Hi guys,

I'm looking to spec out a DIY WHS Server to handle my media collection and rip my evergrowing collection of DVD's & Blurays. I've done a lot of reading on the web and although I think I've got a basic understanding of whats needed etc i'd still appreciate the thoughts & suggestions of those with far more knowledge & hands on experiance than i've got.

My current Setup

Desktop - In my bedroom, running W7 - AMD Phenom II 720BE
Soon to be finished HTPC - In the Living Room, Running Vista, Intel I3 Zotac H55 ITX
2 different Laptops - both running Vista.

All of which are currently connected wirelessly via Netgear DG834G Wireless Router.

Right now, I've got films, music etc stored on my desktop, HTPC & 1 laptop so I can watch movies etc wherever I am in the house.

What I'd like

I want to centralise my media collection to a single location, then be able to stream that media to all PC's in the house (preferably wirelessly if possible). I also want to be able to rip the remainder of my DVD's & Blurays direct to the server so they're immediately available across the house.

My Current Idea

Mobo: Zotac H55 ITX (open to any better solutions)
CPU: i5-650
4Gb DDR3 Ram
System Drive - 300GB WD Velociraptor
Storage Drives - Initally 4 x 1.5TB (Options/suggestions welcomed)
OS: WHS
Case: I'm pretty stuck here - i've probably got a budget of around $150 for the case & would like some room for expansion
PSU: Not sure of the Wattage required....Was thinking a modular Corsair 650W

My current Desktop has 2x 1TB drives that are currently devoted to media storage and local back-up, I figure that once my server is up & running I'd be able to relocate these drive to the Server for additional storage?

One last important note - I'm in the UK so although I'm happy to look at NewEgg etc for component details etc, I cant buy from there and the prices are pretty irrelavant as I'm inevitably going to have to pay more.....

If possible I'd like to purchase from:

scan.co.uk
aria.co.uk
kustompcs.co.uk

So if any of you could spare the time to link to these site I'd be most grateful

I hope I've been clear enough but if not feel free to ask for more info

Thanks in advance

Your problem will be in the wireless streaming at least until WiGig hits the market.
Every experiment I have done with High def didn't pan out with normal wireless.
The server components are fairly easy, WHS will run on just about anything.
I definatly subscribe to "KISS" Keep it super simple.
Also rather than trying to "STREAM" place your video's in a folder, use something like MyMovies to manage the collection or sage whatever floats yer boat.
Then simply mount the share on your HTPC's or whatever play back device, DVD's will play native and you can use TotalMedia Theater for blue-ray's it's also supposed to support 3d soon if that is a desire.
But direct playback from folders seem to be leeps and bounds more stable than streaming.

_________________
Current DIY server DL380 G6 2xquad core 2.8ghz 32GB rdimm ram 512mb 2xHP 410 raid with 2x sas expanders (2 X norco RPC-4220) 48 slots stacked with room to grow.
30TB (Movie/File/Music)Win 2012 essentials 64bit Storage spaces
Ex490 E6400 4gb ram

Also, that choice of mobo will severely limit your ability to expand your server storage.

Thanks for the replies.

@Chasrobin - maybe my choice of phrase wasnt the best - as long as I can play my media on my other PC's (smoothly) then i'll be happy.

@Cavediver - any other suggestions in its place? I only really chose that board as I built my HTPC round it and think its a sweet piece of kit.

Anybody care to suggest a suitable case?

Your case and mobo should be chosen on your storage needs for the forseable future. If you're going to start ripping blu-ray's then your storage needs will grow fast. Blu-ray's eat up a lot of storage space. The mobo should have enough sata ports and expansion slots to accommodate as many drives as you may need in the near future. The case should be able to accommodate your mobo, PSU and all of the drives you forsee using without having to resort to external USB drives. The PSU should be of sufficent wattage to accommodate all of your components, again leaving room for expansion.

well immediately I want/would like 6TB (4 x 1.5TB) & System drive so minimum of 6 Sata Ports on the Mobo, I assume that for expansion I could use additional Sata Controller cards.

As for the case, I'm really not used to looking for storage orientated cases so I'm a bit stumped on where to start. If I say that I'd ideally like space for up to 10/12 drives is that reasonable (and do-able?) if so are there any recommendations?

Newegg's advanced search features are a great way to reseach your components. You can input your requirements and it'll come back with options that meet your requirements.

Cheers - will have a look - dont usually use NewEgg as I'm UK based but at least I might get a few ideas

Ok - so have been looking @ cases and found this:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/Full+Tower/Antec+Twelve+Hundred+1200+Ultimate+Gaming+Case+?productId=31981#moreImages

Seems like a decent choice - 12 drive bays, decent cooling solution.

On the CPU & Mobo front - if anyone has other suggestions than the i5 & H55 platform I'd be more than willing to listen - is there a comparative AMD Solution?

Thanks in advance

With that case you can use 5-in-3 or 4-in-3 hot swap drive boxes in the 5.25" bays to increase the number of drives capacity. As for the CPU/mobo choice, you should check out the information at post #13760. The i3 & i5 cpus are great WHS cpus, but the current crop of H55/H57 mobos have strange PCIe functionality which may impact your ability to increase storage capacity in the future.

Just been reading thru dbone's Shawshank edemption thread and whilst i'm not in the market for something so big just yet, I thought it would be a good starting point...............so my revised ideas:

Case: Antec 1200
Processor: Phenom II 720BE (recycled from my Main Rig)
Ram: 4GB DDR3
Mobo:Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H - has total 8 SATA (6 x SATA 6gbs & 2 X SATA 3gbs - I assume that you can use SATA II Drive on a SATA III Port?) - Overkill maybe but want to have 'future proof' components where possible
System Drive: 300GB Velociraptor
Storage: 4 X 1.5 TB (Make & Model to be decided)
PSU: Corsair 650W

That would still leave me 3 spare SATA ports short/medium term expansion.....

With regards to Additional SATA Controllers and Hot Swap Boxes I assume that I can add these as and when required I need to expand the storage pool?

Sorry for the constant updates & questions, i just want to make sure that when I place my order(s) I've got it right....

Shame they don't have the Antec 200 - same number of drive bays but minus the light up fans and clear window on the side, should be significantly cheaper. Plus the 200 has one of the SATA 3.5" drive slots as an external hot-plug - use that one for the backup disk (not part of the drive pool). I used this case on my newest workstation, and if I built a new WHS I'm thinkign of using another one.

--Randy

cheers rrinker - I've managed to find the Antec 200 on a different site - Only £35 which is a lot cheaper than the 1200

Looks like a good choice, thanks for the tip.

Now the bad news - when looking for another one to match my desktop, I found they pulled a little switcharoo and there is a new version. This new version has a 2.5" hot -plug drive bay instead of 3.5". I did find the older 3.5" model on Amazon though so just check to make sure you're getting the right one. Air flow is great, but I only have one HDD in my desktop. Whenever I've built systems with multipel drives, I make it a point to have a fan or fans in front of them to make sure there's airflow, so you'll want to add a couple of fans, eating into the savings a bit, but the total plus a couple of decent 120mm fans is still way less than they charge for the 1200 case - plus I want the server to hide, not stand out with a bunch of blue glowing fans.

--Randy

thanks for the heads-up randy - will make sure i double check the hot swap bay before taking the plunge....the server is gonna live in a cupboard under my stairs with a direct exhaust through the external wall so my temps should be easily managed.

EDIT: quick check @ scan.co.uk & its got the 3.25" Hot swap bay so its looking good.

Now that my case choice seems pretty solid, are there any other suggestions re the rest of the components....?

Sam