Server Building - advice on parts

[Richie]

90% convinced myself just to flex my plastic and build the server I have been talking about for a while. Before I go to ordering any parts, I thought I'd post them here and get some ideas

So -

Case - Antec Sonata
MB - Asus A7V600
CPU - Athlon XP2200+
Memory - 512/1GB of PC3200 - need help on getting some good but CHEAP stuff e.g. twinmos or something
Graphics - GF4 MX440 of some kinds

HDD's - I have them already --> 2 * 120gig Maxtor DiamondMax 9 8MB IDE and a 200gig of the same type but SATA

DVD - I have this already from my old system. Only really used to install things.


The server is going to be used for file serving and download machine straight off. It will serve movies to another 2PC's, one of which will then output it thru its own TV-Out to the TV in the living room (if that makes sense).

It may then be used later as an FTP server and email server but thats just for my own messing around and testing

Server will run either Win2K Server or Win2K3 Server.



Have I missed owt or (more importantly) will there be any probs that ppl see ??

[Big RICHARD]

SCSI RAID array? Duallie Xeon?

[Richie]

Decided against dual CPU as I reckon its not needed.

SCSI - expense and I already have all the HDD's I need for a bit.

[Lemming]

Wouldnt bother with PC3200, save your dosh and get generic PC2700 from forums. Performance is not a big issue and I suspect your XP2200 wont clock far enough to get a decent 1:1 ratio going on the ram which you would need to make the most of it. 512 is more than adaquate for your needs I suspect.

If you must spend more get another hdd , or a raid controller if the board doesnt support it for the two diamondmax drives

[BlackSheep]

Originally Posted by Richie

Decided against dual CPU as I reckon its not needed.

SCSI - expense and I already have all the HDD's I need for a bit.

very good choice in case - I've been running one in my own system for over 6 month's now and it's excellent build quality, very quiet PSU and decent temps (although I did add an additional 120mm pabst to the front fitting supplied) - all HDD's are dampered by rubber fittings (very neat) which cuts down on vibration noise considerably.

As regards the processor - I would go for something a bit quicker - just because the price difference is minimal for a 2500xp (barton).

I would also opt for an Nforce2 mobo - just because the extra performance is free, so you might as well have it - and I know from experience that they are very very stable boards, as I too use one for a file server 24/7 - the Abit NF7 (without Soundstorm for approx. £50 inc).

Graphics - I would opt for ATI at the cheap range, just because 2d quality is generally far better than the lower end Nvidia cards (not so for the premium Nvidia cards) and seeing as you are just going to be using it for serving, then something like an ATI Rage Pro 32Mb or similar (or low end Radeon) will serve you well.

RAM - something like Twinmos - 2 * 512MB PC3200 will be fine - or consider Crucial/Samsung mid-range DIMMs

One further thing to mention is the heatsink - get something half decent for peace of mind - if it's running cool (even when you are not overclocking) then it will be ultra-stable - I'd recommend Aero 7+

[Richie]

Cheers ppl

I'll have a look at the XP2500 Barton and also the PC2700 memory in a min.... I was thinking of the Zalman copper and alu flower cooler. I have the 7000 series in my main rig and its great so Zalman is fine by me

[Howard]

As I understand it, the ultimate goal for servers is quietness/near-silence.
I'm running a 700MHz Athlon in mine, with the little fan 7Volted so that's silent-running. I also chose the quietest PSU I could find in my box of old crap, so all you can just about hear when the room is silent, is the soft whir of the two hard drives.

Do you really need all the power of Nforce2, Xp2500+, etc when you're not running very processor-intensive applications?

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Richie

Cheers ppl

I'll have a look at the XP2500 Barton and also the PC2700 memory in a min.... I was thinking of the Zalman copper and alu flower cooler. I have the 7000 series in my main rig and its great so Zalman is fine by me

some bits here matey, would cover most of what u want...

[Richie]

Ok, spec has changed to the following by the looks of it -

Case - Antec Sonata
MB - Asus A7V600
CPU - Athlon XP2500+ Barton (cheers BS)
Memory - 512 of PC2700 Twinmos means it will run in sync with CPU FSB @ 333 (cheers Lemms)
Graphics - GF4 MX440 of some kinds

The graphics are staying but I forgot to explain why so apologies - I have a MX440 already with a TV-Out that doesnt seem to work so I will stick this in the server as the VGA works fine and buy a new card for the downstairs PC with a TV Out.

