HP's 1.5TB MediaSmart Server ex487 (and its smaller 750GB sibling, the ex485) were just
announced hours ago, but that hasn't stopped a few lucky reviewers from putting their hands-on pictures and impressions online for the world to pore over. The biggest knocks that seemed to really grate the nerves of critics were that the single eSATA port was not port-multiplier aware, and despite the bump to 2GB of RAM, the TwonkyMedia and Remote Media Streaming software were still deemed "quirky and in need of some polish." Those gripes aside, the newfangled unit was pretty well adored. In fact,
WeGotServed flat-out called the device "stunning," praising HP for its tightly integrated applications that worked fairly well on top of Windows Home Server. For those eying a
simple-to-use media server, it looks like HP finally produced one that can be purchased sans regret; the real question, however, is will the outfit push these delectable new features down to existing
ex470 / ex475 owners?
Read - MediaSmartServer review
Read - WeGotServed review / hands-on
posted Dec 29th 2008 8:18AM
cool beans
woo hp
Servers eh? Will the excitement never end?
i still prefer a power computer and a NAS device...this kind of "MediaSmart Server" is not my style...
Maybe you did'nt get it: this IS a NAS, and if it costed about half of what it does I would head straight to my electronics pusher.
It may not be your style. But, the hardware requirements for WHS are pretty low. So, you can easily recycle some P4, I think P3 too, and off you go. I have mine setup in the attic. You really don't need to have anything plugged into it other the power and network cords.
Just as easy buying the software and building one out of old components that does quite nicely. I have a 2TB system built on an older ASUS mb that works great, streaming movies, music and serving files over the house, and over the internet (though capped by Time Warner at a slow upload rate).
The availability of so many software add-ons, hacks and programs make customizing a breeze. Once it is setup it is turn-on and forget simple. Just remember to dust :)
I built my WHS system with a Dell server. It works great. We have videos, pictures, and all our music made accessible to all our pc's and gaming consoles. It's sweet. It'd be hard to go one day without it.
This thing wil still be stuck on the FAILboat until Microsoft wises up and gives us a 64-bit OS on this thing. A server limited to 4Gb? Give me a break.
Why in the world would you need more than 4GB of memory on this unit? This is meant to be used as a backup, file and media server for home use. It is not intended to be used as a database server or internet server which are the only server applications that would need more than 4GB of RAM.
Seriously, if you want more power, go with Server 2008 on a custom rig. This thing is quite powerful enough stock for what it is intended. Especially the new models (I did upgrade my "old" 470 to 2GB). FWIW, these only have one DIMM, so 2GB is max anyway.
That said, I heard somewhere that the new version of WHS, when released, will be based on Server 2008 and will be 64-bit only. I'm assuming this is at least partially why both old and new MediaSmarts shipped with 64-bit capable procs since we'll all doubtless want to upgrade ASAP.
It's a NAS storage server for god sakes.. Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about..
Cool product...we have the last gen in our office for light file sharing. Found this on youtube...pretty funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4q98Pb4K8&feature=channel_page
"That's a lovely accent. New Jersey?" Dumb and Dumber.
THere is another detailed review at http://www.myhomeServer.com that mentions something about a free 5 year SSL cert? Why are there no other mentions of this in other reviews? anyone else have any other reviews they have seen?
It is only for HP's custom domain names. If you used one of Microsoft's names (e.g., homeserver.com), you always got a free cert. Not sure about the renewals, but mine is issued by GoDaddy and is a 5 year cert, as well. Pretty nice bonus, but I wish you could "bring your own" domain name and get the same free cert. Ah well.
I have the EX470 .. with 6TB added to it .. but what is different on these other then the bump in HD space ? (i added 2GB to my EX470 with the great guides online) .. Is the processor new ?
The two new versions have a bump in memory and a bump in processor. The memory and proc u can bump up urself. Older versions come with a AMD64 chip. These new versions are packing a Intel64 chip so the processing speeds might be comparable.
Basically i think theyv just updated the hardware to what it shouldve been from the start and lowered the power voltage. the MAIN changes are the software which is really what brings the whole system toghether.
I was about to pull the trigger on the ex740 but depending on what the new ex485 cost i might just buy the older version and upgrade it on the cheap. but thats only if HP allows software upgrades to match whats coming on the newer systems. Thats the deal breaker.
Yes Jon, the processor has been updated to an intel 2.0 Ghz Celeron and the RAM is not 2GB out of the box. HP redid all the Photo viewer and added the photo publisher and many other improvements such as a FREE 5 year SSL Comodo Cert for use with the TZO powered HP Personal domain when using remote access
We have a detailed review at our website http://www.MyHomeServer.com that explains all of this and has a large photo gallery of all the screenshots in the new interface, etc
WE LOVE THIS NEW HP SERVER, IT'S GREAT!
Any chance HP throws us a bone and updates the EX470 ?? they havent had a update since last summer
Spam much? You left the identical comment at EngadgetHD too.
what 2 shitty reviews....
any info on transfer speeds, noise, heat, power consumption
Did you get past the first page on the WeGotServed review?? Power consumption figures (average) are there. About 10w or so less than the 470 I think. Heat wise, it should be about the same (30C idle, 45+C stressed). Noise, I'd like to know that, as well. The main culprit on the 470 is the base 500GB drive. I hope the new 750GB drives are better. Fans are a somewhat loud (likely the same on the new one), but turning them off changes little because of the noise of the drive. Still, it is pretty quiet, just not silent. Transfer speeds? That's entirely situation dependent. Both have GB Ethernet. The Celeron probably bumps it up a little, but tweaking the frame sizes, etc. is likely to make the most difference.
yes i did but it just looks like a spec lists from the manufacturers aka advertising BS in a "review" disguise
Most likely HP will roll some of these updates into a Feb Update in early 09. Im guessing the SSL, Photo Viewer and publisher will all be updated.....crossing my fingers....I also have an EX475 that would benefit from some of these updates. The biggest improvement you can do yourself if you have a EX470 or EX475 - UPGRADE the RAM to 2GB - its an amazing improvement!
Tons of MediaSmart hacks and tutorials and a review of the new MediaSmart EX475 at our website http://www.MyHomeServer.com
we will post more info pertaining to upgrades of older mediasmart's as soon as we get it - we will be reporting from CES this year as well
I wish I could get a hands-on and full-blown review.
There are probably more but there are 3 "hands on" reviews that I know of, we had the server for over 2 weeks and we also have had tons of experience with the older EX470 and EX475 models. We used to host our wordpress blog on the Mediasmart until it just got too popular and was clogging our broadband connection
HandsON reviews:
WegotServed.Co.Uk at http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/2008/12/29/hands-on-hp-mediasmart-server-ex487-part-1/
MyHomeServer.com at http://www.MyHomeServer.com
MediaSmartServer.net at http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2008/12/28/review-hp-mediasmart-server-ex48/
We typically don't go into performance stats, etc, we specialize more on the howto and tweaking stuff, but if you are looking for a review that covers performance testing, etc, I'd see if Tim Higgins from SmallNetBuilder.com is going to review it, he typically does the in-depth technical reviews that include performance and read/write tests.
As far as I was told, the power supply is exactly the same and draws 30-40 watts at nominal use, check out the MediaSmartServer.net for the inside details, its a great forum
He said full-blown
Existing HP MediaSmart Server owners not left out, it seems:
http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/2008/12/29/mac-backup-support-coming-to-existing-hp-mediasmart-server-owners/