Low power alternative to the Atom for a WHS?

[SiD the Turtle]

I'm looking at building a Windows Home Server and the Atom fits the bill but every board that has an Atom seems to be crippled by a low number of SATA ports. Yup I can add an SATA expansion card but then immediately I've lost the only expansion slot on the board.

What's the alternative CPU-wise? Preferably something in the ATX/mATX form factor so I don't have to go drilling holes to fit an mini-ITX board

 

[Happy]

One of the low end AMD chips ending with an 'e' iirc.

 

[Silent Bob]

I use a Celeron 420 in my WHS box. Only a single core but easily fast enough for what it's used for.

 

[mrthingyx]

I'm looking at building a Windows Home Server and the Atom fits the bill but every board that has an Atom seems to be crippled by a low number of SATA ports. Yup I can add an SATA expansion card but then immediately I've lost the only expansion slot on the board.

What's the alternative CPU-wise? Preferably something in the ATX/mATX form factor so I don't have to go drilling holes to fit an mini-ITX board

Add-in SATA card?

 

[PwnDirect]

Add-in SATA card?

Yup I can add an SATA expansion card but then immediately I've lost the only expansion slot on the board.

Reading is your friend

how many sata ports you need?

 

[SiD the Turtle]

Three to start with, with the option to expand. So any decently speced motherboard with a load of ports would do.

The closest Atoms that fit the bill are the Point of View (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-001-PV&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1436), but it's pricey (cheaper elsewhere, but still pricey) and there's an MSI built for Blade Servers, but I can't find it for sale in the UK.

 

[PwnDirect]

well theres the " ZOTAC GF8200-C-E Mini ITX " that has 4 satas all you need is a low power cpu eg "AMD Sempron 140, Sargas Core, Socket AM3, 2.7GHz 45W" which would be £113 for the pair

But imo you should consider matx

I would get a:

Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2H with 6 sata ports £40

AMD Sempron 64 LE-1250, 2.1Ghz, 512kb L2 Cache, 45W £25

 

[SiD the Turtle]

Hmm that's an interesting board, always been a fan of Gigabyte.

Any ideas on power consumption? I guess I could underclock it.

 

[PwnDirect]

Just got a linkage to This mobo today & reambered this tread

No eta yet but looks like the dady of itx

 

[timefalls]

Go for an Athlon 'e' series or an Intel Celeron, both of which are low power have are far more powerful than an Intel Atom.

 

[SiD the Turtle]

Just got a linkage to This mobo today & reambered this tread

No eta yet but looks like the dady of itx

Yum

 

[The_Max_Sti]

I had this same problem.. about 6 months ago..

in the end went with a "EPIA SN 18000EG 1.8GHz C7 Mini-ITX Board - Dual LAN, 4x SATA II, PCI-E, CF, Vista Support"

Iv got an 8x PCI-E card on it and two icydocks with 8 bays total..
So far love it.. They use to be on a PICOPSU and worked a treat but then added another 4 drives and the picopsu could not cope at start up so bought a 80+ psu and all is great. uses less than 60Watts at idle and even less when the drives powerdown.

Let me know if i can help

Rob

 

[blaineoliver]

I would get one of the new 45w semprons, they are known to unlock to dual core as a bonus, but they are faster clock for clock than semps and celerys. With a 770 mobo
and ram, will make an amazing WHS.

 

[PermaBanned]

I thought they were 40W Semprons? Meh, do what you will. All i know is that they're planning on releasing 45W Athlon Quad Cores sometime.

Also, aren't the AMD Geodes a good alternative to the Atom?