Computer Builds/Rebuilds Thread (1 Viewer)

[matttyl]

Zas, I like the build you detailed above. One question I have that you might know - about these new intel chips and motherboards coming out vs. what's already available. In my "mancave" I'd like to have a triple TV/monitor set up all connected to an HTPC. Each independent to watch different sporting events (either streamed or via my networked TV tuner). Would anything already available do this, or would any of the soon to be released stuff?

If you're going multi-monitor you're going to need an external video card. I have never done this so I can't speak to anything beyond that.

Something like this would likely be good for multi-monitor setups. Lots of HDMI connections. But I'll defer to the other experts on the forum.

I've looked into the new motherboards coming out, and they all seems to be able to support triple monitor, each with it's own independent stream. My current HTPC has one HDMI as well as an older VGA (I think, it may be VGI) and it can do dual monitor just fine. Currently I run a third monitor off of an old laptop I have, which is ok, but I'd like to be able to do it all from one machine. I'll play around with adding a separate video card - but if I recall, doing that will disable all the onboard stuff (and I'm not looking to add a $100+ video card to accomplish this). Thanks for the insight, though!

 

[Chaos Commish]

I've cobbled together a modest gaming build over the past two weeks. I won't have it together for another week. The highlight is the m.2 ssds. Nothing is faster commercially. They install direct to the mobo without cables and read 3.5xs faster than the fastest sata III ssds most are using. This mobo will limit the data drive, but I hope to get them in RAID 0 on pci lanes eventually. I'll post specs for posterity.

Motherboard - Asus H97 MPlus (open box non-prime amazon dealer) $59.99

OS - Windows 7 Professional, (amazon non-prime dealer) $59.99 will upgrade to 10 Pro

GPU - MSI GTX 750ti $79.99 Newegg (coupon code, rebate and visa checkout discounts)

CPU - Intel Core i3 4170 $79.99 Frys daily coupon code saved me $40

Memory - 16gb Kingston HyperX 1866MHz $69.99, Frys code saved me $20

Boot drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD w/PCI adapter $137.68, Newegg

Data drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD $109.99 , Newegg

PSU - Modular Corsair CX430M $42.99 Amazon Prime

Misc - optical drive, card reader, wifi antenna, fans, $38.79, Frys discount code items

Case - Homemade $? close to free

Not everything was taxed and shipping was free, went just over budget @ $710. The optical drive and card reader will be disconnected and in a drawer when not in use. It will be in an open/test bench style case with very few visible cables. You can find a pretty beefy 16gb i5 refurb for the money, but it likely won't have a better gpu (not that the one I bought is a big deal), and it won't have the m.2 ssds. It will have a ton more storage space and probably a ton less initial headaches, but in part this is because build.

I've been 100% Chrome OS for a couple years, so this is to change that. I have some buyer's remorse for not building on the new chipset and not going all in with a couple k on a gaming machine, but I'm not a gamer, so this is already overkill for my needs. It's been a fun time waster type project, researching the puzzle parts, chasing little discounts and opening new boxes every day.

 

[Zasada]

Motherboard - Asus H97 MPlus (open box non-prime amazon dealer) $59.99

OS - Windows 7 Professional, (amazon non-prime dealer) $59.99 will upgrade to 10 Pro

GPU - MSI GTX 750ti $79.99 Newegg (coupon code, rebate and visa checkout discounts)

CPU - Intel Core i3 4170 $79.99 Frys daily coupon code saved me $40

Memory - 16gb Kingston HyperX 1866MHz $69.99, Frys code saved me $20

Boot drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD w/PCI adapter $137.68, Newegg

Data drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD $109.99 , Newegg

PSU - Modular Corsair CX430M $42.99 Amazon Prime

Misc - optical drive, card reader, wifi antenna, fans, $38.79, Frys discount code items

Case - Homemade $? close to free

My two cents is that you should go with a slower SSD on the SATA bus and use the savings to get either more storage or a better video card.

The only time you will notice the speed difference between a PCI-E SSD and SATA one is with huge file transfers or in benchmarks.

That said, I get that everyone has their preferences with builds. Mine happens to be high-DPI displays. I'll cast aside all rationality to get one.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Motherboard - Asus H97 MPlus (open box non-prime amazon dealer) $59.99

OS - Windows 7 Professional, (amazon non-prime dealer) $59.99 will upgrade to 10 Pro

GPU - MSI GTX 750ti $79.99 Newegg (coupon code, rebate and visa checkout discounts)

CPU - Intel Core i3 4170 $79.99 Frys daily coupon code saved me $40

Memory - 16gb Kingston HyperX 1866MHz $69.99, Frys code saved me $20

Boot drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD w/PCI adapter $137.68, Newegg

Data drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD $109.99 , Newegg

PSU - Modular Corsair CX430M $42.99 Amazon Prime

Misc - optical drive, card reader, wifi antenna, fans, $38.79, Frys discount code items

Case - Homemade $? close to free

My two cents is that you should go with a slower SSD on the SATA bus and use the savings to get either more storage or a better video card.

