HTPC +Gaming +Storage +Bittorrent

[letsgetsilly]

I'd like to have an HTPC and a File Server/NAS setup, but I don't see the purpose in running two machines at once in the effort to conserve energy and build costs.

I'd like an HTPC box that can support plenty of storage, RAID not necessary. I also want to be able to play games occasionally on this box, as well as run bittorrent client.

I'm hoping people here can throw suggestions at me for this all-in-one, but here are my initial thoughts:

Hardware:
Antec Earthwatts power supply (xxx watts)
Several WD Green HD's
Intel Core 2 (nothing fancy, just low power and able to play HD content)
Nvidia 8800GT
nforce chipset
HD Capture card

Software:
Windows home server?
Dual boot windows/linux?

The software here is the big unknown, as I don't have much experience with these types of solutions. Please post if you've got any suggestions.

Thank you!

 

[Chosonman]

for HTPC i'd go with an ATI card since they come with native 5.1 sound over HDMI. I finally managed to configure mine correctly last night. I had HDMI sound by disabling my onboard system sound. I found out I could go to control panel>sound>advanced setting> and pick which sound source I wanted to use. By doing this I wasn't disabling my onboard Mic input and front panel sound input. duh...

BTW I run all of those. I have a file server/web server/Torrent machine and 2 HTPC's and a dedicated Gaming/wife's machine (She thinks it's hers but that's the only way I could get her to let me build another computer)

 

[letsgetsilly]

What OS are you running on your server? Are your HTPC's seperate, and what are they running for an OS?

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Chosonman]

I'm running XP pro for all the systems. Yes they're all separate machines except for the file server.

The file server stays on 24/7 and hosts my website using the build in IIS server, it's also my print server and any my bittorrent client.

The specs on that machine are quite modest:

AMD 64 3000+ socket 754
GeForce 3 64bit
512 GB Corsair Value Ram
ECS K8M800 Motherboard
20 GB Hard Drive for Windows XP Sp3
500 GB internal Sata for files
ThermalTake internal hot swap SATA for removable HD space
ThermalTake BlacX USB Sata for additional Removable HD space

2 HTPC's
First is very modest I can barely run 720 and Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones
On a 43" Samsung @ 720 resolution
AMD 64 3000+ socket 754
1GB Corsair Value Ram
160 GB Hard Drive Window XP Pro Sp3
MSI KM88-V Motherboard
Nvidia 6600GT AGP 8x
Thermaltake BlacX USB Sata for additional Removable HD space

The second HTPC plays just about every game out
On a 60" Sony @ 720 resolution
I use a Xbox 360 game pad with this machine
AMD 4600 X2 socket AM2
2GB Gskill Ram
ECS GeForce 6100SM-M Motherboard
430GB system Hard drive Windows XP Pro Sp3
640GB Storage Space
Saphire Radeon 3850HD 256MB w/ HDMI out
Thermaltake BlacX USB Sata for additional Removable HD space

My (Wife's) Gaming Rig is for FPS and M/K games
On a 22" LG monitor @ 1050 resolution
AMD 4800 X2 socket AM2
2GB Corsair XMS Ram
ECS A770M-A Motherboard
XFX 8800GT 512MB
160GB System HD Windows XP Pro Sp3
500 GB for Wife's files
500 GB for My files
ThermalTake internal hot swap SATA for removable HD space

I also use several 500GB hard drives that I swap around to save time transferring huge files.

 

[secretanchitman]

my htpc is as follows:

xeon 3060 2.4Ghz @ 3.6Ghz (its a c2d e6600)

arctic cooling freezer 7 pro for heatsink - quiet, cheap, reliable.

psu - i have an enermax 500W and its served me well since i bought it. 4 hds, 1 optical, heavily overclocked c2d, etc. now you can get 550-600W and even higher for way cheaper than what i got it for.

asus p5w dh deluxe - i got this mobo cause it has 2 ide ports (for a total of 4 ide devices), wifi, and the best part - dolby digital live. that alone was worth it. nforce isnt worth it because sli is a waste for htpc IMO.

hd capture card - i have the hauppage pci-e HD card (i forget the exact model), but it captures HD content off my comcast box (un-encrypted channels of course) just fine.

i have 2x400GB seagate 7200.10 drives in raid0 and a few 1TB for storage. now they have faster hard drives, but that should matter as my current ones playback 1080p and higher HD content just fine.

my video card is an 8800GTS 320MB. handles games (and even recent ones) decently at 1920x1080 (i use a sony 1080p projector). but thats outdated as i built this system 1.5 years ago, and you should consider a 9800GTX/GTX+/4850/4870 now. any recent/modern card will playback and decode 1080p just fine.

will add more to this post once i go home!