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  1. Last question before lights out. Do motherboards come with more than 1 usb. And I will look for a case with 2 5,25 bays. Thanks for all this info.
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    Do you mean ports? Definitely yes. Usually a mix of USB 2.0 and 3.0 or higher. Usually as least four, but usually not more than eight because of space restrictions on the back of the case, though you can install more on the front of the case if the ports are built in and the MB has a connector for it. You can also [add] an expansion card like this for more ports: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G86538S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I haven't installed it into my PC yet, because the one I was going to replace started working again. Be sure to get a card that requires external power as the ones I've tried that don't have it were flaky.

    If you're asking because I recommended using a Y adapter for your optical drives (6 ports total needed), you can use a USB hub, ideally powered, but connect the auxiliary power plug to the hub (you can usually tell because it's wired to the main plug). The reason is that a hub shares the USB bandwidth and power between all devices connected.

    Bedtime for me too. If you need help with anything else, we'll continue in the morning.
    Last edited by lingyi; 6th Jan 2020 at 02:18.
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  3. lingyi,

    Been busy getting ready to install solar for house. Hard part for me now is probably picking out parts for the pc. PCparts has a lot of info that I am sifting thru. If anyone has suggestions on parts for HTPC they would be appreciated. This will be used to only store movies. Simple HTPC, no streaming or gaming, motherboard with SSD attached, and quiet with 2 external 5.25 bays as suggested by "lingy". Budget $400-500.
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  4. 0. DON't convert!!
    If your idea can't play the video files natively, you are over thinking or using the wrong solution!!!!!!!

    1. "Looking to put my decrypted DvdFab movie collection (900+)on hdd. I was hoping to use PLEX as the manager and I understand it will not play Video_TS files, so I will change them to MKV with DVDFAb."

    And that's why people use MythTV that supports video_ts directly.

    2. " I am not going to stream these to any devices. Will be viewing on home theater projector and 65" tv all hard wired."
    Why bother with Plex then?

    Simply hook up a video switcher and/or dual-monitor from the Mac and run the cable directly to the projector and TV.
    Then, just use the Mac to play everything. Use a wireless keyboard/mouse.

    You can even buy a Mac mini and put it next to the TV and hard drive, connect the mac mini to the TV and Projector. Play everything on the Mac mini straight from the drive without any conversion.

    3. If you have to go the Plex/MythTV route, any of the NAS (networked) RAID hard drives will do for something so basic and small like your collection.
    eg. https://shop.westerndigital.com/en-gb/products/network-attached-storage/wd-my-cloud-ex...BZ0000NCH-EESN

    You'll then need some sort of networked device (Fire/Roku/PC/Mac) attached to the TV/Projector to play from the NAS RAID drive using Plex/MythTV.
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  5. babygdav,

    I noticed that Mythtv is linux based which I am not familiar with. Tv and projector are in different rooms and video to both is being sent thru my receiver. ElanG home system controls everything with a remote or wall touch pads. Trying to limit those extra remotes. Not sure at this time, as I am still learning, if I need a RAID setup.

    My thinking at this point is the get/build a pc with basics as if will only be used to store/send/rip DVDs.
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    @ babygdav

    Please read the extensive posts between the OP and I. He has no, I repeat no need for a NAS or RAID. Please read before you post!
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    @ desertrider

    Please ignore babygdav's post above, you're on the right track. Don't be swayed as obviously he/she read only your first post and nothing else.
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  8. Yeah, ignore. You two are on the right track
    Last edited by babygdav; 6th Jan 2020 at 18:07.
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    RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Individual/Independent Drives) has three main functions/advantages, neither of which does anything for your needs. It was developed at a time when hard drives were extremely expensive and slow.

    This is my simple understanding of RAID (which I knew about and considered when it came out for home users in the early '90's).

    Advantage/feature 1 - Striped RAID - In striped mode data is split and written to two or more drives a once, increasing throughput, but it was never equal to the number of drives (i.e. never 2X, 3X, etc.). However SSDs have any striped RAID setup beat in spades in speed. Striped RAID may be useful for very large disk writes like when long capturing or recording 4K or 8K video is required.