The only time you will notice the speed difference between a PCI-E SSD and SATA one is with huge file transfers or in benchmarks.

That said, I get that everyone has their preferences with builds. Mine happens to be high-DPI displays. I'll cast aside all rationality to get one.

Thank you.

I hear ya but those drives were $110 a piece. So while a more conventional approach could certainly give me more storage, it's storage I don't use, it has ugly cables and takes up space (form factor is key to me), it's not nearly as future proof, and any savings would be laughably minimal. I paid $80 for the GPU. $110 in savings gets me the GPU you linked to leaving me another $110 for SSDs. I agree it's a goofy build, but it should be freaky fast and that's what makes me happy. I read the reviews from people who have the m.2s flying, and I just want some of that. We'll see. It's far from too late for me to start returning and exchanging pieces. The i5 4690 went on sale today and... almost. Wish I could justify a high end display. One reason for the build is I have a couple nicer 24" Dell monitors that have been mostly idle a for few years. This'll wake 'em up.

Anyway, you mentioned waiting on the m.2 drives to mature a little in the other thread. I'm your guinea pig.

 

[Osaurus]

SSD prices are great now. Looking at upgrading to a 500 gig for my c drive.

Exactly what I just did. If you are upgrading from a non-SSD, you won't believe the difference it makes.

Just got a Samsung 850 Pro 500 GB ssd as un upgrade from my 840 256 GB. Absolutely love these things. I cannot imagine running my os (or now all apps) on a platter drive. So worth it IMHO.

 

[otello]

SSD prices are great now. Looking at upgrading to a 500 gig for my c drive.

Exactly what I just did. If you are upgrading from a non-SSD, you won't believe the difference it makes.

Just got a Samsung 850 Pro 500 GB ssd as un upgrade from my 840 256 GB. Absolutely love these things. I cannot imagine running my os (or now all apps) on a platter drive. So worth it IMHO.

just picked up a 256 Sammy cheap. Is it easy to clone and replace old c ssd?

 

[Osaurus]

SSD prices are great now. Looking at upgrading to a 500 gig for my c drive.

Exactly what I just did. If you are upgrading from a non-SSD, you won't believe the difference it makes.

Just got a Samsung 850 Pro 500 GB ssd as un upgrade from my 840 256 GB. Absolutely love these things. I cannot imagine running my os (or now all apps) on a platter drive. So worth it IMHO.

just picked up a 256 Sammy cheap. Is it easy to clone and replace old c ssd?

Did a Windows 8.1 clone without issue. Have heard 10 might have issues. I used the Samsung app and it worked great and fast due to SSD to SSD

 

[otello]

I have the samsung software, which should work even if the source drive is a crucial.

I just ordered the USB to ssd connector so when I get that it should be easy. Goal is to copy to Sammy and replace the old drive with the new one.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Motherboard - Asus H97 MPlus (open box non-prime amazon dealer) $59.99

OS - Windows 7 Professional, (amazon non-prime dealer) $59.99 will upgrade to 10 Pro

GPU - MSI GTX 750ti $79.99 Newegg (coupon code, rebate and visa checkout discounts)

CPU - Intel Core i3 4170 $79.99 Frys daily coupon code saved me $40

Memory - 16gb Kingston HyperX 1866MHz $69.99, Frys code saved me $20

Boot drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD w/PCI adapter $137.68, Newegg

Data drive - 128gb Samsung SM951 m.2 SSD $109.99 , Newegg

PSU - Modular Corsair CX430M $42.99 Amazon Prime

Misc - optical drive, card reader, wifi antenna, fans, $38.79, Frys discount code items

Case - Homemade $? close to free

My two cents is that you should go with a slower SSD on the SATA bus and use the savings to get either more storage or a better video card.

The only time you will notice the speed difference between a PCI-E SSD and SATA one is with huge file transfers or in benchmarks.

That said, I get that everyone has their preferences with builds. Mine happens to be high-DPI displays. I'll cast aside all rationality to get one.

Thank you.

I hear ya but ... blablabla

I woke up this morning wanting the better graphics card. The m.2 drive I called a data drive is rated up to 32 gb/s and the m.2 slot on my board will only run 10gb/s. So I got an RMA for an unopened unit and tried to order the card in your link. Out of stock. This one was available so I ordered it. Same card with better cooling, I guess. This switch cost me $80. I'm filling the now empty m.2 slot with a 500gb Samsung Evo m.2 drive that is actually what the 10gb/s slot should have anyway. $155 Amazon prime, $25 less than the sata drive you linked to, still tiny with no cables and in this case I agree the improved performance will be imperceptible. I'm headed back to Frys with my unopened i3 and gtx 750ti to spend some more money. For both I'm on the i5 4690. Thanks again for the ideas, your post cost me about $250. This is way more than I need, but I'll show it off to my nephews if I ever get the boot drive right.

