2011-03-05, 20:13
MediaMan Wrote:The files on my NAS are mostly mkv files (ripped from blu-ray disc). I have no problem watching them from my PC or my blu-ray player (which has a very basic media center built in). I think those files still qualify as HD, but they are typically 4-8GB in size. In any case they still look good on my projector screen! I have no plans for streaming 40GB blu-ray files over the network.Remember that it will be your video card that will be doing all the heavy lifting, so unless you intend to emulate modern game systems there's no need for a powerhouse CPU. Like I said before, I'm using a 12 year old Pentium 4 single core on a modern-ish video card and everything plays well.
I suspected that I might need to built my own. Which means I'll probably need a larger form factor, but I would still like to keep it as small as possible. An option is to go with a case that allows for one large (but slow rotating and quiet) fan to do the cooling. I'm hoping someone in these forums might have some good hardware suggestions.