2 highest quality audio formats on the disc. I dont use Handbrake to further reduce the size of the files from that point. This does result in large sized files, but I dont buy that many movies, nor do I get them from "other sources" so I dont anticipate my library growning exponentially beyond maybe 10-12 blu rays a year, and some DVD's for my kid (Disney type).

I also haven't ripped everything I own as some are not movies we will watch that often.

I'm thinking I want to go with RAID 0

I am aware there is no way to rebuild the array if it crashes. That say I am debating whichever RAID it is that I lose one whole drive as a parity drive. That would mean buying the Gigabyte motherboard and then 3 of the 2TB HDD's at the onset to get things rolling which adds some extra cost I wasn't planning on.

I'm also not sure if I even really NEED raid. That was just a suggestion by a friend. What I'm looking at doing is this. I have a TV in my bedroom and a TV in the HT room. I have a 2 year old with another one on the way. The "plan" in my head is to set this up so I can stream to a Chromebox using OpenELEC (so no need to transcode) in the HT room, and then use Plex Server for a Roku in my bedroom. I am open to the idea of NOT using RAID and instead slowly buying 4 TB drives as I need them.

Right now I could get by with 2 2TB drives, one for "Kids Movies" one for "Non Kid" movies + my 1 TB collection of music. So do I need RAID in the long run with XBMC or should I just ignore RAID entirely and if a single drive fails, just have to re-rip all those movies?

plan to have the computer on a battery backup to help mitigate the likelyhood of a brownout or power failure resulting in a bad sector

Whilst this is true, it generally occurs during a write cycle and a NAS for the most part will spend most of it's life being read from. If you want to try and mitigate brownouts or bad sectors, buy a high end PSU with really decent efficiency and some very large capacitors, the Corsair AX/AXi series are damn good. If you do buy a UPS, don't be cheap about it.

Thanks for that. If I was going to buy a UPS I was going to look at a APC unit of sorts. I very much like my APC H15 line conditioners in my setups so it would be something along those lines. Not having failure issues was also why I chose the HGST drives given their low failure rate according to the blackblaze data and also my buddy who works for the US Gov says they ONLY use the HGST drives and rarely have one fail.

CPU:
- Intel G3220 (30 from a friend) - integrated graphics

This may not have the balls to do Plex transcoding. Transcoding is a very CPU intensive task and Pentium processors are not an intensive task CPU, so to speak.

I'm aware but the thought was that of the 2 devices being used (rarely at the same time, but possible) the Chromebox would NOT be needing any transcoding since it would be taking the full stream as it is, while the Roku would use the Plex channel and it WOULD get transcoded video. In that manner I should be able to handle 2 streams at once.

Additionally the CPU is being bought cheap so the thought was start with it, and if needed upgrade to a i3 or i5 when I had extra funds to do so.

Mobo:
- Option 1: GIGABYTE GA-H97N-WIFI (110)
-- I like the dual LAN as an option to help load balance, but is this overkill? 6 SATA ports v 5
-Option 2: ASRock H97M-ITX/ac (80-100)

Whilst you can issue both ports with an IP, AC wireless speeds will crap on what ever will come out of those ports, unless you are savvy with Ethernet bridging.

You need to decide if you want a NAS or HTPC.
[/quote]

I'm confused by this. The AC speed should not come into play as I did NOT intend to do wireless with this. The thought was to have this system (and the rest of the components) hardwired to reduce lag. Are you saying that with a AC wifi card the need to hardwire from a speed perspective is void, or am I missing something.

I very much appreciate you taking the time to respond to me and look forward to your response.

[levi.baker88]

Sorry I assumed that the gigabyte board came with 802.11ac last time I checked. If you have the ability to run cable everywhere and/or don't mind having cables then that's fine. The new AC standard is very fast, in most cases the same speed as cable if not faster.

[EndersShadow]

Sorry I assumed that the gigabyte board came with 802.11ac last time I checked. If you have the ability to run cable everywhere and/or don't mind having cables then that's fine. The new AC standard is very fast, in most cases the same speed as cable if not faster.

Gotcha. It does indeed have Ac as a wireless signal. However I only have a wireless N router and a wireless N network bridge so that extra speed would be lost.

I plan to run 2 lengths of CAT 5E from the router. One to a gigabit switch in my office which will connect to my NAS and office computer/htpc as well as both my daughters room. The OTHER wire will be for my downstairs HT switch which is also a gigabit switch. Currently that switch is connected to a Asus N66 wireless n network bridge that will be disconnected.

I'd rather go with a wired connection in as many places as possible so I don't have to mess with buying another router in the order of 200+ bucks.

I'm also debating just buying 2 4 TB drives for my office computer and making it hold all my movies. It's an older setup using a X38 motherboard and a Intel quad core Q9650 but should be up to the task I think.

Would that X38 and Q6950 work decent for that?

[levi.baker88]

That hardware is going back a few years, even with an 'X' class board it still only has SATA II, so any new drives you buy (being SATA III) will either just not work or perform at a very reduced capacity.

So no, it would not be a good idea.

[Deucehearts]

I would like to chip in my two cents and recommend going for bigger storage drives. Here are two of my experiences.

4 years ago I purchased a HP MediaSmart server and installed three, 2tb drives. I then didn't have to touch the device for 4 years until I had two drives fail (both HGST drives, one failed hard and the other started having a large amount of bad sectors). I replaced the drives with two, 4tb drives from Seagate (paid the same price for two 4tb drives as I did for one 2tb HGST drive 4 years ago). When I need more space I will just add another drive (4 HDD trays).

On my main HTPC I have 2 storage drives and a SSD OS drive. For this device I took a different approach. I also put in the drives that saved me money. When I when I could of gotten 2tb for about $200, I got two, 500gb drives instead. But then one filled up within a year so I purchased a 1tb drive since they were cheap. Then the other drive filled up three months later, so I purchased another 1tb drive to replace it. Each time I ran out of space and got a new storage drive, I would have to spend time transferring the data to the new drive and setting up the new drive in Kodi(XBMC). I ended up repeating this process about every six months for 4 years. One drive fills up, transfer data, replace, repeat.


Hard drives are pretty cheap currently and spending a little more $$ on space now, I feel, can save you time in the future replacing and swapping out drives as you need more space. Speaking from experience, you will fill up the 2tb drives in no time with uncompressed video.

[EndersShadow]

Thanks for your thoughts.

In looking at things I "may" shoot for 3 TB drives however I'm beginning to wonder if I need RAID. 2 x 3 TB doubles my current space for movies.

This will be JUST for movies and music. I could put kid movies on one drive, music and non kid movies in another. Then using KODI map both drives and be good. I keep my pictures and personal videos on a 640 gig WD drive with a whole mother 640 gig that's an exact backup of the OS + those irreplaceable documents.

I'm looking at software raid to see if there is an option there I should be considering....

However I can't afford multiple 4 TB drives and the 3 TB drives would be pushing it.