 

[Zasada]

I woke up this morning wanting the better graphics card. The m.2 drive I called a data drive is rated up to 32 gb/s and the m.2 slot on my board will only run 10gb/s. So I got an RMA for an unopened unit and tried to order the card in your link. Out of stock. This one was available so I ordered it. Same card with better cooling, I guess. This switch cost me $80. I'm filling the now empty m.2 slot with a 500gb Samsung Evo m.2 drive that is actually what the 10gb/s slot should have anyway. $155 Amazon prime, $25 less than the sata drive you linked to, still tiny with no cables and in this case I agree the improved performance will be imperceptible. I'm headed back to Frys with my unopened i3 and gtx 750ti to spend some more money. For both I'm on the i5 4690. Thanks again for the ideas, your post cost me about $250. This is way more than I need, but I'll show it off to my nephews if I ever get the boot drive right.

Good call on the m.2 EVO. I was looking at that drive a while back myself (for my new build). The i5 is a great choice as well. Going to be a sweet rig!

 

[Dragons]

UPDATING based on continued research and to leave myself notes:

$98 - Case: Thermaltake Core V71 (purchased)

$250 - Processor: Intel Slylake Core i5-6600k

$160 - $180 - Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme 6 or Open Box

$60-130 - RAM 8 or 16 GB ASRock compatability list

<$100 - Watching for a sale on 550-760W Modular PSU w/ 10+ SATA power connectors

$35 - BluRay reader DVD/CD Burner (purchased )

Cannibalize Radeon 6850

Cannibalize 1x240GB Crucial mSATA SSD (mSATA Card $25)

Cannibalize 1x1.5TB, 3x2TB & 2x3TB data drives from HTPC/Old PC

Total $700- 800

 

[Dragons]

UPDATING based on continued research and to leave myself notes:

$98 - Case: Thermaltake Core V71 (purchased)

$114 - Seasonic 660W (purchased)

$35 - BluRay reader DVD/CD Burner (purchased)

$250 - Processor: Intel Slylake Core i5-6600k

$160 - $180 - Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme 6 or Open Box or probably won't overclock, so maybe an H170

$60-130 - RAM 8 or 16 GB ASRock compatability list

Cannibalize Radeon 6850

Cannibalize 1x240GB Crucial mSATA SSD (mSATA Card $25) (purchased)

Cannibalize 1x1.5TB, 3x2TB & 2x3TB data drives from HTPC/Old PC

Total $700- 800

I have the case and BR/DVD and new PSU is ordered today. Since I have a PCI SATA card with 2 ports, my current MB has 5 SATA ports which don't appear to conflict with the built in mSATA port, I think I have enough SATA ports to build the build the system with my old MB/CPU in the new case. I'll then wait for a MicroCenter Z170 or H170 /i5/DDR4 combo. Since most of these are in-store, will probably have to wait until Thanksgiving when I'll be traveling near one.

 

[Dragons]

PSU came yesterday, so I was planning to install my old MB / CPU into the new system tomorrow. But, I came across a Slick Deals post for the ASRock Z170 motherboard I was thinking about, plus a stick of 8GB DDR4 RAM for the price of the motherboard. It was tempting, but then I saw a combo deal for $15 off the MB/i5-6600k combo and I couldn't resist. All parts are purchased, looking forward to assembling next weekend!

$98 - Case: Thermaltake Core V71 (purchased)

$114 - Seasonic 660W (purchased)

$35 - BluRay reader DVD/CD Burner (purchased)

- Processor: Intel Slylake Core i5-6600k

- Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme 6

- RAM 8 GB

Package deal for $419

Cannibalize Radeon 6850

Cannibalize 1x240GB Crucial mSATA SSD (mSATA Card $25) (purchased)

Cannibalize 1x1.5TB, 3x2TB & 2x3TB data drives from HTPC/Old PC

Total $700

 

[CGRdrJoe]

Any recommendations for a sub $200 monitor for gaming?

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Any recommendations for a sub $200 monitor for gaming?

I'm a big fan of the Benq 27" mad cow pointed me to. I'll find the model number tomorrow.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Any recommendations for a sub $200 monitor for gaming?

I'm a big fan of the Benq 27" mad cow pointed me to. I'll find the model number tomorrow.

BenQ 27". It's right at $200 bucks (I thought I paid lesss) on Amazon for the 1920x1080 version which seems to be good enough for me currently. There is a higher resolution version for $370.

 

[17seconds]

Update.. here's what I built for my new Plex media server:

As soon as I discovered that the Core V1 case could hold 2 3.5" drives (my media RAID) and 2 2.5" drives (I needed one for OS), I went with that.

Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX case - $50

Asrock H97M-ITX/ac SATA III USB 3.0 Mini-ITX Mobo - $84

Intel i5 4690s processor - $170

Team Elite 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM - $38

Team Group 120GB SATA III SSD Drive - $48

Corsair CX 430W modular PS - $50

Mushkin 32GB atom USB 3.0 flash drive - $13

about $450 total for a Plex server that can do multiple 1080p streams, and will be able to do 4K when I go to that.

