I have recently build an home made Home Theater Server, it’s like the fusion between an HTPC and a NAS. This because I wanted a good multimedia center attached to my TV and also a little home server to backup my home PCs and my Web Hosts.

Thus the main technical needs were:

• consume very little power
• be compact (since it will stay next to my TV)
• store lots of data
• be able to play HD movies
• Gigabit LAN support
• not too exensive

Finally I opted for Asus board with integrated Intel CPU.

Asus AT3IONT-I

It is small (17.1×17.1cm), consumes very little power, has 4 xSATA 3 Gb/s ports (support RAID 0, 1, AHCI mode), has HDMI port, is fanless and actually quite cheap.

I also did buy the following:

RAM: 2 x Kingston 2Gb 1066Mhz Ddr3 Non-Ecc Cl7 Sodimm
HDD: 2 x Western Digital WD10EARS Caviar Green HardDisk (will be used in RAID 1)
PSU: 500W Power Supply (with 4 x SATA power cables)
FAN: Fractal Design SILENT SERIES 140MM
REMOTE: A cheap one from eBay, but you may also consider and advanced Logitech one

I did not buy the DELUXE model because:

• I do not need wifi
• I can buy a remote for 5$ on eBay
• A brick power supply will not be enough for 2+ HDD
• It is more expensive!

Assembling is pretty straightforward since there are very few components, but the fun part will be in building the case ->
Home made Home Theater Server (HTS) – Part II
Installing the basic apps ->
Home made Home Theater Server (HTS) – Part III