Server for home

[Timian123]

Hello,

I am planing on building my own server for home.

The purpose of the server is, storage (FTP) Media streaming (Movies up ti 1080p, Music etc.) and private game server for me and some friends.

My question now is, how much power is needed for such a server?

Tryed to pick some parts to start off with (All Budget)

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2-B3
CPU: Pentium G620
Mem: Kingston ValueRAM 1 x 4 GB
PSU: NorthQ 4001
Storage: WD Caviar Blue WD1600AAJB 160 GB (Mainly for system alone, will most likely buy 1 or 2 2TB disks)
Chassie: SilverStone MILO ML03

Will this kind of setup be enough to provide a home server?

Kind Regards
Timian123

 

[pjl21]

What's your budget? You may want to invest into 8 gigs of ram and a better processor for a server.. But it all depends on your budget. Is that PSU reliable? Have you used it previously in a machine?

 

[Timian123]

My budget is "as cheep as possible" ("max $500")

Regarding processor, is it more cores the better, or just frequency?

Memory is no problem upgrading, as it really cheep.

I have no idea if the PSU is reliable. Went for a low noise.

 

[pjl21]

Regarding a server, at $500 i'd go with an Athlon II Rana with an Asus M4A88T-M that way you can unlock the fourth core whenever you need a speed boost... it's on newegg for 80$ the mobo is $60.

As for a case and PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119205

that should suffice.

As for ram... just get a cheap 8 gb set. (4gbs x 2)

That hdd is fine, but if your buying an HDD i'd throw the money to more storage because HDDs are currently really overpriced.

Do you need windows? cus thats $100.
Disk Drive: 20$.. doesn't really matter, just make sure it has RW in it's title.

 

[pjl21]

Thats about $400 without the hdd haha... not bad eh?

 

[Timian123]

About that CPU, am i'm not very glad for AMD, had some bad experiences.

That case looks really interresting. Never thought of a chassie with PSU.

But i can assume more cores are better than high frequency.

 

[pjl21]

Really? I've had nothing but good experiences with AMD. Anyway, and Intel is either outdated, or out of your budget. Yeah, the PSU is pre-installed so it's easier. Plus there's headroom for overclocking on the AMD.. however i'd suggest getting an aftermarket cooler for it if you oc it.

 

[Timian123]

But if it comes to a Intel CPU, what should i look for?
Is it worth the money, and go for an xenon? Or i5?

 

[zhihao50]

both xenon and i5 would be out of your budget range. Something like i3 or even pentium would do well, i don't see a server in your situation (for media streaming and hosting) needing a lot of processing power, not like you are going to do some heavy calculation on it.

You might also want to look at networking option in your build and get a motherboard with better Ethernet connection. You don't want to be bottle necked by a slow connection.

 

[Timian123]

Okay. Great answer.
So that meens, for the purpose stated in forst post, i don't relly need a big CPU.
Regarding the network, am i limited to a 100/100 connetion, and if in the future gets bigger, a new card cost's nothing.

 

[pjl21]

No you don't need a big processor, which is why i chose amd.. there's a $50 difference between Rana and i3. But if you insist on intel, you could probably squeeze an i3 in there.

 

[pacific27]

As all of my other systems Workstation, Laptop, HTPC are built around the AMD AM3 platform I decided to followed suit with my server. I picked up the components on the cheap over the course of 3 months but I only spent $180. I had access to windows server 2008 r2 for free so that saved a big chunk of money. I built my server around a recycled sempron 140 processor that I received for free for upgrading a friends computer. It draws very low power 45w and i've been very suprised by its power for a low end chip. Eventually, once I upgrade my workstation in a couple years I'll swap it out with my 6-core workstation CPU. That being said If i were to build a server today and wasn't locked in to any particular platform I'd probably go with a build like this.

Intel Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge 2.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116409

ASRock H61ICAFE LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157246

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

Seagate Barracuda ST320DM000 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148766

COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

LG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236

Microsoft Windows Home Server 2011 64-bit OEM System Builder - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416443

Total I get is $395 after rebates but plan to add more to that total after you figure in shipping, obviously I don't know where you live.

Although the CPU is a Celeron its built on the new Sandy Bridge architecture and will be very low power for the performance you get. There's definately some wiggle room with all the parts as with your 500$ budget you could still add another HDD for storage and leave the HDD I chose as the boot drive.

pjl21 is correct you don't really need a big processor for a server I'm running mine on a single core sempron. Its best to have atleast a dual core if your planning on encoding. If your server needs increase you could always upgrade to a quad down the road once Ivy Bridge is released and the prices for Sandy Bridge decrease...leaving you a spare Sandy Bridge Celeron to build a HTPC around...Good Luck!

 

[pjl21]

I was just about to post a SB Celeron build

+2