I use the USB drive for weekly OS backups (cron job in Ubuntu). It's a tiny little thing plugged into the back.

It's a headless Ubuntu server that I secure shell into from my Windows PC. 10" x 10" box with only 2 cables! Power and Ethernet. I love the simplicity.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Update.. here's what I built for my new Plex media server:

As soon as I discovered that the Core V1 case could hold 2 3.5" drives (my media RAID) and 2 2.5" drives (I needed one for OS), I went with that.

Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX case - $50

Asrock H97M-ITX/ac SATA III USB 3.0 Mini-ITX Mobo - $84

Intel i5 4690s processor - $170

Team Elite 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM - $38

Team Group 120GB SATA III SSD Drive - $48

Corsair CX 430W modular PS - $50

Mushkin 32GB atom USB 3.0 flash drive - $13

about $450 total for a Plex server that can do multiple 1080p streams, and will be able to do 4K when I go to that.

I use the USB drive for weekly OS backups (cron job in Ubuntu). It's a tiny little thing plugged into the back.

It's a headless Ubuntu server that I secure shell into from my Windows PC. 10" x 10" box with only 2 cables! Power and Ethernet. I love the simplicity.

What is the OS?

 

[matttyl]

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but whatever I'll give it a shot.

Is there a way in Windows 7 to have different audio streams from different programs go to different audio outputs? I have 2 monitors (TVs) connected, and have on one one game on the larger TV, connected via HDMI - and then on the smaller TV I stream the Redzone channel. Is is possible to have the audio from the Redzone channel to come through headphones and leave the audio for the main TV unchanged?

The motherboard has on board audio that the headphones would be connected to. The HDMI hookup is from a dedicated video card.

 

[17seconds]

Update.. here's what I built for my new Plex media server:

As soon as I discovered that the Core V1 case could hold 2 3.5" drives (my media RAID) and 2 2.5" drives (I needed one for OS), I went with that.

Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX case - $50

Asrock H97M-ITX/ac SATA III USB 3.0 Mini-ITX Mobo - $84

Intel i5 4690s processor - $170

Team Elite 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM - $38

Team Group 120GB SATA III SSD Drive - $48

Corsair CX 430W modular PS - $50

Mushkin 32GB atom USB 3.0 flash drive - $13

about $450 total for a Plex server that can do multiple 1080p streams, and will be able to do 4K when I go to that.

I use the USB drive for weekly OS backups (cron job in Ubuntu). It's a tiny little thing plugged into the back.

It's a headless Ubuntu server that I secure shell into from my Windows PC. 10" x 10" box with only 2 cables! Power and Ethernet. I love the simplicity.

What is the OS?

Ubuntu Server 14.04

 

[17seconds]

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but whatever I'll give it a shot.

Is there a way in Windows 7 to have different audio streams from different programs go to different audio outputs? I have 2 monitors (TVs) connected, and have on one one game on the larger TV, connected via HDMI - and then on the smaller TV I stream the Redzone channel. Is is possible to have the audio from the Redzone channel to come through headphones and leave the audio for the main TV unchanged?

The motherboard has on board audio that the headphones would be connected to. The HDMI hookup is from a dedicated video card.

It should be fine since you have 2 audio subsystems. Did you try assigning them in the control panel yet and run into an issue?

 

[17seconds]

Any recommendations for a sub $200 monitor for gaming?

I'm a big fan of the Benq 27" mad cow pointed me to. I'll find the model number tomorrow.

BenQ 27". It's right at $200 bucks (I thought I paid lesss) on Amazon for the 1920x1080 version which seems to be good enough for me currently. There is a higher resolution version for $370.

I bet this is one hell of a monitor for $550 - BenQ 32" 2560x1440

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Any recommendations for a sub $200 monitor for gaming?

I'm a big fan of the Benq 27" mad cow pointed me to. I'll find the model number tomorrow.

BenQ 27". It's right at $200 bucks (I thought I paid lesss) on Amazon for the 1920x1080 version which seems to be good enough for me currently. There is a higher resolution version for $370.

I bet this is one hell of a monitor for $550 - BenQ 32" 2560x1440

If only I had the space. Monitors are so cheap. It still pains me that I paid $1500 for my first 32 inch HD TV 10 years ago.

 

[matttyl]

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but whatever I'll give it a shot.

Is there a way in Windows 7 to have different audio streams from different programs go to different audio outputs? I have 2 monitors (TVs) connected, and have on one one game on the larger TV, connected via HDMI - and then on the smaller TV I stream the Redzone channel. Is is possible to have the audio from the Redzone channel to come through headphones and leave the audio for the main TV unchanged?

The motherboard has on board audio that the headphones would be connected to. The HDMI hookup is from a dedicated video card.

It should be fine since you have 2 audio subsystems. Did you try assigning them in the control panel yet and run into an issue?

Yup. It's suppose to be an issue with Windows 7 and multiple audio streams. You have to have a "default" audio out, and all audio is run through it. I then mute the redzone channel so that I can hear only the game on the big screen.

