Hey all.
Was thinking of building a HTPC a while back, now I'm leaning towards getting something that can store/serve media and also be a "labbing" computer i.e. be able to handle probably 2 VMs running on it at once. I was thinking 16 GB RAM should do it - not sure what kind of processor I'll need though.
I want to use it to learn more about Win Server OS, maybe play around with DHCP, domains, backups, etc (I'm in IT but I really do need a home lab to play with vs the production servers at work)
Is this too good to be true (i.e. if I want a home lab and media server all in one is my electric bill going to need to skyrocket as the result of needing a powerful PSU to run hefty hardware?)
I won't be doing encoding or anything like that, just hosting media. I've never set up anything like this before so it's hard to sort of benchmark what specs are overkill and what wouldn't be enough.
Anyway, to conclude - low power and CHEAP to operate is my #1 priority. If it can run those VMs and a media server too - fantastic. If I can only pick between labbing and home theater functions then that's fine too.
Thanks!
Was thinking of building a HTPC a while back, now I'm leaning towards getting something that can store/serve media and also be a "labbing" computer i.e. be able to handle probably 2 VMs running on it at once. I was thinking 16 GB RAM should do it - not sure what kind of processor I'll need though.
I want to use it to learn more about Win Server OS, maybe play around with DHCP, domains, backups, etc (I'm in IT but I really do need a home lab to play with vs the production servers at work)
Is this too good to be true (i.e. if I want a home lab and media server all in one is my electric bill going to need to skyrocket as the result of needing a powerful PSU to run hefty hardware?)
I won't be doing encoding or anything like that, just hosting media. I've never set up anything like this before so it's hard to sort of benchmark what specs are overkill and what wouldn't be enough.
Anyway, to conclude - low power and CHEAP to operate is my #1 priority. If it can run those VMs and a media server too - fantastic. If I can only pick between labbing and home theater functions then that's fine too.
Thanks!