    Advantage/feature 2 - Mirror RAID - Great because whatever you write to one drive is immediately mirrored on a second, third, fourth, etc. However, if you accidentally permanently delete or overwrite a file, that action is also immediately mirrored on any other drive in the array. This one the main reasons I and others much more knowledgeable say RAID is not a backup: https://blog.storagecraft.com/5-reasons-raid-not-backup/

    Advantage/feature 3 - Parity - In certain RAID configurations, an additional drive can be added for parity, sometimes being able to (sometimes) automatically repair corrupted data. However, sometimes isn't a guarantee that your data will be intact.
    lea
    All RAID configurations, the most common are RAID 1-5 and RAID 10 (which is RAID 1 (mirrored) + 0 (striped) are variations of these advantages/features and require at least two drives.

    As an extreme example of how RAID of any size isn't truly safe, watch this video where Linus of Linus Media Group had a tens or hundreds of terabytes of data potentially lost because a RAID hardware failure on their one petabyte storage rack before it could be backed up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSrnXgAmK8k

    [spoiler]He as able to replace the failed RAID controller and saved almost everything![/spoiler]
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  10. Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
    As an extreme example of how RAID of any size isn't truly safe, watch this video where Linus of Linus Media Group had a tens or hundreds of terabytes of data potentially lost because a RAID hardware failure on their one petabyte storage rack before it could
    Everything can fail.
    Trump can piss off Iran more and they can nuke your library out of existence.

    For the home user and owner of such dvd ripped videos, simply duplicating drives is sufficient (mirror). Using ssd drives in place of hdds can significantly extend that lifespan before failure, but in a decade, there will probably be 10G networks and a way to download a decade worth of movies in a second.

    In any case, nothing prevents user error - accidentally erasing files off a drive - or virus attack doing the same.

    Raid does not protect against this. Have a second drive connected only to copy new files to, but otherwise disconnected from the computer and network is better. (Doesn't need to be updated each new movie - once a month / year is fine.)

    A computer attached to the tv is the easiest and fastest.
    Set it to rip while you watch a new movie, no need to waste more time ripping, moving, copying it later.
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  11. Great video. Boy was he upset when he thought he lost 3 of the RAID drives. Been configuring parts in PCParts and had a question. How do you know if the parts you select will fit properly in the selected case even though you get the "green" Compatibility bar at the top of the screen. I am up to $515. without monitor and the (2) 8 tbb HDDs. Does this seem about right. Ill get any answers in the morning.
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    Originally Posted by babygdav View Post
    Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
    As an extreme example of how RAID of any size isn't truly safe, watch this video where Linus of Linus Media Group had a tens or hundreds of terabytes of data potentially lost because a RAID hardware failure on their one petabyte storage rack before it could
    Everything can fail.
    Trump can piss off Iran more and they can nuke your library out of existence.

    For the home user and owner of such dvd ripped videos, simply duplicating drives is sufficient (mirror). Using ssd drives in place of hdds can significantly extend that lifespan before failure, but in a decade, there will probably be 10G networks and a way to download a decade worth of movies in a second.

    In any case, nothing prevents user error - accidentally erasing files off a drive - or virus attack doing the same.

    Raid does not protect against this. Have a second drive connected only to copy new files to, but otherwise disconnected from the computer and network is better. (Doesn't need to be updated each new movie - once a month / year is fine.)

    A computer attached to the tv is the easiest and fastest.
    Set it to rip while you watch a new movie, no need to waste more time ripping, moving, copying it later.
    Please read my posts even if they're overly long as your posts can be confusing for the OP and others who may read this now and in the future as I've already posted about the following:

    The OP has stated that once he's completed ripping his already decrypted (ripped and copied to new DVDs) collection, he's done. He doesn't plan to add any more discs/files to his collection.

    With all due respect, the OP is almost 73 and already overwhelmed by this project. New technologies a decade from now likely won't be of major interest to him or to me either as I'm turning 60 next month. I'm planning for my collection to he enough to last me through my retirement in 7-10 years.

    Yes, nothing prevents accidents, but unlike in a RAID, I can recover all the files on my backup up to the date I last updated it, currently about once a week for my collection.

    As for viruses or ransomware, already discussed and in my case resolved by never having the backup drives connected to my main PC. Keeping and making backups on a separate non-networked PC was recommended.

    SSD and any RAM based media is not a safe backup solution. Unlike hard drives and optical media which will usually show signs of failure, when RAM based media fails, it usually fails all at once immediately. And data recovery is in its infancy and very, very expensive $$$$ and not likely to be able to recover data, vs hard drive recovery which is just expensive, $$$.

