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.