First server build from old P4 parts & questions

[mikeweit]

Hi, I've been reading the last few days about setting up xmbc, unRAID, and overall the benefits to having a home server with centralized files as well as centralized media.

My cousin's business recently asked me to come in and rebuild their new desktops and so i've been left with these 2 old P4 2.8 - P4 3.0 ghz systems, 2 amd systems, and 2 cases (one sh1tty dell case i hate).

Below i've take the best parts as best as possible and built this. If i left out needed info please let me know and i will give more info if possible.

system 1: 2.66ghz P4 (I believe northwood) dell demonsion 2400
specs:
2.66 ghz P4 (i believe single core with hyperthreading)
shitty dell mobo (has no onboard temp meters!!)
2560 megs of ram (4 slots filled with 2 512, 1 1024, 1 512 - onboard gfx)
2 SATA1 ports

I've downloaded unraid to my usb stick and have made it bootable.I got unraid booted without any harddrives just for testing purposes and typed "root" in the command prompt once it loaded. Looks pretty cool. I need to read up more, but this is a start.

My questions are:
1. should i go out and buy 2 2tb sata harddrives for this project? (even though the ports are only SATA I ports (IDE 133 speeds)

2. is unraid the best option for me to use? This will be my first home server, and as stated above I only really want to run xbmc from my computers upstairs and have all my videos and mp3s in a centralized server. I keep hearing about WHS (im guessing windows home server), is this as good for my needs? I do like the idea of having a 3rd drive for parity purposes...

here's a pic of the mobo i went with since it has 2 sata ports

3. would i be better off gutting out this old pc case i have (see pic below) and buying new parts for a low wattage dedicated server, and chucking these old and obsolete p4s?

I would like to keep this project as far away from my pocket of cash as possible. But i do understand that the p4 will idle at 81 watts around... so maybe a zacate mobo would be worth it, 2 fresh 2 tb sata drives, and unraid and call it a day... take all this old half-prorietary subpar dell equipment and throw it into a landfill and call it a day... hmmmm i do have a microcenter about 20 minutes away

Thanks for the help gents

 

[VirtualLarry]

Running a P4 these days will really drain your wallet due to 24/7 electricity costs. I would think a modern Zacate mobo would be a better investment.

Also, I think Unraid requires a minimum of 3 HDs.

 

[Paperlantern]

Running a P4 these days will really drain your wallet due to 24/7 electricity costs. I would think a modern Zacate mobo would be a better investment.

Also, I think Unraid requires a minimum of 3 HDs.

Drain your wallet? Yeah, 80 watts running 24/7 is such a drain, if I run mine i have to pack a lunch one day a month because i'm spending $5 and can't buy wendys.

Power savings will be negligible, it should not be your biggest concern unless you are planning on running like 10 of these boxes. Average cost per KWH is like a dime... given that your looking at 24 hour use, thats a daily cost of... erm... about $0.20? so yeah between $5 and $6 a month to run the server. If that is worthit to you to reap the benefits of a central file storage (plus any other tasks you give it), I wouldnt worry too much about dropping $300 in mobo/ram/proc just to save ~20 watts.

Saving the 20 watts will save you about $18 per YEAR, so youd break even on the purchase by the year... oh... roughly 2018.

sarcasm

Yeah definitely invest...

/sarcasm

 

[VirtualLarry]

Drain your wallet? Yeah, 80 watts running 24/7 is such a drain, if I run mine i have to pack a lunch one day a month because i'm spending $5 and can't buy wendys.

Power savings will be negligible, it should not be your biggest concern unless you are planning on running like 10 of these boxes. Average cost per KWH is like a dime... given that your looking at 24 hour use, thats a daily cost of... erm... about $0.20? so yeah between $5 and $6 a month to run the server. If that is worthit to you to reap the benefits of a central file storage (plus any other tasks you give it), I wouldnt worry too much about dropping $300 in mobo/ram/proc just to save ~20 watts.

Saving the 20 watts will save you about $18 per YEAR, so youd break even on the purchase by the year... oh... roughly 2018.

sarcasm

Yeah definitely invest...

/sarcasm

It's not a savings of 20 watts, it's closer to 50W. So by your numbers, that's $45/year. So in two years, it would have paid for itself in power savings.

And if you run A/C, then double that in savings.

 

[Paperlantern]

It's not a savings of 20 watts, it's closer to 50W. So by your numbers, that's $45/year. So in two years, it would have paid for itself in power savings.

And if you run A/C, then double that in savings.

AC doesnt run all year. Additionally $90 does not equal $300. Yes, still a more significant savings, but it wouldnt pay itself off in 2 years. 4 or 5 maybe, which is, granted, better than in the year 2018, at leat the hardware would still be relevant. Heh.

 

[mikeweit]

hey just realized i forgot to include I plan on using a SATA RAID add on card I have left over from way back in 2003. It's intel based, so I'm confident it will work fine with unRaid and adds 3 more SATA ports.

I'm going to assemble what i have tonight and post up some updated pics