Media Center/NAS question

Dakpan · February 19, 2016

Hi Guys,

I have been using my NAS for the last couple of months to watch series/movies using PLEX, i have a Synology DS200 series NAS, which can only show me MP4 H264 movies/series, so I have to convert them before I place them on my NAS.
Now I am wondering, is there A possibility I could use my old Machine (http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Pavilion-Media-Center-m8000-Desktop-PC-series/3328509)
As a media center for my NAS?

My requirements :
- Video Encoding/Decoding
- 24/7 Access from all over the world.
- possibility to install/download software like a normal Windows 10 PC, for example, virus scanner and torrents. ( I use this for downloading free podcasts from for example Soundcloud which I can listen to without having to pay a service for their trouble)

I am wondering if I should upgrade my old PC for this, use my normal PC for this ( a real power sucking beasts ) or just buy a good NAS with convertion.

Thanks in advance!

desertcomputer · February 19, 2016

Personally i would go with cheap i3 building and with ECC ram which would set back around only around 200 dollar if you use existing DDR3 rams. Which is going work really well with Plex and allow you to use SHH/FTP to access your files.

Dakpan · February 19, 2016

Just now, MrUnknownEMC said:

Personally i would go with cheap i3 building and with ECC ram which would set back around only around 200 dollar if you use existing DDR3 rams. Which is going work really well with Plex and allow you to use SHH/FTP to access your files.

Thanks you for your quick reply!

The thing I am wondering about is the power consumption, the power consumption of my NAS is easily neglectable since we have solar power, but I am worried that the PC would use a lot of energy.

Also, would you go for a system with something like an low OS on it, like FreeNAS or something? or would you just go W7 or whatever is on it?
Also I want to be able to access the pc without having to connect a monitor, do you think splashtop would suffice?
Which I3 would you advice? according to the specifications its not possible to upgrade to a I3.

This is the info they give me when searching for the motherboard (P5LP-LE (Leonite))

Socket type: 775

Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:

Core 2 Duo E6x00
Core 2 Duo E4x00
Pentium D 9x0 Dual Core
Pentium D 8xx Dual Core
Pentium 4 6x1 series
Celeron D 3xx series

desertcomputer · February 19, 2016

Just now, Dakpan said:

-snip-

Power consumption shouldn't be that noticeable as at idle it should run around 20-50 watts might be higher for older generation. I would get Core 2 Duo E4x00 but i would go for newer generation such as 4th generation as they are priced really nice and it support ECC memory and support ZFS much better and power consumption if that is your worry. Personally i would get new CPU/Motherboard/RAM if you want go with FreeNas and ZFS. Intel Core i3 6100/i3-4130 which both support ECC and with 4 thread it should be enough for ZFS and allow you have jails(Plugins) running smoothly and only require USB for FreeNAS OS.

Dakpan · February 19, 2016

1 minute ago, MrUnknownEMC said:

Power consumption shouldn't be that noticeable as at idle it should run around 20-50 watts might be higher for older generation. I would get Core 2 Duo E4x00 but i would go for newer generation such as 4th generation as they are priced really nice and it support ECC memory and support ZFS much better and power consumption if that is your worry. Personally i would get new CPU/Motherboard/RAM if you want go with FreeNas and ZFS. Intel Core i3 6100/i3-4130 which both support ECC and with 4 thread it should be enough for ZFS and allow you have jails(Plugins) running smoothly and only require USB for FreeNAS OS.

New motherboard is a great idea, I could get a GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H for almost no cost with a I5-3570 already in it, but than I still wouldn't have the ECC memory would I?

Would you otherwise go for something like this:

Motherboard: Gigabyte H81M-HD3

CPU : Intel core I3 4130 (with build in GPU)

Ram: 1x 4gb Crucial CT51264BA160BJ

Or would you go something totally different?

also Maybe a complete different question, but would Raspberry Pi 2 be an option for this? or would you advice against that? (I have no experience with Raspberry yet)

(srry about the color difference couldnt fix it because, copy paste haha)

desertcomputer · February 19, 2016

Just now, Dakpan said:

New motherboard is a great idea, I could get a GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H for almost no cost with a I5-3570 already in it, but than I still wouldn't have the ECC memory would I?

Would you otherwise go for something like this:

Motherboard: Gigabyte H81M-HD3

CPU : Intel core I3 4130 (with build in GPU)

Ram: 1x 4gb Crucial CT51264BA160BJ

Or would you go something totally different?

also Maybe a complete different question, but would Raspberry Pi 2 be an option for this? or would you advice against that? (I have no experience with Raspberry yet)

(srry about the color difference couldnt fix it because, copy paste haha)

Note: Next time you copy and paste ... if you have chrome you cant just "Past as Plain Text" so the formatting is not fucked up.

Personally a i5 is overkill and it will be create more heat due to older gernation and higher TDP. The a next build option with I3 is much better as built in iGPU will work great for initial setup and work great if you ever need to do some diagnose. You should able to find a ECC 4GB ram for similar price. Try looking it through (pcpartpicker.com) and using search option and you are able to see if your part are compatibility.