    The solution suggested and the OP is working on getting setup is one PC feeding an HDMI signal through his receiver and through his wired home setup

    Yes, no backup solution is perfect, but as I've posted above, I've lost terabytes of data in an instant, always because of a brain fart moment. However, other than the time I had to re-rip my then 600+ DVD collection, I've always had a backup(s) to restore my loss within 48 hours. Everything I've posted on this thread and post on most threads is from real life experiences, not hypothetical what ifs!

    Again, please, please, please stop and read all the OP's and my posts, before posting again as being perfectly blunt, you've added nothing new to this thread except retreading subjects that have already been recommended and discussed.
    Last edited by lingyi; 7th Jan 2020 at 01:34.
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    My apologies to all now and in the future for what seem to rude, but I view a forum like a party. babygdav, you're acting like an intruder just listening to the last part of a conversation among others and rudely interrupting and inserting your opinions without understand the full context and direction of the conversation. I'm in no way saying that I'm 100% right in everything I've posted, it is after all just my opinion, but it's based on nearly 35 years of PC use and 20+ years of video collecting. And I'm still in my infancy compared to some of the other regulars here. I take that fact that they haven't jumped in and corrected/criticized my posts (as they have at other times and I truly appreciate) that at least for this situation, I'm hopefully helping the OP with a solution that's best for his situation.

    No NAS, no RAID, no streaming (which the OP clarified he doesn't plan to do), no extra devices at this projector and/or his TV, no using his MAC, which doesn't have an optical drive. Just a single PC to which he can rip and store his DVDs and send the signal from over HDMI to both is projector and TV through his receiver and the very nice home remote system he has.
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  14. One way is to add the same items to another site's basket that has the same compatibility checker.

    The realistic way is to list the make and model of each item.
    Then, either you or us go through the specifications from the maker's site one by one to verify.

    ...

    Most computer parts are standardized.
    E.g. Whether pc or nas drive, they both support standard 3.5" SATA interface/connection hard drives.
    (Yes, you can always optimize by picking the better suited drives for a server, but any drive with those specs will do fine.)
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  15. Going back thru the threads, saw the brief mention of the dvdfab server.

    The dvdfab server is an android computer (just like an android phone or tablet) with a 3.5" drive slot and optimized compatibility to play whatever dvdfab rips.

    So, instead of a custom pc connected to the tv/projector, you can simply buy one and hook it up through hdmi to your tv/projector.

    Control it using your Android phone/tablet or wireless keyboard/mouse remotely.

    ..

    Nothing wrong with it as many who want to play media on tvs are using Android sticks and boxes nowadays.

    https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=SATA+Docking+Station+2.5+/+3.5+inch+USB+3
    A simple sata to usb dock can be used on the Mac to copy everything to the drive, then insert drive into the mac.

    ...

    The built in ability to display and show movie covers and info automatically is quite nice.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj_cNWrhD-Q
    Looks brain dead easy with support for everything from iso to mkv to mp4 to bluray rips.

    Would be worth a strong look given that it's the 15 minute box to setup kind of device versus a custom built computer/media server!
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    Originally Posted by babygdav View Post
    One way is to add the same items to another site's basket that has the same compatibility checker.

    The realistic way is to list the make and model of each item.
    Then, either you or us go through the specifications from the maker's site one by one to verify.

    ...

    Most computer parts are standardized.
    E.g. Whether pc or nas drive, they both support standard 3.5" SATA interface/connection hard drives.
    (Yes, you can always optimize by picking the better suited drives for a server, but any drive with those specs will do fine.)
    Sorry to be this way, but you're really starting to annoy me.

    There is no PC hard drive. There are non NAS drives which differ from NAS drives which are built with higher quality components designed for 24/7 use and sometimes specialized software such as that on certain WD drives that caused the drive to spin down after a certain amount of inactivity. The higher quality components and expected usage results in their higher cost. There's nothing magic about a NAS drive, it's just a higher quality component.

    Again, my real world experience, a couple of years ago I swapped out almost all my 4TB consumer drives for 8TB drives, about a dozen drives with some of the oldest having almost 25,000 hours of use (over two and half years of use) and the lowest use on any drive as over 8000 hours, nearly a year, because they were in my PC which was on 24/7. I tested them with CrystalDiskInfo before passing them on to a friend and they all had zero errors! Strong evidence that a regular non-NAS drive will very likely suit any needs the OP has.

