• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

My First Server Build

A

aznguile972

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
88
This will be my first server build ever. I will be using this mainly as a file server w/in my home network, but want enough power to add in additional things such as gaming and communications server, virtualization, website hosting, etc. I have been doing research for several months now and think it's time to get opinions from some of the experts here on the hardware. (Will save the software questions for another time and thread. :D)

CASE: Will be using a 4U rackmount case I bought off of CL for $20. =)
CPU: Intel Socket 1155 (Either E3-1230V2 or E3-1245V2) @ $40 price difference, I'm still undecided on which. Do I need onboard video?!? I went with E3-V2 series because of pricing - imo best bang for buck.
MoBo: Need help on deciding which one. So many options, so many features...not sure what I want/need. I do want these options, if possible: 32GB memory support w/ECC option, remote BIOS option through network so I don't have to hook up monitor etc to server. I looked at some of the ASUS options, but read many bad reviews. I looked at SuperMicro boards and the model numbers throw me off as to what features I'm getting for the price differences. Not sure how I feel about TYAN boards.
RAM: 16GB ECC memory (8GB X 2). Will end up buying whatever is cheap and compatible w/mobo. Will eventually get 32GB, but 16GB should be plenty for now.
HDD: 1 - 256GB SSD (most likely Samsung 830 or Intel 530) as OS drive and 3 to 5 - 2/3TB HDD for storage. Will end up buying whatever deal I come across over the next month or so.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
virtualization, remote desktop, gaming and communication server, file sharing and backups w/in network.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
<$1000
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
DFW, TX
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.
CPU, MB, RAM, HDD, and PSU
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
4U rackmount case
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Prefer to not use a monitor for server. But, I currently am using a 27" 2560x1440 IPS on my desktop PC.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Nov/Dec
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
virtualization, remote interface,
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows Server 2012 - Standard
 
aznguile972 said:
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Nov/Dec
Click to expand...
If you want specific hardware advice, I recommend asking for that when you're 2-3 weeks away from buying the hardware. December is a tad too far away for planning a build IMO due to differeing availability and pricing. If you can buy in November, let us know and we can start with specific hardware recommendations. Until then, I'm going with general advice here:
aznguile972 said:
CASE: Will be using a 4U rackmount case I bought off of CL for $20. =)
Click to expand...
What case?
aznguile972 said:
CPU: Intel Socket 1155 (Either E3-1230V2 or E3-1245V2) @ $40 price difference, I'm still undecided on which. Do I need onboard video?!? I went with E3-V2 series because of pricing - imo best bang for buck.
Click to expand...
So far so good start on using actual server grade hardware. Now as for what CPU to get, thats actually dependent on what motherboard you're getting. Some of the Supermicro server mobos already have integrated onboard video. So you don't need a CPU with integrated video for those motherboards. Now that leads me to my next point..
aznguile972 said:
MoBo: Need help on deciding which one. So many options, so many features...not sure what I want/need. I do want these options, if possible: 32GB memory support w/ECC option, remote BIOS option through network so I don't have to hook up monitor etc to server. I looked at some of the ASUS options, but read many bad reviews. I looked at SuperMicro boards and the model numbers throw me off as to what features I'm getting for the price differences. Not sure how I feel about TYAN boards.
Click to expand...
Simply put, stick with Supermicro. They may have issues with Customer support but their quality and feature set is generally pretty good. If you check the numerous file server threads and posts in the SSD and Data Storage subforums where they're using server grade hardware, a lot of them are using Supermicro mobos. Yes the model numbers are confusing but just compare on features set and you'll easily see the difference.

aznguile972 said:
(Will save the software questions for another time and thread. :D)
Click to expand...
That's gonna be the PITA. Especially once you try to figure out a storage setup (i.e what type of RAID, what storage software (FlexRAID, SnapRAID, etc), layout). Have fun with that ;)
 
+1 for Supermicro, they are used a lot in the distributed computing forums where people fold on them 24/7.
 
Danny Bui said:
If you want specific hardware advice, I recommend asking for that when you're 2-3 weeks away from buying the hardware. December is a tad too far away for planning a build IMO due to differeing availability and pricing. If you can buy in November, let us know and we can start with specific hardware recommendations. Until then, I'm going with general advice here:
Click to expand...
I have the funds to buy now. Just waiting on good prices/sales before buying.

What case?
Click to expand...
It's a non-name brand case. 4U case with 2 internal 2.5 HDD and 3 external 5.25 drive bays. I plan on buying a 4-5 hotswap HDD cage to replace the 3-5.25 ext drives.
 
aznguile972 said:
It's a non-name brand case. 4U case with 2 internal 2.5 HDD and 3 external 5.25 drive bays. I plan on buying a 4-5 hotswap HDD cage to replace the 3-5.25 ext drives.
Click to expand...

So wait, that case can't fit any 3.5" drives without the aid of a hot-swap bay?

Here's a prelim build for ya:
$245 - Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 CPU
$200 - Supermicro MBD-X9SCM-F-O Intel C204 mATX Motherboard
$148 - 2 x Kingston 8GB KVR13E9/8I ECC Unbuffered RAM
$220 - Samsung 830 Series 256GB SSD
$70 - SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520W Modular PSU
-----
Total: $883 plus tax and shipping.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top