 

[Run It Up]

Current rig limitations catching up to me, will be moving soon so I can't make a new build.

Current build:

• MOBO - Gigabyte GA-770T
  
• CPU - AMD Phenom II x4 955
  
• GPU - Radeon 5770 (1gb)
  
• RAM - 8gb DDR3
  
• PSU - 700w
  

Not sure about chipsets and sockets anymore, not knowledgeable about any new hardware and compatibility - is it still reasonable to just assume that PCIe is universal at this point? My GPU is a huge bottleneck atm though and I've got about $150 budget.

Recommendations? 

 

[MaxThreshold]

If only I had the space. Monitors are so cheap. It still pains me that I paid $1500 for my first 32 inch HD TV 10 years ago.

I'm really waiting for the 2K monitors w/G-Sync to come down in price.

 

[Zasada]

Current rig limitations catching up to me, will be moving soon so I can't make a new build.

Current build:

• MOBO - Gigabyte GA-770T
  
• CPU - AMD Phenom II x4 955
  
• GPU - Radeon 5770 (1gb)
  
• RAM - 8gb DDR3
  
• PSU - 700w
  

Not sure about chipsets and sockets anymore, not knowledgeable about any new hardware and compatibility - is it still reasonable to just assume that PCIe is universal at this point? My GPU is a huge bottleneck atm though and I've got about $150 budget.

Recommendations? 

If you can stretch to $165, this is a pretty good option.

If you want to stay within budget and stick with AMD, this is your best bet.  Actually, below your budget.  Doesn't seem to be much in the $150 bracket right now.

Both are compatible with your mobo.

 

[Run It Up]

If you can stretch to $165, this is a pretty good option.

If you want to stay within budget and stick with AMD, this is your best bet.  Actually, below your budget.  Doesn't seem to be much in the $150 bracket right now.

Both are compatible with your mobo.

Thanks, I was actually looking at a R9 280 for 160, then I saw the R9 380 was only 10 dollars more after rebate.

My CPU will bottleneck both I'm pretty confident, but the performance increase over my ancient card will still be worth spending a little more for either. Would be able to re-purpose the card possibly.

They seem pretty marginally close to one another, the kicker seems to be the 380 having 4gb vram. They should both be compatible correct? Any opinion about those two compared to the ones you linked? Thanks again

Edit: I asked over at /r/buildapc and got pretty much the same answer, gtx 950/960 or an r9 280/380

 

[Zasada]

Thanks, I was actually looking at a R9 280 for 160, then I saw the R9 380 was only 10 dollars more after rebate.

My CPU will bottleneck both I'm pretty confident, but the performance increase over my ancient card will still be worth spending a little more for either. Would be able to re-purpose the card possibly.

They seem pretty marginally close to one another, the kicker seems to be the 380 having 4gb vram. They should both be compatible correct? Any opinion about those two compared to the ones you linked? Thanks again

Edit: I asked over at /r/buildapc and got pretty much the same answer, gtx 950/960 or an r9 280/380

Unless you're gaming above 1440p, the 4GB VRAM won't make a huge difference.  Based on my (brief) look at benchmarks, the 960 is faster than the 380.  But the latter is cheaper and is AMD, which has some unquantifiable value of staying in the same family as your CPU and mobo.

If you're going to upgrade the whole rig in the next 2 years, just go with the cheaper card.  If this is more of a long-term thing, it might be worth spending a little extra now.

 

[Run It Up]

Ended up going with this, $185 after rebate, then I had a $20 credit with newegg.

Will report back after install in a few days.

 

[Run It Up]

Woke up with my GPU having been delivered. Quick 10 min cleaning and installation. Works like a charm.

My post screen had a ton of artifacting, didn't take long to find out its a common problem with the 900 series and gigabyte boards. For some reason it won't display the BIOS post logo, fix is simple as disabling it and good to go. 

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Ok Zasda and all.  I FINALLY got around to building out the first NCase for the home server.  I thought I had already typed up what I wanted to do with this thing but I can't find the post. I'm not sure which of the computer build threads it's in.  So I'm going to do it again.  I've never done a home server before so any guidance you can give me would be great.

First the build: I went with pretty much the exact same specs as your server build.  NCase M1, Skylake 6700 unlocked, Noctuna CPU heatsink, 1TB Samsung Pro SSD, 2 x 4TB Western Digital drives for storage, Blue ray player and Silverstone 300W power supply and Windows 10.  This case is incredible. It was a lot of fun to build.  You can pretty much put things anywhere.  The rubber foot mounts for the drive make trial and error very easy.  I learned a lot that will help when I build the new gaming pc in the same box.

Home Server Goals:

I have a PlayStation 4, a gaming PC, 2 laptops, an ipad, 2 iphones a Sony Smart TV and home video cameras. I'm thinking of adding a sonos or other speaker solution but currently I have an Onkyo receiver and speaker system for the main tv. I want to:

1) Have one central location for all video, music and pictures that can be accessed from all of the above.

