Low power multi use home server options

[hotnuts21]

I'm looking at getting a low power home server, the atom type processor based small form/shuttle systems dont seem to offer enough for what I want do to.

I have identified the AMD Athlon II X2 240e energy efficient processor as a good value proc, and so I have been looking at getting a system based around this. However I am not 100% sure I want to build one myself, so if its cheaper im quite happy to buy a ready assembled box based around this chip, although if I can get all the bits from one place in a kit type form and its cheaper I could be tempted to build the system myself.

My uses for the home server will be
to run Ubuntu so I can learn linux
to run Alfresco cms to control all my documents and photos and learn alfresco
to possibly run a UPNP/DNLA server as my TV has DLNA capability
to run as a basic home media server
to run as a web server (the web server is just to allow access to Alfresco, and my testing web dev work)

Realisticly the system will only have a few users accessing it at any one time.

Im thinking of going for 2gb ram, not bothered about case, 2 HD's with Raid, 350w 80 plus low power PSU, not sure about Motherboard.

Can anyone recommend a good place to buy a 'ready made' system with this proc, or a similar one. OR a suggested motherboard, memory setup, which would fill my needs of being A, Low power but still functional, B fairly cheap, im looking at doing this on as slim budget as possible and might be persuaded to build it myself if I can find a good tut and it works out cheaper than buying it ready made.

Any thoughts, suggestions greatly appreciated.
Paul

[kmac]

Have a look at this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168130 -HP ML110 G5 For £185 you couldn't build it cheaper - Not AMD though = low power Intel E2160. You will need additional HDDs but could run linux form the one provided

[hotnuts21]

Thanks for the link kmac, I will have a further look at the system.

Does anyone know just how low power these systems are? Do they use low power PSU etc?

They look like a great range of entry level servers.

[arthurleung]

Those ML110 will use about 60W just based on the specs. There are not many ways you can get below that using desktop components, and you'll have to go mobile / atom.

Depends on what you're serving as a media server, a bog standard netbook / nettop will handle anything DVD-quality fine (for realtime transcoding, no limit on streaming). A laptop will give you more processing power but cost more.

Harddrives as long as you're not looking for like 6+ HDDs, using external USB hdd is enough for pretty much everything.

[smargh]

I have an AMD Opteron-based version of the ML110, the ML115 G5, with [the maximum] 8GB memory, regular 3.5" SATA HDD, CD-ROM drive, an old sound card, and because the drivers for the onboard graphics are crap (understandable for a server) a fanless ATI 4350 video card - the cheapest fanless I could see at CCL.

All figures are based on a 240v mains supply.

Powered off, it uses about 7 watts. This is probably because it needs some power to be able to run the LightsOut module, but I don't actually have one.

Sitting idle in Windows Server 2008 R2, the meter reads 100 watts, occasionally jumping to 102. Running prime95 torture test, with all four cores at 100%, reads 199 watts.

If the video & sound cards are removed, it uses 82 watts at idle in 2008 R2. The Windows 7 figures are exactly the same as 2008 R2, and Windows XP uses 90 watts.

Perhaps someone who has an ML110 can give exact figures, but I presume it will be fairly similar.

I used to have a basic Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H board with an Intel E5200 and a standard 80+ PSU (it came with the Antec NSK-2480 case), which my sister now has, and it used a consistent 50 watts at idle. You can make your own DIY systems a bit more power-conscious than prebuilt server-type systems, but choosing the right components to be able to run ESXi can be awkward - you might need to get a gigabit NIC to be able to use it.