Looking at this - http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=51649

The PC is not really used for high end gaming but a good card would be nice.... No idea bout ATi cards so no idea if its better or worse than the current MX440 (help ?? )


Thanks again

[Richie]

Originally Posted by Howard

As I understand it, the ultimate goal for servers is quietness/near-silence.
I'm running a 700MHz Athlon in mine, with the little fan 7Volted so that's silent-running. I also chose the quietest PSU I could find in my box of old crap, so all you can just about hear when the room is silent, is the soft whir of the two hard drives.

Do you really need all the power of Nforce2, Xp2500+, etc when you're not running very processor-intensive applications?

Yup, you're right. I want it to be as quiet as poss WITHOUT things like water cooling etc. The reason for the powerful bits is for futureproofing and it means it can also be used as a backup system if any of the others go tits up.

As for the MB. I cant seem to find the NF7 for that price . TBH I just need a good MB that has built in SATA and built in GIG LAN.

[BlackSheep]

Originally Posted by Richie

Cheers ppl

I'll have a look at the XP2500 Barton and also the PC2700 memory in a min.... I was thinking of the Zalman copper and alu flower cooler. I have the 7000 series in my main rig and its great so Zalman is fine by me

very nice choice for the heatsink, m8, they are very quiet and allow significant cooling especially if you are not overclocking.

[blockers]

If you want a board with a Gig LAN then go for an ASUS Deluxe (forget the model number - someone will tell you) Its nforce2, with a 10/100 and a 100/1000 LAN ports. So it could serve as a gateway too.

I would go for pc3200 because of the future proofing, specially if you are now going for a Barton. On aria.co.uk they have Kingmax (256mb) for the same price pc3200/pc2700/pc2100. but the best bargin would be on komplett.co.uk who have 257mb pc3200 twinmoss w/ Winbond for 25-27ish pounds (exc PP)

It is pretty pointless getting a GF4 MX, as they are really very bad indeed. If you were to buy a new card i would recommend gf4 ti4200 from forums, as they can be had for 50ish, and will clock far.

The choice of cooler seems a good one, i would've suggested that if you hadnt already .

What case are you looking at getting?

Will

[brammers]

Hullo.

I don't claim to be an expert, but if you're having a server you won't be gaming at all I guess?

In that case I'd humbly reccomend Matrox for the graphics, I remember swapping my Matrox card for my Geforce2 and thinking "UGH" when I saw the desktop. I put up with it because it was so much faster in gaming, but I was always very proud of my lil matrox card and I know they have a good reputation for 2dstuff. (to clarify, it all seems so much "fuzzier" nowdays, the matrox drew much nicer, sharper edges to text")

If you've got any spare HDDs kicking around after that could I make an offer? :E I'm still only running 2x10gbs :E

[Richie]

I am still not decided on the memory and agree that, if the price is the same, then go for the fastest but the graphics card is staying.

I already HAVE the MX440 in my downstairs machine (folks use it). The problem is that the TV OUT port seems knackered as the tv-out lead wont fit at all (beleive me I spent an hour trying) and I want to be able to run movies from that PC to the TV I have in the same room as I already have all the cabling to do this SO the card I buy will replace the MX440 in the downstairs machine for TV OUT and the MX440 will go in the server.


MB - The Asus deluxe is wayyy expensive when you copmare it to the A7V600 i.e. its over double the price and the A7V600 has what I need for a SERVER i.e. GIG LAN and SATA built in. Also, I dont need a gateway machine as I have a D-Link DSL-504 ADSL router with built in 4 port switch, firewall, NAT etc etc etc.


I know I said it would server as a backup machine should one of the others fail but thats all its gonna be. I dont really wanna have an expensive server which will never be used to its fullest whereas a slightly cheaper one will do as its going to effectively be just a plain old "dumb" box. As long as it plays CS then I'm happy LOL


Thanks for the thoughts tho ppl, much appreciated


So far I have bought the case and the CPU cooler..... CPU, MB, Mem and Graphics to get and thats it... I havent bought them yet as I am not 100% decided

[Richie]

Originally Posted by brammers

If you've got any spare HDDs kicking around after that could I make an offer? :E I'm still only running 2x10gbs :E

Sorry Brammer, I use them all for stuff. Me lil case will feel so empty without the extra 3HDD's in it LOL (520gig spread over 80, 120, 120 and 200)

[Swafe]

opteron anyone ?