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u can get old server with dual cpu and 2gb of ram for around 100 mark on fleabay ! get one of them save ** money
amx said:Unfortunately, I don't have any cupboards under the stairs, I will be hiding it away in a draw which i've run a power cable into , should keep it reasonably silent.
.SJ said:Talk about overkill.
You could get a 2nd hand Pentium II system for about a tenner. Add a SATA or ATA100 controller card, a couple of hard drives and you'd be set.
And a screen for a download box? Are you mad? You could use an ssh terminal under linux, or VNC/remote desktop/pc anywhere/whatever under windows. Or just buy a KVM switch.
PII's can be passively cooled, get a couple of silent drives for the HD's, get a small psu that is quiet and you'll be set, put it in a decent acoustically lined case and you wont be able to hear it atall.
My download box used to be a PII 450, 250W PSU, 256MB RAM, 40G HD, 8MB Gfx Card and a 10/100 NIC all running under FreeBSD.
£600 is Mini ITX or Mac Mini material if you want something discrete. :/