    Any PC, Mac, Android Box, Raspberry Pi, laptop can be turned into a NAS (Network Attached Storage, note no Server in the name) by installing the proper software and connecting a hard drive(s) to it allowing it to be a Network Attached Storage device.

    Also, the OP isn't building a server as he's not serving anything on or offline. As he's stated, he's building a HTPC which he'll use to play (not serve) his ripped DVDs though a media organizer, which doesn't have to have the streaming capability of Plex or MythTV which BTW is primarily a PVR and can be complied to work on Windows. No need to stream or even be online once his media organizer scrapes and he tweaks the movie info.

    I'll leave it up to you and hopefully someone else to give suggestions about building a PC as in the past few years I've either built a PC with top grade components or refurbed older machines because I only use it for watching movies and playing MAME games.
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    Please, please, please STOP just skimming the previous threads and posting about what you see at that moment!

    The OP NEEDS a PC because his Mac doesn't have an optical drive and he needs to re-rip his collection one and never more, and wants a single device solution to play his videos from that PC through his receiver through HDMI which is directly connected to his projector and TV.
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    babygdav, so sorry to say this to you, the OP and anyone else who may be reading this thread now or in the future, but if you continue to ignore the bigger picture painted on this thread, I'm leaving with the best wishes to the OP. Childish, yes, but I'm very quickly losing patience responding to someone who is borderline trolling and is possibly purposely muddying the waters and probably confusing the OP and others with your inaccurate, incomplete, unresearched answers on this thead.

    BTW, nothing will probably be done, but I'm reporting you for possible trolling.
    Last edited by lingyi; 7th Jan 2020 at 02:24. Reason: Sentence structure, nothing more.
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    Regulars who happen to read this. Yes, lingyi's having a hissy fit! *POUT!*

    At some level, though I'm not there yet, I'd rather respond to gamemanico, et al!
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  20. The fact the op doesn't have an optical drive on the Mac cam be taken care of by a simple $20 usb dvd player. No need for a new, $515 PC.

    Think about it.
    $20 dvd player for Mac to rip.
    $20 usb to sata adapter for Mac
    $200 dvdfab server
    $120 8tb hd

    .....................
    Only $360 and requires very little setup to get the nice dvd cover functionality, the easy setup and use (as shown in the YouTube review I linked), and plays all the media formats dvdfab outputs WITHOUT the unnecessary a. Purchase of multiple pc components b. Hours spent installing and configuring such components, then installing Windows 10, updates to win10, dvdfab, plex/mythtv/etc.

    ...
    Lingyi:
    You seem to be very controlling - saying things like he's 70 so he never will buy and rip another dvd as if you can read the future, or he's almost overwhelmed when he never said he was in any of his posts.

    He seems perfectly competent and sound minded as a capable, fully functioning adult who knows computers well (and can grasp new concepts quickly).

    A forum is a public place to present ideas and discussion and no individual has the complete picture and best answer on subjective matters such as what are best ways to achieve what is a "custom" solution to an individual problem.

    This is exactly like asking two architects for their opinion as to how to build the best home theater room. You'll always have differing opinions.

    You're also generalizing incorrectly individual performance of nas drives to overall reliability as the optimal choice.

    https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-q2-2019/
    Simply because a drive has a NAS label on it doesn't make it reliable! 2.85% annual failure on the 12TB seagate
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    Not controlling, at least as regards this thread, but irritated at you for not at least throughly reading at least ALL the OP's posts and saying I'm putting words in his mouth.

    Okay, you win! I'm out. Hope the OP does well with your suggestions!
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  22. Originally Posted by desertrider View Post
    Been configuring parts in PCParts and had a question. How do you know if the parts you select will fit properly in the selected case even though you get the "green" Compatibility bar at the top of the screen. I am up to $515. without monitor and the (2) 8 tbb HDDs.
    Without knowing the exact components, I'll show you an example of how any person would do it.

