HTPC help and suggestions

[Candan]

Hey Everyone,

I am currently using my Desktop gaming PC as my Plex media server. I have several storage drives on this machine, where I keep all my media I stream through the house.

I watch Plex throughout my home with an Nvidia Shield for my main 4K TV and Roku 3 boxes for 2 other 1080p TVs in the house.

I'm looking for build specs for an HTPC that I can put in my HT cabinet, operate from my couch and have it hold all of my media. I still plan to use my Shield and Rokus as I'm doing now, but use this new PC solely as a media server with Plex instead of sharing my gaming PC.

The new PC needs and need nots...
- able to transcode 4K video at 60fps
- quiet and cool
- small and discrete (a nice looking case is best)
- Surf, download, stream
- Doesn't need to use Nvidia Shield for game streaming. It will connect to my gaming PC for that.
- That's about it!
- I'm not looking for a budget solution, but it doesn't need to be overkill either.

I would appreciate direction and opinions! Thanks!

 

[Candan]

So in the end I decided on this being all I need. https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Njnk8Y

I just need some help with a PSU for this rig.

Since the case is small, I prefer to not have a non-modular PSU. I don't want all the wires everywhere in such a small area. Especially since I only need power to mobo and one HDD for now.

It needs to be very quiet. 250w is more than enough for this rig. There will be no video card, it's for HT media only. Problem is if I want modular I have to go over 400 watts from what I can find. So it's a trade off.

Should I go lower, quiet power, non-modular or 400W+ modular? I don't want to draw more power than needed or be annoyed at a fan noise

Thanks!

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Something like this?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($207.25 @ shopRBC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L12S 55.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($150.99 @ PC-Canada)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 480GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Hitachi - Deskstar NAS 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Fractal Design - Core 500 Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.95 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.99 @ PC-Canada)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($17.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($17.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1099.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-24 04:17 EDT-0400

The psu is 140mm deep. The case has lots of room.

 

[Candan]

Something like this?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($207.25 @ shopRBC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L12S 55.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($150.99 @ PC-Canada)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 480GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Hitachi - Deskstar NAS 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Fractal Design - Core 500 Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.95 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.99 @ PC-Canada)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($17.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM 59.1 CFM 120mm Fan ($17.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1099.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-24 04:17 EDT-0400

The psu is 140mm deep. The case has lots of room.

Thanks. Look at the part list in my own response. Did you adjust your list? I was sure I saw an i5 and 1050ti video card earlier! 😀

Agree on the CPU with Ryzen. It would be my first AMD build for years. Nice and quiet 65W and Vega 11 (so I won't need or want a video card)

My list, same Aorus mobo B450. I have the Aorus gaming 7 on my gaming machine with i7 8700k. It's a great board! I trust Gigabyte here.

Power supply is massive for a rig for HTPC. I was looking at this one.. https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAH6Z7GF0936&cm_re=fsp_mini_itx_power_supply-_-9SIAH6Z7GF0936-_-Product

I won't need 16gb of ram that fast either. 2666 at most and 8gb. Again, it's only a media PC!

I also have reservations about using NAS drives when you're not on a RAID array. I understand that NAS HDs have very short re-try attempts on a fail unlike desktop drives. Any opinions to this from anyone?

Thanks!

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Yes, u r right. I suggested an i3 8350k system with a 1050ti, but thought against it since it will be overkill.

Also realized that the Vega 11 is no slouch compared to the Intel igpu. So yes, ur selection of 2400G was spot on.

Faster rams cuz performance of Vega 11 depends on the ram. Vega 11 in 2400G uses 512mb to 2gb system ram for its vram. So faster system translates to better performing Vega 11.

Dunno about storage, that was one of the cheapest drives in part picker and I thought Nas drives are more reliable/fail proof than the normal spinners? Not an expertise on that subject.

The fsp psu u linked costs more Than the seasonic one that I linked! The seasonic one runs quiet and is compact with a longer warranty. I would say that it's definitely worth it.

 

[Candan]

Yes, u r right. I suggested an i3 8350k system with a 1050ti, but thought against it since it will be overkill.

