thinking about switching to client/server setup...

[xj-boonie]

So I've got some parts to put into my current HTPC, but am trying to decide if I should just add them, rebuild it, or move to a client/server set up.

My current htpc is:
Motherboard: MSI K9N plantinum
CPU: AMD A64 X2 3800+ 2.0GHz
RAM: 1GB DDR2 800 (2x512mb)
Video card: MSI 7600GT
Hard Drives: Seagate 160GB PATA (OS/docs); Seagate 300GB PATA (sage), Seagate 320GB SATA (sage)
Optical: NEC N3500A DVD Burner (reflashed region free)
SD Tuner: PVR-500 MCE (pci)
HD Tuners: DVICO FusionHDTV Lite (pci), Vbox Cat's Eye 150 (pci)
Case: Uneed X11 rev. 1 case w/ VFD&IR & rev. 2 HD cage
Power Supply: Seasonic S12 380W PS
Misc: Mitsumi floppy w/ USB 2.0 card reader built in
Software: XP Pro w/ SP2, SageTV 6.3.10, SageMC 6.3.7, Nvidia 91.47 drivers, purevideo decoder 1.02-223
AV gear: Westinghouse 32" LCD via DVI, sound via SPDIF to Pioneer receiver

The parts for the HTPC are a 2GB RAM set, a WD GP 750GB hd, and two possible tuners: VistaView Saber 2020 and AverMedia M780.

I get my HD over the air, and SD via RF from comcast cable.

What's got me thinking client/server is that I've got an office machine with a Antec 3700BQE case, DVD-ROM & DVD buner, socket 939 MSI motherboard, dual core 1.8GHz cpu, AMD AIW800XT video card (don't really like), 160GB and 300GB PATA hard drives, and it doesn't get used as much as it uses to (wife's got a laptop and I sometimes use the HTPC to surf/email).

I could throw a quad core cpu/mb (q6600 & P35 - or an amd option?) in the office machine, and strip out the htpc box to be a client with dvd – maybe using a 780 or 8200/8300 motherboard.

I'd want to keep the client a HTPC so I can play physical DVD's.

Just trying to sort out my options...

any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mike

[xj-boonie]

Proposed rebuild plan:

Client:
Case:

• OrigenAE X11 w/ VFD/IR module & Rev. 2 HD cage (existing)

Power supply:

• Seasonic S12 380w (existing)

Motherboard:

• Gigabyte GA-M78SM-S2H, 8200 IGP, AM2
  OR ABIT A-N78HD, 8200 IGP, AM2

CPU:

• AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz skt AM2 45w OR
  AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz skt AM2 65w (existing)
  using Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro heatsink/fan (existing)

HDD:

• Seagate 7200.?? 160GB PATA hdd (existing)

RAM:

• Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC-6400) memory (existing)

Optical drive:

• NEC ND-3500A IDE DVD burner (existing)

Server:
Case:

• Antec SLK-3700BQE (existing)

Power Supply:

• Seasonic S12 430w (existing)

Motherboard:

• A P35 – no idea which one yet…

CPU:

• Intel Quad-core Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz cpu
  need a heatsink/fan

RAM:

• Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC-6400) memory

Hard drive:

• Seagate 7200.?? 160GB PATA hdd – OS (existing)
  Seagate 7200.?? 300GB PATA hdd – Games/Data (existing)
  Seagate 7200.10 320GB SATA hdd – SageTV recordings (existing)
  WD Caviar GP 750GB SATA hdd – SageTV recordings (existing)

Optical Drive:

• Acer IDE DVD-ROM (existing)
  NEC ND-3540A IDE DVD burner (existing)

Video:

• MSI GeForce 7600GT 256MB PCIe HDCP ready w/ Arctic Cooling AVC-NV6 Rev. 2 VGA cooler (existing)

Misc:

• Mitsumi 1.44MB Floppy Drive / USB 2.0 card reader combo (existing)
  Hauppauge PVR-500 MCE dual NTSC PCI tuner (existing)
  DVICO FusionHDTV 5 Lite QAM/ATSC PCI tuner (existing)
  VBOX Cat’s Eye 150 ATSC PCI tuner (existing)
  AverMedia M780 NTSC & ATSC PCIe tuner (existing)

Issues:
Most of the P35 motherboards I’ve looked at can only support 2 IDE devices, and I’ve got 4 (2x optical and 2x hdd). So I either get new hard drives, new optical drives, or use PATA to SATA converters on the hdd’s. I'm leaning towards either a Gigabyte or ASUS, but not sure which one. I'm looking for both the client and server to be very stable machines (current HTPC has random reboots that I've not been able to stop/fix).

Also worried that the power supply might not be enough.

I want to keep the client a real computer as I do play dvd's there - though I will start ripping them to the hard drive as I increase storage space. I also have some DVD's from other regions that we watch.

I've also got a spare Hauppauge PVR-150, that I might put in the client and use to transfer some of my vcr stuff.

Fianlly, I my upgrade to Blu-ray in the future, but I think that would require a different receiver to get the full effect (current one doesn't have any hdmi inputs), so I'd be nice if the motherboard in the client could handle the sound.

Suggestions, improvements, parts you would change?
Mike

[othy]

The processor is probably overkill for the server unless you are also using it for other tasks. That said, I originally planned (and bought) a very similar server setup in terms of processor power, but ended up downgrading the server and upgrading my desktop this week. The specs in my signature are not up to date.

Other than that I'll leave the feedback on specific parts to people who are more knowledgeable than me.

I did want to mention that I recently moved from a standalone to a client/server setup and I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. In my case, the client is an HD-100, but I have an Xbox 360 that I use for DVD playback.

Anyway, my overall system seems more reliable (though it was pretty solid before) and it just "feels" like a better solution. In my case, I also bought Windows Home Server for the new server so I also have a good file server and backup solution, too.

Oh, and I just noticed that my signature

Tim

[wado1971]

I have one comment from my recent experiences in going down the server/client path which might be worth pondering prior to purchase of your SageTV-Client license.

I had read briefly that SageTV supports tuners on the network (network encoders) - which was great because the 2 computer setup then expands the total # of pci slots available for tuners. Unfortunately, I failed to realize that the networked tuners in the client machine must be running a full "Server" or "Media Center" license (not the client license). Might be worth considering prior to purchase.

I only mention it because it looks like you have a lot of pci tuners - good luck with the setup!

wado

[xj-boonie]

othy: I plan on using the server as my desktop machine also - surfing, email, quicken, office documents, and photo download/tweak from digital camera. II don't have a PS3 or Xbox360 (have a N64 though...) so a HD-100 is out unless a usb dvd can be plugged in.

wado1971: I've already got a client license, and wasn't planning on having any tuners in the client cause I didn't realize you could do that... Something to consider for furture use.