    Let's say I picked the small Shuttle XPC Cube SH370R6V2 as the case I'll build. $429
    First, look up the product page and find the specs.
    http://global.shuttle.com/products/productsSpec?productId=2377

    First, the cpu.
    It says Intel 8th generation cpu.
    There's different wattage models, so see how much maximum power is available. The specs say "300 watts".
    Luckily (unlike some other cases), it has a supported cpu list.
    http://global.shuttle.com/products/productsSupportList?productId=2377

    Which one? i3 through i9 cpu are broadly supported, and generally have Intel Quicksync accelerated playback and encoding (for format conversion, not ripping which depends on dvd player speed). Quicksync encodes are generally quick with very good video quality, so good to have in case you need it in the future (E.g. Convert your movies to play on your phone or tablet).

    Because quicksync is tens of times faster than cpu encoding, and unless you are a stickler for superb encoding quality, cpu speed and cores isn't so important. 4-6 cores, so a basic i3 or i5 is sufficient.

    Pickup whatever you feel - based on cheaper and fewer cores, or a little more and more cores.

    Let's say 6 cores to future proof a little.
    i5-9400 $200

    (You can go crazy here to find the best price to performance cpu for your needs and budget https://www.cpubenchmark.net/)

    This cpu has a graphics "card" built in as Intel Graphics, so no need for an independent gpu (which you won't need playing videos, only games, 3d editing software, etc. You also don't need independent gpu encoding because quicksync is far faster.)

    Now, drives.
    Specs say 1 5.25" drive.
    Any <$20 internal SATA dvd burner (liteon,lg, Sony, asus) will do fine.
    (So will any <$70 internal bluray burner if you want to enjoy specials, movies, etc only on bluray discs on the future, or want to burn 2k home videos to disc.)

    Two 2.5" drives, so any 3.5" (or 2.5") sata hdd or sdd will work.
    There are tests everywhere (E.g. https://www.anandtech.com/show/12075/best-consumer-hdds).

    Simply keep in mind.
    1. Brand and line do not mean reliable.
    https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-q2-2019/
    Actual hard data only will tell you which drives actually are more reliable or not.

    But a very rough way to tell is the warranty period.
    If one drive has a 1 year warranty and another has 5 years, there's likely better components, tolerances, etc making the 5 years drive more likely to last longer.

    Note - NO hdd maker warranties longer than 5 years!!
    Ie. Don't expect any hdd to last longer than 5 years without a problem, but lucky if you do run it for 10.
    (It's like car transmissions - 10 years or 100,000 miles is their design reliability target.)

    You can buy two and install internally to raid, or, buy one internal hdd and an external hd for backup storage kept in a separate location (vault). After all, raid does no good if a thief takes your media pc. Let's say you buy 1 8tb nas hdd for now $200.

    Memory, on the supported ram list.
    8gb is more than sufficient, so $35.

    Windows 10 $129 (can be cheaper when bought with the pc parts) or Linux free.

    And....that's it. $1013.

    ....

    Now, if you're wondering hey! It's the same price as a new PC, it basically is....

    Save money if you have the space to put a full pc tower in?
    E.g. Buy a good, refurbished i5 pc for under $100 off microcenter.com or Craigslist. (Dell towers work fine since they come with dvd, ram, cpu, Windows, as work pcs e.g.) drop in a hard drive or two. Total $200-300. (Pretty much the only components that fail are hdd, fans, power supply, and because you're adding your own hdd, that's much like a new one.)

    Or configure a brand-name tower on sale (E.g. Dell, lenovo.com etc). Just because you can build a car doesn't mean you want to go through all that.

    .......

    Back to simple.
    $20 dvd usb drive for Mac to rip
    $100+ any external usb hard drive, raid or not, to put movies on.
    $199 nvidia shield pro to hook hard drive to for playback
    https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/shield/
    Last edited by babygdav; 7th Jan 2020 at 03:45.
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  23. What happened: A lot of buzz going on here. Calm down everyone. Let me set the record straight. I want the credit for all my years, so I am 75 and I do not know computers very well or "grasp new concepts quickly". When I post and receive a reply there are times when I have to stop reading the reply and look up what was mentioned. It is not that it is overwhelming but more like a WOW what I don't know.

    As far as my collection is concerned I may rip additional movies as I need them.

    lingyi had some good suggestions in how to proceed that I like. PC case with (2) external 5.25 bays in which to put HDDs.

    I am here to learn from everyone and make the best choice for me money-wise and ease of use and construction if need be.

