So my Athlon-based computer of yester-decade is on it's last legs - or at least, it's getting a little tired of trying to run Win7 on min. spec. (2GB doesn't seem to be cutting it anymore , the mobo won't take anymore) and I'm not dropping money on a socket 939 CPU simply to extend it's life...
So it's new (HT)PC time! But, alas, I'm presently stuck at crossroads.
Said old PC is an Akasa Eclipse case - which is a fairly fat fit behind my TV in my living room (it's never been ideal) but it does benefit from having room-aplenty for the random array of HDs I've got in it (I think I'm on 5 SATAs in there now) - and that, the storage part, is the main sticking point.
As I see it, I could :
OPT#1 :
Replace mobo, cpu & ram (maybe one of SCAN's bundles, or similar), buy an SSD for the OS* - keep case and re-use to store all my HDs
OPT#2.A :
Replace PC altogether (self build or pre-built tower) & move drives over
OPT#2.B :
Replace PC altogether (self build or pre-built SFF) & move drives to a NAS**
As I see it, apart from the ergonomic issues of the case being so bulky (and not exactly silent) Option#1 is (financially) the best bet - even if will mean (?) I'll need a new Windows (seeing as I've Win7 Home Premium OEM which I don't believe I can transfer.
But - and this is important - this computer is the "hub" of our house - it hosts all our media, runs our Tonido site, never gets turned off and is used (directly) maybe 8 hours every day - so I'd be foolish to let monetary concerns win over here... which is why I'm finding it very difficult not to be seduced by machines (or at least cases) like this :
http://www.quietpc.com/sys-mamba -
even though I've not much space left on my AV rack for a full-width rackmount/hifi-style HTPC case, (hence the suggestion of a tower in Option#2.A) - so the SFF option would need to be proper-small, but I can't go NUC as I'll still want otpical for ripping music and movies - and then I'm still stuck with the "NAS" - by which I actually mean a multi-bay HD caddy (eSATA ideally) since it'd be a JBOD, (I don't want to be formatting all my drives first as I've nowhere to siphon the content to) - but do such things even exist?
Internals wise; I don't need/want a TV tuner/card/recorder and I'd be happy with mobo-integrated sound (optical) and graphics (HDMI)... Blu-Ray Writer w/ softare - and that's about it. Of course, low-power and quiet/silent would be beneficial.
Any advice/pointers/suggestions?
PS : when I'm saying HTPC, I mean "PC in a living room" - I'm not interested in using Media Center and/or remote controls - and as sexy looking as XBMC is, I fear my love of fussing w/ foobar and VLC will keep me from being interested much further than the skin/theme-eye-candy.
