Media server and home network

[Tx Redneck]

Total ram since the vast majority of mAtx boards only have two dimm slots and expansion slots, maybe Sata ports too, but that's more of the mobo manu choice than a limitation.

[black2002ls]

I will check it out tomorrow. And see what an overall price looks like..

[Tx Redneck]

Since this won't be a primary pc, the PNY Optima ssd is hard to beat for the price. I'm running one in my main rig. It's a lil slower than what it replaced, but it's far beyond a standard hdd, and that was my intention. Ssd's have helped my lack of patience when it comes to pc usage.

Well maybe not, now I hate working on anyone ish that DOESN'T have an ssd.

[black2002ls]

Any particular MOBO to stay away from? I am eying this combo...

http://www.microcenter.com/product/423952/A88XM-A_Socket_FM2-FM2_A88X_mATX_AMD_Motherboard

I have had good luck with my ASUS M2N-e

[Tx Redneck]

I haven't a bad word for Asus.

[black2002ls]

I haven't a bad word for Asus.

Any mobo recommendation for that particular APU?

[Tx Redneck]

If you're not dead set on mAtx, I'd get the bundle w/the full size Asus.

[black2002ls]

If you're not dead set on mAtx, I'd get the bundle w/the full size Asus.

not at all. I actually prefer the bigger form factor for expandability

[Tx Redneck]

Then get it paired w/2133 ram.

[black2002ls]

Here is where I am at so far, may take me a couple of months to put together

AMD A10 7850K & ASUS A88X Pro 229.98
Crucial M550 128GB SDD 95.99
Corsair Vengence Pro 18 GB 159.99


Still looking around at cases, psu's, etc. Do I need an add on RAID card? Other essentials I am missing?

[black2002ls]

Are there any programs that will auto organize music? Something that will erase duplicates, clean up folders, etc.

[big_tiger]

http://mp3.about.com/od/musiclibrarymaintenance/tp/Free-Duplicate-Music-File-Finders.htm

[8mpg]

Call me a cheapass...but I just built a cheap htpc...it was about $220 for the thing. I have it hooked up to my living room tv and it connects via cat 6 to a synology nas. Im using an older 60gig SSD that I had laying around.

Are you planning on streaming outside the house? If not, I wouldnt bother with plex much less paying for it. XBMC is a pretty good media playing software and free. Any other computer can access your HD in the media pc if needed.

My setup:
MB ASROCK|B85M-HDS LGA1150 R $59.99
PSU CORSAIR|430W CX430 R $39.99
CPU INTEL|PENTIUM G3220 3.0G 3M R $59.99
MEM 4G|GSKILL F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL R $38.99
HTPC CASE SILVERSTONE| ML03B R $59.99
-----------------------------------------------
10% off newegg coupon
$15 mail in rebate for the psu
-----------------------------------------------
~$220
And I reused the old HDD. For a htpc, you dont need speed a SSD drive. A 1TB hybrid drive would work well.

[big_tiger]

Im working on a home lab server. Plan on putting esxi 5.5 with FreeBSD (with PLEX), and some windows OS that can host IIS7 or 8.

Rosewill RSV-L4411 4U Chassis, 12 SATA Hot-swap Drives
ASrock 970extreme4
AMD FX 8320
Coolmax ZPG 700w 80 Plus gold (this thing rocks for the price)
Asus HD6450 Silent
Supermicro raid controller AOC-USAS-H8iR
8x 750GB Seagate 7200RPM HDDs in a raid 5
Sandisk 120GB ssd
4x 750GB Seagate 7200RPM HDDs in a raid 5

[black2002ls]

I decided that, for the moment, I will toss a couple of upgrades into my current PC. I found an additional 2gb of ram matched to what is currently installed for auper cheap, as well as a good deal on a crucial force GS 128GB SSD. Once the SSD shows up, I will get a fresh install of Win 7 going and test it out.

I will eventually build a dedicated server, and the current set up will probably get transfered to a small case and serve the rest of its life as a solidworks machine, and to pull reference photos from the network.