So my house was broken into......anyways, I was given money by my insurance company to buy the stuff that was stolen. One of the items that they stole was my HTPC. I have about 1000 dollars to replace it with a new one.
But the HTPC was built by my friend who is no longer in the country. So I was wondering if you guys can help me pick the parts. Also if it is possible, try to reach the 1000 dollar mark. Because if I don't use it I can't keep it. The insurance company will take back whatever is left.
I mostly just watch HD/Blu Ray movies and tv shows on the HTPC, I don't use it to game or anything. And I don't need any HDD's. I'll just buy those when the prices come down again. My last HTPC had 5 HDD cages in it. I would like this new one to have 5-6 HDD cage as well.
Thank you! Sucking getting broken into.
start by reading this forums stickies
If you want the easiest route, you can go with this custom pc-
Wind i5 Mini-PC. If you add blu-ray drive and wireless keyboard/mouse, it'll bring the price to $987.
Something tells me you're going to spend consideably less than the $1000 unless you include hard drives. If someone else is footing the bill, I'd get them now!
I'd love to spend your money!
First off, the case. 5-6 drives in an HTPC-style case is limiting, but it can be done. I have
this case, and love it. Right around $70
Next, the motherboard. One of
these? Another $130
How about a processor? We bought an AMD board, so a nice AMD processor is in order.
This one is well loved.
You'll need to power everything up. Try
this Antec power supply for $70
You'll need a drive to install your OS of choice on -- try
one of these? up to $480 so far.
Throw in 8gb (way overkill) of
RAM for another $50.
A good video card is important, and this is
one of the best. You could go bigger, but it wouldn't buy you a better HTPC. We're up to $600
You will need to buy new drives to fill those slots. You can't stay in budget on 2Tb drives, so we'll go over budget and let you decide where to trim. Try
these drives. That brings us up to $1200 + shipping.
Not the best that could be done, for sure, but it's a start.
why dont u go for an HTPC + unRAID box?
eskro Wrote:why dont u go for an HTPC + unRAID box?
With $1000 that is what I did! actually a little less.... best ever!
I will look into this unRAID box. Thank you all for the advice.
I read up on this unraid thing. I think it is pretty cool. But I have some questions.
1. How do I put files on the HDD's in the unraid sever?
2. And do you guys turn the server off when you are going to bed? I always turned my HTPC off when I went to bed. I never had a "server" before.
3. will the Unraid Server spin down the drives when not in use? Or will I have to set this up my self?
4. I noticed that in there server builds there doesn't appear to be a graphics card. How do I connect to a monitor to set everything up the first time?
1. How do I put files on the HDD's in the unraid sever?
You access the server via any PC in the house. It's like a giant hard drive.
You will see you "SERVER" under the NETWORK...
2. And do you guys turn the server off when you are going to bed? I always turned my HTPC off when I went to bed. I never had a "server" before.
I never turn it off. It's a server and the purpose is that your files are in hand when you are ready to access them. But yes it can be turned off via any PC from the GUI screen or it you can push the power button on it but you must first install some software so it shuts down correctly.
3. will the Unraid Server spin down the drives when not in use? Or will I have to set this up my self?
Yes the HD's not in use will spin down.
4. I noticed that in there server builds there doesn't appear to be a graphics card. How do I connect to a monitor to set everything up the first time?
You use the built in card from the motherboard and just hook it up to your monitor.
All in all it is pretty simple sounds complicated but it's the best solution. You can start with one 2tb for your parity and one for your data. Then when you understand it get the third 2tb HD now you have 4tb to use for data. You need more storage later on then buy the lic. so you can go beyond 3 HD's....
Yojimbo413 Wrote:I read up on this unraid thing. I think it is pretty cool. But I have some questions.
1. How do I put files on the HDD's in the unraid sever?
2. And do you guys turn the server off when you are going to bed? I always turned my HTPC off when I went to bed. I never had a "server" before.
3. will the Unraid Server spin down the drives when not in use? Or will I have to set this up my self?
4. I noticed that in there server builds there doesn't appear to be a graphics card. How do I connect to a monitor to set everything up the first time?
Are you looking for replacing a PC or unraid? I know some insurance company will only pay for the product they covered. Just a thought!
just make sure but, if u can, go for HTPC + unRAID combo!
What is this software to shut down the server correctly? I can not do it just by pushing the button?
I think the insurance company gave me 1000 dollars to replace HTPC. But they did not say it has to be HTPC. Just to replace what was lost. I will have to contact them again to make sure. The more and more I read about this Unraid I am beginning to like it more and more.
What kind of connections do these build in cards use? VGA?
Yojimbo413 Wrote:What is this software to shut down the server correctly? I can not do it just by pushing the button?
I think the insurance company gave me 1000 dollars to replace HTPC. But they did not say it has to be HTPC. Just to replace what was lost. I will have to contact them again to make sure. The more and more I read about this Unraid I am beginning to like it more and more.
What kind of connections do these build in cards use? VGA?
Since you are looking to replace HTPC, I thought that you might want to concentrate on the right HTPC first. UnRaid can come afterward. UnRaid is a great idea but you might want to consider using it with Ethernet cable connection or very strong wireless router and Ethernet card. It's not cheap to have UnRaid to streaming file in full 1080P video with DTS-HD/TrueHD fluently. Just a thought!
First thing first, HTPC!