Ok, i've finally realised i need a better storage system...

mjn said:
No, the P4 is very inefficient. There are plenty of newer CPU's running at <40w, and have power saving features built in.

Ah, could I still use my old motherboard and find a cheap low power CPU to plug into it?
 
Ah, could I still use my old motherboard and find a cheap low power CPU to plug into it?

Old P4 CPU's were socket 478, old hat now.

It's new motherboard and CPU time.
 
mjn said:
Old P4 CPU's were socket 478, old hat now.

It's new motherboard and CPU time.

Ah ok... Thanks... Maybe I'll just test out freenas on it for a week or two till I save my pennies for new crap...

Will a low energy using thingy say "low energy" consumption in name or will I have to figure out cryptic charts and data etc?

It's always exciting buying new stuff... Thanks guys!
 
why not test out WHS and/or freenas on this box, if you like it and think a nas or serer is the way to go you could always grab a HP microserver for £130, it takes 4 hard drives and has all new parts inside so would be fairly power efficient compared to the P4 and it comes in a case already
 
everett_psycho said:
why not test out WHS and/or freenas on this box, if you like it and think a nas or serer is the way to go you could always grab a HP microserver for £130, it takes 4 hard drives and has all new parts inside so would be fairly power efficient compared to the P4 and it comes in a case already

Great idea... The hp micro server looks cool...

What happens when the four drives fill up? Can you extend it with esata to another 2 or 3gb?

Are Xeon systems low enough power users for 24/7 nas? I'm combing through the interweb trying to learn about this stuff and found this interesting thread http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1393-why-not-a-low-power-xeon-cpu/

If a Xeon is fast enough to use as a ripping station as needed yet low power enough to be a 24/7 nas it could work for me? Or is Xeon still old school energy hog compared to the new low power stuff available now?
 
Sorry I'm not the most knowledgeable on servers and what you need, I'm in the research and plan stage like you and have an old PC to play with to find a solution I like before investing in additional hardware

Also I got this in an email from ebuyer that would take 6 sata 3 drives you just need to add a uatx case and psu, not sure if its overkill for your needs though

http://m.ebuyer.com/337542
 
A Xeon is not needed for a typical home server - a standard desktop CPU is all that's needed.

A low power version is preferable if running 24x7, but a basic CPU is enough unless you want to do on-the-fly HD video transcoding, where a quad core is probably needed.


You could get a suitable motherboard, CPU and memory for c.£80 - but the HP microserver is a good deal too (with the cashback offer)!
 
MikeK said:
A Xeon is not needed for a typical home server - a standard desktop CPU is all that's needed.

A low power version is preferable if running 24x7, but a basic CPU is enough unless you want to do on-the-fly HD video transcoding, where a quad core is probably needed.

You could get a suitable motherboard, CPU and memory for c.£80 - but the HP microserver is a good deal too (with the cashback offer)!

I guess from an Eco warrior standpoint I'd want as low an energy consuming system as possible.... Was offered a Xeon system cheap, don't really mind if it's got more power than needed... Just that it's low energy user...

Although the HP MicroServer is looking really interesting... Only thing that I'm hesitant about is that I was looking at some rack cases that were like 80 quid that had 10 drive bays and bays for blu ray... Was getting pretty excited about that...

How are people coping with expanding the HP beyond 4 drives? Is the eSata drive on the rear just for 1 extra drive? Do they just get another MicroServer and somehow run in as 1 system or can you get another sata card for 4 or 6 more drives in another case?

Very intrigued that people are putting passive hdmi cards into HP MicroServer too.... Hmm.., interesting....
 
It all depends what you want to do with your server, how much power you are comfortable for it to use, how expandable you want it to be and how much you want to spend.


From what you've written it looks like you want to store and share media files and rip your disc collection to disk - you also want low power consumption for 24x7 use, and some future expansion capability.
The HP microserver would fit the bill apart from the expansion part - it is possible to expand it of course, but by the time you have you may as well have bought another server.

