I think the cheapest should be DIY NAS. I found a quite informative place where ppl DIY their own NAS.

Pro: You get to customise your own NAS
Bring ur old pc system back to life

Cons: Computer knowledge must be adequate and willing to get ur hands dirty
Might overbudget when going on a buying spree

Link: http://www.diynas.com/category/hardware/complete-systems/

8 hdd? You really have a large collection.

In your case, your solution is more cost efficient. If you buy NAS, it can easily reach thousands.

But if you have more than 2 pcs and have smaller collection, NAS or dedicated media server is much better. I prefer to build up low power pc as a media server than buying a NAS. PC can be easily and cheaper solution for future upgrade.

Currently, I still use only 2 HDD, so one HTPC is enough.

I was also contemplating this option like you. But one thing we should consider is the heat generated when you turn on the computer. I did not know how hot it was until one day I hold the active hardisk in my hand after just a half an hour job, it was HOT.

As you can imagine, if you put 4-6 hardisk drives together actively, it will easily push the temperature limit of the full HTPC. That will translate into cooling problem if you leave the unit on for a long time, PLUS doing all the necessary processing at the same time.

If you install too many fan, it will be very noisy too.

Thats the problem.

not necessarily. i run windows 7 on my htpc. well on all my desktops and laptops, and by default, it turns off any unused hdd after 20 minutes.
and judging from memory, it works better than the same settings on windows xp. xp have a habit of not turning off unused drive even when you tell it to. xp randomly access hdd for god knows why.

unused drive will take around 5 second to spin back to life after being turned off. happens a lot after i finish watching a movie and searching for the next to watch.
off-ed drive is only a tad warm to the touch. and that's without any fan blowing to the hdd.

for htpc use, i really suggest not going the 7200rpm route as those blazing drive generates lots of heat. all my drive are the slow, 5400rpm ones. generates considerably less heat than 7200rpm drives.

Hey bro...

here's what it looks like at my place.. or rather room.. hehe (attachment below)

- HDMI Lossless or DTS or Dolby Digital. I can't test it out yet 'cos I haven't bought my Yamaha AVR yet
a. DTS or Dolby Digital also can't test out via the audio out port because I can't find the cable here in Penang (yet).
b. Currently only getting Stereo as the HDMI --> LCD TV --> RCA (red and white) to the current Pioneer HTIB system.
c. I share one Optical between the PS3 and Mede8er to the Pioneer HTIB.

- Sorta using Plex currently.. have yet to test out the 2 you mentioned and Boxee.. but in reality I actually use VLC (making my bloody remote kinda useless)
a. I'm still kinda using my Mede8er to watch movies because everything is in it. TV series is in a external HDD but I still use the Mede8er.
b. Just started fiddling around with Plex and I think it looks ok.. yet to try out the NAS capabilities and performance yet though.
c. Hardware acceleration works or not? Not sure what you mean but using Plex and VLC to play SD quality TV series, they look much crispier compared to my Mede8er... weird... 720p (I only got Spartacus so I tested it out) seems more crispier as well. On the Mede8er it looks a bit softer... on the Mac Mini it looks sharper.

- So far that's what I've been doing.. but it has only been a few days.
a. First few days, I had a fan blow it. OK.. not hot..
b. After that I tried out with the fan blowing the room (more towards my Belkin Wifi Router Modem) instead of the Mac Mini. A bit hot...
c. Then I tried out no fan, just leave the windows and door open for ventilation. Temp seems ok (I forgot how much) but the unit doesn't feel hot, just slightly warm.

My thoughts for New Mac Mini as a HTPC cum Torrent Server.
- Trying out different Torrent apps down to Vuze and uTorrent but will stop Vuze soon because it uses more processing power, compared to uTorrent. (Tried out Transmission but the bar is not moving)
- Wanna see how much electricity I save because previously I use my Windows 7 Desktop PC to torrent and it's never turned off and the bill is killing me...
- WiFi via Airport seems buggy... Dunno whether is the Belkin or Airport... Internet connection keeps on disconnecting so I went back to using ethernet but will try Airport again next week

---

Added on June 30, 2010, 3:48 pm1 question.. does it suck electricity like mad?

