Currently I'm running Windows 2000 Server on an old P3 1GHz @ 650MHz... (motherboard doesnt fully support more than that) 256Mb RAM ATI Riva GFX 8MB 2 x NetGear 10/100 LAN cards IDE 80Gb DATA IDE 10Gb BOOT Its pants... The motherboard is about as old as my gran, and its her 80th birthday this weekend! So I need something a bit 'newer' and able to run Windows Server 2003, 1x10/100/1000 LAN card & 1x10/100 LAN card... bout the same, or double, the storage... BUT on a Budget! Was thinking of an AMD Sempron (3000+ or 2800+) with 1Gb KingMax RAM (cheap yes, but will work) some MB with enough PCI Slots for an extra NIC if needed... On a Budget too... Mainly its just going to be a DC, and also connected to a Router... Scheme of Network... Tinterweb --> DSL Router/Proxy (Win2k Machine) --> DC (via 10/100 Card) --> To Main Network (via 10/100/1000 Card) That way the DC is seperated from the Internet via the Router/Proxy with firewall, and also gives me options within the DC to enable/disable internet access as needed for users, and also monitor what sites there accessing via a Web Filtering software.
Hi PaulW, Don't you in the UK have some kind of "find best prizes" shopping site? We do in Denmark. So when I want to find anything budget or not, I always start there. But it is absolutely great for budget PC's Currency conversion dkr10 ~£1 also in the UK you should be able to find 10% lower prizes, as our sales tax is 25% here in DK. List of Socket 754 CPUs and Socket 754 MBDs <£100 <£50, and finaly Some 512Mb RAM <£50 <£30 Cheapest parts: 2x 512RAM dkr. 2x 257 + CPU Semp2600+ dkr. 562 + MDB dkr. 375 = dkr 1.451 Shipping 57 + 65 + 45 = 167 Total cost: 1.618 from three suppliers, or you could just get the parts from one supplier and end up with slightly better MBD (ASUS rather than ASrock) and Semp2800+ CPU at a total cost of 1.692,- ~ £170 Showcase view, shopping cart View (No! I am not associated with this supplier, it's just the one I always end up using anyway) These parts should be just fine for a server - only the MBD is mini-atx, with only 2x PCI slots. Good luck with your hunting for good prizes.
Sempron for a server?......mmmmmmmm Not what they are desighned for. Like using a Van as a Bus. Can do the job but not got the durability and pace. Get a decent chip with alot of cache
I wouldnt say that. Not for what he needs anyway, it's not like it's gonna be hammered for IO commands like an SQL server or something.
I was looking at gettin a few Durons to be fair, plenty for what I need & pretty good stable chips! Like Bindibadgi said, its not going to be IO intensive (only 8 users) & the only SQL calls will be for the web Filtering services...
Are you looking for a quiet solution and cool solution, or just something thats uber cheap? I would suggest one of the slower barton cored athlon xp's as they run nice and cool, and can very often be undervolted whilst remaining totally stable, either that or a sempron based on the 90nm manufacturing process as these are A64s knocked doen to 32-bit processing and as stock should run at something like 1.4 or 1.5V. Going for something that you can undervolt and if necessary underclock slightly will reduce the power your server will draw, and as i guess it will be on 24/7 could make quite a difference to your electricity bills. On a similar vein, getting a mobo with built in video would help reduce power useage, as would getting a single hard drive, rather than two.
tbh we ran a DSL/firewall/DCHP server on a 1gig duron with 128mb ram via 2k3 server for a few months. Ran stable cool and quiet. "Upgraded" to a 1600 duron with 384mb too add a cs:s server again that was fine. Doesnt need to be anything powerful, just grab some cheap bits and fling them together. Get a reasonable mobo though, to give you a chance of getting some uptime,,,
Personally I'd look around on ebay or where ever for an old server that some company is getting rid of, built for the job, and you should be able to find something with PCIX slots, maybe scsi etc.
I agree with highland3r. An Abit NF7-S, a cheap AthlonXP or Sempron and about 512m - 1g of cheap ram would do fine. You current harddrives sound good enough aswell. Otherwise the socket 754 route would be handy as theres support for 64-bit and its cheap as chips because of socket 939. Cheap 754 mobo, 2800+/3000+ A64, cheap ram and a decent power supply would get you on track with your existing harddrives
Well, I have had a look at the cheapest new stuff that I could find. MBD dkr. 257,- ASRock K7S41GX RAM dkr. 257,- Elixir 1 x 512 MB CPU dkr. 350,- Sempron 2200+ All dkr. 864,- ~ £90 I have actually setup a little handfull of computers with this motherboard over the past year. Just make sure to get the GX model, as the non-GX BIOS only handles 137Gb HDs The Duron 1.6 is only abt. £3 less than the Sempron, so I think its not worth going for a new Duron. Now, ebay and used hardware is an entirely different matter, there basically get whatever you can lay your hands on - if the price is right. Seems to me though, that you cheapest option might be getting a different MBD that fits the 1Ghz processor. Decisions, decisions....
