Kit list required for Win2008 Svr Build (Multicore)

HDPete

HDPete

HDPete

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Joined
9 Apr 2008
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27
Location
Hampshire / Dorset BH24
Hi all!

It’s been years since I built a PC / Server and I fear that I’m rather out of touch with what's what these days. I am looking to build a complete kit of parts for a suitable specification for a Windows Server (2008) Server machine.

I am wanting to build a demo / lab server so that I can make good use of my Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (loads of good stuff to play with and sell on to my customers!).

It will be running Windows Server 2008 with Hypervisor just above the BIOS level. It will then have multiple OS’s running as virtual machines, so a Quad Core and quite a bit of fast RAM are probably required. I notice from the Mircosoft web site that HyperV requires hardware support at the processor level.

It will probably act as a domain, file & print server too. For 3 users – very light usage, but primary use will be as a testing lab for MS products. For example, a deployment of MS Office Communications Server 2008.

This will be in my home office environment so a quiet machine is an absolute must. This rules out a rack mounted server (I believe).

I’m not sure whether I’m into overclocking, but if there’s more to be gleaned from a processor without impacting reliability, then I’m open to suggestions.

Here are my thoughts:

Motherboard – No Idea.
Case – No Idea, but like the Coolermaster RC-1000 (I don’t want flashy LED’s etc for security reasons – this will be running 24/7 in the home office / garage).
PSU – No Idea – but it needs to be quiet!
CPU: Intel Quad Core – but not sure which one (Q6600?)
Mobo: Argh! This is complicated – which mobo to go with which processor.
Cooling: Remember – it needs to be quiet!
RAM: 4GB – but what is good RAM these days for a server?
HDD: SATA RAID 1 mirroring for fault tolerance (Disk Space less important as it will have a Terastation NAS as the primary file store, but local fast disk access – not sure if best to go RAID for performance / fault tolerance).
NIC: Dual GB Ethernet.
Video: Not Important

Budget: ~£1500-£2000

Any advice gratefully received.

Pete.
 
Welcome to the forums, I've just put together a specification for a bare system but it meets all your requirements and is well under the budget so you can change parts easily if necessary.

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
Asus ATI Radeon EAH3450/HTP/256M 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £27.99
(£32.89) £27.99
(£32.89)
Coolermaster RC-1000 Cosmos Silent Full Tower Case £101.99
(£119.84) £101.99
(£119.84)
Asus P5K Premium/WiFi-AP Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £102.99
(£121.01) £102.99
(£121.01)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-6400C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ) £51.99
(£61.09) £51.99
(£61.09)
Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £121.99
(£143.34) £121.99
(£143.34)
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/LGA775) £35.99
(£42.29) £35.99
(£42.29)
Samsung SH-S203D 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD3200AAKS) £42.99
(£50.51) £85.98
(£101.02)
Sub Total : £603.90
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £21.17
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £109.39
Total : £734.45
 
Thanks very much!

I'll look into the parts in more depth.


I think I've persuaded myself to go for a RAID 1 on the server to give myself that extra bit of fault tolerance at the OS level (the Terastation will be fine as a RAID5 NAS, connected via GBE).

A couple of quick observations - I've never heard of the RAM manufacturer - is the RAM fast?

Also, as the prices are coming in well under budget, what areas could cope with a bit of tweaking in product selection? Could I go for a faster / better CPU with all of the other kit you've listed, or would I need, for example, a different motherboard?

Are there system builders on this forum who offer to build the list I decide on (to save me the hastle)? I'm capable, but just a bit nervous as I've not done this for years!

Cheers
Pete.
 
Have you received your April action pack sub yet? Mine still hasn't arrived grrr!

Also do you know if Comms server 2008 is due out anytime soon? Comms server 2007 is not compatible with Windows Server 2008... Ridiculous I know...
 
The Ram is pretty decent, with a Q6600 having a 1066mhz FSB there is little to no point in getting anything above PC6400 Ram and that is about as good as any, particularly for the price.

If you get a faster CPU (a Yorkfield for instance with a 1333mhz FSB) then it might be worth going for faster Ram but again only if you are overclocking.

There aren't too many areas where I think you'd see a major difference in speed given your intended uses. The CPU is the main one that would make a difference although it might also be worth considering 8gb Ram if you are running many virtual machines.

I don't know of any systems builders on here who would take your parts and assemble it for you offhand, if they were doing it on a frequent basis then they might fall foul of the no competitors to OcUK rule in the FAQ. However depending on your rough location you might find someone willing to help out with the building.
 
sprognak said:
Have you received your April action pack sub yet? Mine still hasn't arrived grrr!

Also do you know if Comms server 2008 is due out anytime soon? Comms server 2007 is not compatible with Windows Server 2008... Ridiculous I know...
Click to expand...

No, mine hasn't arrived - I've received an April Update which consists of Vista Business (32bit) inc SP1 and 10x licenses.

