Mandatory [H] questions
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Pure storage of data. Some retrieval of said data over a high-speed connection (it's possible FiOS is going to be available). This machine will be run headless.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I didn't really start off with a budget, more a "list of things I want." That ended up costing a little more than $600 on the NewEgg wishlist below, including shipping (no tax). Purchasing in the USA from NewEgg.
3) Where do you live?
Will be in Boston, MA if this is purchased at all.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Reliable RAID5 and a nice-looking (not cheapo-$20) case.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor will be borrowed for setup, then disconnected. Everything else is new.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
See above about running headless.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next month (as of May 21, 2011).
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
PCI-E and dual-core Atom (unless there's something better for a low-power server). PCI-E is a must; I don't want PCI-based RAID cards.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 obtained through MSDNAA will be used. This offers me an opportunity to learn about Windows Server; I am not going to change from Windows to *nix or anything of the sort so please don't suggest it. The biggest change would be from WinServer to Win7Pro if anything.
NewEgg Wish List Here
For those who don't want to click a link the details are as follows.
CPU/Mobo/VGA: ASRock E350M1 AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, Dual-Core) AMD A50M Hudson M1 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
RAM: 4GB basic DDR3-1066
Case: Antec New Solution NSK2480 Black/Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W Power Supply
HDD: 3x Western Digital GP 2TB (already have one) in RAID5
RAID Card: HighPoint RocketRAID 2310 PCI Express x4 (x8 and x16 slot compatible) SATA II (3.0Gb/s) Controller Card
OS: WinServer 2008 R2 Datacenter (MSDNAA FTW)
The case only has 2 3.5" bays so I added a 5.25" to 3.5" converter. This is to be pure storage--if I need more space I'll get another converter, slap in another WD GP 2TB and use the online expansion utility. I have a laptop with Blu-ray if I want to watch BD; not going to use this machine for it.
What I'm looking for are ways to reduce, in this order of priority: cost-to-buy, cost-to-operate (read: electricity), heat, noise.
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Pure storage of data. Some retrieval of said data over a high-speed connection (it's possible FiOS is going to be available). This machine will be run headless.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I didn't really start off with a budget, more a "list of things I want." That ended up costing a little more than $600 on the NewEgg wishlist below, including shipping (no tax). Purchasing in the USA from NewEgg.
3) Where do you live?
Will be in Boston, MA if this is purchased at all.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Reliable RAID5 and a nice-looking (not cheapo-$20) case.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor will be borrowed for setup, then disconnected. Everything else is new.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
See above about running headless.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next month (as of May 21, 2011).
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
PCI-E and dual-core Atom (unless there's something better for a low-power server). PCI-E is a must; I don't want PCI-based RAID cards.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 obtained through MSDNAA will be used. This offers me an opportunity to learn about Windows Server; I am not going to change from Windows to *nix or anything of the sort so please don't suggest it. The biggest change would be from WinServer to Win7Pro if anything.
NewEgg Wish List Here
For those who don't want to click a link the details are as follows.
CPU/Mobo/VGA: ASRock E350M1 AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, Dual-Core) AMD A50M Hudson M1 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
RAM: 4GB basic DDR3-1066
Case: Antec New Solution NSK2480 Black/Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W Power Supply
HDD: 3x Western Digital GP 2TB (already have one) in RAID5
RAID Card: HighPoint RocketRAID 2310 PCI Express x4 (x8 and x16 slot compatible) SATA II (3.0Gb/s) Controller Card
OS: WinServer 2008 R2 Datacenter (MSDNAA FTW)
The case only has 2 3.5" bays so I added a 5.25" to 3.5" converter. This is to be pure storage--if I need more space I'll get another converter, slap in another WD GP 2TB and use the online expansion utility. I have a laptop with Blu-ray if I want to watch BD; not going to use this machine for it.
What I'm looking for are ways to reduce, in this order of priority: cost-to-buy, cost-to-operate (read: electricity), heat, noise.