Not a gaming machine, but thought I could get some build help here sooner than in the HTPC thread.
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Anyone have suggestions/recommendations on the OS or the build? Is it worth the extra cost for hot-swappable drives (Silverstone case)?
I'm not quite sure what you're trying to build here? A pure NAS? Or a box that can act as both a server and an HTPC?
If the former, you can bury it somewhere else in the house and not care about fan noise. And then just build streaming boxes elsewhere in the house.
If the latter, I would consider just installing Windows since you seem wed to WMC. Not a bad thing since you have a cablecard tuner. Not many options for that unless you go with a
HDHR and network your tuner (which is what I do).
Kodi is a pretty cool program but isn't great on the TV side so WMC is probably better there. Plus if you go with a windows-based server, you can use it as a full-fledged PC if necessary and you get more compatibility with ripping software like
AnyDVD and encoding software like
Handbrake. If you can clarify what it is that you're building (sorry I'm confused) I might be able to provide more tips.
Cases are a very personal thing. If you're willing to consider ITX,
this case is very nice (no optical bay though, might be a big deal) with a HDD backplate for easy hard drive installation. Another case option is
this one (which I have) and is very sharp. And comes with an optical bay.
If you're tired of fan noise and want to go ultra-quiet, you might want to consider a fanless PSU. The HTPC I have in my living room has no moving parts and uses
this fanless PSU (which is very well-rated).
I don't consider hot-swap capability for HDDs in a media server a big deal. I change HDDs once every couple of years, tops. Only when one gets close to full. I would spend the $ on a quieter PSU or a better CPU for faster transcoding.
I'm in the middle of a server rebuild (post
here) so you might find some ideas there. Again, depending on what your goal is. Fan noise in my server isn't as big of a deal since it is in my office and not in a room with a TV. But I'm still no fan so the PSU I have in my new build doesn't spin up the fan at idle.
Note that as MC posted, Skylake is out which is the first CPU to come with meaningful H.265 hardware decoding/encoding. H.265 feels like the future of media compression (same quality as H.264 at lower bitrates) so it might be worth getting a Skylake CPU if that is important to you.