    Using the MAC is not an option as it sits behind the couch, which is in the middle of the living room and is used wirelessly. Anything that I use to store/send my collection (as previously posted) will be in another room and will be hardwired to the receiver.

    A refurbished unit might be something to consider and make changes to fit my needs. I was under the impression in the electronics industry that new was better because I did not know what could go wrong with an old computer that someone was selling.

    Here is a list from pcpartspicker that I am going thru. Remember I don't know WTF I am doing, just a lot of reading and youtubing (probably divorced after this).

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor

    ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard

    Kingston A400 240 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive

    Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case

    EVGA B3 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (not sure if I can use a smaller power supply)

    Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit

    Which ever way I proceed, the unit has to be quiet and not use a lot of power.
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  24. https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450M%20Pro4/index.asp
    This motherboard has 1 HDMI port - sufficient for a single source media server.

    ...

    Motherboard link for CPU support list.

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600 - supported! - 65Watt, Pinnacle Ridge

    Back to specs - Pinnacle Ridge processor requires RAM that meets specs:
    "AMD Ryzen series CPUs (Pinnacle Ridge) support DDR4 3200+(OC) / 2933(OC) / 2667 / 2400 / 2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory*"
    Look at the chart - the faster RAM need specific memory slot configuration.

    Because this is NOT a gaming/super-fast computer, go with the basic DDR4 2400 RAM for reliability, cooler operation, cost.
    https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450M%20Pro4/index.asp#MemoryPR

    Because this is only a MEDIA server PC, even a single stick of 8GB of RAM at $35 is more than sufficient for ripping, 4K playback, etc.
    (You can even do all this on a 2GB PC from years ago.)
    4 RAM slots, so if you wish to "future-proof" a little (maybe 8K blurays?) - 2 8GB RAM for $70~.

    ...

    SSD - Kingston
    https://www.newegg.com/kingston-a400-240gb/p/0D9-001B-001Z3?reviews=all
    Read the 1 egg reviews first - Freezes, breaks due to "Search up satafirm s11. It's a bug that can happen easily and it destroys the ssd. If your computer turns on too fast, satafirm. If you get the blue screen of death, satafirm. If you unplug your computer, you get satafirm."
    AVOID!!!!

    I'll save you the trouble of researching - SAMSUNG EVO 950 or better!
    Highest reliability, user reports, longevity.
    https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-plus-250gb/p/N82E16820147741?Item=N82E16820147741
    Also, on the ASUS SSD recommended parts list
    https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450M%20Pro4/index.asp#Storage

    ...

    Case
    https://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Design-Core-Computer-FD-CA-CORE-1000-USB3-BL/dp/B00CUSU...ustomerReviews
    It is a .... CASE! - ie. empty metal box.
    Reviews say nothing amazing or bad about it, and since it'll stay in one place forever, who cares.

    KEEP in mind the media rack/room mounting orientation!
    This is a VERTICAL tower, so you can't turn it on the side and expect discs to stay in the DVD tray in a HORIZONTAL mounting position!
    (A horizontal mount, like in a server rack, would need something like the Silverstone cases. eg https://www.newegg.com/black-silverstone-sst-gd08b-atx-media-center-htpc-case/p/N82E16...-196-_-Product)

    Depending on temperature of your home, mounting location, etc, you might want to add an additional rear fan to the case to keep the components inside cool (especially the hard drives).
    PC Components fail much faster under hotter temperatures, especially flash drives (SSD, SD, etc) and hard drives.

    ...

    The case photos show that there's one 5.25" slot in front for the optical drive.
    The description says there's one 3.5" mount under the optical drive, then 2 more 3.5" mounts along the side of the case.

    I assume you'll be installing a bluray/dvd burner in the 5.25" slot.
    SSD Under the 5.25". Then 1 or 2 hard drives along the side of the case internally.
    OK.

    ...

    If you need 3 5.25" drive bays (1 for burner, 2 for each 3.5" hard drive in ejectable slots), you 'll need a different case and/or motherboard.
    eg. https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811129207

    .....

