Looking for server parts

A

AirPower4ever

Limp Gawd
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Dec 20, 2009
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I had another thread about an SSD, but grew in to needing a server so I am starting a new thread.

I have a friend thinking about getting a new server. I have no background in this, I was just trying to help him out with fixing other issues which seemed to have work.

Currently he has a server running Windows XP and has a loaded program made by ChiroTouch. Here is a link to their server requirements;

http://www.chirotouch.com/ChiroTouch-System-Requirements.pdf

What I would like to do is point him to what parts to buy; mainly

mobo
CPU
amount of memory
video card (to run two monitors, 19" ones. If I recall they are 1280 x 1024 and he already has the two monitors)
O/S - Here I am thinking Windows 7 or should we stick with what ChiroTouch recommends?

His office has 3-4 laptops which connect to the server through a router via Gb LAN to the server. But all the laptops are never running or accessing data at the same time.

Working with him we can get him a nice case, lots of fans. Power supply like around 500-650W, drive will be an SSD, but I am lost with the above parts. What would guys recommend for the parts?

I am totally lost on server parts. Any help would be great.
 
You might want to look into a SLC drive if there're a lot of transactions going on the server, or the SSD with the longest warranty. You can get a SuperSSpeed S301 for $250.

Alternatively, you can look into my Solidata X7 in the BST which I'll have to let go of with some money lost, which is also rugged so it doesn't get affected by external factors such as heat or extreme usage. It's 60GB though.
 
Thanks johnnydoe. I know this request I made is a very wide, but if any help can be sent it would be greatly appreciated. As far as I know, the activity in his business is very low. His wife does the transactions that I have seen when I have been there. Here is what I have seen

Mike - he does consulting. I asked how much he uses his system and he said he only uses it to pull up the clients information. So in a day that is like (he said) 10% of the time. The other 90% is consulting or actually doing the chiropractic part.

Mary - she has a laptop at her station which is hooked up to a touch screen. Clients come in and sign in through that touch screen. The laptop sends this information to the server. She on the other hand works off the server. She is doing the billing, pulling up past billing, updating client addresses, may pull up charts like history of meds given, etc. She seems to be the only user in my mind that does the most activity. I have yet to see pics, it looks like more like client data that is stored; addresses, phone numbers, number of visits, what ailments stuff along those lines.

3 other laptop stations are in the business, but not in use. If Mike needs to go to a specialty room then he might use that laptop to pull up files on the client. These files are mostly PDF's. He has no x-rays pics, it appears to be mostly just notes about the patient. What was done during the last visit, any holistic medicine that was given, etc.

I thought for the future Mike should have anatomical pictures to show his clients what he is doing, but that's down the road. For now, that's it. He has no other staff. So he has more computer work stations than employees so in my mind there is not a whole lot of activity other than what Mary does at the server.

anyone with the other parts like mobo, cpu, etc.? Or is using the following okay to use;

mobo - AsRock H77M
CPU - Core I5 2500k
Memory - G.Skill 16GB (2 x 8GB)
O/S - Windows 7 Home

Will these parts be okay for a server? I know it's pretty general, but this is all I have to go with to try to help him out.
 
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The requirements for this system appear to be pretty low, and the workload to be placed on it are fairly minimal. My own recommendation would be to use workstation class hardware (in between desktop and full server-class components) for this system, and latest generation would not be necessary so you might want to go with some NOS parts.

i am currently running, and am happy with / recommend:
- Supermicro H8SMi-2 (revision 2) (ebay item # 230896182415 for example)
- am2 or early am3 processor (ebay 320946810698 or something like an AD620EHDK42GM)
- 8GB NON-registered UN-buffered ECC DDR2-800 RAM (check the supported memory list from the mobo manufacturer, kingston and crucial both make good examples)
- Windows 7 Professional (or server 2008, or Microsoft SBS if you can afford them)

Many heated discussions of the merits of ECC have occurred here, i am not trying to stir up any of that but am personally of the mind that the additional cost is worth the peace of mind for systems which will be running all the time.

Additionally, i recommend that you do NOT allow a user to use this server as a day-to-day workstation.
 
Dalfo002 said:
The requirements for this system appear to be pretty low, and the workload to be placed on it are fairly minimal. My own recommendation would be to use workstation class hardware (in between desktop and full server-class components) for this system, and latest generation would not be necessary so you might want to go with some NOS parts.

i am currently running, and am happy with / recommend:
- Supermicro H8SMi-2 (revision 2) (ebay item # 230896182415 for example)
- am2 or early am3 processor (ebay 320946810698 or something like an AD620EHDK42GM)
- 8GB NON-registered UN-buffered ECC DDR2-800 RAM (check the supported memory list from the mobo manufacturer, kingston and crucial both make good examples)
- Windows 7 Professional (or server 2008, or Microsoft SBS if you can afford them)

Many heated discussions of the merits of ECC have occurred here, i am not trying to stir up any of that but am personally of the mind that the additional cost is worth the peace of mind for systems which will be running all the time.

Additionally, i recommend that you do NOT allow a user to use this server as a day-to-day workstation.
Click to expand...

Why not simplify things by buying a used server, older generation, off eBay?
 
Since a server works more and longer than a desktop, I'd suggest an SSD with a long warranty.

OWC offers a 7 year warranty on some of their drives, which is the longest warranty to come on an SSD yet.
 
I won't argue with what x509 said, that would definitely be your easiest and maybe even most cost-effective solution. Good call there, I was sort of blinded by what I was working on at the time.
 
AirPower4ever - I moved your thread to General[H]ardware where you should get more visibility and hopefully more suggestions. Good luck with the build..!!
 
First it's appear you don't need a real server class computer .
do what x509 said and bay for used server or buy a good quality part for cheap ,cut the cost and put few bucks in a backup solution .
 
Considering that this is for a business, I wouldn't really go with used hardware for this situation. If shit hits the fan, you're on the hook for it.

I would go to Dell and pick up this server:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=ussoho1&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=sesw5t2&s=soho

It is a tad pricey but that's mainly due to the Server OS that it uses. From what I can tell, you probably should be using Window Server rather than the regular Windows desktop OSes.

In any case, the above is a pretty damn good deal for a prebuilt server considering that if you start from the cheapest Dell server and upgrade it to match the above deal, you'd easily hit $1800+. So the above deal is a steal at $1250 as is.
 
Thank you everyone, this is a big help. Will look in to all this and let him know his options and the why's.
 
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