Ultimate home server

[shizzle]

Hey everyone,

Hope everyone here had a cool christmas.

Basically im looking to build the best home server ever (or have it built for me)

im between two websites at the moment

Here are the systems i have created
however not sure which one to go for?

after i post the specs,

i will post exactly why i need these systems and hopefully someone can help me out

Best Wishes

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Firstly PCspecialist :

Case
Silverstone SG01B-F Mini-ITX Case + 450W PSU

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770S (3.1GHz) 8MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® P8H77-I: Mini-ITX, LG1155, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 8GB)

Graphics Card
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD + Clear Video HD Technology

Memory - 1 st Hard Disk
480GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 450MB/sW)

Memory - 2nd Hard Disk
4TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD4001FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW

Sound Card
ONBOARD 10 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

My OS will be WIN7 ULT because i have chosen 16 gb ram


This whole system is priced at £1279 inc VAT and Delivery.

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Secondly


Case:
Silverstone SG01B-F Case [-63]

CPU:
Intel® Core™ Quad Core i7-3770K 3.50 GHz 8MB Cache LGA1155 + HD Graphics ***Overclockable XXX*** [+97]

Motherboard:
Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Intel Z77 Chipset Mini-ITX Mainboard w/ 2 RAM slots, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, SATA-III, 1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 [+73]

Memory:
16GB (2x8GB) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory [+1] (Kingston Value Select)

Video Card:
None, or On-Board Integrated Graphics

Hard Drive:
2TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive (2TB (2TBx2) Raid 1 High Performance with Data Security [+68])

Data Hard Drive:
3TB (3TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+94] (Single Hard Drive)

Optical Drive:
Pioneer BDR-208DBK 15X BLU-RAY Burner & 16X DVD±R/±RW Drive (please select the Blue Ray software in the
Software section) [+62]

Sound:
Asus Xonar Xense 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCIe Sound Card w/ Sennheiser Headset [+172]

Speakers:
Logitech Z906 Surround Sound 5.1 Speaker System [+248]

Network:
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT -- As standard on all PCs Keyboard:

Wireless 802.11B/G/N Access Point:
Asus RT-N66U Dual-Band N900 Gigabit Wireless Gaming Router [+152]

Bluetooth:
USB Bluetooth 2.X EDR Dongle with Led Light Thumb Size [+9]

Video Camera:
Creative Live! Cam Socialize HD 1080 w/ Noise-Canceling Microphone [+84]

IEEE 1394 Card:
IEEE 1394B Firewire 800 PCI-E Card and Driver [+26]

USB Port:
Built-in USB 2.0 Ports Lindy External USB 2.0 Docking Station for 2.5 SATA HDD with USB Hub and Card Reader [+18]

Media Center Remote & TV Tuner:
Happauge High Defination Satallite DVB-S2 TV Receiver (WinTV-nova-HD-S2, PCI card) [+99]

This whole systen is priced at £1906.80 in VAT and Delivery
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1. Now obviuosly despite the high specs
this is still a home server lol
so i will need it to be on 24/7 and of low power consumption and also as quiet as it can be

2 . I want to be able to use this machine as a high end desktop if i wanted
so basically shuv in a hdmi lead from the box to a monitor if needed

3. if i was using it directly like a desktop i would want to be able to watch films in full 1080p

4. Now i know home servers dont usually have gpu, but is it possible i could do high end gaming from the specs i have
chosem?

5. I have chosen 16gb ram and plan to have win 7 ult 64bit on
so im assuming this will be super quick right?

6. I am also a video editor so i need apps to be running at there fullest

7. This will also be a business machine but at times i need to remote it
so ill be remoting in via an app on my ipad so will it be possible to still stream video and stuff directly to my ipad
with no problems?

8 .I will be also using this system as a home dvr cctv and stuff
so storage shouldnt be a problem right?

i have a few more questions but cant think of the top of my head right now .

 

[steaky360]

I can't comment on everything you asked about but my opinions on your spec(s) are below.

You will be able to use it to watch he movies quite easily I should think. Gaming however is another matter, you might struggle to play any modern games on high settings at a high resolution. A dedicated graphics card is usually the only thing that will allow you to play high end games with ease.

Your ram will will be plentiful (if not perhaps overkill?)

Streaming to iPads etc is a software issue mostly so your hardware won't make any difference to that I don't think.

Depending on how much you want to keep 4tb might fill up fast but I'm sure most DVR recorders do not have anywhere near that amount of storage so you will probably be fine there.

My advice would be to ramp down the specs significantly, purchase a dedicated desktop to use as part of your network and use this machine purely as a server. It might cost slightly more but you will end up with a better desktop because of it. Just a thought!

 

[PCS]

If you would like any further advice or for us to help you tweak your specification, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Also, please call us before ordering as we may be able to price match a competitor if (in the unlikely event) we are not already more competitive.