Also realized that the Vega 11 is no slouch compared to the Intel igpu. So yes, ur selection of 2400G was spot on.

Faster rams cuz performance of Vega 11 depends on the ram. Vega 11 in 2400G uses 512mb to 2gb system ram for its vram. So faster system translates to better performing Vega 11.

Dunno about storage, that was one of the cheapest drives in part picker and I thought Nas drives are more reliable/fail proof than the normal spinners? Not an expertise on that subject.

The fsp psu u linked costs more Than the seasonic one that I linked! The seasonic one runs quiet and is compact with a longer warranty. I would say that it's definitely worth it.

Thanks Lucky_SLS

Didn't know that about the RAM on Vega 11. That is good to know. I'll investigate. BUT, I won't do any gaming on this rig other than probably those stupid Jack Box games that we play as a family sometimes

Love to hear from an HD expert on that opinion on the drives as I did know that NAS drives are the best when striped, but only understood to be the case for single piece.

The PSU isn't about the money. I'm afraid of any hum, or annoying fan noise when I'm deep in a quiet spot in a movie. Bzzzzzz, Hummmmmmm, ZZZZZZzzzzzz. Drive me nuts! 😀 Not to mention the amount of juice it'll pull as the plan is for this PC to be on 24/7. Love to hear from a PSU expert on that too. I've had Seasonic larger units before and they've been great.

Your case suggestion is in. I actually prefer it to the Thermaltake Supressor F1 now. Thanks!

 

[punkncat]

For what you are saying, why not consider a "Linux" based NAS unit?
Basically, so long as you get a unit with good network capability it should do what you want. All it has to do is stream to the devices you are actually watching on, and have the storage space you need. Every NAS I have owned in recent history had the ability to do Windows, Samba, etc. shares. Plex ran well even on my oldest NAS with everything but the smart tv.

 

[Candan]

Bit concerned about transcoding 4k at 60Hz though if I back up in spec.

 

[punkncat]

Bit concerned about transcoding 4k at 60Hz though if I back up in spec.

Admittedly I may not be understanding this aspect.

 

[Candan]

and even more so if I've got the wife watching something, me somewhere else and the kid in her room all watching 4k content. Might get a bit lumpy!

 

[punkncat]

^ Ok, think I gotcha.

Assuming that each of the devices you are watching from is basically "like" a PC (I am not familiar with shield) the information is actually caching to the machine you are watching from. Any modern NAS will have the onboard proc capability to move information to individual machines at the speed of your network (generally). Even with people watching programs on a simultaneous timeframe, the information isn't all being moved "as you watch", but streamed/cached to the local machine. You can use a variety of streaming/sharing methods to maximize your overhead and output. In essence running a NAS is the power equivalent of having a nice phone hooked up to drives with network access than having a whole PSU and the overhead of a windows style system pulling power just to share files.
At the very least I would look at a lower power PC running FreeNAS or a Linux flavor. Waste of a good PC sitting doing nothing but streaming to other devices with some of the above builds.

 

[Candan]

The server (planned new HTPC) is doing all the transcoding to all the boxes. The media players (Roku, Shield, etc) aren't doing anything except streaming the content to the TVs. If I want to watch a movie that's say 80gb (4k Blu-ray rip) while I was at work in a distant country, the media server would analyse the connection speed then transcode the media file in a format that the server could recognize, and to compress it so it can stream at the best quality the connection can take. This can be quite CPU demanding.

What you're saying though is interesting. I know nothing about NAS at all, except that it's storage. I'm not sure a NAS can do what I'm asking though? I was thinking it would be nice to have a decent web browser and a Logitech living room keyboard would be nice! Plus I don't want my gaming machine to be the work horse of ripping the Blurays or transcoding Housewives of Beverly Hills, while I'm trying to use CPU power for more important things! 😀

You've got me thinking anyway, with all that and the FreeNAS and Linux stuff I also know little about. Maybe I need to do some reading! Any good Google keywords that can get started?

 

[Candan]

^^^ Never mind! You've given me enough to read already! Thanks!