I'm just starting to design my near future HTPC and I am at a crossroads here. Here is my current situation/dilemma:
My HTPC will be used most of the time for playing movies off the drives, a little playing dvds and bluerays, possibly for playing music, possibly play TV. I will be reusing my current microATX board that has 5 SATA ports, so I would have room for 4 HDDs. I was looking at a case that has room for 6 3.5 drives and I was planning on putting in 3 1TB WD Black drives. I have since changed my mind to an Antec Fusion which only has room for 2 drives. Therefore, I want to max out the amount of storage.
So, I'm looking at putting in 2 1.5TB or 2TB drives, but the 7200 drives seem a bit expensive. The 5400 drives seem much more cost friendly and will run quiet and not use as much energy. This seems like it would be a good option for an HTPC.
Will 5400 drives be adequate for playing movies, both HD and SD in mkv and avi format? Or will I need the faster spinning drives? I do not want loud, grinding drives, which I have with my 500GB seagate. I'm not sure if that is a problem with all of their lines, but I definitely want a quiet high capacity drive, and it must be able to play movies.
I am also playing with the idea of installing a 32GB SSD to run the OS and programs.
My HTPC will be used most of the time for playing movies off the drives, a little playing dvds and bluerays, possibly for playing music, possibly play TV. I will be reusing my current microATX board that has 5 SATA ports, so I would have room for 4 HDDs. I was looking at a case that has room for 6 3.5 drives and I was planning on putting in 3 1TB WD Black drives. I have since changed my mind to an Antec Fusion which only has room for 2 drives. Therefore, I want to max out the amount of storage.
So, I'm looking at putting in 2 1.5TB or 2TB drives, but the 7200 drives seem a bit expensive. The 5400 drives seem much more cost friendly and will run quiet and not use as much energy. This seems like it would be a good option for an HTPC.
Will 5400 drives be adequate for playing movies, both HD and SD in mkv and avi format? Or will I need the faster spinning drives? I do not want loud, grinding drives, which I have with my 500GB seagate. I'm not sure if that is a problem with all of their lines, but I definitely want a quiet high capacity drive, and it must be able to play movies.
I am also playing with the idea of installing a 32GB SSD to run the OS and programs.