Planning for a fourth machine

I’m sick of my webserver machine. The problems I mentioned previously did not
go away and I’m far too lazy to diagnose it. So fuck it, might as
well build a new one to end all problems.


Planning stage. I want a small and quiet one. So I guess I’m going SFF (Small
Form Factor). The Shuttle-brand SFFs have an appealing look. But I have not
decided on a specific model/make. This will have to wait till I next visit Sim
Lim Square.


CPU, definitely Athlon64. Something that operates with low power yet high
performance. Users report having it running at 36 degrees celcius but they are
using stock HSFs. If I’m not wrong, I have to use the built in HSF in a SFF
chasis. Speed? Anything above 2000+ just to keep it cheap. Cool n Quiet feature
of Athlon64 CPUs is another good reason to get it. During idle, it downclocks to
about 1GHz and reduces power consumption. Less heat as a result. And if your
fans dynamically adjust their speeds according to CPU temperatures, they will
also spin slower and thus, run more quietly.


Rams, don’t think I need to look for any specific brand. And considering
they’re very cheap nowadays, I’ll be going for 2 sticks of 512MB.


Harddisks, prefereably 3, but I’m ok with 2. Since this will be a webserver,
I’m looking to having mirror raid for redundancy. If 1 dies, my data
is still safe on the other. Perhaps 2 80GB bricks. 8MB cache, 7200RPM, SATA! I
just love the small, easy to unplug, SATA cables. And yes, a quiet one. Still
need research to find out which brand/model. If there’s space for a third one,
it will be used for storing my anime videos.


Graphics, a cheap ATI 9600PRO will do. Or even cheaper acceptable ones.
I may want to watch DVDs and animes on this. I’m still against onboard graphics
because of a horrible experience I once had with Intel’s onboard graphics.


Sound, onboard sound will be fine. I’m sure most SFFs have onboard LAN and
sound device.


DVD writers are cheap now. But I don’t know if I should get one or just wait
till Blu-Ray and HD-DVD ends their battle.


And I want to get rid of the 17″ CRT monitor. Mentioned before, it has blur
text. Renders images too dark. Coding on a 17″ LCD with 1280*1024 resolution is
my reason for getting one. Not to mention saving SGD$10 on my monthly
electricity bill is also a plus. Budgetting SGD$300 for one.


Now all I need is a little more determination to do some research. Damn my
lazy ass…

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