motherboard for media server

[bhome83]

I'm building a media server and already have the cpu (intel Core i3-2105) case (Antec Three Hundred) and power supply (CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2). My question is, what would be a good mobo to pair with these components? I'm looking for at least 1 USB 3.0 port, several SATA ports (6gbps would be ideal) and ideally 3 ram slots at least.

I did some searching and newegg has the ASUS P8H67-M LE (REV 3.0) board for $100. It only has 2 RAM slots, but I could probably deal with this. Are there any other boards out there you guys suggest or is this a good all around board for what I'm doing? I know I could go cheaper, but I want USB 3.0 (for possible external HDD's), and on board graphics so I don't have to buy a discrete graphics card...useless for a media server.

Any suggestions is much appreciated. Thanks!

[MaxRat]

Honestly I'd only do 2 choices...

Asus or Biostar.

Most will only do Asus and they are probably one of the best. I have used just about every brand out there and as for as Media server those are the 2 I have had the best luck/performance with...

[bhome83]

Originally Posted by MaxRat Honestly I'd only do 2 choices... Asus or Biostar. Most will only do Asus and they are probably one of the best. I have used just about every brand out there and as for as Media server those are the 2 I have had the best luck/performance with...

interesting. What is your take on that specific model maxrat, or would you suggest something different?

[jdeb]

ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0)
Newegg.com - ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

[bhome83]

Originally Posted by jdeb ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) Newegg.com - ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

that one doesn't have onboard video though... I do like that it has old school PATA, but would rather not have to buy a discrete GPU card.

[Tin]

The i3 has an integrated video controller, as do all other Sandybridge CPUs. The video is processed by the CPU, and output through the video ports on the motherboard.

[bhome83]

Originally Posted by Tin The i3 has an integrated video controller, as do all other Sandybridge CPUs. The video is processed by the CPU, and output through the video ports on the motherboard.

So this MSI board is about $30 cheaper. Other than the ability to handle ATA drives, any idea how it differs aside from the price?

Newegg.com - MSI PH61A-P35 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H61 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

[Tin]

What are you looking to do with this media server? Will it be run headless (no monitor)? Or will it be more along the lines of a HTPC? Which OS will you be running? Reason I ask, is that some things, like XBMC dont require that much hardware. Since youre not gaming, you could get away with lesser hardware, even an older LGA775 system would be perfect. I run dual LGA771 Xeons in my server, but it runs quite a few virtual machines as well as a MythTV back end that encodes live TV to xvid on the fly. What are your exact goals and capabilities? Answer that, and we can better recommend hardware .

[bhome83]

It will be used solely as a media server, no HTPC. I will stream movies, music, photos, etc to my TV using the plex media server client. I'm unsure what OS to get but I'm guessing to go with windows home server? Is that the most user friendly? Have never set up a server before so any help in that regard is appreciated.

I know mobo may be a little overkill, along with the cpu, but if my laptop breaks, i will use the media server as a backup computer probably.

[Tin]

Windows Home Server is very nice OS. It doesnt require much in the way of getting it set up as it would take to do a Linux server. WHS has the features most people would want or need. It does have quite a few limitations, but for most people, its fine. There really isnt much in the way of setting it up. Pop in the disc, follow the directions, done .

EDIT: I forgot to mention. You wouldnt be able to use your media server as a backup PC, as WHS comes with no web browser or anything of that nature. Its strictly a server operating system thats designed to be run without a monitor.

[bhome83]

Originally Posted by Tin Windows Home Server is very nice OS. It doesnt require much in the way of getting it set up as it would take to do a Linux server. WHS has the features most people would want or need. It does have quite a few limitations, but for most people, its fine. There really isnt much in the way of setting it up. Pop in the disc, follow the directions, done . EDIT: I forgot to mention. You wouldnt be able to use your media server as a backup PC, as WHS comes with no web browser or anything of that nature. Its strictly a server operating system thats designed to be run without a monitor.

yeah, I would have to install another OS if it ever came to that. So I've never used a home server before, but how is a WHS any different than saying sharing an entire HDD or one big folder, on my computer? Any computer can access it. I guess I just wanted it to centralize all my data, but now am questioning what makes them so special

[MaxRat]

My media server runs Windows 7...

you can use XP or whatever you have with ease... just for hosting media and back ups anything will work. I chose Win7 just because the other rigs use that and its just easy as pie to see them all even without actually networking them.

I run no monitor on my server and just Remote Desktop into it when I need it.

pretty simple...just install the OS and then install the drives. I have 4 drives other than the OS drive. 1 drive solely for back ups.

If you do run Win7 then make sure you disable HomeGroup on all the PCs as it makes file transfers faster...

Also for my set up I used an AMD set up...
A ECS Black Edition 785G motherboard and a Phenom II 965BE....way overkill for a media server.

unless you plan to encode video it isnt ever used. you could get away with a dual core cheaper CPU and a different board. i used that one because it was free to me... you need more ram than anything...

[glc]

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-M Pro LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

[MaxRat]

Thats a nice board... I think I've just found me a board for my main rig...and a 2600k