Kimball Larsen wrote:
I spec'd out a few things on Newegg - would love any feedback anyone can
offer:
Case:
ASUS V3-M2NC61P AMD Socket AM2+ / AM2 NVIDIA MCP61P 2-Tone Barebone
CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000 Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor
Model ADO5000DOBOX
Hard Drives: (2x)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard
Drive
Memory:
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual
Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5
Total Cost:
$373.96 (aka el-cheapo)
I started out with a home server like that, but minor hardware errors
occurred every week or so and sometimes it froze up. I decided I needed
a new server with ECC RAM, but I also needed to keep the power
consumption low so the server wouldn't be noisy.
At first I planned to build an Intel system since Intel CPUs supposedly
consume less power, but then I learned that FBDIMMs (which I would need
for an Intel server) draw way too much power. So I built an AMD server box.
So here is approximately what I built.
Case:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
- Has a nice filter that reduces dust intake.
Power supply:
ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT 500W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80
PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC
- Produces very clean power and has enough 12V connectors for a server
motherboard.
Motherboard:
TYAN S2912G2NR Dual 1207(F) NVIDIA nForce Professional 3600 Extended ATX
Server Motherboard
- Plenty of slots for expansion.
CPU:
AMD Opteron 2212 Santa Rosa 2.0GHz Socket F 95W Dual-Core Server Processor
- I actually got a 1210 HE, which is cheaper and consumes less power,
but it's no longer available.
RAM:
Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) ECC
Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit Server Memory Model CT2KIT25672AA667
- I actually got 8 GB so I could run lots of virtual servers using
linux-vserver.
Hard drives (2):
Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AACS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard
Drive (bare drive) - OEM
- These "green" drives consume less power than similar drives, which
means less heat, so they should last longer.
Total with shipping: $620.57
Mine consumes 80 watts (measured at the outlet) under normal load, which
is good enough. My target was 50 watts, but that's hard to achieve with
a server CPU.
Note that the motherboard is surprisingly inexpensive at $60. The power
supply and CPU are the biggest differences from Kimball's list. I stand
by the Enermax: its output has very little noise. I couldn't find any
less expensive socket F processor.
I should also mention that when I bought the new server, the old server
became a fine desktop machine for my sister, so nothing went to waste.
I think desktop software seems to cope better with hardware bugs than
server software does.
Shane
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