Windows Home Server Part 3 - Low/High End Builds

Posted by HyperLithium
April 23, 2009

d410Part 3 in our projected 5 part series is here to help everyone pick out some hardware for their budget.  This was originally slated to include installation and networking setup but I decided to make that part 4 since it really wasn’t fitting here.  For the builds I will be using Newegg to price out two new servers.  This section is really all about actually making it happen after realizing you need a home server too.

Builds
I gotta admit, this was actually quite a bit harder than I thought it would be.  Well, the main reason was the budget restraint of $500 for the lower end build.  Also, there are many things that can be changed with my “high end” build but it’s more an example of what the two budgets can lead to.

DeviantKnowledge Low-Buck

$534.92 - *No OS Included - $100 add-on

d450Let’s run this down quick.  The case is well worth the investment as mentioned in the previous article.  Getting the Hot Swap bays makes life easy and it’s something that can be kept for a long time.  So then we have an 80+ certified power supply for effiecency.  The motherboard probably took me the longest to pick out and this one is a great option.  The Gigabyte GA-MA780G has built in video with HDMI, sound, and has 6 SATA connectors.  That means this board is currently equipped to max out your storage capacity and you don’t have to buy a video card. Well worth the $90.  I’m amazed at the price of a dual core processor with the X2 4050 along with 2 GB of RAM for $24.  Have to have to the Intel NIC if you ask me as well. I know I am skipping on the cost of the Operating System here but I’m kind of taking it as a given that people are expecting to pay for that when building their own.  It’s a legit cost but I’m focusing on the hardware.

The hard drive is the interesting part.  To keep things at $500 I went with 1 hard drive.  The note here is that this does not provide any parity.  A couple options would be getting two 500 GB drives at about $55 a piece or adding a second 1 TB drive for another $100.  If you can swing the $600 then it’s the way to go.  Don’t forget, with the hot swap bays it’s easy to expand so you could wait a little while and add a drive later.  Along that there is room on the other side for another set of hot-swap bays once the DVD Burner is removed!

Let’s compare this build to HP’s

DeviantKnowledge Low-Buck
 HP MediaSmart EX485
5 Hot Swap Bay Case 4 Hot Swap Bay Mini Tower
2.1 Ghz Dual Core Athlon 2.0 Ghz Celeron
2 GB MEM 2 GB MEM
1 TB HDD 750 GB HDD
10/100/1000 LAN x2 10/100/100 LAN
USB + Firewire eSata Support
Must Buy OS Has OS
$534.92 $499.99 (on sale)

So with just a quick comparison we can see that things are almost even when all things are considered but the DeviantKnowledge Low-Buck is more powerful.  Before people rant and rave about me leaving out the cost of the OS I will just say once again that is something that needs to be considered but I am focused on the hardware.  Obviously, that is a plus for the HP and other Pre-Built’s but not a homebrew.

High-End (for Home)
I’m not going to go crazy with this so I’m dubbing it High-End for the Home.  Hey, we’re not trying to be NetAPP here but just having a nice storage server.  One of the challenges I had is where to draw the line between a home server and getting into parts that really are for business but could be used anyway.  I think this would be a great build in most ways but note the commentary to follow.

DeviantKnowledge High-End Home

$1878.99 *No OS + $100 for Home Server

gbyteTo be honest, there is nothing real special here other than the motherboard and the case.  This is a friggin’ 15 bay hot swap case.  It would be easy to fill this thing up with more storage than the local StorageDepot.  The reason I went with the Gigabyte board is because it has 10 3Gb/s SATA ports.  Talk about room for expansion!  The processor was only a natural selection to get a shiny new CPU that will last for a long time.  Dual Intel NICs compliment the onboard dual 10/100/1000 ports which is more speed than needed since both sets support teaming.  Rounding out this build are 4 - 1TB hard drives, an external DVD burner, the cheapest PCI-Express video card I could find, and a CPU cooler that should be cool and quiet.

So, I like this build but it’s an example and not a recommendation.  It’s possible to go all crazy and get dual processors and a RAID card (even though you dont need it) but this is already overkill.  I was exploring used servers but the majority of them are equipped with lower capacity SCSI drives.  On eBay, they are cheap enough to warrant purchasing for the case and other hardware but storage space will be small and have to be hacked up.  Still, I think the idea is here; The more hard drives that are easily connected the better.

Wrapping up this Section
I was going to add-on with the install (brief) and some basic networking when I realized that really didn’t fit here.  This did end up being a little more difficult than I originally thought but we definitely have some nice spec’s here to follow.  Part 4 will have the installation, getting your network setup, and a basic introduction to your new server!  Part 5 will wrap up with Add-ons, management, and other advanced features.

If you have any questions about Windows Home Server, other OS’s, or need help with your build check out the DeviantKnowledge Forums.

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HyperLithium, Tech

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