This post has been edited by azxel: Jun 30 2010, 03:49 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

Azxel, I am surprise that your htpc consumes lots of electricity ! Are you sure its entirely due to the pc itself ?

Paskal, thanks for sharing. I did not know that Win 7 can turn off any unused hardisk. I do know that some NAS does have the feature to save power cost and to cool it down.

Hi Pete... Frankly speaking.. I'm not quite certain...

PC (not really HTPC) with AMD Athlon with ATi 4850, 2 internal HDDs and 550Watts Power Supply left on 24/7 got my bill up to RM1XX per month..!! Compared to not turned on that for that long (evenings when I'm back home only) is about RM50 per month, sometimes less. This was before I had the aircon...

So, I suspect that it's the PC... not sure what else is causing the big jump in electric bill...

Currently, with the aircon, it is turned on for about less than 12 hours daily with the temp set at 26degrees...

No joke. I didn't realise the pc can be that consumptive.
Anyway, that may prompt me to pursue more on NAS with atom chipset with another PC that can do occasional processing.

Ps: my office has 2 pc on from 8am to 9.30pm, along with 2 aircon, one 1hp & 1.5hp, set at around 20-22 degree, my bill comes to about RM300+ a month only. Not the mention about 34 fluorescent lights on in the evening !!

This post has been edited by peter32: Jun 30 2010, 07:22 PM

i'd blame it on the aircond, not on the htpc.
my bill is only about RM25-26 per month before this. couple of month goes below RM20 and paid by the gov.
now it's RM250 after airconditioning.

If HTPC on 24/7, it will cost a lot based on your our setup. My electrical bill usually cost RM40-50 without air-cond and pc (with washing machine, water heater, fridge etc). But after installing air-cond, my bill jump to RM70-RM80 with 8h-12h daily usage. With my current setup and setting up my windows 7 to sleep most of the time, my bill is slightly increase around RM80 only (with air-cond). This month, I try to on almost 24/7 and now still waiting for electrical bill to see the diff.

Previously, when I on my pc 24/7 for torrent, my bill can easily reach RM80 with my old E8400+HD4650 setup (without air-cond).

This post has been edited by qwerty79: Jul 1 2010, 12:20 AM

walauweh only increase 2 times. very good ekon you have

May be because I only set not lower than 25. Usually 26.

Is this remote compatable with XMBC??

yes it is compatible. i'm using it with xbmc.
apart from a few not important buttons, everything works out of the box.

but make sure you tick 'remote sends keyboard keypress' (i think) option in the xbmc configuration page

Dont make conclusion too early.. Wait another bill to see 1st.. As i know, now TNB not every month go to see your metre one.. one month they are doing estimation only if not mistaken..

waaa.. something not right.. your meter.. erm.. *Ahem* isit?

but it was already spiking to RM100 even before the aircon was installed

making it a habit from now to turn off every unused plug...

Hallo brothers. I am new for HTPC. I am thinking to build 1 which is my budget only 1k. Can any1 help to give me the spec?
The htpc using for HD Movie and online. Another question i face is where i can get the HD movie source or i can buy from somewhere.

Thank you

Hehehe... no, not yet *ahem*ed. Its a real world rate under business category somemore.

Hi guys.. care to advise whether Sapphire HD4350 can bitstream HD audio? Saw it for sale at RM 120. Thought of buying it to test out on htpc.
I've checked from the website and it mentioned that it supports Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master. How true is this?
Link to website: http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/p...=000101&pid=210

nope. you need a 5 series ATI card. i'm using ATI 5450, the cheapest in the ATI line that could bitstream.
tested and confirmed it can do HD audio bitstreaming to my AVR.

costs RM165 from PCZone (or issit CZone) lowyat. no other shop have them.