As well as my home server project here I am building a small form factor dedicated games server for LANs. I was going to buy the Shuttle SK41G this month, but I'd prefer to wait until next payday. I have the following bits and pieces for it already. IBM 7200RPM Deskstar 40Gb on special for £45 from KustomPCs 256Mb OCZ PC2700 DDR will suffice I'm going to use this old Duron 800 to get it up and running so I can install everything on the HDD. Will be getting an XP1800+ for it at some point 2 Antec Tri-Light 80mm fans and black anodized grills.
Hmmm.. more pics, I'm bored. Sorry about the LED brightness, I'm only using a 7.5 AC/DC adapter to power the fans. Without flash. I need a tripod With flash
Are you sure its a good idea to use an IBM Deskstar (Deathstar!) for a LAN server given their somewhat shaky reliability record? I have seen quite a few people on these forums saying they have had problems with these, and I have had one die on me myself! Is it the 60GXP model?
Hmmm... no, but I didn't think they were that bad... I have a maxtor 5400RPM 60Gb drive that's supposed to be for a PC for someone else... I could always swap them
Well my personal tally is: 1x 30gig IBM 75GXP Deathstar - Dropped dead - now a paperweight. 1x 40gig IBM 60GXP Deathstar - Had problems powering up, then trashed its own install of WinXP! So I am a little wary of IBM's! Currently at home I have 2x 60gb Maxtors running in RAID0 - and they have been running smoothly for nearly a year now. Maybe you could post in the hardware forum - ask how many people have had an IBM snuff it on them - get an idea of how bad they are
Maybe I'll just take the 60Gb Maxtor I've been tempted to nab for a while It's brand new, only 5400RPM but it's not like I'm doing large data transfers it's only as a games server not a fileserver.
I think its the same drive as I have in my 2nd PC - Maxtor 60gig 5400rpm, and that can stream films, rip dvd's, and my main pc can burn cd's from files stored on that one so i would say it is plenty fast enough - unless you are planning to run a gigbit LAN at home...
Here is the hard drive I have opted for now. It's larger. Space isn't really an issue, but it's Maxtor! Brand new Maxtor 5400RPM 60Gb
at least you decided against the IBM... my mate's had 3 each time made in a different country all of them spent a nice return back to eBuyer... it's one way to keep your system fast... change hard drives every week...
Heh, well the IBM was a warrenty replacement which is why it was on special. There were 8 in total, so I guess it doesn't say much for the Deskstars... oh well
I also have one in my main machine. I'ts been going for about 2 years now with absolutely no problems whatsoever .... touch wood
I've got a 40gig 75GXP and I've been capturing and encoding video on it for 2 years. No problems as of yet but watch it die as soon as I turn it on tonight!
I also am against IBM, but i have to say the drives of theres i have work fine :/. i have a 15GB which i have had for about 3 years or more, this is my nix and is on 24/7, i have a 40GB which i hve had for about 2 years this works great and an 80GB which is just as good both these are in my main machine. so although IBM suxx mine seem to be ok ( /me cross's fingers tight and waits for his machine to die )
I prefer Western Digital or Maxtor but we're getting a little off-topic... I'm gonna draw up plans for the windows etc using a cardboard box Piccies soon
Wow, that looks pretty good. Nice planning you are doing. One question, are those 2 80mm fans gonna fit in there? Seems like it may be a really tight fit. Looking good though.
They should do... if not, I'll move them [edit] Heh, all I can do is plan. I don't have the shuttle yet and payday is 3 weeks away I could go and buy one, but then I'd be skint... plus I don't actually need it finished until February.
