Cool Windows software

Arq (Haystock Software)

Now available on Windows as well as Mac this is super cool cloud backup software and should be checked out. Works against a massive variety of online storage providers.

https://www.arqbackup.com

Macrium Reflect

Straight forward super easy to use software which is worth the $70 investment.

I used this in combination with online backup using Arq to secure my photo library.

http://www.macrium.com/personal.aspx

HTPC build

With the repeated suicide attempts of my ReadyNas NV+ and my repeated resuscitation which usually involved a new PSU along with less than acceptable streaming of movies via an Apple TV 2 - I thought it was time to get serious and build a new HTPC machine.


Requirements were:

1. silent
2. lots of storage space
3. not looking like an ugly PC since it was going in the living room
4. remote controllable using my existing Logitech Harmony
5. Get the best possible sound experience from my Yamaha YSP-2200 soundbar (DTS-HD Master Audio via bitstream)
6. Easy to set up. Just don't have the time for long drawn out projects these days....

So I got the following for hardware the following reasons:

• Streacom ST-FC5B EVO WS (HTPC, Black) - one big good looking heat sink and completely quiet!

• Intel Core i5 4590 BOX (LGA 1150, 3.30GHz) - a little more versatile than an i3 which will allow some gaming
• Crucial Ballistix Sport (2x, 8GB, DDR3-1600, DIMM 240) - cheap and best!
• ASUS Z97I-PLUS (LGA 1150, Z97, Mini ITX) - lots of stuff crammed in to a small board and great onboard sound
• Samsung SSD 840 PRO 256 GB - I was going to go with a SSD 850 M.2 120 GB but they hadn't quite hit the market when I was building
• 3 x WD Red 6 TB for their quietness and reliability
• Streacom Flirc SE Universal Remote IR Receiver - the obvious choice with the given case

The build:

• Windows 8.1 Professional
• Linux just doesn't cut it yet on the DTS-MA audio front plus any Linux based Plex frontend was just going to take time away from watching movies !
• Plex Media Server
• Running as a service using PMS as a Service
• Plex Home Theater
• Frontend
• Stablebit DrivePool 
• Easy to use and reliable drive pooling with optionaly redundancy and amazingly low price
• Stablebit Scanner
• Regular checks in against the large disks.

Tweaks used:

- termsrv.dll patcher to allow multiple concurrent user logins. I didn't want a bluetooth keyboard/trackpad mouse knocking around the living room and instead wanted to be able to remotely manage the HTPC from my desktop whilst the HTPC was being used

Thanks to this post.

- setup dedicated local user for running Plex which started Plex HT as shell instead of Windows Explorer.

Details of approach given here.

Also downloaded Logitech Harmony & Flirc software and setup a new HTPC activity called "Use HTPC" and easily managed to get the HTPC to wake from sleep using the remote.

Putting to sleep using the remote I have not been able to find a solution for and I get by using the Plex HT menu command instead.

More details will be posted and a full Windows 10 Pro based installation will be done soon.

Workstation build

Thought I'd share my Workstation build.

Now the thing is I like nice holidays as well as a powerful enough workstation to run a number of virtual machines and since the more up to date hardware with enough cores and RAM was going to be painfully expensive and perhaps costing me a holiday I figured let's have some fun and try and use some older hardware. 

Noisy machines are just annoying so a near silent build was the second requirement so after some research ended up getting a mix of old and new parts:

Supermicro X8DTL-6F	€150	Second Hand
2 x Intel Xeon X5660	€300	Second Hand
6 x Samsung 8GB DDR3-1333 REG-ECC 240-Pin DIMM	€300	Second Hand
MSI Radeon R9 270	€180	New
Antec P180 v3	€130	New
PC Sound Card Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS SB0350	€5	Second Hand
Super Flower Golden King SF-550P14PE - 550W	€150	New
Asus PCE-AC68 Wifi Card	€70	New
StarTech.com 4 Port USB 2.0 Connector Backplate	€10	New
Orico Desktop PCI-E USB 3.0 (2+2) Port Express Card	€20	New
2 x Noctua NF-B9	€40	New
Noctua NF-S12A	€20	New
2 X Supermicro SNK-P0040AP4 Heatsink	€70	New
Icy Dock FlexCage MB975SP-B	€100	New
Total	€1410

The Supermicro board has an Intel ICH10R SATA 3.0 Gbps Controller but to be honest there really isn't a huge slowdown when using SSD's. It also has a SATA 3 SAS controller more about that later.

I have used exclusively Samsung Consumer grade SSD's:

Samsung SSD 840 128 GB for the System OS drive

The following are combined in to a spanned volume to form the 1.02 TB Data D: Drive:

Samsung SSD 840 128 GB
Samsung SSD 840 250 GB
Samsung SSD 840 750 GB

All the SSD's are hooked up to the Intel ICH10R controller.

4 2 TB HDD's are installed within the Icy Dock which are hooked up to the LSI 2008 8-Port 6Gb/s SAS Controller (which has been flashed with IT firmware). These drives are usually not turned on and are only done so when the storage is needed. A neat feature of the Icy Dock.

The build is virtually silent due to the usage of:

• Noctua fans
• super-stealthy MSI 270
• Super Flower Golden King PSU
• and of course the famously quiet Antec P180 case

The MSI is running in a PCI-E 2.0 slot and the actual difference in running in a gen. 2 slot compared to gen. 3 is not huge.
Since I am not hardcore gamer  and just needed a reasonable card that could be harnessed when needed for use in Adobe Lightroom this silent solution is fine and will also play games OK when needed.

I have recently decided to replace the Asus ac wifi card due to the lousy bit rate I was getting and instead picked up a second hand 
Intel Ethernet Server Adapter I350-T4 for €80.
All networking will be wired up to a Linksys WUM710 wireless-ac bridge.

Windows 10 Professional installation

Bought a Windows 7 Professional key from seller "euromex" for a mere €14 and then did the upgrade.

Bought a number of subscriptions recently Office365 Home as well as Adobe CC Photography which are both bargains.

Surprised at how much more usable Windows is now than Mac and how it plays nicely as well with the Google suite of products.

Especially liking the Google Chrome shortcuts that can get added to the Start menu:

To get a shortcut just use the "Add to taskbar" Chrome Browser menu option:

Once run this will a shortcut to:

C:\Users\[userid]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Chrome Apps

Which can then be pinned to the Start menu :)