2) I would like to have a file storage solution as well as back up all pc's to this server.

3) I want to be able to access files remotely and share some folders with family/friends/colleagues when needed.

4) Record the video camera feeds.

So, go.  How do I do all that? To be honest I'm not sure where to start.   

 

[Thorpe]

Nick, if that is all you want to do with the server, you should have bought a NAS like a Synology or similar, because it is designed to do all of that.

That being said,  for devices within your intranet, the easiest thing is probably a shared folder.  You create the folder in Windows, right-click it, Share with Specific People,...this should work with all those devices.

To access the files remotely, the biggest problem is you likely have a dynamic ip address from your internet provider.  This means they can change your ip address whenever they want.  But it probably won't change that often.  You can google "What Is My IP Address" to find your IP Address.  Then you need to set up a FTP Server, there are free ones like FileZilla or WinSCP.  They will have instructions.  Then you'll need to go into your router to forward the FTP ports to your server.  From the remote PC, you need to install an FTP client.  

EDIT:  If your IP address changes a lot, there are services you can use where they give you a hostname.  Google Dynamic DNS Service.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Nick, if that is all you want to do with the server, you should have bought a NAS like a Synology or similar, because it is designed to do all of that.

That being said,  for devices within your intranet, the easiest thing is probably a shared folder.  You create the folder in Windows, right-click it, Share with Specific People,...this should work with all those devices.

To access the files remotely, the biggest problem is you likely have a dynamic ip address from your internet provider.  This means they can change your ip address whenever they want.  But it probably won't change that often.  You can google "What Is My IP Address" to find your IP Address.  Then you need to set up a FTP Server, there are free ones like FileZilla or WinSCP.  They will have instructions.  Then you'll need to go into your router to forward the FTP ports to your server.  From the remote PC, you need to install an FTP client.  

EDIT:  If your IP address changes a lot, there are services you can use where they give you a hostname.  Google Dynamic DNS Service.

True about the NAS, but I wanted a little more flexibility and I was seduced by Zasdas specs. I also want to use it to rip DVDs and a few other normal pc functions. 

I'm not sure about the ip issue. I'll have to explore. 

 

[Mr.Pack]

I know this thread is about rebuilds, but hopefully I can get a clue as to what's wrong with my 3 year old Ausus K52F

Spilled water on it in December. Turned it upside down and left it open for a few days to dry it out. Worked like normal for about 2 days except half the keyboard was out, then it started freezing.

I replaced the keyboard and fan. 

When I boot up now, it starts normally, and runs good for about 10mins, then slowly starts freezing, until it completely locks up.

Any ideas?? 

 

[Zasada]

True about the NAS, but I wanted a little more flexibility and I was seduced by Zasdas specs. I also want to use it to rip DVDs and a few other normal pc functions. 

I'm not sure about the ip issue. I'll have to explore. 

Yes, a NAS works in most cases, but having an extra PC to do PC-like things is handy.  A PC can do everything a NAS can, but not vice-versa.  So, provided you are willing to add complexity, having a PC act as your NAS is worth it, IMHO.  For example, I just logged-in to my home PC and fired-up a download I didn't want to wait to get home to kick-off.  I can also do random stuff like print a boarding pass for my wife at home when I'm not even there.

There are use cases where it wouldn't be, though.  To each their own.

Regarding software, this is how I generally have it configured:

• OS:  Win10
  
• Dynamic IP service:  DynDNS.org
  
  Got this for free way back when I bought a D-Link router which I no longer use, but the DDNS service lives-on -- check your router to see if it gives you a service for free
  

[*]TeamViewer for remote access (tough to overstate how great this software is, I use it for my home server as well as helping relatives with PC support)

[*]Kodi (not technically on this PC, but on all the streaming devices around the house)

• 
  MySQL server on the PC so that Kodi can use a unified library
  

[*]Plex for streaming over the internet

[*]Media Companion for organizing my media (mostly fanart, cover art, etc)

[*]Netgear Genie for sharing our printer with iOS devices (only works with Netgear routers)

[*]SlySoft AnyDVD HD for ripping

[*]Handbrake for encoding

[*]uTorrent for torrenting

• 
  Edit:  Actually, I forgot I flipped to Deluge since uTorrent is ad-supported now and generally crappy
  

[*]FileZilla server for FTP

[*]BlueIris for IP Camera monitoring/streaming

• 
  With customised UI for webview (very easy to install)
  

[*]ESET NOD32 for AV

That's all I've got for now, but happy to elaborate depending on what you're looking to do and which elements interest you.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Yes, a NAS works in most cases, but having an extra PC to do PC-like things is handy.  A PC can do everything a NAS can, but not vice-versa.  So, provided you are willing to add complexity, having a PC act as your NAS is worth it, IMHO.  For example, I just logged-in to my home PC and fired-up a download I didn't want to wait to get home to kick-off.  I can also do random stuff like print a boarding pass for my wife at home when I'm not even there.

There are use cases where it wouldn't be, though.  To each their own.

