Good Cheap Server - HP Proliant Microserver 4 BAY - OWNERS THREAD

Amleto · 7 Apr 2015 at 13:27

nutcase_1uk said:
No, but we would to Mandarin speakers.

My Chinese wife doesn't know what you're on about. :shrug:

I emailed the place where I bought the microserver from and hp about getting the better cashback (I ordered on 25 march.)

This was the response from the retailer:

Unfortunately we can’t amend any invoices and unfortunately HP don’t give us any notice of new cash backs until the first day of the month.

If you want to return this it would have to be unopened and you would have to return it to us at your own cost and we wouldn’t credit the delivery charge from the original order, then you would have to reorder and the new price and pay delivery again.

that doesn't seem legal but I'm not up with new CCR since it took over from DSR

MagicBoy · 7 Apr 2015 at 13:54

As I understand it :
A retailer can make a deduction if the value of the goods has been reduced as a result of the customer handling the goods more than necessary - i.e. they're opened/used.

The delivery charge bit sounds a bit suspect. You are entitled to get refunded for the basic shipping cost. Any extra cost for optional next day delivery wouldn't be refunded. Return shipping arrangements are according to the retailers T&Cs unless it's the goods are faulty in which case they pick up the tab.

nutcase · 7 Apr 2015 at 13:58

Amleto said:
My Chinese wife doesn't know what you're on about. :shrug:

That's a shame - there are multiple sites stating it (no I didn't check Wikipedia!) - just shows you can't believe everything on the net

Infidelus · 7 Apr 2015 at 18:26

Amleto said:
My Chinese wife doesn't know what you're on about. :shrug:

I emailed the place where I bought the microserver from and hp about getting the better cashback (I ordered on 25 march.)

This was the response from the retailer:

that doesn't seem legal but I'm not up with new CCR since it took over from DSR

From what I've seen, that seems to be standard practice.

For example, I returned an item to the rainforest place because the person I bought it for simply didn't want it. There was nothing wrong with the item and it hadn't been opened.

Because of this, my refund was short by the cost of delivery (which they stated it would be on their returns page). I can't remember 100% if I had to pay for the return on that item or whether I used a Collect+ store, but I have a vague recollection that I did pay for the return.

[Edit]

Just been nosing around t'internet and it appears the consumer rights laws have recently been updated:

Your right to a refund You should get a refund within 14 days of either the trader getting the goods back, or you providing evidence of having returned the goods (for example, a proof of postage receipt from the post office), whichever is the sooner.

A deduction can be made if the value of the goods has been reduced as a result of you handling the goods more than was necessary.

The extent to which a customer can handle the goods is the same as it would be if you were assessing them in a shop.

Refunding the cost of delivery The trader has to refund the basic delivery cost of getting the goods to you in the first place, so if you opted for enhanced service eg guaranteed next day, it only has to refund the basic cost.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations

DIABLO · 7 Apr 2015 at 21:17

Amleto said:
My Chinese wife doesn't know what you're on about. :shrug:

I emailed the place where I bought the microserver from and hp about getting the better cashback (I ordered on 25 march.)

This was the response from the retailer:

that doesn't seem legal but I'm not up with new CCR since it took over from DSR

After Googling it seem Jiba is abbreviated as G8 in text/instant message chat in China.

Blinkz · 8 Apr 2015 at 13:03

Someone mentioned there are limitations with the Gen8 being used as a HTPC, mainly due to issues with the PCIe cards. Can someone elaborate on this?

Can you put a GPU into a Gen8 so it can be used as a HTPC? Also how much ram would be needed to keep everything nice and smooth?

Thanks!

Frozennova · 8 Apr 2015 at 13:11

Blinkz said:
Someone mentioned there are limitations with the Gen8 being used as a HTPC, mainly due to issues with the PCIe cards. Can someone elaborate on this?

Can you put a GPU into a Gen8 so it can be used as a HTPC? Also how much ram would be needed to keep everything nice and smooth?

Thanks!

You'll need a card with a low profile bracket,and 4GB should be plenty of RAM for a HTPC

Amleto · 8 Apr 2015 at 15:10

Blinkz said:
Someone mentioned there are limitations with the Gen8 being used as a HTPC, mainly due to issues with the PCIe cards. Can someone elaborate on this?

Can you put a GPU into a Gen8 so it can be used as a HTPC? Also how much ram would be needed to keep everything nice and smooth?

Thanks!

People have had fan issues when putting cards in the expansion slot - ilo can't read temperature data so fans set to 'loud' - too noisy for htpc next to tv. In those cases that I've read about, it has been people using the slot for a sata controller/raid controller iirc.