    Power
    65 Watts - CPU 65 Watts.
    20 Watts - 2 HDDs ~<10 Watts each (https://pcper.com/2016/03/western-digital-red-8tb-full-review-consumer-helium-hard-disk/5/)
    5 Watts - 1 SSD ~1.5 watts each (https://www.anandtech.com/show/12670/the-samsung-970-evo-ssd-review/8)
    50 watts - 1 5.25 bluray burner (http://yss.la.coocan.jp/bdrs11j/bdrs11j_top.htm - do the math from the label. 12v x 2.2A + 5V x 1.4A)
    10 watts - 2 8GB ram (https://www.micron.com/-/media/client/global/documents/products/technical-note/dram/tn...alculation.pdf)
    15 watts - 3 fans
    -------------
    160 watts needed (or at 80% of maximum, a 200 Watt power supply)

    Because you're not running anything fancy here, you can easily drop in a 250-300 Watt power supply (which are common in many office desktops).
    Video encoding is the only aspect of your use which will take up the most power, but still remain within 160 watts total.
    Everything else will likely drop that CPU power use to about 10-15 watts, so you'll be under 100 watts most times playing videos.

    ...

    Windows home - fine.

    ...

    Quiet - depends mostly on the fans.
    https://www.quietpc.com/casefans
    You can swap out noisy fans for quieter, slower ones.

    You could use a Ryzen 2600e (45 watts) instead of a Ryzen 2600 (65 watts) - naturally, trading performance for temperature (fans run less).

    ............................................

    If you go pre-built, always lots of companies doing this.
    eg. https://www.steigerdynamics.com/htpc-products

    Generally, you're on the right track for a 2020 build
    http://www.epictechreview.com/2015/02/build-4k-htpc-part-three-processor-ssd-ram-optical-drive/
    Last edited by babygdav; 7th Jan 2020 at 14:51.
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  25. Thanks for the info. I thought the case I had selected had 2 external 5.25 bays because our thinking was to put 2 8tb HDDs there to make removing 1 of them after a back-up easier. This PC will not be in my A/V rack. Let me decipher all of this and get back. Thanks again.
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  26. Been checking with ElanG Home system tech guys and found out that if I want to control a Plex system with my remote, I would have to go thru a Roku box. To do so I have to get the Roku driver but the controller I have is not compatible so I would have to get a new controller ($1000.+). So I am going to take another look at the DVDFAB system which I could control with an IR emitter with my current HR2 remote.

    So I want this pc build to be as basic as possible. I have been looking at everyones input and revisited pcparts and not sure if I can get anymore basic. Here is an updated selection:

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600 65w ( did not see the AMD Ryzen 2600e 45w and not sure how much it would affect performance if just coping/watching movies as was suggested)

    ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard

    Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (not sure if this makes sense compared to a 250GB SanDisk solid-state drive).

    Antec VSK4000E U3 ATX Mid Tower Case

    Silverstone 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply

    As I want to copy my decrypted collection (900 DVDs no blurays) can I buy 3 external dvd drives (previously suggested by lyngyi) to make the process easier and do they have to be expensive drives.

    Ant help in proceeding is appreciated.
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  27. So I want this pc build to be as basic as possible. I have been looking at everyones input and revisited pcparts and not sure if I can get anymore basic. AMD Ryzen 5 2600 65w ( did not see the AMD Ryzen 2600e 45w and not sure how much it would affect performance if just coping/watching movies as was suggested)

    The only reason the 2600e 45w part was suggested was to lower the power consumption while retaining 6-cores.
    Lower power consumption can result in a cooler system, resulting in lower fan speeds and lower noise levels (which you had noted).

    Builds of a 100% silent system is possible, but depends on how quiet you want the system to be under what conditions.
    Generally, the CPU you have selected will run decently quiet most of the time, so unless you want to reduce the noise to the absolute minimum, you can generally pick the 2600 65w and not worry.

    OK ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard

    OK (not on tested list, but non overclocked RAM is generally universal) - Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

    OK Samsung 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (not sure if this makes sense compared to a 250GB SanDisk solid-state drive).
    Are you talking about brand name? Or form factor - M.2 vs 2.5"?
    Samsung lasts longest in longevity tests (read/write) in general, better than SanDisk. A few dozen dollars spent now means the drive will less likely fail later on.
    (https://techreport.com/review/27909/the-ssd-endurance-experiment-theyre-all-dead/ you can hunt down all the drive longevity benchmarks - a bunch out there. But this old one gives you a quick idea - even years old SSDs last a LONG time - many writes. Your use case won't come close, but there is no reason to suffer from a dead SSD because you went cheap.)
    M.2 is generally faster.