Regarding software, this is how I generally have it configured:

• OS:  Win10
  
• Dynamic IP service:  DynDNS.org
  
  Got this for free way back when I bought a D-Link router which I no longer use, but the DDNS service lives-on -- check your router to see if it gives you a service for free
  

[*]TeamViewer for remote access (tough to overstate how great this software is, I use it for my home server as well as helping relatives with PC support)

[*]Kodi (not technically on this PC, but on all the streaming devices around the house)

• 
  MySQL server on the PC so that Kodi can use a unified library
  

[*]Plex for streaming over the internet

[*]Media Companion for organizing my media (mostly fanart, cover art, etc)

[*]Netgear Genie for sharing our printer with iOS devices (only works with Netgear routers)

[*]SlySoft AnyDVD HD for ripping

[*]Handbrake for encoding

[*]uTorrent for torrenting

• 
  Edit:  Actually, I forgot I flipped to Deluge since uTorrent is ad-supported now and generally crappy
  

[*]FileZilla server for FTP

[*]BlueIris for IP Camera monitoring/streaming

• 
  With customised UI for webview (very easy to install)
  

[*]ESET NOD32 for AV

That's all I've got for now, but happy to elaborate depending on what you're looking to do and which elements interest you.

Thanks man!  I will circle back with questions as I go. 

 

[Zasada]

I also have various mFi units around the house (power bars and light switches) and I run the mFi software on my home server PC.  The software isn't required for the units to function (they're accessible independent of my server) but it does monitor/log power usage and other things.  

I originally got the power-bar so that I could power-cycle my home server while I was on the road.  My old server had a motherboard that would freeze sporadically (almost always when I was out) and there was no way to reboot the server remotely.  This let me do that.

The light switches are more about power-savings.  My wife likes to leave the outdoor lights on at night but doesn't turn them off during the day.  These switches allow me to control the lights remotely and they also turn the lights on/off automatically at dusk/dawn.

 

[Zasada]

Also, because my server is on 24/7 I want to keep the power usage down.  I have one 1TB SSD, 2 4TB HDDs, and 2 3TB HDDs.  While the heads auto-park on the HDDs, for whatever reason the drives never actually power-down despite not being in use 99% of the time (all camera, torrent, logging and other activity is done on the SSD).  But I found software called HDDScan which allows me to create a batch file which runs at bootup and tells the HDDs to power-down after 15 minutes of inactivity.

This resulted in my server power consumption dropping from ~35W at idle to <20W (as measured by the power bar in my above post).  15W over the course of the year is only ~$13 in electricity usage but it's part of my overall plan to be more efficient in the home.  I have LED bulbs in most of our light fixtures now and put-in a high-efficiency AC unit last year.  All of that has brought our power bill down noticeably.

This could pretty overwhelming all at once.  I have done all of this tweaking over a number of years, but wanted to get it all in this thread so that you can work on it as you feel comfortable.

 

[tonydead]

• TeamViewer for remote access (tough to overstate how great this software is, I use it for my home server as well as helping relatives with PC support)
  

Finally circling back around to trying this out.  Lots of news around of hackers exploiting this to get into your computers and then bank accounts.  Heard anything?

 

[captain_amazing]

Finally circling back around to trying this out.  Lots of news around of hackers exploiting this to get into your computers and then bank accounts.  Heard anything?

Yes.  They have taken a huge credibility hit from a bunch of hacks that led to cryptoware on some endpoints.  I've gone ahead and removed it on my personal devices and have had it removed from all endpoints at my company (I'm and IT Manager - we used it sparingly on public displays).  Not sure what the actual details were regarding the hack (I read about it a few months ago and can't recall) but one option for TeamViewer users is to register for a TV account and setup two factor auth with Google's Authenticator app.  But, depending on the hack details, that may have not helped in this instance (I think there were some prepackaged installers that were hacked and exploited upon install, IIRC - I suppose I could read the link you provided).

 

[tonydead]

Yes.  They have taken a huge credibility hit from a bunch of hacks that led to cryptoware on some endpoints.  I've gone ahead and removed it on my personal devices and have had it removed from all endpoints at my company (I'm and IT Manager - we used it sparingly on public displays).  Not sure what the actual details were regarding the hack (I read about it a few months ago and can't recall) but one option for TeamViewer users is to register for a TV account and setup two factor auth with Google's Authenticator app.  But, depending on the hack details, that may have not helped in this instance (I think there were some prepackaged installers that were hacked and exploited upon install, IIRC - I suppose I could read the link you provided).

Thx, I was looking into this because I felt I wanted something that might provide more security than port forwarding (and instead it seems this makes you more vulnerable).  Is there anything else you use or recommend for remote access?

 

[captain_amazing]

Thx, I was looking into this because I felt I wanted something that might provide more security than port forwarding (and instead it seems this makes you more vulnerable).  Is there anything else you use or recommend for remote access?

