2 intel builds: one gaming and one home server. What say you

[chieftex]

Hello.

I think I've had a great idea, and I'll execute it once you guys suggest some ideas and/or cut it to pieces!

Small context bit:
I currently have one main PC in my home, used for gaming mainly. This has:

Antec P182 case
Asus P8P67 Pro mobo
intel i5-2500k
16gb gskill ddr3 1600
Gtx 670
cooler master 850w psu
ssd and hdd.

I use this PC in my office room, but the case and components are actually located outside in the corridor, with all cables going through the wall. This gives me the best of both worlds - use of a fairly powerful gaming PC in a COMPLETELY silent room. And I mean silent; with the speakers off you can hear that high pitched sound of silence in your ears. I love it.

"The plan"
I want to build a home server, to run Amahi on, with lots of storage for media. Originally I thought I'd build a new small pc for this (m-itx maybe) and put this in the corridor as well. However, I think I have just had a much better idea. Instead of that, I can take the relevant bits out of my gaming pc (atx psu, ram, ssd, cpu and gpu), and make a new gaming PC with them. I would put these in a smaller case, and put that in the corridor. It would be nice if it was quiet, but the beauty is that it doesn't have to be silent as I won't hear it from the office room.

Then, with what's left in the large Antec P182 case (hdds, mobo, Optical drive) I could then add the most basic socket 1155 cpu I can find (i3 maybe?) and a low power psu, and have an Amahi server. I would then move that PC to the office room, and make sure it's silent (I'd need your help with that). I assume since it won't have discrete graphics, it wouldn't need a loud gpu fan and therefore I could just have a quiet cpu fan, a system fan and the psu fan. If I got a quiet psu, it could be a silent server I hope.

I need your advice
1. I'm effectively making 2 PC's out of one here, and supplementing what I need to add. Does this make sense?

2. Do you have any advice on the parts I would need to add? From what I gather so far, the smaller gaming PC would need a case and a motherboard only - smaller the better for both, without compromising performance if possible. Mobo would need to be socket 1155 to take my current i5-2500k cpu. The QUIET server PC would need a psu and a cpu+cooler only - again cpu needs to be socket 1155 to fit the current atx p8p67 mobo in there now, but a low power cpu should do fine.

3. Have I missed anything or do you have any great ideas to add? I'm based in the UK, so will be buying components from UK retailers if it matters.

Thanks for reading, all advice appreciated!



You don't need to read this bit unless you are bored
If you want to know more about my current set up (for whatever reason), I have the system discussed above in the corridor. I then have all the components mentioned inside the case, apart from the monitors obviously. In order to get the computer to display 3 monitors around 15 metres away, I use one long 15m dvi to hdmi cable, and two hdmi over cat 5 extenders, which work fine. I then have a 15m active usb repeater cable, to run a usb cable from the pc to a hub on the desk with the monitors. That hub then connects keyboard, mouse etc. Finally, I have a 15m 3.5" cable for outputting the speakers directly from the pc. This all works great, and gets me silent computing without a silent PC.

I also have a very small all in one pc in the living room, which is an old emachines er-1402, with a crappy AMD equivalent of an atom cpu. This functions fine for the time being, though I'd like a more powerful one in the future - a story for another time.

[Mr T]

I would keep the gaming rig as is... Its good as it is.. For the media server, m-itx is good, but work out how many and what size and configuration of hard drives you are going to use. I use OpenMediaVault as a storage/media server running 24/7.. configuration is an Asrock ITX board with ibuilt AMD e350 cpu, 4Gbs of RAM and a PCI-e SATA card with two external ports that support port multiplying... OpenMediaVault runs off a 60Gb SSD (which is a waste really as 4Gb is sufficient), with two hard drives and a duff DVDRW (reads DVD/CD's wont burn them)in a Coolermaster ITX case that supports a standard ATX PSU (which is 500w).. I have then attached an external 4 port storage rack that has 4 large drives in. From this I run Plex Media server to 3 smart TVs, 3 Xboxes and 2 Roku boxes and it works great. If I need to maintain stuff or backup, I can remove the external box for safety and not lose anything...

[chieftex]

You're probably right. Curse your common sense!



I see what you're saying about OMV. I'm sure I could run Amahi on the same spec machine. I was stuck previously on how to run nas drives outside a pc case, and I see how you've done it (a link to your drive cage would be cool).

Practicality wise, I could replace my ugly (and quite visible) Antec in the hallway, with a nice looking case (something in white). I could then hide the Antec in the room. The antec would be ideal for a server because of the number of drive spaces it has - that's my main reason for this idea. My gaming PC only needs an ssd and 1 drive.

[Karlsweldt]

If concern about a "quiet" system mandates a remote location for the PC, consider a basic cabinet about 6x the size of the computer. Line the inside with "egg crate" foam, and provide one 6" quiet fan (AC) to give through ventilation (make your own vent holes). Could also double as a printer stand! Industrial server cabinets are made this way, and drop sound levels below 40 dB.. barely above a whisper. But they are costly.

[chieftex]

I like your style - but that goes a bit beyond my remit. Space is a factor too sadly!

[chieftex]

I have then attached an external 4 port storage rack that has 4 large drives in. ...

Any chance of some of your own pics ( a link) to this? I'm pretty much going to go this route, including the e 350 board! I'd also love a link to your specific pcie sata card (with PM) if you have one, as PM can be finicky!

[bdub]

check out these quad core, low power AM1 chips...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ageSize=20

and mobos...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ageSize=20

some good ideas there.

[chieftex]

some good ideas there.

Thank you - they are good ideas (and I wouldn't have thought of them so double points)! I suppose the only negative vs one of those integrated boards is I'd have to buy a cpu cooler as well (super quiet is the name of the game).

Also, I need a minimum of 4 sata ports (2 of the itx boards in your link had 4) and ideally I'd prefer 6, or it's another expense for a pcie sata card.

Thanks for the ideas - now to read up on the power consumption of those cpu's!

[Mr T]

I have then attached an external 4 port storage rack that has 4 large drives in. ...

Any chance of some of your own pics ( a link) to this? I'm pretty much going to go this route, including the e 350 board! I'd also love a link to your specific pcie sata card (with PM) if you have one, as PM can be finicky!

This is the updated version of mine...

This is the card.. You can get it cheaper.. There are a lot of cheap brands on ebay, but a lot don't support SATA 6Gbps or have a port multiplier function..

[chieftex]

Thanks so much - I had a feeling it was the Startech card, I'd been reading a lot about it.

How does it work with the port multiplier? You plug a sata cable into the startech card, and the other end into the icybox? And then the icy box has some sort of built in breakout adapter with 4 sata cables coming from it?

I'd like something like that icybox, but I'm looking for the cheaper side of things.