    OK Antec VSK4000E U3 ATX Mid Tower Case

    OK Silverstone 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply

    ....

    So, what graphics card are you going to get?
    Keep in mind that unlike most of the Intel CPUs that come with Integrated Graphics, Most AMD CPUs do not.
    You'll either have to drop in a graphics card (like a Nvidia 1050ti - only an example, buy depending on graphics power needed. A basic card that doesn't need a separate power cable is all you need for media serving),
    or buy a AMD CPU that has integrated graphics like the 2400G, 3400G, etc.

    ...

    As I want to copy my decrypted collection (900 DVDs no blurays) can I buy 3 external dvd drives (previously suggested by lyngyi) to make the process easier and do they have to be expensive drives.

    Depends on what you want to do with these drives and where you want to move them to later on.
    A minimum of an ejectable internal drive (if you don't want a separate power supply, cables, and drive hanging off the PC) or a usb external drive is needed to move things between the Mac and PC easily (rather than network transfer gigabytes of movies, which you could also do if the Mac and PC are networked).

    You want at least 2 copies of important data - I'm assuming here that you do not want to lose all 900 DVDs in case 1 hard drive fails.
    2 drives is what you need at the minimum. One to plug into the PC with all your movies. Another kept in storage with a copy of all your movies.

    The more drives the merrier (ie. less chance every drive will fail at once, get stolen, etc), and because you're NOT doing any intensive read/writes to the drive, pretty much the basic cheap external drives will do fine and run fine for a few years. (eg. Western Digital MyBook 8TB)

    (There's always sales going on - SlickDeals.net can help track them down if you want to save a few dollars, otherwise, just buy them from whatever site you order the PC from. eg. https://slickdeals.net/f/13508881-8tb-wd-elements-usb-3-0-external-desktop-hard-drive-...archBarV2Algo1)

    Hard drives typically run 2-5 years, then develop problems. Your mileage may vary (https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-q2-2019/).
    Some run longer, some die earlier.
    Just make sure you have multiple copies of your drive data.

    Rather than deal with copy to 3 drives, you can buy 1 external usb drive, and 1 external usb raid drive (it has 2 drives inside, automatically copies data to both). (https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/external-drives/wd-my-book-duo-usb-3-1-hdd#WD...BE0040JBK-NESN)

    Plug and use the 1 external usb drive to your PC for regular use.
    The 1 external RAID USB drive is what you backup your movies to for storage (you copy from the Mac to the RAID once, the RAID makes 2 copies automatically).
    Yes, you can buy 3 regular usb drives and you make 3 copies yourself, but that's a pain. Money in RAID reduces that time spent (but it doesn't matter which way you go because you'll still have 3 copies).

    ...

    How many drives beyond just 1?
    Normally, a total of 2-3 is sufficient. Anything beyond that requires a nuke to destroy them all in your lifetime. Just remember, if all the drives are in the house when a thief breaks in, they can all be stolen. You can store a drive elsewhere in your bank safe deposit, family member's home, etc.
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  28. [I]Are you talking about brand name? Or form factor - M.2 vs 2.5"?/I] Referring to form factor. Ok get the M.2. Pardon me for not knowing but what programs go on this SSD besides the operating system.

    Graphics card. I thought the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 had graphics integrated (too much reading and not reading enough). Would a graphics card be of any benefit if I am only watching movies from the HDD? If not then I assume that the cheaper way would be upgrade the processor.

    I have no movies on the MAC. I have to transfer all the DVDs to the new pc HDD. That was why I was asking if I had multiple optical drives , whether internal or external, DVDFAB would recognize all the drives and make copying faster. I would then give these away to someone that needs them.

    My intention is to copy everything to a 8 TB HDD and make an additional copy. That was why it was talked about having an external 5.25 swappable drive. I could then copy everything that was on the internal HDD to the HDD in the swappable bay. I could then remove it for safe storage. I am on the right track.

    I am getting ahead of myself here, but question: If I rip additional movies to the internal HDD and I put the spare drive back in the swappable bay, does the pc just copy the new information or does it have to do an entire new scan.

    I am probably missing something.
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  29. Oh, almost forgot. I don't go out much and if someone breaks in, I want to introduce him to my two brothers Smith and Wesson. They are always with me as we are a close family. Thats what nice about living in Nevada a gun friendly carrying state.
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