I didn't realise that OCS wouldn't work with Server 2008 - thanks - you've probably saved me hours!! It looks like they may be working on a fix though here. Perhaps one of my VMs can be Small Business Server 2003 / Exchange 2007 then.

Thanks again.
Pete
 
Thanks semi-pro,

Does the Asus motherboard and Q6600 combination give me a reasonable amount of OC capability, if I do decide to tweak?

Pete
 
semi-pro waster said:
Samsung SH-S203D 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Click to expand...

I've had a look to see whether the drive can be firmware upgraded, but can only find the S203B drive listed on www.rpc1.org.

Does anyone know whether this drive can be unlocked for region code / rpc?

Pete


<edit>
Sorry: just found that there's no firmware available yet:
http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?category=4&manufactor=28

Are there any other drives that are as reliable as this one, that match the R1000 case (black) and can be firmware upgraded?

I like the SATA interface on this drive too. Obviously a quiet drive is also ideal.

</edit>
 
Last edited:
Are you wanting/needing reduntancy then?

Just when you say you need a server...I tend to think of a server like the ones I do at work, rather than desktop components 'acting' as a server build.

Only problem is if you are wanting proper server motherboards & components etc like from Intel, then they kinda cost money sadly, such as the S5000 range of motherboards for example.
 
What I'm after is a machine that is powerful enough to allow me to install multiple operating systems and virtual machines.

The 'lab server' (or very powerful desktop), is only serving the wife and kid's internet file and print traffic, but I want to be able to configure a full domain controller and lab set up to play with my MAPS software - like, for example, having a play around with Office Communications Server (VoIP). This is to better enable me to advise my customer on strategic product selection for a corporate environment.

It's not really a server that I'm after, but hardware that can be pushed to the limits and maintain reliability whilst delivering.

I have the redundancy I'm after for what I'd term as general 'file store' with the NAS (this will be GBE connected). The redundancy I'd be looking for on the lab server is simply to protect my time and efforts against a drive failure of the OS installs (RAID 1 - mirrored). I could always opt for shadow based image copy to the NAS, but the WD drive is cheap enough to have 2. The motherboard seems to support RAID 1, so why not.

Hopefully that makes more sense. This is a great forum and I'm learning lots already! Thanks for the input.

Pete
 
HDPete said:
Thanks semi-pro,

Does the Asus motherboard and Q6600 combination give me a reasonable amount of OC capability, if I do decide to tweak?

Pete
Click to expand...

It is a pretty good combination from that point of view, Asus motherboards are generally pretty feature packed and stable, if you do decide to overclock then I'd suggest about 3ghz as being entirely achievable with almost no effort. Beyond that depends on the chip but in theory you could get up to 3.6ghz before running the Ram outwith specification, unlikely you'll get quite that far as temperatures and/or voltage will increase before then but 3ghz is definitely on the cards.

I'm not too sure on the DVDRW option, I just picked it because it seems like a solid drive - NEC and Pioneer are quite well regarded as well. You could take a look in the Optical sub-forum on here and see if anyone has any further advice.
 
If I take advantage of the offer this week on the Retail Q6600, it includes "Intel Reference Fan and Heatsink".

Are these 'reference' fans & sinks any good? Should I still consider the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler? - remember - I need a quiet PC.

Also, looking at the case specs, I think that 45cm cables would be enough run for a couple of HDD and a couple of DVD.

Is there anything else I should consider for a system build?

For example:
Any specific thermal paste (or is the supplied paste good enough)?
SATA cable specs - is there much of a difference over such a short run?
Front Panel Stats Displays - probably useful for server monitoring?

Cheers,
Pete
 
Agreed!

Thanks, yes, my investigations and discussions with Microsoft have led me to that conclusion.
 
HDPete said:
For example:
Any specific thermal paste (or is the supplied paste good enough)?
SATA cable specs - is there much of a difference over such a short run?
Front Panel Stats Displays - probably useful for server monitoring?

Cheers,
Pete
Click to expand...

I'd still go with the Noctua even if the retail CPU is cheaper, it is a much better cooler and you have enough space in the budget anyway.

The supplied thermal paste should be fine but if you want you could buy a tube of Arctic MX-2 for any times you remove and reseat the heatsink. You might not need it for a while but it lasts pretty well.

SATA cables are SATA cables basically, they either work or they don't.

Not sure about the front panels, they look quite handy but I don't know quite how useful they are overall.
 
Intel-VT is in pretty much all Core 2 CPUs. The ones without it are near-universally now called Pentium Dual Core, the Allendales and such. The Q6600 definitely has it.
 
Xen and VMWare, at least, don't require those technologies, they're just better with them. For the best performance you can use customized Xen kernels with OSes that let you futz with the kernel.
 
hdpete

a better solution for rpc1 is to just use the program anydvd it runs like a driver in the background and decrypts protection & regions on the fly, very very low cpu usage (not noticable)
 
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