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PC Building

Axxemann
Forerunner

Should I turn my old PC into an HTPC? File storage?

So I've had my FX8120/MoBo/RAM combo sitting in a box since I upgraded to AM4... Once I get a few things sorted out (lease is up at the end of March and the rent increase has forced me to look at moving again) I was planning on transplanting the AM4 setup into a new case.

It gave me a notion to resurrect the old monster. I could do HTPC and plug it into a TV that my folks want to give me, or I could turn it into a NAS, but I'd have to run it on Linux (too cheap to pay Microsoft any more money than I already have over the years.)

Is it worth it? It'll save on E-waste at the very least. It's really not worth keeping as a gaming rig.

Performance over Pretty.
5 Replies
johnnyenglish
Grandmaster

I would manually dial the CPU to its lowest, do some power tweaks and get FREENAS. 

Done so with an Athlon 5130. But this one runs on the cheap. The power monitor wont even register 20watts total system draw. No GPU either. Just for long time file storage. 

The Englishman

Well, not having a GPU in there would certainly free up space for a second PCIe SATA expansion card. I have a scheme to populate the triple 5.25" bay with SSDs, and I have a buddy who can 3D print me a rack to make it happen.

Performance over Pretty.
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ajlueke
Grandmaster

My current PC fills all those rolls together.  It is connected to the living room TV, and functions as and HTPC, serving up 1:1 MKV rips of my Blu-ray library using Kodi.  It also games on that display, and since the display is 4K, I need decent hardware in there to drive gaming at 4K.

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@ajlueke, my main PC functions similarly. But I rip with MakeMKV and Handbrake.

 

Vynski
Exemplar

Why not.  I have several old computers 8350 / R 350 / Hauppauge 1191 Win TV, an FX 9590 / R 370 / 2 - PFAFF Embroidery machines / Brother Luminaire 2 embroidery machine.  I am currently revamping my old testing platform with the Ryzen 7 2700X.  You can always find a use for them.


Famous last words of a RedNeck "Hey Ya'll, WATCH THIS"
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