Blinkz · 8 Apr 2015 at 15:41

Amleto said:
People have had fan issues when putting cards in the expansion slot - ilo can't read temperature data so fans set to 'loud' - too noisy for htpc next to tv. In those cases that I've read about, it has been people using the slot for a sata controller/raid controller iirc.

Is the only when using ilo? I don't plan to use it, can ilo just be switched off? Also is there no way to change the fan speed manually?

Amleto · 8 Apr 2015 at 17:05

I might be mixing up ilo and the b120i raid controller. basically the only way ilo gets the temp data from drives is through the b120i controller, or if you have hp disk drives with the ilo drivers included.

Use ahci instead of raid controller => high fan speed
connect extra disk drive through sata controller in slot => b120i not used => high fan speed.

You can't adjust the fan speeds in bios or anything like that - you're stuck with the speeds controlled via ilo readings. Think I saw someone writing about using a variable resistor to alter fan speeds that way...

Timber · 9 Apr 2015 at 06:55

Blinkz said:
Someone mentioned there are limitations with the Gen8 being used as a HTPC, mainly due to issues with the PCIe cards. Can someone elaborate on this?

Can you put a GPU into a Gen8 so it can be used as a HTPC? Also how much ram would be needed to keep everything nice and smooth?

Thanks!

I haven't put a GPU in my G8, but use a SATA card so that I can boot from the SSD in the ODD bay. However I do run my G8 in ACHI mode with Ubuntu Server rather than using the build in RAID.

With the latest firmware and drivers the fan situation is not as bad as it was. I see fan speeds of 7-13% and it usually hovers at 8/9%. If I reboot the machine the fans go as high as 60% and are loud. Whereas if I simply log into the BIOS the fans are at 6%.

As a server the noise is acceptable but I couldn't use as an HTPC and would look elsewhere. It makes a low frequency 'growl' noise when on which is too loud as a media player. I bought mine at the end of last year and posting some of my thoughts then in this thread.

Also worth looking on the Home Server Show forums for other opinions.

Mp4 · 9 Apr 2015 at 19:43

Received mine today but still waiting for HDDs

Just want to tinker with it all now

very impressed with the build quality

div0 · 9 Apr 2015 at 19:56

Same

crinkleshoes · 10 Apr 2015 at 16:01

My 2 are unboxed and sitting next to the desk... also waiting on hard drives... although I have a spare 50GB SSD to test them with, at least... will get that done after work

quackers · 10 Apr 2015 at 17:43

Hi all, I'm thinking this could be a great shout to replace my aging esxi home mess about environment.

how much is it to up the ram to 16gb?

what are peoples experiences of the dual core celeron processor handles ESXI and vm's? If i go for this, i would want to be running win8/2008r2/server 2012 etc.

crinkleshoes · 10 Apr 2015 at 17:57

I've seen reports of people running a dev environment on the celeron... 2-3x windows servers + various linux clients.

It can be done and shared... it all depends on how much load each device will be experiencing simultaneously... as you know it doesn't take much to run at idle or with things just like active directory node / fileserver etc.

How much load does your current system see and what spec is it?

Yes... 16GB ram max... 2x 8GB modules

quackers · 10 Apr 2015 at 18:15

current system is a load of cobbled together bits and pieces, 8gb and an old quad q6600 type chip, to be honest I'm not sure on the load on the system, I'll have to turn everything on and have a look.

It'll only be active directory/dns/dhcp/network monitoring, perhaps migrating from 2008 to 2012 that type of thing, nothing too hardcore.

the main problem with the old system is that's only got 8gb and it's that old, I don't seem to be able to find any sticks other than 2gb, so thats why I'm thinking it's time for an upgrade.

crinkleshoes · 10 Apr 2015 at 18:30

Well... if your Q6600 isn't heavily loaded, then I think the Celeron will do quite well for itself for your usage scenario as it sounds quite light.

quackers · 10 Apr 2015 at 18:45

thanks for the advice, daft question but it is a specific brand of ram that you can use? I think i read somewhere that it's Kingston, but I can't be sure.

Quartz · 10 Apr 2015 at 19:04

quackers said:
Hi all, I'm thinking this could be a great shout to replace my aging esxi home mess about environment.

how much is it to up the ram to 16gb?

You'll have to look on other websites but it wasn't extortionate. Remember that you need ECC RAM.

what are peoples experiences of the dual core celeron processor handles ESXI and vm's? If i go for this, i would want to be running win8/2008r2/server 2012 etc.

If you find the Celeron insufficient you can upgrade to a Xeon E3 1265L v2. Note that only this one will do - all the others have higher TDPs. The E3 1220L v2 has only 2 cores so is not an upgrade.