Cheap Server Build

[treven]

I am looking to make a cheap server for mainly test / practice reasons for my programming and file sharing / downloads and whatever else i can think of to turn this server into, mainly low importance stuff.

my current parts are as follows:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hk0a

I would like to keep it at 1000$ or less.

CPU Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core $199.98
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper N520 43.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing $35.99
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 $115.99
Memory Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $34.99
Storage Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM $95.98
Video Card MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB $299.99
Sound Card Creative Labs Audigy SE $24.99
Case Rosewill Blackbone ATX Mid Tower $44.98
Power Supply Antec 550W ATX12V $59.98
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer $15.99

Total: $928.86

 

[misclik]

If you're using it as a SERVER and not for gaming... Drop the 660ti and just use the intel4000 Graphics. That'll be more than enough. Also look at more ram. Also, drop the sound Card..

 

[treven]

Thank you, do the parts look ok otherwise? like the case and power supply and disk drive and motherboard? i wasnt sure what type of motherboard to get and i favor asus brands so i chose that one.

and the intel4000 graphics, is that a card or onboard graphics through the motherboard?

 

[baconizer]

Drop that processor and motherboard and get these:

Intel Xeon E3-1230 Sandy Bridge 3.2GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 80W Quad-Core Server Processor BX80623E31230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115083

SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O LGA 1155 Intel C204 Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182253

*EDIT: I saw that you favored ASUS brands, but this is quite inexpensive and reliable.
PS: Weak video. In 32 bit, you can only get 1280x1024. (customer review)

Get 16gigs of ram, it will be enough.
Drop the 2TB HDD to 1TB.
Get a cheapo~ GPU (since the lack of integrated graphics...):

PNY VCGGT640XPB GeForce GT 640 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133460

 

[ScrewySqrl]

thats the onboard graphics.

again, assuming a SERVER, and not a gaming machine, here's my suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($289.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($77.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec SONATA III 500 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply ($9.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) ($127.76 @ Amazon)
Total: $931.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-17 07:13 EDT-0400)

3TB of storage plus an SSD for boot/main files, an i7 for hyperthreading, 32 GB of RAM. and a ridiculous deal on the case and CPU (that's going to be my case suggestion for everything as long as that deal lasts. Antec Sonata and 500 W PSU for $10? YES Please!

 

[treven]

Im looking at those parts now, why the drop from 2TB to 1TB? the 2TB is 98$ and the 1TB is roughly the same for what i can see.

 

[treven]

Wow that is an amazing deal and the case is nice and shiny

 

[treven]

Oh um what is the difference between a Xeon quad core and an i7 quad core, i know what hyper threading does but how much is the difference and what is the benefits between the two processors ?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the xeon is better at multitasking than the i7, being built for it. also the xeon uses ecc memory

 

[treven]

ah, so it would be a better choice?

 

[treven]

Oh and i chose the 2500k because i was planning on overclocking it for performance boost. Are Xeons overclockable or a 3770k as chosen earlier, are those in comparison better?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the 2500K is sandy bridge, 4 cores, 4 threads. the Xeon E-1230 is 4 cores, 8 threads, also sandy bridge. the 3770 is 4 cores, 8 threads, and ivy bridge -- lower power usage and a little better all around than sandy bridge.

 

[treven]

Best answer selected by treven.

 

[zdbc13]

That case deal would be great but it's "sold out"...