Server upgrade - would love some feedback.

D

Doward

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 3, 2004
Messages
1,541
My current server:
Fractal Node 304 (mini ITX)
Core i5-3570k
8GB of RAM
6TB 3x2TB raid 5 storage
32GB SSD for OS

Running Gentoo / KDE4, primarily file server / virtual OS host (Windows 7 guest - 4GB ram / CentOS - 2GB ram (GitLab) guest) / video transcoding system. Basically, this system is the 'heavy hitter' of the household.

I'm in need of a) more storage b) more processing power and c) more ram.

So I'm picking up a Tyan eATX dual G34 motherboard, 8x2GB of ram, and dual Opteron 6172s for $300. The board will support dual 16 core Piledrivers down the line (when pricing on those come down to somewhat affordable for me) but I feel like 24 cores of K10 will be enough for me for some time. Board also supports up to 128GB of DDR3 registered memory over 16 slots. Again, I can't see needing more than that for a looooong time.

Thinking of finally putting together a rack mount server system, use a SuperMicro CSE-822T-400LPB case (6x hot swappable 3.5" drives) and add another couple of 2TB drives. I think 16GB ram will hold me over, maybe around the holidays grab 4x8GB registered, and do another 4x8GB registered after the holidays?

It would also free my Node 304 to be less 'server' and more 'workstation', which appeals to me.

My goal is to have a running system for ~$700 ($300 for the board/proc/ram, $250 for the case, $100 for my rack build, $50 for misc cabling, etc), and upgrade first the storage (~$260 for a pair of WD black 2TB, bring my storage to 8TB usable vs 4TB now - just debating how comfortable I am spreading a RAID 5 array across 5 drives), then the ram to 32GB (another $300 or so), and sit tight until I can upgrade both procs under $600, if it's even worth it - still checking out benchmarks.

I also intend to stick with Linux as my host, VirtualBox for my guests. No particular reason, unless someone convinces me otherwise, it's just what I'm used to.

Anyway, comments? Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!
 
just an idea, if you want your best bang for the buck and don't mind an ugly server, not like a pretty mini itx, then on feebay, theres all sorts of blade servers or like 1u servers for around $70 with insane specs. like quad, quad core xeons or quad quad core opterons, 16gb ram,
 
The dual Opteron 6172s = 24 cores, and I can upgrade later to Piledriver based dual 16 core CPUS (32 cores total). I hadn't seen anything on ebay with anywhere near that kind of processing under $1000?
 
Thank you, but I'm not seeing that being the same or better than what I've already proposed. Am I missing something?
 
So I've got the board, ran, and processors. I've been looking into the Rosewill 4412 4U case, but I'm intending to liquid cool the case, so I wonder if the extra space will be wasted. I'm intending to build a 20u rack.
 
fixedmy7970 said:
just an idea, if you want your best bang for the buck and don't mind an ugly server, not like a pretty mini itx, then on feebay, theres all sorts of blade servers or like 1u servers for around $70 with insane specs. like quad, quad core xeons or quad quad core opterons, 16gb ram,
Click to expand...

A big problem with those is that they're often very noisy.
 
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