Wanted: Old PC

T

T2FFN

Senior member
 East Yorkshire
As it says really, if anyone has an old(ish) pc, preferably with atleast a 1ghz P4 processor they no longer require, I'd like to build a cheap media server using some of it's parts.

Wish list:

Lan port
P4 or better CPU (MOBO to have SATA connections. Vital)
512mb RAM or better

Poor timing as my work threw out a load of old ones a few mnths back :(

Cheers
 
Hi T2FFN sorry to hijack your thread but were you crossing the bridge going east bound on the A63 which passes The Deep yesterday at about 5.30,just seen your username and it looked like PReg the Zed had on :thumbsup:

I did post it up on the spotted section.


Sorry for that ,as you were!
 
cpu to have sata connections? :rofl:

i have a p4 i use for exactly this, but it's got an £8 sata card in it. These days I find it's not as necessary as it was.. Xbox Media Centre is soo damn flexible these days and looks better under the tv.
 
Just so you know that you will need something better then that to stream High Def media. I just bought a dedicated Media server (Tranquil PC) and had to install different NFS software as standard windows sharing (Samba) was not quick enough (i.e. only 8 mb/s whilst Hanewin NFS shares can give up to 15 Mb/s).
 
Apologies, was posted while tired.

Basically I just want any old PC that is capable of running a few 1.5TB SATA II HDDs.

There are a few cheapy ones on ebay but I'd prefer a local one, not driving 50miles to pick up a dusty old PC :wink:

So, this applies mainly to Hull folk :thumbsup:

Redzedfour: Yep, that prob will have been me, on way to gym :thumbsup:
 
Andy said:
cpu to have sata connections? :rofl:

i have a p4 i use for exactly this, but it's got an £8 sata card in it. These days I find it's not as necessary as it was.. Xbox Media Centre is soo damn flexible these days and looks better under the tv.
Click to expand...

You're missing the point a little. This P4 will only be a media server, sat hidden away somewhere, no screen, no keyboard, simply wake on lan.

There will be a newly built XBMC only box under the TV soon enough, that will replace my current XBMC set up.

The box under the TV is the front end, and as such I don't want to have it full of HDDs and become a large box.

I currently have around 3TB and need to expand (1.5TB drive in the post as we speak). These will be hidden away and stream over LAN to my front end.

Simples.
 
The streaming over lan is where you have to be careful with HD content, as above - I tested and tried and standard sharing will not hack it.
 
In that case i use an Icybox 4200.. you can JBOD it for 4tb, but mine is RAID 1. Streams things like Lost HD in DivX to my 360 Media Centre over Lan perfectly :thumbsup: Much better power usage than an old PC for starters.
 
pvr said:
The streaming over lan is where you have to be careful with HD content, as above - I tested and tried and standard sharing will not hack it.
Click to expand...

There may be other reasons for your slow streaming. Many people use and recommend a similar setup on XBMC forum. After a lot of reading this is what I have decided on, and while Lan speeds may need tweaking, CAT5 LAN should be more than capable when set up right, settings tweaked etc. Depedning on cost, I may put in CAT6 as the front end box I've planned has gigabit lan already.

Andy

The power usage of an old PC can be set to be quite low. The drives will be 5400 green drives for lower power and heat, wake on lan so it wont be running 24/7 etc... not an issue in my eyes. Initial costs vs NAS / similar are much lower.
 
Either you can't read or you're a bit thick? :roll:

The post seems straight forward enough to me.
 
mmm-five said:
Isn't the inclusion of "Yorkshireman" in the sentence enough to render redundant the word "cheap" :P
Click to expand...

And being from Liverpool you probably wouldn't put a request out, you'd just go steal one from PC World :wink:
 
T2FFN said:
mmm-five said:
Isn't the inclusion of "Yorkshireman" in the sentence enough to render redundant the word "cheap" :P
Click to expand...

And being from Liverpool you probably wouldn't put a request out, you'd just go steal one from PC World :wink:
Click to expand...

We don't 'steal' we 'acquire lost goods' :oops:
 
I've got a spare one sat doing nothing (3200+ 64bit skt 754, 2gb pc3200 - i think -, 256mb 6800GT, 500GB western digital HD).

However, it blew something a couple of months back and I've not had time to check what - I'm fairly certain it's the PSU as nothing comes through.

You're quite local (I'm at Crowle on the A161!) so if you have a spare you're welcome to come and try it out.

Would sell cheap! PM if you like.
 
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