[t2ffn]

So, a couple years back I built a server to use with XBMC, as found here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=88544

Its been great running under Windows 7 for the past few years but want to upgrade a few parts, new mobo with more Sata ports and USB 3, so I've been pricing up a few parts:

Motherboard: AMD: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-...d-hdmi-atx

Ram: 4Gb Single stick: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-corsa...-9-24-150v

CPU: AMD A6 5400k Black: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-a6-54...65w-retail

This set up has 8 x Sata III ports so I don't need to run a SAS card as I do currently. (The SAS card will not accept 3TB drives).

Just looking for a couple questions to be closed for peace of mind:

Does anyone see a problem with the 3 items above being used a server, with usenet use and possibly running XBMC as well (feeding a TV via HDMI)

I'm not clued up on AMD so not sure how well the above will work, unraring 50Gb files, etc.

Thanks

[Dougie Fresh]

It should work fine as a server. I would look for some zipfile benchmarks -- probably in some reviews.

[t2ffn]

While it seems quite under powered compared to i5 and i7's, it looks sufficient to serve up media over LAN.

The 8 x Sata III should be a good step up in performance, teamed with some 3TB WD Red drives. Is there anything special needed to do to the Red drives to make sure they perform at their best, spin down when not in use etc?

[nickr]

You don't need CPU power to serve media over a LAN. An atom will do the job.

[t2ffn]

Correct, that was my statement.

It will need some grunt to handle unraring very large files wile doing other tasks, and may also be asked to serve up XBMC and play HD files.

[nickr]

XBMC does not need a huge CPU either. It needs a decent GPU.

[t2ffn]

True, but for decent menu speed and running heavy skins, a little CPU never hurts. The AMD A6 5400k Black I linked isn't that powerful, and I think its less powerful than the Core2Quad I'm currently running, so should be fine.