- Joined
- Jan 29, 2012
- Messages
- 133
- Motherboard
- GA-Z77X-UP5-TH
- CPU
- Intel i7 3770K
- Graphics
- GTX 670 FTW
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Didn't really want to put this into buying advice, since at the moment I'm not set on what I want to do...
So my wife and I (who am I kidding, she's had nothing to do with it!) are renovating our downstairs room to serve as a second living room/man cave. Recently invested in an audio system (Denon X-2000 receiver, Polk TL-2 speakers, and a big ol' BIC 12" subwoofer!) to go with the 48" 3D TV, and now just need to finish a bit of structural stuff down there (hole in the ceiling and a crack in the wall, as well as route all the cables properly) and it's good to go.
I started thinking that I'd like to put together a CustoMac mini to work as a HTPC down there, but am now realizing that would probably be redundant - since the TV, Blu Ray player, AND receiver all have built in apps for the majority of things we'd use, like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. At which point I began to consider what it is I'd need, and came to the conclusion that all I really want is a basic box that can house my itunes library, which can be accessed from any of the other devices in the house. (My hackintosh in the office, two Macbook Pros... be nice if I could use my iphone or ipad to access it as well, which I assume I could do via airplay?)
So couple of questions, then...
I do have an old (and I mean OLD!) PC lying around - a Dell Optiplex 280 with a meagre P4 processor. Were I to slap a chunky hard drive in there (and I do have a WD 1.5TB black sitting here, as well as a couple of 500gb 2.5" drives that SSDs have replaced) would it be possible to use this old thing purely to house my itunes library?
If not, and a new machine is needed, do I snag an old Mac Mini from Craigslist (the Core2 models from 5-6 years ago seem to be going for $200 or so) to do the job?
Do I even NEED a computer? Given the fact that every machine in the house is a Mac (although this one is unofficial, mwahaha!) would an Apple Time Capsule do the job? Or does itunes need to be physically running on the machine where the music library is stored in order for other devices to access it?
Oooooooor, do I just say screw it, and go ahead and build a HTPC because I'm bored, and apparently like to drive my wife MENTAL by spending money I don't really need to?
Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions!
So my wife and I (who am I kidding, she's had nothing to do with it!) are renovating our downstairs room to serve as a second living room/man cave. Recently invested in an audio system (Denon X-2000 receiver, Polk TL-2 speakers, and a big ol' BIC 12" subwoofer!) to go with the 48" 3D TV, and now just need to finish a bit of structural stuff down there (hole in the ceiling and a crack in the wall, as well as route all the cables properly) and it's good to go.
I started thinking that I'd like to put together a CustoMac mini to work as a HTPC down there, but am now realizing that would probably be redundant - since the TV, Blu Ray player, AND receiver all have built in apps for the majority of things we'd use, like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. At which point I began to consider what it is I'd need, and came to the conclusion that all I really want is a basic box that can house my itunes library, which can be accessed from any of the other devices in the house. (My hackintosh in the office, two Macbook Pros... be nice if I could use my iphone or ipad to access it as well, which I assume I could do via airplay?)
So couple of questions, then...
I do have an old (and I mean OLD!) PC lying around - a Dell Optiplex 280 with a meagre P4 processor. Were I to slap a chunky hard drive in there (and I do have a WD 1.5TB black sitting here, as well as a couple of 500gb 2.5" drives that SSDs have replaced) would it be possible to use this old thing purely to house my itunes library?
If not, and a new machine is needed, do I snag an old Mac Mini from Craigslist (the Core2 models from 5-6 years ago seem to be going for $200 or so) to do the job?
Do I even NEED a computer? Given the fact that every machine in the house is a Mac (although this one is unofficial, mwahaha!) would an Apple Time Capsule do the job? Or does itunes need to be physically running on the machine where the music library is stored in order for other devices to access it?
Oooooooor, do I just say screw it, and go ahead and build a HTPC because I'm bored, and apparently like to drive my wife MENTAL by spending money I don't really need to?
Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions!
