dave87's Home Media & Digital Lifestyle - WIP!

[dirky]

I can highly recommend XBMC, I'm using the live.version installed onto the.hdd now, but i ran it under xp before

[dave87]

Well progress has been ticking over, and I've got a bit of an update.


Firstly take one set of integrated wardrobes:



and disassemble:



Add some essential cabling (From memory - 10x CAT5E, 2x Speaker Wires (for rears) 2x Coax for Aerial.) and two blokes who know what they are doing:



Give them some time and a quantity of tea & coffee - et voila - one false wall which is more than strong enough to hold a TV:



Then plasterboard it all:



Then skip a few stages (can you tell I got a bit engrossed in what I was doing? ) and:



Then sort out the lighting:

[Pob255]

Forget case modding, house modding FTW!!!11!one!

[dirky]

nice update, good idea about having a false wall instead of raggling into the wall too

[Jay]

I wish I could do all this, false walls etc, I struggle to put up a picture!

Its looking good mate.

[handscombmp]

It's looking like it's coming along nicely mate!

[dave87]

So I had the machine described above as my HomeServer, but I very quickly realised it wasn't exactly what I wanted - at least for the minute. Add to that it having a BIOS error (probably down to me playing about with the overclocking settings) and the HP Microserver offer that came about, well, you can guess the rest:



So it arrived and I thought it would be rude not to get a few pictures of the unboxing/package contents.



Two reasons I took the photo - one - I like Soonest Express. Not Next Day, not a fortnight next tuesday, but Soonest. Secondly, it shows how HP can actually manufacture something like this at the pricepoint they are listed at, and possibly as a marketing excercise, offer £100 cashback.

So on to the unboxing:



The top had the two power cables (one Euro, one UK) and the manual pack complete with the 'idiot sheet' (also known as the Quick Start Guide) and the Driver CD/PDF manual. Underneath that:



Well first thoughts - it is much smaller than I imagined. Given the box wasn't exactly large, and it was rather well packaged, well that doesn't leave much volume for the item itself?



So not exactly huge. Afterall, the best things come in small packages right?



Having a look at the front, it has 4 USB2 ports, space for an optical drive (or, if required, a.n. other 5.25" device), oh, and the power button. Looking at the lower part, there is a door which will lead to more exciting things. However first a look at the back of the unit:



Apart from the power socket and the pack of keys on the back, these are the important bits:



VGA, Ethernet, 2x USB and an ESATA Socket - basic but good enough for most SOHO applications. On the plus side, there are a couple of low profile PCIe slots available for expansion use.

So back to the front, and the door mentioned earlier:



Lockable front is handy for keeping unwanted fingers at bay:



However it is what is behind that which is most interesting:



A 4 bay SATA Hard Drive Caddy which is preinstalled (on this model at least) with a 160gb Hard Drive.



This was quickly removed and a 500gb WD put in its place whilst Scan had 2x2tb Samsung EcoGreens winging their way to me.

Cooling wise, it should keep even the hotter running drives nice and cool. Having a 120mm fan behind the drives is a nice touch, and avoids the typically noisier solution used by standalone SATA Backplanes.



One thing I had wondered was where was the pack of screws one invariably gets with any new hardware related purchase. Fortunately HP have thought of that, and added to their thinking process the high likelihood that any end user is unlikely to keep anything that isn't immediately needed for very long, if at all. As such, they have rather handily attached them to the physical machine:



They've even thought of those without a toolkit to hand, as they've included a tool alongside the extra screws for those installing a 5.25" device:




So a few quick thoughts:

The HP Microserver is actually pretty well screwed together. Installation of extra components is a doddle, the hardest task was picking up the manual to make sure I was getting to the 5.25" drive bay in the right fashion (turns out I was, but had missed one of the screws, doh!). In terms of the supplied kit - the 160gb Hard Drive is perfectly adequate for those setting up the OS on the new machine, but also takes up a drive bay that could be devoted to storage. Thankfully for those with a hand in Linux, or preferring something like ESXi, it is possible to install a thumbdrive or other bootable USB device on the internal USB port to allow an operating system. This would then allow the full four bays to be used for storage.

Performance wise, it comes bundled with 1gb of ECC DDR3, which though perfectly fine for basic homeserver tasks, I upgraded with another stick of the same. 2Gb seems to be perfectly adequate, though given it accepts non-ECC memory aswell, it is a realatively cheap upgrade to much larger quantities. The 1.3GHz dual core at the centre of the machine may not sound the most high performance of chips around, but crucially it is low power yet surprisingly nippy. With a fresh install of Windows 7 it has been perfectly usable, though I doubt it would manage the more advanced features of Windows Server 2008R2. However in anticipation of WHS V2, or whatever it becomes, it seems perfectly adequate.

