Hey guys, I'm in the market for a cheap MB/CPU/RAM combo and was wondering if anyone here had any recomendations(?)
My current box is running perfectly but it has an 8GB memory limit. I am looking for cheap, so a Phenom II x4 is not out of the question...
TIA!
You might try the HP N40L (MicroServer). I have a video review here: http://youtu.be/fhyxGFcJ694
It supports 16GB of RAM per this site - http://www.shogan.co.uk/?p=1397
If that's not beefy enough, I have some other builds and information on my home lab collection: http://wahlnetwork.com/home-lab/
HP n40L is probably one of the better ones, because its small, and not as loud as other "real" servers.
using a server in your room is loud and hot...
I'm using two of the servers chris has recommended for my home lab for testing and for preparing for my VCAP5 exams and they work amazingly well. Also if you buy them for serverplus (this may be a uk only deal) you can get £100 cash back so the servers are even cheaper and worth it
http://www.serversplus.com/microserver_cashback
Gregg
Thx firestartah - I'd probably still end up in the red for the cost of shipping 'across the pond'.
I'm kinda worried about the CPU though. I'm running 4 server 2008 R2 servers (DC, Exchange 2010, website/ftp, dev) and 1 Windows 7 box on it currently. The servers are only light duty but I'm thinking that just one Exchange 2010 server would crush that chip (especially if you give the VM 2 cpu's).
Anyone have any experience with this chip and 5+ server 2008 VM's? I know I looked at this server when I thought it only supported 8GB's now that it looks like you can throw 16 at it I'm more than interested...
Edit - Thx chriswahl, nice site. I like your MB choice (especially the monitoring capabilities) but that's definitely more than I'd like to spend.
The Mac Mini supports up to 16GB of RAM: http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2012/05/thats-so-cool-running-esxi-5-on-apple.html
They're relatively inexpensive, it's hard to beat the size/quietness, and you can run OS X guests legally.
I just built a new SRM Lab (using workstation) on whitebox parts.
List is on my blog.
http://theithollow.com/2012/05/03/poor-mans-srm-lab-whitebox/
There are also diagrams and some setup instructions.
I hope you find the right parts for what you're looking to do.
Gregg (Firestartah) : So everything on the HP box works w/ ESXi 5.x well? NIC too? Is the RAID (mirror) on that box available under ESXi, or does it only work with Windows using a host driver?
Hi,
We also have an option to make a Desktop board as Whitebox. i3/i5/i7 processor with Intel Desktop board which supports 16GB memory with SATA RAID and Intel Gigabit NIC.
Thx all, I've got a few suggestions to think about.
I was also looking into an AM3+ MB/Phenom II x4 965/with 16GB (expandable to 32GB) setup that would run me just under $300 shipped.
my suggestion for a home lab for studying the VCP and vmaware is below;
http://ark.intel.com/products/65719/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Processor-(8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz)
2- Intel mother board,
3- Seagate 1 TB hdd 4 number, make a RAID 10 in the BIOS using Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST)
and install windows 7, RAID divers you need to copy to a USB, and during install point the drivers. The HDD is SATA 6 and has 64 mb cache and on the mother board 4 sata 6, ports are there and in RAID 10 you will very good speed.
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD Internal Hard Drive (Model number ST1000DM003)
Key Features of Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD Internal Hard Drive (ST1000DM003)
3.5 inch Form Factor
SATA 6.0 Gbps Interface
64 MB Cache Memory
7200 RPM Spin Speed
Average Seek Time - 9.5 ms (Write)
1 TB HDD
300000 Load / Unload Cycles
4- Powersupply - Cooler master or Crossair
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=3738
5- RAM 4 x 4 GB DDR3 1333, kingston or Crossair, if you get 8GB modules that will be fine, so 4 x 8 GB you will get 32 GB the mother board has the capacity
6- Cabinet - Coolermaster minitower or any good one
http://www.coolermaster.com/category.php?category_id=20
7 - Install windows 7 64 bit, vmware worksation 8, and use starwind as an ISCSI software SAN, for the shared storage and it is free you can download.
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-iscsi-san-overview
8 - You can install the Vcenter, DNS and Starwind in one VM and you can install ESXi accordingly
Display and keyboard at your wish
With this similar setup, i have cleared my VCP and compleated the VCAP DCA course.
Thx Gkeerthy, but I'm looking for around $300 for MB/CPU/and RAM - not just CPU.
Hi,
Below configurations will work for Desktop board
Intel DZ68DB
INtel 67 OW MotherBoard VT Enabled (DQ67OW)DQ67OW,DQ67SW
Intel® Desktop Board DH67CL
Intel Core i7-2600K Processor and DP67BG Motherboard Review
Intel® Core™ i7-2600S or 2600 Processor
http://ark.intel.com/products/52215/Intel-Core-i7-2600S-Processor-%288M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz%29
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1673418
Thanks
vmguy