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Build for Virtualization Testing - Advice needed

P

Penz

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Messages
84
Hello everyone. I am looking at a budget build to install Windows Hyper-V on and running at least 2 Virtual sessions on top of it. I am looking at currently running...
1 - Server 08, maybe 2.
1 - Windows 7

Down the road I may also load up Exchange 07 and SQL 05.
As far as my budget, I would like to stay under $600 if possible


UPDATED Build

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Quad-Core Processor

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Some have expressed the need for more memory. I would really like 8GB, but not sure yet if I am going to order it.

2 - WD Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB I decieded to change from 3 - 160GBs to 2 of the faster WD blacks in favor of better performance. I will probably order a 3rd drive down the road just so I can do some messing around with RAID 5.

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W

Total: $532 before shipping cost.


Thanks for all of your suggestions.
 
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Given that you are only planning on having 3 drives in the array, I would recommend NOT going with RAID-5. The ICH10R can do it, but it's host-based RAID. The CPU is doing all of the parity calculations, when it should be managing the VM environment. Additionally, I would not recommend that you put more than 2 VMs on each physical disk. If you intend to run 2 VMs, then I would say use 1 drive for the host OS installation, and 1 drive per each guest VM, to relieve disk contention in the environment.

The 3870 is completely unnecessaryunless you plan on using the machine as a workstation, in addition to the virtualization duties? I think you can get away with 4GB of RAM, but it depends on the type of testing and usage that you have in mind. I would personally consider going to 6 or 8GB of RAM. The CPU should be adequate for the task, but be aware that it may start to show signs of constraint if running more than 2 or 3 guest VMs, in addition to the host OS.

I would personally make the following recommendations:

1.) keep CPU, unless you need 3D acceleration in the guest VMs, or plan to run more than 3 at a time
2.) add another 2 or 4GB of RAM
3.) make the boot drive smaller and faster, like a 74GB raptor that's used
4.) run at most 2 VMs per spindle
5.) Consider dropping the 3D accelerator video card, and using the $ elsewhere
6.) the drive size used for the guest VMs should be a function of what you intend to do inside of the VMs. large unused drives are a waste of $, and considering that you're on a budget, maybe looking for cheap used 80GB drives would be a cost savings
 
sabregen said:
Given that you are only planning on having 3 drives in the array, I would recommend NOT going with RAID-5. The ICH10R can do it, but it's host-based RAID. The CPU is doing all of the parity calculations, when it should be managing the VM environment. Additionally, I would not recommend that you put more than 2 VMs on each physical disk. If you intend to run 2 VMs, then I would say use 1 drive for the host OS installation, and 1 drive per each guest VM, to relieve disk contention in the environment.

The 3870 is completely unnecessaryunless you plan on using the machine as a workstation, in addition to the virtualization duties? I think you can get away with 4GB of RAM, but it depends on the type of testing and usage that you have in mind. I would personally consider going to 6 or 8GB of RAM. The CPU should be adequate for the task, but be aware that it may start to show signs of constraint if running more than 2 or 3 guest VMs, in addition to the host OS.

I would personally make the following recommendations:

1.) keep CPU, unless you need 3D acceleration in the guest VMs, or plan to run more than 3 at a time
2.) add another 2 or 4GB of RAM
3.) make the boot drive smaller and faster, like a 74GB raptor that's used
4.) run at most 2 VMs per spindle
5.) Consider dropping the 3D accelerator video card, and using the $ elsewhere
6.) the drive size used for the guest VMs should be a function of what you intend to do inside of the VMs. large unused drives are a waste of $, and considering that you're on a budget, maybe looking for cheap used 80GB drives would be a cost savings
Click to expand...

Due to recommendations from you and some other people, I have changed the build around. As you can see, I changed quite a few items.

I will more then likely order some more RAM, just don't know how much yet.
Do you think with the 2 faster WD Black drives running in a RAID 0 will be sufficient for handling anywhere from 2-4 VMs?

You also got me thinking about the 74GB raptor. I do have one in my current rig, but when I build the new VM system, I will be reconfiguring my current rig. It does not need the 74GB raptor and so I could move it to the VM machine as the boot drive. I would be fine with leaving my current rig with only a 120GB drive.
 
putting the WD blacks into an R0 would be great,and would likely perform better than two individual drives, overall. The reason for this is two fold:

1.) It is possible that you will not be running 4 VMs all the time. In these situations, having an additional spindle to carry the load will be of benefit.

2.) Your CPU won't be doing any parity calcs on the RAID-0.

However, remember that if you have a drive failure, you will lose all of your data.

The rest of it looks good, and great choice on the 790 based board, with onboard, etc. That will shave th cost some. As for the RAM issue, it kind of depends on two things: how many VMs will ever be running simultaneously, and how much RAM do you intend to give them? Then it comes down to basic multiplication, erring on the side of the higher levels os usage.

You could save yourself additional cost by going to a 780G board that uses DDR2, and is AM2+ with a BIOS update for AM3 support. This would allow you to keep the preferred CPU, but save on the cost of the RAM.

Oh, and good thinking on the reconfig, and re-use of the Raptor.
 
Do note that you can save $15 if you buy the mobo and CPU from this combo link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.265474

The WD Blacks, IMO, are not that good for the money considering that there are slightly faster 500GB hard drives out there for less or bigger hard drives for the same price:
$55 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB 7200RPm SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (Single platter design)
$70 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$75 - Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Any of those hard drives would be a better buy the WD 500GB Black

If you go with the Seagate 500GB and the combo deal above, that'll free up $75 which means that you can get another set of 4GB of RAM.
 
OP, did you end up getting the components listed in post # 1? I am curious because I too am looking for a machine that will perform to the same general requirements of Server 08 with 3 (maybe 4) VMs using Hyper-V.

Would the Phenom be a better choice? Its only slightly more expensive.

I would change the amount of RAM to 8gb, and get a small OS hdd, and get two 250gb hdds to put in RAID 0.
 
First thing I thought when I saw the title of this thread was "max out whatever mobo you're getting with RAM" so the suggestion just above for 8GB of RAM is a damned good one; get as much as you can reasonably afford and if at all possible max the board out. You'll come to appreciate it later on with vastly improved performance overall and be glad you did.

More than any other variable save for the CPU with VT-x support, I'd say RAM is the hardware item you dare not skimp on, seriously. The hard drives can be most anything, really, but CPU and most especially that RAM is where the performance will be altered the most.
 
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