Specs for a server.

[Plasmoid]

Got a max budget of £2,000 to put together a server for a lots of uses.
Basically it is going to be a webserver, a game server (maybe bf2), a fileserver and a whatever anyone else wants server.

Obviously this site isent the best to get proper server gear but i reckon some of you guys have a better idea then me.

The kind of stuff i was look was...
1x Opteron 265
Some nforce4 pro based 2 socket motherboard.
4gb of Ddr-400 ECC stuff
Some graphics card... not really pushed.
2x Maxtor DiamondMax 500gb SataII drives.
1x Western Digital 150gb
An Antec 500W power supply.

Im wondering though wheter it is worthwhile going with 2 single core opteron's now or buying that dual core and getting another later. Im thinking by the time it needs upgrading the fastest dual core socket 940 opterons would be more affordable and the 265 would just end up being replaced anyways.

Would a Tyan motherboard be worth the extra cost? I know they dont overclock well but then i dont expect the ECC ram will either, and its not the kind of server i can afford to crash.

Also, if there much benefit from having 2 (or 3) power supply's as opposed to one very high quality one. Im guessing that with it running 24/7 you need the redundancy. And how do they hook up... both into the one connector using some sort of adapter?

If you have any suggestions as to how i can improve that setup then please suggest away as well.

 

[Slinwagh]

Where are you planning on putting this server?

 

[Plasmoid]

Some flavor of Linux... and whatever webservers are needed to run a couple of small websites. Then the harddrives will probably be abused and filled with stuff that people want to access across the network, nothing too demanding though as the connection is only 100mb/s
Really it needs to be general purpose in case things change and it needs to do other tasks.

 

[BillytheImpaler]

You'd best be putting FAH on there whenever it's done.

 

[Jimathy]

For £2k you can buy hell of a lot of server off the shelf, usually with a 3 year next business day onsite warranty. If its for your own personal use then ok its fun to build it yourself. If however your doing this for a friend/business remember these two little things.

If you build it and it goes bang, your in trouble.

If (insert pc manufactures name here) builds it and it goes bang then they are in trouble.

I bought a couple of 3ghz Xeon Boxes (Dual Ready) with 4*160GB Sata Drives + Hardware Raid Card and a Gig of RAM each last summer for around £1200 each, delivered with a 3year next day onsite warranty with an 8hour repair time commitment. Just to give you an idea.

Also the RAM is the easiest thing to upgrade later so I'd be more inclined to spend the money on the dual CPU's now and skimp on the ram a bit, 1-2Gb would be more than enough for what your proposing to do with it. I don't know if its the same with the Opterons but I've found with Intel kit that it has to have a matched pair of CPU's, so you always end up having to buy two if you decide to go dual later on anyway.

The graphics don't really matter, especially if its going to be run headless sitting in a cupboard or like mine spend its entire life in a dark loft.

Also I would go with one decent powersupply and a UPS.

Have fun!

 

[NickK]

Also I would go with one decent powersupply and a UPS.

An UPS is a must for servers in my view.

Operton servers are going to be more expensive.

 

[iSam]

Yea, with a server, the last thing you want it to do is to go down on you prehaps loosing some vital documents and programs etc. With a named server manufacturer, you get a warrenty, which will lift any blame from you and you will probably get a more stable system at the end anyway.

However, if you feel like you can build the server and iron any problems then by all means go for it and let us know how you get on!