Would I buy one knowing what I know now? Based on the experiences I've had so far it is a no-brainer. I couldn't build, even from ebay sourced parts, a machine this quiet, this well built, for any less than HP retail this - and that is before the £100 cashback.

There are some thoughts I do have though:

Firstly, I wouldn't bother providing a hard drive, nor for that matter, RAM. A cut to the basic price of the item, or at least user choosable specs would be a great advantage. That said by standardising the spec of the machine they must cut overheads, so I doubt it would make much difference to the price. Still, it seems a shame to pay for something I potentially wouldn't need. The RAM is a little more questionable - I've used 2 of the original sticks - one came with it, the other from another owner who has gone the non ECC DDR3 route. For me, and for a basic homeserver, it worked out. For others, it may not - and end up with them having a stick of memory they didn't need nor want.

Secondly - the 5.25" slot. The machine lacks any IDE ports, which is of little surprise these days. That said, they included a normal 4 pin Molex to power the optical drive, necessitating an adapter for installation of a SATA DVD-RW drive. Luckily, having had a few machines I had one lying around - but it would have been handy if it was included. Similarly the only option for connectivity (without an add-in card) is SATA, yet there was not a SATA lead included. No matter as again I had one lying around, but I feel it could have been integrated with the wiring that had been so neatly cable tidied, rather than having to add one in. Granted I can see the cost implications, but it seems silly for the extra thirty pence or so that these weren't included.

However despite these two minor (nit picking - if I'm honest) things, it would be something I'd be happy to recommend for SOHO users - its neat, quiet and sufficiently powerful without costing the earth - which to the target market, is rather important. So how is it going as a Homeserver? Well that would be giving the entire game away.....

[arkham]

nice sever case whats the spec on this cpu ram etc looking to build a server myself

[dave87]

It is the HP Microserver, spec is here

[Disturbedguy]

Dave, you going proof that room like you have the PC's

[arkham]

ok cheers dave thats pretty cheap for what you get compared to others on the market that hold that amount of harddrives

[dirky]

How loud are those microservers?

[dave87]

How loud are those microservers?

Sorry Dirky, I missed your post.

The Microservers are very quiet - I don't have a decibel meter to test it, but it is very quiet. Whilst some would say silent, it isn't - it does have moving parts (hard drives/fans etc) but it isn't like rackmount servers. Infact, my SkyHD box is noisier.

[dave87]

Been a bit busy since the last update (well not entirely me - but there is progress):



This end looks much the same, however the wallpaper in the room has been removed, any imperfections filled and sanded. Oh, and the door and skirting board has been sanded down and primed.



This is where the new integrated wardrobes will be going. The wall has been painted as it will be the back of the integrated wardrobe (no point putting a back on something that isn't going to move!). In this area the skirting board has been fully painted so that no further work is needed before the wardrobes are installed. Alongside the Wardrobes I've ordered a custom AV Unit and two bedside units, which will be arriving tomorrow.

The observant will also notice the different carpet samples - all trying to work out the right carpet for this room and for my study (more on that later). Who knew there could be so many different carpets that look so similar?



The otherside of the room to give some perspective.

Oh, and the ceiling has been painted - should really get round to putting the lights in properly



As I mentioned, the new units will be arriving tomorrow, so should have another update then

[dave87]

So it didn't quite go to plan - turns out the factory had a delay on the final pieces for the units I'd ordered. That said, it was full steam ahead on the wardrobes. After basically a mornings work I was left with this:



Which I must admit is even better than I'd imagined when I ordered the combination. It is black glass with a silver frame and tabacco wood inserts. The doors slide in a silkily smooth motion, and will mean once shut, they hide all of the stuff put in. Added bonus that in the sunlight the black reflects the light from the window opposite, lightening up the room in the process.

Interior is laid out like so:





Went for basic handles on the drawers inside the cupboard (as they won't be seen) but have gone for sculpted ones on the units (photos to follow when they arrive). Cupboard is bult onto the floor rather than the carpet, so when the room is recarpeted (next few weeks, depending on lead time) the insides will be done too.



Whilst I was out I managed to make a few decisions. Firstly I found a decent Sealy Posturpedic double bed, so that has duly been ordered. Secondly I managed to find the wallpaper for the room. It has been nigh on impossible to find something interesting in that doesn't have flowers as the main theme. What self respecting 23 year old would want flowers on the wall of his bedroom?!?

This was what I've decided on:



Bit of a closer shot showing the texture - just a bit more interesting than solid colours:




The brown for the end wall where the TV is, and the lighter colour (which is more cream than the white it became in the photo) for the rest of the room - on the basis it'll make the room feel lighter and more spacious.

Sorry there isn't any tech in this one - but these bits are all a pre-requisite of getting the tech installed

[pollaxe]

I am living vicariously through this thread.