[thefrayedend]

Before I bought everything I wanted to get some advice on the parts I have picked for my media server upgrade.
AMD A8 7600 FM2+ $87.99
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-7600-Graphics-...MD+A8-7600

Gigabyte GA-F2A88X-D3H $87.00
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Dual-Link...F2A88X-D3H

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 2133 $56.95
http://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Ripjaws-24...L11D-8GBXL



The primary reason for the upgrade is that I got 4x 5TB USB 3 hard drives for Christmas this year, which is awesome, but I would never have bought a USB drive and my server does not have USB 3. My server is also starting to get kind of old, and is without a doubt the weakest link in my setup. It still does everything I need, but just barely. I am also considering setting up a TV server, as I have finally been given permission to cancel the satellite. I may or may not do the TV server, but either way I am going to put an antenna in the attic. I doubt I will record much of anything if anything at all, about the only thing anyone in the house watches on live TV is the morning news. It would be nice to have a decent guide and the ability to pause TV though.

I know a lot of people are unRAID and various other Linux option fans here, and I am quite comfortable using Linux, I just prefer to keep using Windows. My current server is Windows 7, and I will probably keep using Windows 7. I don’t need or want any RAID options. When I get a new drive I get two identical drives and use the second one as my backup. I have been doing things this way for quite some time and it works for me. I don’t need to do any transcoding. If I setup a TV backend I will probably try Media Portal first, depending on how that goes I might try Tvheadend in a virtual machine since it seems to be the preferred backend.

Cheaper is always better, but I can also spend a little more if it is worth it. Is there any better/cheaper options for what I need? Will the parts I picked work? I could honestly care one way or the other if I use an Intel or an AMD cpu, I mostly chose the AMD A8 because of the motherboard. I do not need a motherboard with quite as many features as the one I have listed, I can get by with 6x sata ports and a few pcie slots. I have 10 sata drives in my current build that I plan on keeping in the new build, and a pcie 4x sata card. I am considering getting a new power supply while I am ordering new parts, I am sure the one I have is a decent power supply and has more than enough power, but it is about 6 years old. The only thing I am not sure about with my old power supply is the switch from 4 to 8 pin 12v ATX connector on newer motherboards. I have read you don’t necessarily need the 8 pin you can just plug the 4 pin in, I have also seen adapters.

While I am asking questions I wanted to see what people thought of the older HDHomeRun HDHR-US dual network tuner, I can grab one for less than half the price of the newer models. Is there anything that makes the newer version worth the extra price? It seems to have good reviews, and I like that it has two antenna connectors instead of one.

Thanks!

[katsup]

The older HDHomeRun model will not work with the HDHomeRun viewer add on, but it should be fine with Tvheadend. I also don't think it will work with the HDHomeRun DVR software that is being released...if that even interests you.

I won't comment on the server as I moved away from that several years ago. I use a Qnap NAS now.

[thefrayedend]

Thanks katsup!

Hopefully someone will chime in about the server. I am mostly concerned about if the parts I picked will be enough for the TV backend, and how future proof it will be. It use to be when I upgraded my desktop, the server got the old desktop parts. As technology has changed my desktop has more resembled my Kodi boxes, and no longer server worthy. So it has been at least two desktop updates since my server has been updated, and what ever parts I pick in this build will need to last a while.

[nickr]

TV Backend requires damn all of anything. It simply remuxes a stream from the digital tuner to the hard drive. No effort required. That rig will be way more than you need. RAM you could cut in half, but as it's relatively cheap, 8G won't do you wrong.

[thefrayedend]

Thanks, just ordered the parts.

[calisto]

The older HDHomeRun model will not work with the HDHomeRun viewer add on, but it should be fine with Tvheadend. I also don't think it will work with the HDHomeRun DVR software that is being released...if that even interests you.

I won't comment on the server as I moved away from that several years ago. I use a Qnap NAS now.

hi,

Do you notice much difference between your old server and the Qnap, as I have got a HP Prolaint and was looking at the Qnap?

Thank you

[katsup]

hi,

Do you notice much difference between your old server and the Qnap, as I have got a HP Prolaint and was looking at the Qnap?

Thank you

In regards to streaming local media, or running a few services, no. I definitely would not go back to a server setup. However, I do miss not having MythTV, even though I rarely used it.

[joeyhhdhtpc]

hi,

Do you notice much difference between your old server and the Qnap, as I have got a HP Prolaint and was looking at the Qnap?

Thank you

In regards to streaming local media, or running a few services, no. I definitely would not go back to a server setup. However, I do miss not having MythTV, even though I rarely used it.

I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I find that running a qnap or the likes limits you in what you can do with that machine. You usually end up with having to get additional hardware to do what you want. One example I can think of is that on my NAS server (HP Micro Server) I can run mysql for the Kodi or other services that may not have a NAS OS port.

[katsup]

You can run a MYSQL server on a QNAP NAS.