RAID 5 it is! When it comes to spending time, I will decide on 2TB drives or 1TB drives. Being 14 doesn't help with getting money to build systems! I was thinking of using Ubuntu server as the distro, then run the web server (when needed) straight off it, along with Samba and MySQL. Then MineOS would run in a VM, connecting to the MySQL server on the host. Unless running MySQL straight off MineOS would yield better results? I would run it through the host loopback interface, not across the router then back along the bridged connection.
Anyone? Does MySQL run better off the same machine it is serving, or on the host machine so that other apps can access it? Linux distro? Also, I would like to run a login server or whatever they are called on it. But I have no idea where to start. I know that it is possible as the school runs one, where both Linux and Windows machines can connect with shared documents (on the file server).
Whilst I'm afraid I cant help with MySQL, I can help with the file sharing, what exactly is it you'd like to do?
So I really only need Samba, Apache and Virtualbox? That would give me a file server, web server, domain server, and a VM to run Minecraft on.
I was looking up tmpfs on Wikipedia just now - it is basically a RAM disk. When I run a Minecraft server, I want it to be run from RAM. I originally though of using virtualisation and MineOS, but maybe using a tmpfs system would reduce the virtualisation overhead? I could copy across the scripts in MineOS and everything as they are quite useful sometimes. Then again, using a VM would mean that if anything goes wrong, it is all contained. Any thoughts?
Anybody? Current build would be as follows: CPU: AMD Athlon X2 255 MB: Asus M4A78LT-M (need thoughts on this) RAM: Corsair XMS3 Classic 4GB 1333MHz 1.5V HDDs: 3x1TB Samsung F3s, unless any better suggestions? PSU: Corsair 500W Builder Series (CX500) Case: Fractal Define R3 Total cost: £410.00 (exactly ) Any points that are bad about this build? Should I switch to a low-end Sandy Bridge or something for upgrade potential? Is the mobo bad? And most importantly - are there better and quieter HDDs out there? EDIT: Scrap that total - it added 2 PSUs for some reason. Total = £365.15
Read reviews of the Antec Earthwatts Green 380W - you don't need a 500Watter in there. My server runs a 380W Seasonic - very nice and really quiet (it doubles as the CPU heatsink fan!) The Asus M4A78LT-M is basic but it should have a decent BIOS you can underclock with to save some power and it has 6 SATA to fully expand into. I've recently built a home server with the same Athlon at 2GHz with -0.8V lower vCore and it's running fine. If you can slow down the L3 cache and memory controller too you'll also save considerable power as that has fewer sleep states but respectively more transistors. Maybe consider a 30-40GB (or any super cheap) SSD to install the OS and programs on, then leave your 3x HDD purely for storage? I use a Kingston 30GB drive. It's ****, but it doesn't need performance. What cooler are you planning and how quiet do you want it?
-0.8V ? Are you sure ? Considering the standard voltage for these CPUs is ~1.3V, you then talk about 0.5V VCore.
Did you scale down the uncore at all? I can't on the J&W minix board I'm using: no freq change, no volt change otherwise it refuses to boot
It was a very long time ago (~1 year) on some MSI board, and all i did was change the voltage for CPU core. That was all what i did back then to lower the power consumption by ~20W.
I don't think I will go for an SSD - all the stuff which will be rapidly exchanging data will be on RAMDISK, which is faster than any SSD. The OS will probably be Ubuntu Server or Ubuntu Desktop (GUI is the only difference) with a VM running MineOS+ OR a tmpfs partition with the MineOS+ scripts. See my last 2 posts PSU - faugusztin, you said that I should go for a 500W PSU, but you haven't objected to Bindi's 380W suggestion? I might underclock the CPU - if only to increase stability - but I need the extra clock cycles for all the work it will be doing. I understand that RAID5 has some processing overhead and Minecraft can do with more power. Not to mention the domain server and web server. I saw a Corsair 430W Builder PSU for £35, which is less than the 380W Antec at £38. I guess they are both excellent PSUs, so why does one cost more for less? The Seasonic 380W costs £46, which confuses me even more. I want it to be as quiet as possible. It will be running 24/7, all year round mostly. The Gelid Tranquilo is the current recommended cooler in Custom PC ATM (I believe) and I remember it got praise for being quiet. HDDs - faugusztin you said that Samsung's vibrate a lot. Are there better alternatives out there? The same capacity would be nice. Is it possible to have multiple RAID arrays in the same system? As in - 2 RAID 5 systems with 3 HDDs each. Oh and rep to you Bindi, even though you don't need it Rep for fauhusztin also.
1) My only problem with Antec PSU is that it has 8cm fan design instead of the more common (and usually more silent) 12cm fan design. The price differences comes down to manufacturer pricing, 80Plus rating and few other details. I don't think you will make mistake by choosing any of them. The power usage of your system will be 150W max, so any of them will do 2) My favorites are Western Digitals as they are really silent, but you will need at least WD Blue for a RAID system, as WD Green are not suitable for RAID (they have a 8s sleep feature). 3) Yes, usually you can have multiple RAIDs. It depends on the controller itself, if you use software RAID then it is unlimited.
Would SATA III benefit me? In fact, a 1TB WD Caviar Blue SATA III drive costs £3 less than its SATA II counterpart.
Everything is backward compatible. With standard hard drives, SATA3 is nothing more than a stamp on the spec page, because mechanical hard drives aren't close even to SATA2 limits. So if that drive is cheaper, buy it.
As for compatibility, would it be better getting a SATA III motherboard as well? The MSI 880GMS-E35 catches my eye, and I think it is compatible with the Athlon X2. Just remember this build is at earliest the end of this year. So this processor and mobo might not be available then/wouldn't make any sense to buy them.
Come back at the end of the year then Most/all 8xx series boards will be out of the market by then I expect.
Two things have cropped up since the last time I posted here: 1. Will I need a cooler? Or will the stock AMD heatsink+fan suffice AND be quiet? 2. On Scan, a 1x4GB stick of Corsair DDR3 RAM is priced at £34.92. But there is a 2x4GB set of the same RAM that is priced at £70.56. I thought that buying in bulk reduces costs, not increases them. I noticed that the single stick is only on pre-order, but that is irrelevant in this case. Yup, Define R3s have a tendency to remove any pre-order limitations on components! Also, I 'upgraded' the motherboard a bit to a newer chipset. The Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H has the 880G chipset, as opposed to the 760G in the Asus. The current build will always be updated in the first post from now on.