RealVNC is one option.  You can tunnel over SSH for a secure connection.  And this is a point to point connection - you're not going through a cloud-based service, like TeamViewer; rather, you're connecting directly to your computer through an open port (you'd need to open this port on any firewall, although the RealVNC installer might do that automatically) and authenticating through credentials you create on the application.  There are security pros and cons to this, but I'd go this route at home rather TV at this point.  If you do this and can change the standard RealVNC port (unsure if you can), I'd do that too, as it would cut down on bot brute force attempts on standard ports for that app.

 

[captain_amazing]

Or, on Windows, RDP is pretty secure.  I actually use RDP whenever I easily can - just make sure your credentials aren't weak for your Windows user account.  

Also, there are some apps out there to enable two factor auth with Windows (for local and/or RDP sessions), which adds another strong layer of security for RDP (see duo.com - free personal use, never tried myself but probably will give it a shot).

In fact, RDP is probably the way to go.  Ignore RealVNC, unless you need it for remote assistance type of stuff.

 

[Zasada]

In all fairness, the TeamViewer hacks have been attributed by some to the password-databasing that has occurred from other prominent hacks.

I have not uninstalled it.  It's just too useful to me to do so at this point.  I changed my password to a stronger one (same as my gmail) and haven't been touched.  Yet.

I also run full backups on an air-gapped system so if I do get crypto-locked I can flip the bird to them and restore/reinstall.

 

[tonydead]

Or, on Windows, RDP is pretty secure.  I actually use RDP whenever I easily can - just make sure your credentials aren't weak for your Windows user account.  

Also, there are some apps out there to enable two factor auth with Windows (for local and/or RDP sessions), which adds another strong layer of security for RDP (see duo.com - free personal use, never tried myself but probably will give it a shot).

In fact, RDP is probably the way to go.  Ignore RealVNC, unless you need it for remote assistance type of stuff.

Yeah thanks, I finally got around to messing with this.  So simple I don't know why I put it off so long.  Port forward 3389 to the computer you want access to and RD in.  Poof, like magic.  Super strong long password, works for me.  

 

[tonydead]

Also, because my server is on 24/7 I want to keep the power usage down.  I have one 1TB SSD, 2 4TB HDDs, and 2 3TB HDDs.  While the heads auto-park on the HDDs, for whatever reason the drives never actually power-down despite not being in use 99% of the time (all camera, torrent, logging and other activity is done on the SSD).  But I found software called HDDScan which allows me to create a batch file which runs at bootup and tells the HDDs to power-down after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Might be interested in HDDScan.  When I set up Remote Desktop access it prompted me to turn off sleep on my server, but, it always wakes from sleep anytime I access it on the LAN. Will have to run some tests and see.

I also have various mFi units around the house (power bars and light switches) and I run the mFi software on my home server PC.  The software isn't required for the units to function (they're accessible independent of my server) but it does monitor/log power usage and other things.  

I originally got the power-bar so that I could power-cycle my home server while I was on the road.  My old server had a motherboard that would freeze sporadically (almost always when I was out) and there was no way to reboot the server remotely.  This let me do that.

The light switches are more about power-savings.  My wife likes to leave the outdoor lights on at night but doesn't turn them off during the day.  These switches allow me to control the lights remotely and they also turn the lights on/off automatically at dusk/dawn.

I wasn't interested in smart bulbs/switches at first, but then I saw some for a ridiculously low price in the discount bin at Home Depot.  When I got to the check out it turns out they were put there by mistake and were really a recall item (didn't work).  However, they said they would honor the price on any of the other models in stock so I bought them out of Phillips Hue bulbs.     Now I'm hooked these things are so awesome, plus they are supposed to last 15 years.  Neighbors used to tell me that everyone knew when we're out of town because my front porch and driveway lights are always on all day (all 5 of them on one switch).  Now I'm going to dazzle them with a light show.  And they work with Alexa.  

 

[cstu]

Man, memory is cheap these days.  My Dell had some problem with the RAM so I looked for some new RAM and ordered 16GB (2 DIMMs) for $64.  The mobo has two more slots so I could go up to 32GB, but doubt this is ever useful since 16GB is already overkill.

 

[Dragons]

Microcenter has the i5 6600k for $179.99 w/ an additional $30 off a motherboard bundle. I don't have great access to Microcenter deals, but have 1 combo reserved when I travel for thanksgiving next week.

Anyway, I reserved this ASRock board, primarily for it's (8) SATA6 ports. It's rated for DDR4 2133 memory and can overclock to higher frequencies, but 2133 memory seems to be phased out and I can't find a supported memory chart for this board. Can I put in faster rated DDR4 RAM?

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Laptop died and I'm in need of a desktop.

Can one of you  geniuses help me , please?   I'm confident enough to assemble all the parts and install an OS but that's about as far as I can go.  I have been out of the computer building and programming game for 10+ years.

I want to use this to surf the web, do my taxes and play old computer games like Ultima Online. 

I have a mouse, keyboard and an extra HDTV I plan to use as my monitor. 

* ok I want to play some cool steam games like banished.