Question Mini PC as a Mediacenter/NAS?

[Nice Nicer]

Hi people,

I am looking for a cheap way to get some NAS/Mediacenter solution for my place. I have several parts from other PCs left and my goal is to put together a PC that will run Open Media Vault and Kodi or Plex Media Server

What i already have:

- DDR4 Desktop RAM (2666 Mhz)
- an I5 6400 ( LGA 1151)
- power supply , if needed

Now i´m looking for a recomendation for a small PC that can make use of these parts and run the above mentioned software.
I would prefer to focus on power efficiency and don´t want to spend a lot of time assembling various parts .
That´s why i am looking for a prebuilt. It schouldn´t be too expensive.rMaybe a efurbished office pc that´s DDR4 compatible. Preferably without the need of a dedicated graphics card.
Is the I5 6400 a good cpu for such plans. I am thinking about something with a low TDP yet fast enough to run most Media software ( no editing of course ).
Should i look for a barebone sytem or what would you suggest ?

Any advice welcome.

I will only run Linux Software ( FOSS ) on it. So no license will be needed .

 

[USAFRet]

"Parts you already" have an "prebuilt" do not go together.

You can get a reasonable "prebuilt" in a mini case, incl Windows OS, for ~$200-300.
Add drives, and you have your 'media server'.

 

[Nice Nicer]

"Parts you already" have an "prebuilt" do not go together

Why not? There is a lot of prebuilts with missing parts ( CPU, RAM, hard Drives ) on eBay and other Marketplaces. I am just trying to bring down the cost.
I would buy a barebones mashine and add the parts, that i already have. I am looking for something like this

Dell PC (6th gen Intel)

Or this

HP prodesk PC

But i don't have a favourite yet.

Would 6th gen Intel be a good match for my Plan?

 

[cruisetung]

NAS will be on 24/7

This uses less electricity and doesn't cost much

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SOAYAN-Lake-N150-Computer-Support-Display/dp/B0DTF11ZFT/?th=1

Share a Windows folder and it's a file server.

Install Universal Media Server / Jellyfin Server and it's a media server.

Kodi is a media center, not a media server. You probably can turn it into a media server through plugins, but I like simplicity.

You can still use it as a desktop.

==

The Dell looks good value though. Thought it's 64GB but actually none included

 

[Nice Nicer]

I will add some details:

I will try a dual boot configuration with
Open Media Vault and Kodi or something similar.

OMV is for hosting files and it also has other capabilities

Kodi will be used for streaming and such when i'm at home

What i should have mentioned earlier:
The NAS will not be used all the time. It might run for days occasionally, but not for longer than a week or two for remote access via mobile devices during trips

The device will mostly be used as a Media Center.

 

[cruisetung]

Don't know what else you want to run with OMV. Docker? VM? Raid?

You can still install VPN like ZeroTier / Netbird / Tailscale on almost any platform and access resources remotely without running a NAS.

If you already have your mind set, then go for it.

 

[Nice Nicer]

Yes, i understand that OMV is not my only option. I might run Docker and Plex Media Server with it. VM is not something i want to do with it.
As i said:

The device will mostly be used as a Media Center.

And the reason for that is the amount of electricity my current PC uses ( Ryzen 5, GTX 1060 and so on). I don't want to let it run for weeks as well.

If you already have your mind set, then go for it.

What do you mean ?

his uses less electricity and doesn't cost much

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SOAYAN-Lake-N150-Computer-Support-Display/dp/B0DTF11ZFT/?th=1

Thank you, this would be a good option. Have to see, how many SATA Ports this has. I probably need three. It costs 170 punds without prime plus shipping fees (i ' m in Germany). And it only has one M.2 SATA port. This isn't ideal for my purposes. But thanks for the recommendation.

 

[cruisetung]

What do you mean ?

Thank you, this would be a good option. Have to see, how many SATA Ports this has. I probably need three.

I mean maybe you need expandability, as you have said you need three SATA ports.

That new mini pc I linked probably has only one.

 

[Nice Nicer]

Yes, i already checked and edited my post.

