Build Advice Home NAS/Media Server without graphics card?

[Gurdeep14]

Hi all, I am planning on building a NAS but need a bit of advice.
The components I already have lined up from previous builds

Intel Core2Quad Q6600@ 3.6Ghz
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
ASUS Maximus Extreme X38
2GB OCZ3P18002GK DDR3 (2X1GB) @1.9V
Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache
Windows XP Professional 32Bit or Windows Vista Ultimate 64Bit

The NAS will run Windows XP Professional 32Bit or Windows Vista Ultimate 64Bit with Serviio to stream media to the PS3, XBOX 360, TV's, PC's, Mac, Laptops...etc etc

I need a PSU and Case and also a graphics cad.
I have a old ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB laying around (seems excessive), but seeing as it wont actually be connected to a monitor once set up, do I really need a graphics card? Will my motherboard allow me to boot up without one?
I will control the NAS via Remote Desktop should I need to.

UPDATE
Ok, got a case on the way now Xigmatek Asgard
also got a Corsair PSU on the way Corsair TX650M V2

Also, here are the cases I am interested in (in preference order)
Gigabyte GZ-X7
Asus TA-D31
AEROCOOL iCURVE+

Which would you recommend? I quite like the look of the Gigabyte GZ-X7

Also, the PSU's
530W be quiet! Pure Power L8 80PLUS Bronze Modular Power Supply
or a
Corsair Modular PSU 500Watt upwards?

What would you recommend?

Any other suggestions or ideas welcome

[GeorgeStorm]

While the idea is sound, I'd say the HW isn't great for the purpose, waaaay overpowered and very high power consumption if you plan to leave it on just for streaming...

[Gurdeep14]

Well, I currently have a NAS setup using a Fujitsu Siemens Scenic C610 which was initially purchased to be a basic NAS, before I knew about media streaming and transcoding. I have the Celeron version at 2.6Ghz and it just cant cope at transcoding HD content. I upgraded the RAM to 2GB, didn't help.
I tried the low powered option, didnt work. Now my usual idea of bigger is better is starting to make sense lol

This new NAS is overpowered, but I will probably run it at stock 2.4Ghz and maybe even underclock it and use power saving features in Windows.

[Andy Mc]

Why not run FreeNAS on your C610? And why the need to transcode your media?

[Gurdeep14]

I already tried FreeNAS on the C610, it was a pain to set up and manage.
At the moment I have the C610 using Windows XP with Serviio and Utorrent.
I have set Serviio to update the folders every 5 minutes for new content.
I have a Utorrent client on my phone which enables me to start, monitor and delete torrents remotely on the NAS.
Once torrents are downloaded on to the NAS, they are automatically sent to a folder monitored by Serviio and within 5 minutes of it downloading I am able to stream new TV series' to my internet enabled TV.
It was really easy to set up this system and it is very efficient.
I even found a Serviio app for my phone which lets me force re-fresh more often if required amongst other things

The need to transcode comes back to my TV. It only supports mp4 and a few other formats, transcoding on Serviio enables it to play any format instantly, as Serviio automatically finds the suitable profile for my TV and encodes content in the relevant format instantly and autonomously.

[Gurdeep14]

Ok, got a case on the way now Xigmatek Asgard
also got a Corsair PSU on the way Corsair TX650M V2

Any ideas on if I can boot up with no graphics card once the server is set up?

[Mark_Skeldon]

I do a similar thing at home. I run it as a file server with ~8TB of RAID5 storage. It's just a A64 3200 in an DFi NF4 based board with 2GB RAM. Runs happy without a graphics card, only used one to set up the OS with.

It's showing it's age a little when doing the HD transcoding, but for standard res stuff it's fine

[Gurdeep14]

Ok, a little update.
Got the NAS together, the Xigmatek Asgard is quite a good case considering the price, but in places it definitely shows its a "Value Case" in places. Like when you plug in a USB pen drive into the front of the case, it pushes the case into the front intake fan, also how taking out the front drive covers means they are non-replaceable (have to break them to get them out) and also how flimsy and thin the metal is. But overall, for under £30 including P&P, not bad.
It came with an 120mm intake fan, I also added a 120mm exhaust fan and a 120mm side intake fan (thanks to BitTech for the research.

Also got the Corsair TX650M V2, for £60 including P&P off ebay, only used for a few weeks, guy said it was to noisy for him, doesn't bother me :P

Using a old IDE DVD drive (Hate IDE Cables, but it was laying around) a Maxtor 6V250F0 250GB Sata Hard drive for the main OS (also laying around). But it does seem to be rather noisy, not sure if its dying, sounds strange, none of my other hard drives have ever made the noises this thing makes.
Just installed Windows Vista Ultimate 64Bit (laying around before upgrading to Windows 7)
Also temporarily using a ATI X1650Pro just to get everything going, going to remove it after as it is unnecessary and very noisy (also laying around)
Yeah, I recycle loads lol
Currently letting it update itself etc before I install the actual storage drive.

I will post pics in a bit
Quite proud of it, considering its just a server

One last thing, any ideas on how I should set up the power saving on the NAS? What should I clock the Q6600 too? (currently at 3.6Ghz) what power saving modes do I need to enable in BIOS and in Windows Vista.

[Gurdeep14]

Here are a few pics
The side panel pic shows the fan and also a really fine fibred material I super-glued on as a make shift dust filter, crude, but it works