Server for Small Businesses

[pcstl]

I need to purchase server equipment for two different small businesses. (10-20 employees each). It seems like the "servers" offered by Dell are only different from a desktop in the fact that they use a Xeon processor and "ECC" memory. Can't I just get by with a desktop that has a core i5/7 and 16/32GB of regular memory? Servers will be for basic file / app serving - probably using Ubuntu Server distro, and will take requests from 5-10 desktops / laptops. THANKS !

 

[Outlander_04]

This is the kind of situation where an AMD FX 8120 might pay off because it can run 8 actual threads simultaneously .
A 970 series chipset board packed with RAM and the cpu UNDER CLOCKED to the lowest multiplier and you have something very close to an opteron server cpu.
Underclocking will also mean you can also drop voltages and save power .

Anandtech reported the opteron was able to handle more data, more quickly ,with lower power consumption than an equivalent xeon