 

[cruisetung]

Didn't see non prime price. 😱

 

[Nice Nicer]

This sounds alright :

- It has enough SATA Ports and enough space for the hard drives
- I could use the I5 6400 and the RAM
- My bluray disc drive would fit ( not absolutely necessary, but nice to have )
- It´s cheap

Acer Veriton X2640G for 44,79

 

[Nice Nicer]

This one seems very similar

Lenovo ThinkCentre M800

I Just received an offer and it would cost the Same as the Acer PC

 

[cruisetung]

This one seems very similar

Lenovo ThinkCentre M800

I Just received an offer and it would cost the Same as the Acer PC

https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sy...Centre_M800_SFF/ThinkCentre_M800_SFF_Spec.PDF

Four onboard SATA 6.0Gb/s connectors, one is eSATA connector

==
couldn't find how many sata ports that ACER has.

OK. Looks like 3
https://www.ebay.com/itm/166140247725

 

[cruisetung]

I have to say personally I don't have any luck with omv. I tried several times since 5.x and always have problems even during installation stage.

DNS errors/ resources not found, unable to update, unable to install plugins or install half way, etc. I have no confidence in omv at all.

YMMV

==

Well, if omv doesn't work, you can try DietPi, it comes with several desktop options you can choose from.

 

[Nice Nicer]

Yes, i probably will use DietPi. I had no problems with OMV on a PI4 B. But i would have to use wireguard to access it from outside. And wireguard doesn't work on my phone. 😕

 

[cruisetung]

ZeroTier is slower, but it has Android/iPhone APP, and no port forwarding required on the router. If all you do is streaming, the speed shouldn't matter much.

Netbird also uses Wireguard proiocol but uses udp like Zerotier so port forwarding also not required, and supports Android/iOS too.

 

[Imacflier]

Hi people,

I am looking for a cheap way to get some NAS/Mediacenter solution for my place. I have several parts from other PCs left and my goal is to put together a PC that will run Open Media Vault and Kodi or Plex Media Server

What i already have:

- DDR4 Desktop RAM (2666 Mhz)
- an I5 6400 ( LGA 1151)
- power supply , if needed

Now i´m looking for a recomendation for a small PC that can make use of these parts and run the above mentioned software.
I would prefer to focus on power efficiency and don´t want to spend a lot of time assembling various parts .
That´s why i am looking for a prebuilt. It schouldn´t be too expensive.rMaybe a efurbished office pc that´s DDR4 compatible. Preferably without the need of a dedicated graphics card.
Is the I5 6400 a good cpu for such plans. I am thinking about something with a low TDP yet fast enough to run most Media software ( no editing of course ).
Should i look for a barebone sytem or what would you suggest ?

Any advice welcome.

I will only run Linux Software ( FOSS ) on it. So no license will be needed .

I did something very similar using a refurbished HP EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini.

It came with an I7-9700T CPU, 32 GB DDR4 RAM, a 1 TB NVME drive, Win 11 pre-installed, the necessary AC/DC adapter, and a vendor's 1 year warranty.

The whole thing sold for less than $350 delivered. It did not come with HDMI, but it does have dual Display Port, almost anything to could want for I/O (including BlueTooth 5.0 and WiFI). It is only a 35 watt unit and is 7" x 7" x 1-1/2". It is almost perfectly silent. I leave mine on 24/7. I bought mine on EBay.

It won't use your parts, but it, for me at least, it has been a perfectly reliable pre-made solution.

OH! And Microcenter is an HP authorized service center.

If you must buy new, search Amazon for "mini computers". They have a wide variety to choose from.

Good luck in your choice.

Larry

 

[USAFRet]

This sounds alright :

- It has enough SATA Ports and enough space for the hard drives
- I could use the I5 6400 and the RAM
- My bluray disc drive would fit ( not absolutely necessary, but nice to have )
- It´s cheap

Acer Veriton X2640G for 44,79

Those type boxes are not what I would have considered "bare bones".

They will, however, work for a media server thing.

I have a tiny Beelink for this.
It serves up Netflix/Amazon Prime/Youtube, or a wide selection of video and music stored in my NAS.

 

[cruisetung]

Forgot to mention CasaOS, you can have a desktop and a container NAS work as one. No dual booting required.