If future expansion is high on your hitlist, then perhaps you should look elsewhere - the case you mentioned (is it an Xcase) is one possibility (as long as looks aren't important), but there are plenty of alternatives. Fractal Design make some nice cases which you can stuff a shed load of HDDs in, and you can get budget towers which will take 9/10 drives for as little as £30.


As for power consumption - there are ways to minimise it, but if you really want 24x7 running then you'd probably want to start with pretty efficient components. No idea which model of Xeon you've been offered (there are loads), but it (and the other components it comes with) may not be the ideal choice for your intended use, even though they may do the job just fine.
Then again, I suppose it depends what you mean by cheap :)
 
MikeK said:
It all depends what you want to do with your server, how much power you are comfortable for it to use, how expandable you want it to be and how much you want to spend.

From what you've written it looks like you want to store and share media files and rip your disc collection to disk - you also want low power consumption for 24x7 use, and some future expansion capability.
The HP microserver would fit the bill apart from the expansion part - it is possible to expand it of course, but by the time you have you may as well have bought another server.

If future expansion is high on your hitlist, then perhaps you should look elsewhere - the case you mentioned (is it an Xcase) is one possibility (as long as looks aren't important), but there are plenty of alternatives. Fractal Design make some nice cases which you can stuff a shed load of HDDs in, and you can get budget towers which will take 9/10 drives for as little as £30.

As for power consumption - there are ways to minimise it, but if you really want 24x7 running then you'd probably want to start with pretty efficient components. No idea which model of Xeon you've been offered (there are loads), but it (and the other components it comes with) may not be the ideal choice for your intended use, even though they may do the job just fine.
Then again, I suppose it depends what you mean by cheap :)



Yeah... The drive pooling feature (is that what it's called?) that I've been reading about in freenas and unraid etc... And a cheap 10 bay rack case are pretty exciting... But I'm just worried about finding the right CPU/motherboard combo etc with my limited knowledge... What software driver conflicts will exist etc.. With xp IBM I have is a huge pain to use, god I hate it... Not that I ever use it a lot but when I do good grief I hate it...

The idea of everything in a little box with a large group of helpful users etc is on the other hand appealing... Already have a reasonable idea of what people are running on it and how etc... I figure if I start out with 2x 2tb drives in the HP now I'd be ok for a year and then drop in more 2tb drives every so often... Worry about another solution in a couple years I guess? But then we all know how quickly we can fill drives up... Argh... I guess it could always be a dedicated HTPC with hd graphics card when time comes to get a 20-bay rack case... Ah ha ha...
 
Keep in mind hard drives keep increasing in size, so in a couple of years you'll have 3tb+ drives coming down in price so will supply more storage.

You can get Intel atom boards that are more power efficient but I think the price rockets on those with a recent amount of connections. Only other options is find a low profile pci-x sata card as the HP server should in theory be able to take one to help you expand
 
everett_psycho said:
Keep in mind hard drives keep increasing in size, so in a couple of years you'll have 3tb+ drives coming down in price so will supply more storage.

You can get Intel atom boards that are more power efficient but I think the price rockets on those with a recent amount of connections. Only other options is find a low profile pci-x sata card as the HP server should in theory be able to take one to help you expand

Right... Is the 8tb limit on the HP a limit of the hardware that it has? Otherwise one could put 4x 3tb drives in it?
 
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Xeon's are good, but can suck the juice! I got a pair of dual core for free, but the CPU fans needed to cool them are like an airplane taking off, ECC RAM, and an appropriate motherboard ($$$$$).

Go for an i3, with low powered CPU if just for file sharing. Your I/O is more important than CPU cycles.
 
mjn said:
Xeon's are good, but can suck the juice! I got a pair of dual core for free, but the CPU fans needed to cool them are like an airplane taking off, ECC RAM, and an appropriate motherboard ($$$$$).

Go for an i3, with low powered CPU if just for file sharing. Your I/O is more important than CPU cycles.

Ok thanks dude...
 

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