Looking to build a Hyper-V host for labbing/home study

[HaX]

Hi all,

I'm upgrading to MCSE 2012 and am going to be involved in some Server 2012 and System Centre deployments over the next year. I need to build myself a system capable of hosting a reasonable number of client and server VMs in Hyper-V.

I need lots of RAM, 16 GB as a minimum but am considering going to 32 GB in order to future proof.

I'll be buying a 256GB SSD and using differencing disks for the majority of my VMS in order to limit my storage requirements.

CPU wise, I'd probably ideally like to go for an i5, but anything with Intel-VT or AMD-V will do.

Any suggestions for MB/CPU/Case/PSU etc?

Thanks

HaX

 

[HaX]

Thanks Saundie,

This is what I've got planned out so far. I ideally wanted to come in at <£500, however this bundle should be ~£600 inc case and PSU.

• Intel Core i5 3330
• Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H
• Samsung 256GB 840 Pro SSD
• 2x Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2)
• AOpen ES45F Case & PSU

Would you say that it'd be safe to risk entrusting the job to the PSU which comes with the Aopen case?

Cheers

HaX

 

[HaX]

I would expect so; you're not going to be drawing more than 100w even at full load with that system. It turns out the PSU in mine is actually 220w (it's one of these), so I doubt you'll have any problems as long as you don't want to add a graphics card.

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you've gone for a Z77 board instead of a cheaper H77 one?

I didn't realise you could get a cheaper variant of the chipset, though now I do, I have my eye on a nice Asus MATX board.

Any suggestions for a cheap but half decent MATX case and a reasonably priced PSU which won't blow my components away ?

@HarryPainful - Thanks, looks like a good deal, though looking to go for something quiet with an SSD.